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 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
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THE 
 
 PRIVATE JOURNAL 
 
 JUDGE-ADVOCATE LARPENT, 
 
 ATTACHED TO THE HEAD-QUARTERS OF 
 
 LORD WELLINGTON DURING THE PENINSULAR WAR, 
 
 FROM 1812 TO ITS CLOSE. 
 
 BY SIR GEORGE LARPENT, BART. 
 
 THIRD EDITION, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, 
 in ttrmatg to & 
 
 MDCCCLIV. 
 
 The Author and Publisher resei-ve to themselves the right of Translating this Work. 
 

 
 LONDON : W. CLOWES AND SONS, bTAMtOKD bTKKET AND CHAJ1ING CKOSS. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 IT has been very gratifying to me to witness the flatter- 
 ing manner in which this Journal has been received by 
 the Public, and, with one exception, by the several 
 writers who have noticed it. 
 
 As my own part in the Work is so small, the risk I 
 ran in publishing it was small 'in proportion ; but I 
 confess that I did feel anxious not to damage the fair 
 fame of my late brother. 
 
 The exception to which I allude is that of the Re- 
 viewer in the "Athenaeum," a paper which (having 
 been a subscriber to it for many years) I hold in high 
 estimation. 
 
 The writer must pardon me for observing (whilst fully 
 admitting his right to state his conscientious opinion of 
 the work itself), that the sneers at Mr. Larpent's having 
 been Fifth Wrangler, and at his slow progress at the 
 Bar, are strangely misplaced. Surely a person attached 
 to literature cannot seriously deprecate academic honours, 
 or deny their primd facie evidence of ability. And as 
 for the slow progress in the laborious pursuit of the law, 
 the Reviewer must have been aware that such has been 
 the fortune of many eminent Lawyers who have after- 
 
 224213 
 
IV PREFACE 
 
 wards risen to the highest honours of the profession. 
 Legal or political connexions, or a fortunate opportunity 
 of displaying latent talents, are in truth the chief causes 
 of rapid success at the Bar. None of these did my 
 brother possess or obtain. 
 
 Is it not, therefore, somewhat severe to argue from 
 this admission of mine, that he was a person not above 
 mediocrity, and to represent him as merely a respectable 
 sort of second-rate plodding official ? The writer in the 
 "Athenaeum" may have had peculiar opportunities of 
 judging, and it is not for me to contest the opinion 
 he may have thus formed, but it certainly was not the 
 opinion of my brother's contemporaries. The observa- 
 tions of the writer in the "Athenaeum" involve also 
 charges of more importance than his remarks upon my 
 brother's abilities 
 
 " We see," he says, "in the sweeping and unqualified 
 charges against the soldiers of England, Scotland, and 
 Ireland, the censorious habits of one who filled the post 
 of Judge- Advocate General, and the passage," he adds, 
 "comes with bad grace from one who narrates his own 
 discomforts ad nauseam" 
 
 I had allowed every passage to stand which expressed 
 the opinion of the Author upon public matters, nor did I 
 expunge those complaints of personal inconveniences 
 which a man, for the first time placed in my brother's 
 situation, naturally feels, and as naturally describes in 
 his letters to his family. 
 
 It has been too much the fashion to garble such 
 Journals to suit the public taste ; but my aim was to 
 give the truth, and the whole truth, of all that my 
 brother witnessed and described in his Journal. 
 
 This rather uncommon fidelity is, I believe, one of the 
 chief merits of the work, and one of the chief causes of 
 its success. 
 
 If my brother, in commenting upon the want of self- 
 
TO THE SECOND EDITION. V 
 
 control and irregular habits and propensities of the 
 British soldiery (defects which the Duke's own De- 
 spatches, his proclamation upon the retreat from Burgos, 
 and the uniform testimony of the writers upon the 
 Peninsular War unfortunately confirm), had omitted to 
 notice their many redeeming qualities, he might have 
 been partly open to the rebuke of the writer alluded to ; 
 but throughout his narrative Mr. Larpent bears the 
 strongest testimony to the undaunted courage, the im- 
 moveable steadiness of the British soldiers under the 
 severest fire, and the perfect reliance the Duke always 
 placed upon the bravery of his army. 
 
 The truth is, that the conscription in France forced 
 into the ranks of its army a more intelligent and more 
 intellectual class of persons than those who volunteered 
 into our service. 
 
 Thus the moral conduct of the French soldier was 
 perhaps more correct ; but the stubborn courage, the 
 pluck, if I may use such an expression, of the British 
 soldier, guided by officers taken from the elite of our 
 gentry, and almost fastidiously alive to the sense of 
 honour and of duty, enabled them in the Peninsula, at 
 Waterloo, and wherever British troops have been called 
 into action, to maintain a decided superiority over their 
 opponents. 
 
 It has been remarked, that I have never mentioned 
 the lady to whom these Letters were addressed. 
 
 She was my much honoured and loved mother ; but I 
 deprived myself of the pleasure of noticing her many 
 excellent qualities, lest it should be thought that, in 
 praising her, I sought to confer credit upon myself, or to 
 gratify my own vanity. 
 
 She was the daughter of Sir James Porter, in his day 
 a distinguished diplomatist, successively employed in the 
 Netherlands and Germany, and for many years ambas- 
 sador to the Ottoman Porte. She married my father 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 when my brother was very young, and became a second 
 mother to him. There never was the slightest distinc- 
 tion between him and her own children, and had we not 
 been told that we were by different mothers, we should 
 never have known the fact from her conduct. That she 
 possessed my brother's warmest affections, these letters 
 would have abundantly shown, had I not thought it 
 better to omit many passages, which, however gratifying 
 to her to whom they were addressed, could be of no 
 interest to the public. 
 
 GEORGE LARPENT. 
 
 LONDON, JUNE, 1853. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 THE Letters now laid before the Public were addressed 
 by my brother to Mrs. Larpent, his step-mother, and my 
 mother. 
 
 They came into my possession as Executor to my 
 mother, and being also the sole Executor to my brother, 
 I consider myself at liberty to use my own discretion in 
 publishing them. With the exception of some matters 
 exclusively private, and connected with family affairs, 
 the letters are published as they were written, and not 
 one word has been added. 
 
 Until the lamented death of the Duke of Wellington I 
 did not feel myself justified in making these letters public. 
 Not that they contain anything in the slightest degree 
 derogating from the exalted estimate so universally 
 entertained of the character of that great man ; for, on 
 the contrary, they tend to confirm the unanimous opinion 
 entertained of his admirable qualities ; but motives of 
 delicacy forbad my offering to the world, during his 
 Grace's lifetime, the many personal anecdotes and opinions 
 with which they abound. 
 
 The reader will naturally expect to know who and 
 what the Author was, and give credit accordingly to the 
 statements and observations in his Letters. 
 
 Francis Seymour Larpent was the eldest son of John 
 
Viil PREFACE 
 
 Larpent, Esq., of East Sheen, Surrey, by his first wife, 
 Frances, daughter of Maximilian Western, Esq., of Coke- 
 thorpe Park, Oxfordshire. His father, from his earliest 
 youth, was employed in the public service. In 1763 he 
 was Secretary to the Duke of Bedford at the Peace of 
 Paris, and subsequently Secretary to the first Marquess 
 of Hertford, when Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. For many 
 years he was in the office of the Secretary of State for 
 Foreign Affairs, and at his death in 1824, at a very 
 advanced age, held the appointments of Secretary to the 
 Lord Privy Seal, and of Examiner of all Theatrical 
 Entertainments. 
 
 Francis Seymour was born in 1776. He was educated 
 at Cheam School, under the Eev. W. Gilpin, well known 
 and esteemed as a scholar and man of letters. From 
 school he went to St. John's College, Cambridge, where 
 he distinguished himself, and took his degree as Fifth 
 Wrangler, and was elected Fellow of that College. 
 After studying the law under an eminent special pleader, 
 Mr. Bayley, he was called to the Bar, and went the 
 Western Circuit. Here he formed friendships with 
 several eminent persons, among others with Lord Gilford, 
 the Eight Hon. C. Manners Sutton, afterwards Lord 
 Canterbury, Mr. W. Adam, son of Lord Commissioner 
 Adam, and the lamented Francis Horner friendships 
 which were extinguished only by death. His success 
 upon the Circuit was slow, but his character as an able 
 man and a sound lawyer stood high. 
 
 In 1812 he was tempted by the Eight Hon. C. Manners 
 Sutton, then Judge- Advocate General, to leave his pro- 
 fession, and to accept the situation of Judge- Advocate 
 General to the armies in Spain under the command of 
 the late Duke of Wellington, to remain at head-quarters 
 with his Grace, and to manage the Courts-martial 
 throughout the army. 
 
 At the close of the war in 1814, Mr. Larpent returned 
 
TO THE FIRST EDITION. IX 
 
 home with the last detachment of the British army from 
 Bordeaux. 
 
 Upon his arrival in England he was appointed Judge- 
 Advocate at Gibraltar ; and a new Charter of Justice for 
 that dependency having been framed, various civil, 
 admiralty, and judicial duties were annexed to the ap- 
 pointment of Judge- Advocate. Whilst the new Charter 
 was preparing, Mr. Larpent was appointed to carry on 
 the proceedings of the Court-martial on General Sir John 
 Murray, at Winchester; and was subsequently joined 
 with Mr. King, on behalf of the Government of the 
 United States of America, in the inquiry into the unfor- 
 tunate transactions which had taken place in the prison 
 at Dartmoor. 
 
 These several proceedings having been satisfactorily 
 terminated, Mr. Larpent in the spring of 1815 was, at 
 the recommendation of Lord Commissioner Adam, selected 
 by His Eoyal Highness the Prince Regent to undertake 
 the delicate and confidential duty of inquiring into the 
 allegations of improper conduct abroad, on the part of 
 the then Princess of Wales, afterwards Queen Caroline. 
 This confidential mission was accepted by Mr. Larpent, 
 upon the express condition that his appointment should 
 emanate directly from the Administration, and that his 
 duties (to use his own words) " should consist not in act- 
 ing a spy upon the actions of Her Eoyal Highness the 
 Princess of Wales, but in examining and sifting the facts 
 of the case, as stated and discovered by others." 
 
 On this understanding, and after interviews with Lords 
 Liverpool, Castlereagh, and Bathurst, and also with the 
 approval of Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough, Mr. Lar- 
 pent proceeded ostensibly to his appointment at Gibraltar, 
 but really overland by Vienna, to see and consult with 
 Count Munster, to whom he was accredited by the 
 British Government "as its regularly-authorized, though 
 secret and confidential, agent." 
 
X PREFACE 
 
 However strong might be his own persuasion of the 
 worse than improper conduct of the Princess, he felt the 
 extreme difficult}^ of obtaining respectable parties to 
 come forward with such evidence as would satisfy an 
 English Court of Justice; and he never hesitated to 
 represent the danger of taking public proceedings against 
 her. Having conducted his mission with such prudence 
 and discretion that its object was never known except to 
 his employers, he proceeded to Gibraltar, and there exe- 
 cuted his arduous civil and judicial duties to the entire 
 satisfaction of the Governor, Sir George Don, and of the 
 Secretary of State for the Colonies. 
 
 In 1820, upon leaving Gibraltar, he was again em- 
 ployed by the Government professionally in Italy upon 
 matters connected with the unfortunate trial of Queen 
 Caroline ; and he communicated direct with the late Lord 
 Gifford, upon whom, as Attorney-General, the manage- 
 ment of the proceedings against Her Majesty officially 
 devolved. 
 
 In ] 821 Mr. Larpent was appointed by Lord Liverpool, 
 one of the Commissioners of the Board of Audit of the 
 Public Accounts. In 1824 he was transferred to the 
 Board of Customs ; and, in 1826, was appointed to the 
 situation of Chairman of the Audit Board, in which he 
 remained until his retirement, in 1843, from ill health. 
 
 He enjoyed his release from active official duties only 
 about two years, dying in May, 1845. He was twice 
 married; first, to Catharine, daughter of the late 
 Frederick Eeeves, Esq., of the East India Company's 
 Civil Service ; and, secondly, to Charlotte, daughter to 
 George Arnold Arnold, Esq., of Halsted Park, Kent, 
 who survived him, but he left no issue by either. 
 
 The favourable opinion entertained of Mr. Larpent's 
 public services will be evident from the following testi- 
 monials which he received when he applied to Her 
 Majesty's Government for his retirement, viz. : 
 
TO THE FIRST EDITION. XI 
 
 (Copy.) No. 1. 
 
 Treasury Chambers, 
 23rd March, 1843. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I AM commanded by the Lords Commissioners of 
 Her Majesty's Treasury to acquaint you that, the First 
 Lord of the Treasury having communicated to the Board 
 your wish to retire from the Board of Audit, their Lord- 
 ships have been pleased to accede thereto, and will give 
 directions for placing you on a retired allowance of 900. 
 per annum, to be paid to you in the same manner as the 
 retired allowances of the Audit Office are paid. 
 
 In thus acceding to your wishes, my Lords desire me 
 to, state, that they feel themselves called upon to express 
 the high sense which they entertain of the integrity, zeal, 
 and ability with which you have discharged the duties of 
 the important situations which you have successively 
 filled, and the deep regret which they feel for the cause 
 which now compels you to retire from the Chair of the 
 Board of Audit. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 (Signed) G. CLERK. 
 
 To F. S. Larpent, Esq. 
 
 (Extract.) No. 2. 
 
 Downing Street, 
 March 3rd, 1843. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 I HAVE learnt with great regret that we are about 
 to lose your services in the Audit Board, over which 
 you have so long presided, with equal advantage to the 
 public and satisfaction to the Treasury. I only hope that 
 you will reap in the improvement of your health a benefit 
 equal to that which your retirement will deprive you of. 
 (Signed) HENRY GOULBURN. 
 
 To F. S. Larpent, Esq. 
 
Xii PREFACE 
 
 (Copy.) No. 3. 
 
 London, February 28th, 1843. 
 
 F. M. the Duke of Wellington presents his com- 
 pliments to Mr. Larpent, and has received his letter, and 
 sends him a copy of a letter he has received from Sir 
 Robert Peel. The Duke regrets much to learn that the 
 state of Mr. Larpent's health compels him to resign the 
 office which he holds. If referred to, he will state his 
 opinion of the services performed by him, while under 
 his command. 
 
 To F. S. Larpent, Esq. 
 
 Enclosure in the above Letter. 
 (Copy.) 
 
 Whitehall, February 27th, 1843. 
 
 MY DEAR DUKE OF WELLINGTON, 
 
 I RETURN the enclosed letter addressed to you by 
 Mr. Larpent. 
 
 I am sorry to hear that the state of Mr. Larpent's 
 health induced him to contemplate his retirement from 
 the public service. 
 
 (Signed) ROBERT PEEL. 
 
 To the Duke of Wellington, 
 $c. fyc. 
 
 (Copy.) No. 4. 
 
 Whitehall, March 3rd, 1843. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 FROM my high sense of your public services, 
 I have heard with very sincere regret, on public as well 
 as on private grounds, that the state of your health 
 compels you to contemplate the immediate retirement 
 from the important appointment which you hold, the 
 duties of which you have discharged with great ability 
 and integrity, and with unremitting zeal. 
 
 I have been so incessantly occupied by important 
 public business, that I have been unable, since the receipt 
 of your letter, to confer with the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 
TO THE FIRST EDITION. Xlll 
 
 chequer on the subject to which the enclosure in your 
 letter refers, but I will do so without delay, and with every 
 desire to take as favourable a view of it as the state of 
 the law and the usage in similar cases may permit, 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your obedient and faithful Servant, 
 
 (Signed) EGBERT PEEL. 
 
 To F. S. Larpent, Esq. 
 
 (Extract.) No. 5. 
 
 March 22nd, 1845. 
 60, Lower Belgrade Street. 
 
 I SHALL feel it due to Mr. Larpent to say at what 
 rate I placed his services. 
 
 Never public servant deserved better his hard-earned 
 retirement by honest, zealous, and able services. 
 
 (Signed) F. BARING. 
 
 I rejoice in having the opportunity afforded me by the 
 publication of these Letters, of recording the public 
 services of an affectionate brother, and of indulging in 
 the remembrance of the many private virtues which were 
 conspicuous in his upright and honourable career. 
 
 I have thought it objectionable to alter the language 
 of the narrative, although aware of the many inaccuracies 
 in letters written in the hurry of a campaign (a mode of 
 life foreign to the writer's habits), and not intended for 
 publication. 
 
 I therefore determined to leave the Letters as I found 
 them, thinking that the simplicity of the style and the 
 minute details threw over the Journal a charm of truth 
 and reality which a more studied composition would not 
 have possessed. I have a confident reliance that my 
 brother has related nothing that he did not himself 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 believe to be true, for he was a man of scrupulous 
 veracity, and one not given hastily to record what he 
 had not at the time sufficient warranty to believe to be 
 correct. 
 
 The Journal carries the reader, as it were, behind the 
 scenes in the great drama of War. The sufferings of 
 individuals, the hardships endured in a campaign, are 
 scarcely ever recorded by the historian they are lost in 
 the blaze of glory which surrounds such narratives. In 
 this Journal not only will be seen the miseries which are 
 endured in the attainment of military glory by the 
 soldier, but the still greater miseries of the unfortunate 
 people whose country is the scene of military operations. 
 
 Such vivid paintings as are here exhibited must, it is 
 to be hoped, make the most reckless politician and the 
 most ambitious soldier aware of the deep responsibility 
 incurred by all who encourage the passion for military 
 glory, except when war becomes absolutely necessary 
 for the defence of our country, its liberties, and insti- 
 tutions, and for the preservation of the independence of 
 Europe. 
 
 It was for these objects that the two great wars in 
 which the Duke of Wellington was so pre-eminent were 
 carried on, and the results the recovery of their national 
 independence by Spain and Portugal, and a peace of 
 thirty-eight years' duration fully warranted the sacri- 
 fices made by Great Britain, exalted her national 
 character, and justified her admiration of the Commander, 
 who, under Providence, was the great instrument of her 
 success. 
 
 GrEORGE LARPENT. 
 LONDON, DECEMBEB, 1852. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 Departure from England Exercises on Ship-board Off the* Coast 
 Arrival at Lisbon Kesidence there Journey to head-quarters com- 
 menced Abrantes General features of the march Salamanca . 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Arrival at head-quarters Ciudad Rodrigo The Retreat Its disasters 
 Capture of General Paget Personal Anecdotes Scarcity of Provi- 
 sions Courts-martial in the army Business of a Judge- Advocate 
 Wellington 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Arrival of the Gazette More Courts-martial The Mad Commissary 
 Intentions of Lord Wellington Social Amusements Sporting Wel- 
 lington's fox-hounds His stud A dinner at the Conimander-in-ChiePs 
 Number of Courts-martial Anecdotes of Wellington . . .37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 More Courts-martial Bal Masque' Anecdotes of Wellington Songs in 
 his praise Spanish banditti Excesses of the Army Carnival More 
 Anecdotes of the Duke The staff Grand entertainment at head- 
 quarters Wellington's opinion of affairs at home Murder of an officer 
 General Craufurd 54 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 News of the French Castilian costume Equipment of the army 
 Melancholy Court-martial case Wellington in the battle of Fuentes 
 d'Onore The chances of war Anecdotes of Wellington Eis opinions 
 of the war The new Mutiny Act Wellington on " Vetus" General 
 Murray Advance of the. French . . 87 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Newspaper complaints Wellington's commentsReview of the Portu- 
 guese Gatherings at head-quarters Reviews Recommencement of 
 the march The route . 106 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The march commenced Scenes on the road Villa Dalla Toro Castro 
 Monte Palencia Prospects of a general action Skirmishing Massa 121 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 March continued Quintana Anecdote of Wellington Morillas Vifc- 
 toria The battle Its results Plunder Kindness to the enemy 
 Madame de Gazan The hospital Sufferings of the wounded Esti- 
 mated loss ........ 150 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Pamplona Pursuit of Clausel Wellington on the march Prospects of 
 more Fighting Effects of the war The French position turned 
 Anecdote of Wellington Ernani St. Sebastian Wellington's move- 
 ments . 166 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Movements of the army Wellington on the Portuguese His personal 
 habits St. Sebastian The siege Miseries of war Wounded officers 
 The Prince of Orange Vestiges of the retreat English papers- 
 False accounts of the campaign Incidents of the war . . . 195 
 
CONTENTS. XVII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Rejoicings for the victory Sufferings of Cole's division Complaints of 
 the French Statements of a French prisoner Decay of Spain Cha- 
 racteristics of Wellington His opinion of Bonaparte Prospects of a 
 renewal of the attack Exchange of Prisoners Wellington's Spanish 
 estate His opinion of Picton Disposition of the army . . . 220 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Reported renewal of operations against St. Sebastian Effects of the war 
 on Spain and Portugal Wellington's account of recent proceedings 
 Courts-martial Prisoners shot Discussions on war between Welling- 
 ton and a French deserter The siege resumed Work of the heavy 
 batteries Trial of General O'Halloran Volunteers for the storming 
 parties ,238 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Author taken prisoner Kind treatment by the French General 
 Life of a prisoner Release Details of the Author's captivity Cu- 
 rious scene at General Pakenham's A Basque squire . . . 250 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Picturesque quarters Spanish reverses A strange adventure Spanish 
 jealousy Distribution of the army A pleasant companion News 
 from the North Morale of the French army The artillery . . 276 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Fall of Pamplona Deterioration of the army Duke of York's orders 
 Orders of merit Church service Capture of Franch redoubts March 
 of the army Incidents of foreign service Frequency of desertion 
 Wellington and the lawyers 289 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 News from France Lord Fitzroy Somerset Departure of the Prince of 
 Orange Exchange of prisoners Proximity of the two armies Wel- 
 lington's cooks Warlike movements French attack The Guards 
 
 Deserters More fighting 308 
 
 b 
 
XV111 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 French attack Plan of desertion Excesses of the French A Basque 
 witness Sir John Hope Movements of the army Sale of effects 
 Wellington's simplicity of character A French emigre Return of 
 Soult to Bayonne .323 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Eeports from France More desertion Anecdote of General Stewart 
 Wellington and his casualty returns The courtesies of war Scarcity 
 of transports Wellington and the trial-papers Sir Gr. Collier . . 339 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Rumours of war The rival dinner tables " Slender Billy" Bona- 
 parte's trickery Spanish violence Wellington with the hounds 
 French and English aspects The outsides of the nations . . . 352 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 State of feeling in France Rocket practice The Prince Regent's hobby 
 The Mayor's ball The flag-of-truce 362 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Army supplies Offending villages Symptoms of work Arrival of the 
 Duke d'Angouleme The bridge across the Adour Wellington and 
 his Chief Engineer His activity , .371 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Movements of the army Narrow escape of Wellington Anecdote of 
 Wellington at Rodrigo Novel scaling ladders Sir Alexander Dickson 
 Wellington's vanity Operations resumed Spanish officers The 
 passage of the Adour The road to Bayonne Death of Captain Pitts 401 
 
CONTENTS. XIX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Passage of the river Start for Orthes Effect of the battle Feelings of 
 the French Wellington wounded St. Sever Church and School 
 Aire Wellington on the conduct of the Allies Indurating effects of 
 War . 417 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Reports from the seat of war The Duke d'Angouleme The German 
 cavalry Misconduct of the Spaniards Attacks on our grazing parties 
 Movement of head-quarters Death of Colonel Sturgeon Visit to 
 the hospital New quarters Skirmishes Wellington and the mayor 436 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Difficulties of the march Failure of the bridge of boats The Garonne 
 Excesses of Murillo's corps Bad news Exchange of prisoners Arri- 
 val before Toulouse A prisoner of war Anecdote of Wellington . 452 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Uncertain intelligence Capture of Toulouse Wellington at the theatre 
 The " Liberator "Ball at the Prefecture The feelings of the 
 French Soult and Suchet Ball at the Capitole . , . .478 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Toulouse Its churches Protestant service Libraries Reception of the 
 Duke d'AngouleTne The French Generals Popularity of Wellington 501 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII, 
 
 Toulouse Mr. Macarthy's Library The Marquess of Buckingham- 
 General Hope Wellington's dukedom The theatre A romantic 
 story Feeling towards the English The Duke on the Russian 
 cavalry ...... .523 
 
XX CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Preparations for departure Bordeaux Imposition on the English 
 Greetings from the Women Mausoleum of Louis XVI. . . . 541 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 The opera-house The cathedral The synagogue A Jewish wedding 
 Strange show-house Wellington and King Ferdinand . . . 553 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Country Fetes Brawls with the French The Duke d'AngoulSme 
 Mademoiselle Georges The Actress and the Emperor French acting 
 and French audiences Presentation of a sword to Lord Dalhousie 
 Georges' benefit Departure 566 
 
 APPENDIX .579 
 
PRIVATE JOURNAL, 
 
 &C. &C. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 Departure from England Exercises on Ship-board Off the Coast 
 Arrival at Lisbon Residence there Journey to Head-quarters com- 
 menced Abrantes General features of the March Salamanca. 
 
 H. M. S. Vautour, off Mondego Bay, 
 Sept. 14, 1812. Monday. 
 
 MY DEAE M , 
 
 IT was very fortunate that I kept to my post at 
 the George Inn, at Portsmouth; for at seven in the 
 morning of Saturday the 5th I was called from my bed 
 by the Admiral, who told me that, in consequence of 
 the news from Madrid, he had received orders to send 
 a ship of war after the Pylades, to endeavour to prevent 
 her landing the money she had carried out to Oporto, 
 and to direct her captain to take it on to Lisbon. He 
 told me that, if I could get ready and on board imme- 
 diately, I might accompany him. Accordingly, soon 
 after nine o'clock I was on board His Majesty's ship 
 the Vauteur, or Vautour, or Vulture, a fast-sailing brig 
 of sixteen guns fourteen carronades, twenty-four 
 pounders, and two long nines; the only remaining trophy 
 in our Navy of the glorious expedition to the Scheldt! 
 The Captain, a most open-hearted, friendly man, by name 
 
 B 
 
//-, ; tft ; V ; '< ,'';:,, itfEPAHTURE FROM ENGLAND. 
 
 Lawless, is a native of the south of Ireland. The vessel 
 is an excellent sailer, and the whole in good order, with 
 a fine crew of a hundred and five men ; but the accom- 
 modations are very small, as all is made for use, and 
 nothing for convenience or ornament. The Captain's 
 cabin, about ten feet by twelve, he shared with me. 
 One of us hung up a cot on each side at night, and 
 we lived there when these cots were removed in the day- 
 time ; there was no opening but the hatches at top, no 
 windows at all. I had, however, what was most material, 
 a most friendly, kind reception, and shared every comfort 
 the Captain was possessed of. This consisted of a joint 
 daily, generally fresh, good wine and brandy, vegetables, 
 and, up to this day, good bread, great attention, and a 
 thorough welcome. 
 
 Friday the Ilth. At eleven o'clock precisely, as our 
 timepieces and observations had indicated, we sighted 
 Spain; and had the additional amusement of good charts, 
 and maps, and telescopes, to examine the coasts, besides 
 assisting in the observations on deck, and watching all 
 that was going on. The scene was one of constant 
 activity during the voyage, not a moment's idleness ; the 
 sails were mended ; the masts were repaired ; the deck 
 was caulked, and made water-tight for the winter ; the 
 winter rigging was made ready; the sides of the ship 
 painted. All this, besides the usual routine duty of the 
 ship, was done whenever there was smooth water. One 
 fine calm evening the Captain amused me with a sham- 
 fight, and put the men through their exercises ; first at 
 one set of the guns, then at the other ; marines and all 
 were at work. He showed me also the effect of a long 
 shot and a grape shot from the carronades in the water. 
 These occupations, with a little reading and writing, 
 preparatory to my land journey, filled up the days until 
 dark, when we took to our cots. We first made the land 
 off Cape Adrian, half way between Cape Ortega! and 
 
OFF THE COAST. o 
 
 Cape Finisterre, and got in close to the Sisarga Island, 
 about one o'clock on Friday the llth. We then coasted 
 close in shore all the way to Cape Finisterre, which we 
 reached at dark: the shore is very bold and fine, but 
 with a barren aspect, and the appearance of an inhos- 
 pitable and almost uninhabited land. The high tracts 
 towards Corunna, and perhaps about Ferrol, were only 
 just visible at first; but from Sisarga to Finisterre we 
 saw them about as plainly as we should have done on 
 shore. 
 
 Saturday 12th. This morning we found ourselves close 
 off Cape Saliers, having passed Vigo Bay in the night. 
 Thence we slowly crept along shore all that day in sight 
 of the country, buildings, &c., until we arrived at dark 
 within about twelve miles of Oporto, off Villa de Conde. 
 The country is very beautiful and picturesque, nearly as 
 bold as the former, but very much built over, dotted 
 with many villages and detached houses, and verdant 
 with much wood; all externally very loveable and de- 
 lightful. Monte Santa Tecla, at the entrance of Minho, 
 is an imposing object, and the whole coast interesting, 
 especially from Yiana to Oporto, and most of all about 
 Villa de Conde and Oporto. Conde is a handsome- 
 looking town, well situated, with several large good- 
 looking houses, and an aqueduct, reaching nearly three 
 miles I should think, parallel to the shore, through two 
 villages to the hills. The hills were well wooded, and 
 many houses, villas, &c., covered their sides : whether 
 the aqueduct was still in use we could not discover ; but 
 I saw no breaks in it as I viewed it through the glass. 
 We made signals to the pilots to come out from Oporto 
 on Saturday evening, but were too far off to be observed ; 
 and from the fear of an accident, though within ten 
 miles, were obliged to stand off all night, and try to keep 
 our place. 
 
 Sunday the 13th. Still abreast of Conde, and having 
 
 B2 
 
4 OFF THE COAST. 
 
 no wind, the whole day getting near to Oporto. Several 
 fishermen came on board from the boats around. They 
 all agreed that the Pylades had not been at Oporto 
 tidings which delighted the Captain; but upon the 
 Consul's boat coming off at a signal, when we got near 
 the bar in the evening, we found that the Pylades had 
 been off 'the bar three nights before, just the time she 
 sailed before us at Portsmouth, and had landed General 
 Oswald, the medical men, and the money at nine o'clock 
 at night, and had gone on ; and that the money was on 
 its way to the army. "We, therefore, put right about 
 again, and got about ten miles from the bar of Oporto, 
 which we had heard roaring many miles off, before dark. 
 Last night we were again becalmed, and at twelve to-day 
 (the 14th) we were only in Mondego Bay, near the spot 
 where the Apollo, and forty of her convoy, were lost in 
 1804. Here we met a wind right ahead, and have been 
 beating out ever since. At three it shifted a little, and 
 we are now returning, and hope to clear Mondego Point 
 and get in sight of the Burlingas before dark to-night. 
 From about ten miles below Oporto, near Aveiro, to the 
 Mondego highlands, the coast is flat, and we have only 
 seen in Mondego Bay sand-hills and a few huts, and 
 have only heard the surf roaring at a distance of nearly 
 ten miles. We are now about fifty miles from the Bur- 
 lingas and about ninety from Lisbon, and hope to be 
 there to-morrow. 
 
 Our officers are, the Captain, Lawless ; first lieutenant, 
 Soper ; the second lieutenant, a fine, stout Irishman, who 
 has amused me much, by recounting the escapes of his 
 past life. 
 
 Tuesday 15?A, 12 o'clock. Still about twenty miles 
 from Mondego Point. Marshal Beresford, who is lying 
 at Oporto badly wounded, sent out to ask for a passage 
 to Lisbon on board our vessel ; and it was arranged that 
 we were to fire two guns if we could accommodate him : 
 
ARRIVAL AT LISBON. 5 
 
 but the Captain was not able to do so in his small cabin, 
 even if we had both given up our berths, which we 
 would cheerfully have done. It was fortunate, however, 
 he did not come on board, as he would have passed three 
 miserable nights if he had made trial of our scanty ac- 
 commodation. 
 
 Lisbon, September \lth. Two more nights out be- 
 calmed one, off Mondego Bay; and another, off the 
 rock of Lisbon. "We got in here this morning at seven 
 o'clock, and have been all the morning running about 
 the town. The view at the entrance into the harbour is 
 very beautiful. We anchored at dusk off Cascaes Fort 
 last night. The General, Peacock, has given me quarters 
 at the Marquis d'Abrantes', and to-day I dine with the 
 General. It is said that there is a great mortality in the 
 army ; the officers sickly, and a great want of money. 
 
 Lisbon, September %Qtk, 1812. I have now been three 
 days in this town, which resembles the description of 
 certain ladies whom I have a right to suppose to be 
 within your knowledge, for I think they are described in 
 the Bible, and in other good books which you study all 
 outside show, except in the state apartments of a few in- 
 dividuals, which are certainly very magnificent. Streets 
 very offensive, palaces by the side of ruins, and some- 
 times even the palaces in a state of partial decay, though 
 in other parts stately and magnificent in their architec- 
 tural proportions. Everywhere there is an aspect of 
 extreme poverty side by side with some showy indica- 
 tions of wealth ; and it is evident that among the lower 
 classes impostors are as plentiful as mosquitos. The 
 heat is extreme worse than I found it at Paris in 
 August 1802. The evenings, however, are cool, and 
 near the water the breezes are refreshing. They congra- 
 tulate me, indeed, on the comparative mildness of the 
 season, which is favourable for my journey to head- 
 quarters, which are at Dulmas, in advance of Valladolid. 
 
6 GENERAL ABADIA. 
 
 On landing, I proceeded immediately to General 
 Peacock, the commanding officer, who received me with 
 great civility, and I dined with him that day. As to 
 forwarding me to the army, it appears all that he can do 
 is to give me a route, which will procure me at different 
 stations (though at times two or three days distant from 
 each other), rations for bread and forage, as there are 
 depots at intervals of from one to three days' journey all 
 the way. I shall have to purchase two mules and two 
 horses. The price of horses is high ; on an average, two 
 
 hundred and twenty dollars each. Captain C , of the 
 
 staff here, has offered to go to the fair with me on 
 Tuesday to buy cattle and all other necessaries for my 
 journey. There is no route except by Ciudad Eodrigo, 
 and, therefore, though it is said that head-quarters may 
 be at Madrid before my arrival, I shall be compelled to go 
 that way. Baron Quintilla was not in town. The Envoy 
 asked me to dinner immediately to his country-house at 
 Benefica, and was extremely civil to me, remarking that 
 mine was not a common letter of introduction. He asked 
 me again yesterday, but being unwell, I declined the 
 flattering invitation. He also offered to carry me in his 
 suite to a bull-fight, twelve miles off ; but as this would 
 detain me from Sunday to Tuesday, and interfere with 
 my whole plan, I am obliged reluctantly to forego the 
 amusement. I am not here for my pleasure. When I 
 arrived at the Envoy's he was absent, and I had a 
 tete-a-tete with General Abadia, who is here on his way 
 to Cadiz, where he is to take a high official position. 
 He appeared a clever man, but I understand his loyalty to 
 Ferdinand is doubtful, for a letter addressed to him by 
 his wife, who is with the French, inquiring when he 
 would fulfil his promise of joining their party, has been 
 intercepted. 
 
 This may be all a trick, but there is something suspi- 
 cious about it. He blamed us very much, charging us 
 
QUARTERS AT LISBON. 7 
 
 with having made two great blunders, in not seizing 
 Santona, by troops from England, and securing that river 
 communication and post to land all our men in, instead 
 of Lisbon ; and also in not allowing the Sicilian expedi- 
 tion to seize Tortosa, and maintain a post on that river, 
 the most important and most annoying to Soult. He 
 spoke in high terms of Lord Wellington, but seemed to 
 think that the fate of Europe depends upon the conduct 
 of Eussia in this conjuncture. 
 
 The idea seems now to be, that Soult, Suchet, and 
 Joseph have formed a junction. They have above sixty 
 thousand effective men ; and it is added, that the French 
 now have their old position on the Ebro always in their 
 power. General Carrier was brought in here a prisoner 
 on Thursday, from Salamanca : he had five wounds, 
 which are nearly healed, but he thought he should lose a 
 finger. He came in to the Greneral whilst I dined there. 
 He seemed to be out of spirits, but said that Marmont 
 was nearly well, and would resume his command. The 
 French, I hear, are intrenched near Burgos. 
 
 I have obtained quarters at the casa of the Marquesa 
 d'Abrantes, a good situation, and a lieutenant-colonel's 
 quarters. Her husband is a prisoner in France. I have 
 a separate door, which leads away to four small rooms 
 to the street ; bare walls, painted with military trophies, 
 and the whole kept as quarters. In these I have two 
 tables, a dozen chairs, a bedstead, a mattress, a worked 
 flounced quilt, some fine sheets, but, of course, no blankets. 
 At first we had nothing else ; but I have now got a silver 
 basin and ewer, some knives and forks, and a supply of 
 water. These apartments might easily be made very 
 comfortable. The state rooms of this house, looking 
 over about an acre of garden (which is open to the 
 public), are very handsome. As the marquesa lost her 
 mother last week, about twenty cabriolets a-day have 
 brought visitors to pay respects, &c., and about a hundred 
 
8 EXCESSIVE HEAT. 
 
 and fifty beggars to receive their alms. By the way, the 
 English have caused everything here to "become very 
 dear. The churches are gaudy, and in some respects not 
 a little ridiculous, but still, to my mind, nothing like so 
 trumpery, absurd, and indeed indecorous in every respect 
 as those in Flanders, and in some parts of Switzerland 
 and Piedmont. The Eoman Catholics here certainly 
 have the appearance of devotion, and seem more in 
 earnest, much more so than in Trance, and more so than 
 in any country I have seen. 
 
 Lisbon, September 23n?, 1812. I was at the fair, in 
 the heat of the sun, all yesterday, and have bought two 
 small mules, one small horse, and have agreed for 
 another, a small pony, to carry me. The fair has 
 knocked me up as well as my man Henry. I have been 
 
 all this day with Captain C , almost my only friend 
 
 here, at market, bargaining for travelling necessaries. 
 
 Commissary P will lend me one public mule ; so now 
 
 I hope I am equipped as far as that goes. The General 
 offers to send me with the next treasure, which goes 
 nobody knows when ; but refuses me two soldiers to go 
 with me, though it is said that it is really dangerous to 
 go without them. 
 
 Lisbon, September 26th, 1812, Saturday. Though in 
 a constant fever from fleas and mosquitos, we should have 
 started yesterday with some treasure, but my servant 
 Henry could not stir, and my Portuguese servant took 
 himself off at eight in the morning. I have now got a 
 German deserter as servant instead of the Portuguese ; 
 and trust he will not carry on the old game, and desert 
 with my baggage. He is said to speak a little English 
 and Portuguese, and know the country well. 
 
 Sunday. For one day more I have postponed my 
 journey, intending to start with some treasure and two 
 officers on Tuesday. The Opera-house here is a dull, 
 heavy building, about the size of the Haymarket Opera- 
 
JOURNEY TO HEAD-QUARTERS. 
 
 house ; but the dancing more like Sadler's Wells than 
 the Opera in England : great activity and force in the 
 buffo style like comic masks this appears to be the 
 favourite style here. Macbeth was turned into a panto- 
 mine ; the death and dagger scene very fine, but the 
 whole effect marred by the mummery of fantastic dancing 
 and skipping witches. I have not had time to see any 
 thing except Lisbon, and the aqueduct : the latter work 
 certainly fine, but not of an attractive shape. Eound 
 arches would have had a better effect, and the piers want 
 evenness and regularity; nevertheless it is a work worthy 
 of the Eomans. I contrived to-day to go to Belem 
 church, a very fine specimen of arabesque, the best thing 
 I have seen here ; in style it is between the Saxon and 
 Antique, with a little Gothic intermixed, the ornaments 
 beautiful and in high preservation. 
 
 Abrantes, October 6th, 1812. A day's halt here en- 
 ables me to write to you. I left Lisbon on the 30th 
 September, by two o'clock, with my sick party, and 
 thence eight miles to Saccavem in about three hours. 
 The road to Saccavem and nearly to Villa Franca is fine ; 
 and, except that there are no trees besides olive-trees, 
 which appear like apple-trees at a distance, and no verdure, 
 the river and country are picturesque. 
 
 On the second night we reached Yilla Franca, sixteen 
 miles; the third night, Agembiga twelve; the fourth, 
 Saiitarem sixteen. The positions and accounts in our 
 gazettes made this route interesting, but the road itself 
 is dull and sandy. Suppose a few olive-trees and firs on 
 Bagshot Heath, and you have the scene. Saccavem and 
 Santarem are both fine positions for appearance, and the 
 latter for defence. All the towns are half in ruins, as 
 well as almost all the single houses on the road to this 
 place. On the fifth day we reached Galegao, sixteen 
 miles ; on the sixth, Punhete, twelve miles ; on the 
 seventh, Abrantes, eight miles. I am now eighty-eight 
 
10 GENERAL FEATURES 
 
 miles from Lisbon. From Galegao to Abrantes the road 
 runs near the river, the verdure increases, there are a few 
 chestnut, oranges, and larger firs, and in the spring the 
 scenery must be very picturesque. Abrantes, on a com- 
 manding eminence, is in a very fine situation, and looks 
 over much fine country. Finding my sick men unequal 
 to the fatigue, I applied to the officer of the treasure, and 
 got a soldier, a fine active Tyrolese, who does more work 
 in an hour than my poor creatures in a day. He cleans 
 down the animals, waters them, loads, &c., and as I carry 
 his baggage for him, and give him rather better fare, he 
 seems to be very well pleased with the post. He leads a 
 mule on the road, walking at his ease : by this means I 
 now get off about six o'clock every morning. 
 
 The treasure-party, finding the heat made the men ill, 
 now start at five o'clock ; still I am much better than I 
 was when I started, and when on the march I go quicker 
 than the treasure, as I have easy loads. Henry leads the 
 first mule on horseback, the soldier walking by the side 
 to keep everything right, whilst I bring up the rear 
 myself, always on the watch, and thus have but few 
 accidents. One of my mules is a nice fat round fellow, 
 who eats so much they cannot keep the baggage from 
 rolling off him without holding it on ; another mule had 
 a troublesome propensity of lying down with the baggage. 
 My Tyrolese only speaks Grerman, French, and a little 
 Portuguese. 
 
 So many of the men of another treasure-party were ill, 
 that they halted, and then went on with us; this 
 crowded the road and made it more uncomfortable. 
 Here at Abrantes we separate they go to General Hill. 
 On arriving at a place, the first thing is to hunt for the 
 Juge de Fores, to procure quarters, but if there is an 
 English commandant, he must first be beaten up for an 
 order, then the quarters are to be found ; sometimes those 
 allotted are full ; then another billet must be obtained : 
 
OF THE MARCH. 11 
 
 sometimes the stables are full of kicking mules, and 
 other stables must be found elsewhere. At length 
 we unload, all in one room with four walls, a table, and 
 a chair. Then at every third place we have to go to the 
 Commissary to draw rations, straw, and barley for 
 the animals to eat spirits, meat, and bread for ourselves, 
 and wood for firing. These must sometimes be fetched 
 from half a mile to a mile and a half off, and be procured 
 from roguish Portuguese under-commissaries. Some- 
 times great pieces of green wood are allotted to us, which 
 will not burn, and we have nothing to cut it with. 
 This, which we often leave as not worth carriage, costs 
 Government a large sum: a third of the quantity, if 
 good, would serve better. As the wood and straw 
 we cannot manage to take with us, we carry on barley, 
 and buy a little straw, or Sadran corn straw, which is the 
 best when fresh. At first the Portuguese were very civil 
 at quarters, but we are now too numerous, and many 
 behave ill from disgust and weariness. They are now 
 very backward to supply anything, even when they have 
 it, which often is not the case. They provide a room, a 
 lamp, water, a basin, a towel by night, a table, a chair, 
 and something to lie upon; some furnish very decent beds. 
 Two days ago the scene changed, and it has since 
 rained almost incessantly. We got wet yesterday, halted 
 to-day, and to morrow I probably shall start, to be 
 soaked to the very bones. My mode of living may 
 interest you. I rise, then, at half-past four, take some 
 bread, spirits and water, and a raw egg when I can 
 get one, or sometimes a few grapes. When we stop to 
 water, I eat some bread and cheese, a dear luxury on the 
 road, a very little country wine and water, and now and 
 then coffee or chocolate. In the evening, a stew (when 
 we can get it) comes as a treat, and then we lie down on 
 the floor at eight o'clock in hope of sleep a hope more 
 frequently fulfilled than it was at Lisbon. Stores are all 
 
J2 GENERAL FEATURES 
 
 now at double price, and will soon not be procurable at 
 any cost. 
 
 The Commissary says we shall have six hours' walk 
 in the rain instead of the sun now; and after two or 
 three days we shall find only deserted ruins where the 
 French came, and we after them, last year. I hope 
 this is exaggeration. Windows in this great town are 
 not to be seen even in Colonels' quarters, or in the best 
 shops. This is an active, busy place thoroughly 
 military. The vintage was going on as we proceeded on 
 the road, and we had abundance of grapes. The poor 
 soldiers, having three days' rations served out at 
 once, consume all the drink on the first day, sell the 
 meat to save carriage and the trouble of cooking it, 
 and live upon bread and grapes and water, till their next 
 supply conies to hand. At Santarem and here, hospitals 
 are established as well as at Lisbon ; many fine-looking 
 fellows, reduced to skeletons, are in them. I have a new 
 route to-morrow round about : first day, Garvao ; second, 
 Nisa ; third, Villa Yelha ; fourth, Cernados ; fifth, Cas- 
 tello Branco : sixteen miles, twenty miles, twelve miles, 
 eight, and eighty. 
 
 Sunday, Castello Branco, October \\tli, 1812. Here 
 am I thus far safe on my pilgrimage, and tolerably well 
 considering all things, for I seldom get above two or 
 three hours' sleep, and many nights none at all, from 
 noises, fleas, gnats, mosquitos, bad accommodation, and 
 anxiety. From Abrantes I got safely to Grarvao, which 
 is finely situated, and the walk to it wildly beautiful. 
 The next day I warned my people to rise by half-past 
 four ; we loaded in the dark, but started by daylight, 
 and got in before the treasure to Mga. A good mattress 
 and clean sheets, &c., on the floor, without fleas, are 
 genuine luxuries. For the first time in Portugal I got 
 six hours' sleep. In the same manner I started again 
 from Niga by five o'clock, and got through two treasure 
 

 OF THE MARCH. 13 
 
 days' journey in one to Cernados. Understanding that 
 at Villa Velha there were only desolate ruins, scarcely 
 supplying a dry cover, by starting again early yesterday 
 from Cernados (which consists only of one house, half of 
 it a ruin, with a nest of ruined cottages round it), I 
 reached this place by ten yesterday, and thus had all the 
 remainder of the day to rest, and this in addition (Sun- 
 day), for the treasure arrived only to-day. 
 
 I have thus avoided the common piggery of being all 
 in one house at Cernados, and a bad night at Villa Velha. 
 By calculating distances and time also, I have kept my 
 men and myself dry. As the rains generally come on 
 hitherto after twelve in the day, and in the night, we 
 have only been caught in two English showers. It 
 rained all the time we were at Abrantes, from twelve on 
 the day we arrived, entirely through the following day, 
 to about an hour before we started. All the rest of the 
 day was fine, rain again all the evening the same at 
 Niga, and the same here also. And such rain ! it would 
 saturate anything in ten minutes. As it is now cooler, I 
 walk half the way, which also saves my pony. I have 
 here assigned to me the quarters of the Grenerals who 
 pass through. These consist of the ruin of a fine house 
 for quarters, and a large room with four great windows 
 without glass, and four doors in it ; gold frames around 
 without their looking-glasses in them, fine chairs without 
 bottoms, &c., &c. The house belongs to the lllustrissimo 
 Signor Barao. I have a mattress on the floor with fleas 
 innumerable. I have my route, and here it is : first 
 day, Eschalas de Cimo ; second, San Miguel ; third, 
 Menoa; fourth, Sabugal; fifth, perhaps a halt; sixth, 
 Aldea da Ponte ; seventh, Sturno ; eighth, Ciudad Eod- 
 rigo. We are to carry provisions for four days with us, 
 then provide for three, and start to-morrow or next day 
 as the treasure mules are able ; then go on to Fuentes de 
 Castelegos, Forgadilla, Calcade de Don Diego, Salamanca. 
 
14 GENERAL FEATURES 
 
 Few of these places are in Faden's map. Nothing can 
 be had on the road, it is said, not even dry stahling or a 
 dry room; and much wet is expected. The place is 
 finely situated on the east side of a hill which is crowned 
 by an old Moorish castle and walls, and a modern monas- 
 tery in ruins ! It is one of the best towns we have seen, 
 and there are the ruins of some good houses ; provisions 
 and necessaries are to be bought here, but at a high price. 
 There is part of the fine episcopal palace (where a Portu- 
 guese General is quartered), with a garden in tolerable 
 order, a good church, and several picturesque-looking 
 ruined monasteries, with crosses at every step. I have 
 taken a few sketches where we stop on the road, though 
 too much occupied with business to think much of the 
 picturesque. Niga is also picturesque. 
 
 My adventures are all much alike. The only variety 
 is an arrival wet through to the skin. No one can say 
 where we shall go to at last. I suppose I must now pro- 
 ceed to Salamanca, and then something must be 4eter- 
 mined upon. Things do not go on well at Burgos, I 
 fear; there is much delay, more than was expected. 
 Lord Wellington is, it is said, not satisfied. At Cernados 
 a cobbler was the Juge de Fores, and gave us our billets. 
 On the walls was an excellent likeness in chalk of Lord 
 George Lennox, done by the shadow, I suppose from the 
 lamp which is allowed us. I hear of sickness every- 
 where ; much at head-quarters. The general orders have 
 many more on the list of absent from sickness, than on 
 that of arrivals at the army. Soult is very strong. 
 General Hill, I believe, is still at Toledo. 
 
 Near the mountains on the other side of the Tagus is 
 an old castle or two, and some pleasant glimpses of fine 
 valleys, and the deep banks of the river which is hidden 
 from the view. The sandy commons like Bagshot, 
 over which the road passes, are more bold, the hills 
 higher, and covered almost entirely with the gum cistus, 
 
OF TTTE MARCH. 
 
 15 
 
 which has a sweet scent, but, being out of bloom in that 
 state, is not so pleasing as our heaths with their various 
 colours. There is a little heath like the Devonshire 
 heath, and some parts of the road rather like Dartmoor. 
 Near Niga are seen the mountains about Elvas, and in 
 the line to Badajoz, and the Spanish mountains of Estra- 
 madura. The country proved to me the merit of some 
 of Bubens' Spanish views, which are, like his Flemish 
 pictures, most correct in the character of the scenery. 
 From Mga, after proceeding a league, you wind down a 
 wild Devonshire or Welsh sort of road ; first cross a small 
 river, then the Tagus again, almost down steps not so 
 bad as some wild parts of Ireland, to be sure, though very 
 bad for the loaded mules. Here is very little oak, under- 
 wood, some fir, but chiefly and perpetually the gum 
 cistus, which grows to about four feet high. Villa Velha 
 is a village in ruins, finely situated on the side of a hill 
 looking over the river. It is now nearly deserted. 
 The soldiers with baggage pitched a tent below the office 
 in the cellar. From the hills above the river, before we 
 crossed the Tagus, we saw Castello Branco standing high 
 on the hill, and the Moorish ruins. Cernados is like a 
 Welsh village of the worst sort : rocks for streets, ruined 
 stone houses inhabited in part, and used for quarters. 
 Their few architectural large buildings alone constitute 
 the difference between these and the worst Welsh or Irish 
 villages. From Cernados to this place we again crossed 
 a country like a large Bagshot Heath, but by a very 
 tolerable good road ; adieu. 
 
 P.S. The Captain has just sent me word we must 
 start to-morrow instead of the day after ; he says that 
 the treasure is not safe without the Serjeants. Our de- 
 tachments are all foreigners ; many are drunk, and have 
 quarrelled with the inhabitants ! 
 
 Salamanca, October, 1812. The first day after leaving 
 Castello Branco, we reached Eschalo de Cimo, a pretty, 
 
16 GENERAL FEATURES 
 
 and once a thriving village, with a good church, not so 
 much destroyed as damaged ; one handsome large house 
 in the vicinity belonging to the Squiress, Donna Joanna, 
 the best rooms in which were gutted and used as quarters, 
 the rest inhabited by two or three families of the better 
 kind, with some smart misses among them. The other 
 houses mostly in ruins, but still some of them occupied. 
 In this place bread was not to be bought, nor even an 
 onion ! but we fared well, in good rooms, with good fires. 
 On our road thither we kept Castello Branco in sight 
 nearly all the way ; we also saw the distant mountains 
 in Spain and Portugal. The road was over a sort of 
 Dartmoor, stones, rock, sand, with fern oak a foot high, 
 and abundance of apples. The second day we reached 
 San Miguel de Cima. The same sort of village as Eschalo 
 de Cimo, one good house for quarters, the rest small, and 
 generally, like the church, in ruins ; but the inhabitants 
 were fast returning to it. Here we obtained bread, 
 onions, and some hay. The appearance on entering the 
 village, with the trees about it, very pleasant. The 
 third day's route was to Memoa, five long leagues. At 
 first a good road and picturesque country, with a very 
 fine view of Monsanto, with its town and castle on the 
 right, and of the other hills grouped with it in the 
 distance. Pennamacor, which is almost destroyed, we 
 left on our right, about a mile, with its castle, standing 
 boldly on the side of a hill, with rock and wood around 
 it, and a rich-looking valley below. This is a fine situa- 
 tion, backed, as we left it, by Monsanto. We also passed 
 Pedrigoa, a large village, nearly destroyed and deserted, 
 and at last, after passing over a hill by a horrible road, 
 through an oak copse, where we had nearly lost our way, 
 we arrived at the heap of ruins called Memoa. This was 
 the worst place we had stopped at all the way. There 
 was only one .room in the town, that only water-tight, 
 and there were no stables. I took the driest corner 
 
OF THE MARCH. 17 
 
 in a large common room, because there was a stable 
 under it. 
 
 I could see and hear everything in the stables, for the 
 floor was still less tight than the roof. The leg of a 
 chair or a table, in spite of all possible care, went two or 
 three times through it. I got a little hay, and slept 
 behind a great chest, in my blanket. Three of the natives 
 were in the room at night. The fourth day we had three 
 leagues of fine road, though bad travelling, through a 
 hilly wood of arbutuses in bearing, and Portugal laurels 
 in flower, heath in bloom, a plant like the lignum vitaa, 
 and broom. This day's route brought us to Sabugal, 
 where there is generally a halt, but this our captain de- 
 clined. Sabugal stands on a hill, very finely situated, 
 but commanded by other hills ; the way is over a bridge 
 and river, and with a winding road up to it. The situa- 
 tion is not unlike that of Ludlow ; the town very inferior 
 in size and beauty, but picturesque. The castle itself ? 
 with its square Moorish towers, more so than Ludlow. 
 The town is all in ruins ; not even a weather-tight room 
 in it. I got a large sort of barn, open in the roof in 
 several places, with no doors, and two large windows, 
 without even shutters, and four others half closed. On 
 our road thither from Memoa we found half the body of 
 a man, nearly a skeleton, but with flesh and nails on the 
 toes. It was lying on the road, as if to scare travellers. 
 
 The market-place at Sabugal is, I think, very pretty, 
 and everything in it very cheap : this, indeed, was the 
 cheapest place through which we had passed. The fifth 
 day we reached Aldea da Ponte, the last Portuguese 
 village. The road was interesting, as we passed near 
 Fuente Guinaldos, so long head-quarters, and Alfayetes, 
 also head-quarters. We passed just under Alfayetes, and 
 saw Lord Wellington's house on the side of the hill, with 
 the old castle. This place is now in ruins, like the rest. 
 We then passed over the plain where our cavalry dis- 
 
18 CIUDAD RODRIGO. 
 
 tinguished themselves in a sharp affair with the French. 
 Aldea da Ponte is much cleaner than the other villages. 
 
 Here we saw more pots, pans, basins, &c., than usual ; 
 these the people desired us to make use of instead of 
 hiding them from us, as was generally done in Portugal. 
 On the sixth day, we came, after a short league, to a small 
 village on the side of a hill, the first in Spain, then on to 
 two or three more, and in less than six leagues we reached 
 Ciudad Eodrigo. This town stands on a rise, in an un- 
 dulating sort of rough Salisbury Plain. It is two-thirds 
 in ruins, but the public buildings appear to have suffered 
 comparatively little, and might, most of them, be restored. 
 The entrance to the town is striking. We got an in- 
 different quarter in the suburbs, immediately opposite the 
 place where the light battalions entered. The main 
 breach was round the corner of our abode. The Spaniards 
 had nearly restored these two breaches, but from ill luck 
 or neglect both had entirely given way, and there must 
 still be some months' work before they can undo and 
 clear enough away to begin to rebuild again. Everything 
 was scarce in the town, and the people imposing and 
 uncivil. On the seventh day we proceeded to Brondillo, 
 where we were obliged to stop, as there were only two 
 houses in Castel Legos, to which the route sent us. This 
 was by far our worst day's journey ; the distance was 
 seven leagues, that is, twenty-eight miles. It took us to 
 accomplish this from six in the morning to past three, 
 of which time it rained eight hours and a half, nearly 
 all that time like a bad English thunder-shower of ten 
 minutes' duration. No coats could keep out the wet, 
 and it was accompanied by a strong, cold November wind, 
 for the weather for the last week has been as cold as an 
 English November. We all suffered, and I have been 
 chilly and aguish ever since. We then, for the first time, 
 entered a Spanish cabin ; and oh ! how superior to those 
 of Portugal ! of Ireland ! of Scotland ! and if I did not 
 
APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 19 
 
 consider these cottages as farms and not as cottages, I 
 should say of England too ! All neat and clean ; with 
 pots, dishes, boilers in abundance. 
 
 The people are proud, but if treated with civility, 
 courteous and kind, though they are turned away from 
 their own firesides by us and the Portuguese three or 
 four nights in the seven. They made us a great fire, and 
 did all they could for us. The women seem chatty and 
 merry the men, the handsomest and best-grown, with 
 the finest countenances I ever saw, except perhaps in 
 Switzerland. "We met with the same sort of treatment 
 and kindness at the next village. The house belonged to 
 the priest, with whom, through the medium of some 
 mongrel Latin and Spanish, I managed to converse a 
 little. These quarters are some of the best I have had 
 since leaving Lisbon ; at Togadillo, where the route sent 
 us, there was only one good house. 
 
 At Eobedila, a place out of the road, where we got by 
 accident, finding we had passed Togadillo without knowing 
 it, all was comfort again. This place the French occu- 
 pied for some time with ten thousand men. We arrived 
 yesterday at Salamanca. After the first five leagues from 
 Ciudad Eodrigo, which were as rough as Dartmoor, we 
 have passed through a country like the neighbourhood of 
 Salisbury Plain, only that the villages were much more 
 numerous, though several only of three or four houses, 
 now nearly all repaired. Not a single large, or, I believe, 
 two-storied house, from Ciudad Eodrigo to this place. 
 Much of the country now quite a fine green, but a very 
 large part in cultivation. The land looked good ; about 
 midway it consisted of, for five or six leagues, clay, and 
 knee-deep : in some places a light soil, or reddish sand ; 
 with water up to the mules' bellies, from the heavy rain, 
 though it had ceased twenty-four hours. The people 
 have plenty of bread and straw, but there are no shops in 
 the villages. They only sell to oblige each his own lodger 
 
 c 2 
 
20 SALAMANCA. 
 
 for the night. Bread was threepence a pound it had 
 been fourpence. All along this country, from St. Martin 
 de Eio hither, are abundance of acorns, almost as good as 
 chestnuts ; quite sweet. The muleteers and men halt to 
 eat them. This also gives good fires every where. Horses 
 and bones are strewed more or less along the whole way 
 from Lisbon. In one place, about seven leagues from 
 Salamanca, were thirteen heads arranged in a row, as 
 stepping-blocks for passengers through the water. I 
 believe there was a little cavalry brush there. Salamanca 
 stands well, but in a sort of Salisbury Plain. The col- 
 leges are destroyed, but the church is most beautiful, and 
 the entrances much finer than those of our cathedrals 
 the figures and heads very fine indeed. 
 
 The altered Eoman bridge is striking. The town is 
 so full, principally of sick, that I have got bad quarters, 
 half a mile out of the town ; my direction I'Ultima Casa. 
 Later, same day. I have been again looking at the 
 town. The great church is very fine, and not damaged, 
 but there are many miserable ruins of noble colleges, 
 some gutted, some nearly razed. The public library has 
 a fair supply of books, but too exclusively of sacred, 
 or rather ecclesiastical literature; there are, however, 
 good classics, French, and modern learned works, mathe- 
 matics, and others : it is about two-thirds ^of the size 
 of Trinity College, Cambridge. I hope to proceed the 
 day after to-morrow, to Yalladolid, which it is proposed 
 to reach in seven days. There are good shops here, and 
 articles not dear. It is curious to see the same effect 
 of ages and of tastes as in England. Below and behind 
 the great altar of the church was some old English, or, 
 as we should say, Saxon architecture, that is, a rude imi- 
 tation of Greek. Then came a florid sample of Gothic, 
 not in the best taste, but beautifully ornamented, with 
 screens, &c., in the style of King Charles and King Wil- 
 liam ; forced Grecian again, of two centuries back. 
 
ARRIVAL AT HEAD-QUARTERS. 21 
 
 CHAPTEE H. 
 
 Arrival at Head-quarters Ciudad Rodrigo The Retreat Its Disasters 
 Capture of General Paget Personal Anecdotes Scarcity of Provisions 
 Courts-martial in the Army Business of a Judge-Advocate Wel- 
 lington. 
 
 Head-quarters, Rueda, Nov. 5, 1812. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 AT last I have arrived safely at head-quarters, as 
 they have been kind enough to come half-way to meet 
 me. From Salamanca, we proceeded on the first day 
 to Alba de Tormes, a town in a fine situation on the 
 Tormes, with the remains of a castle of various dates, 
 extensive and picturesque ; part of it, particularly the 
 entrance staircase, very richly ornamented. The whole 
 was striking, and the vicinity of the town was inter- 
 esting, for here it was that the French so completely 
 beat the unhappy Spaniards, and put them to death by 
 thousands, almost in cold blood. We saw where Ge- 
 neral del Parques' cavalry were posted, and the positions 
 of the French. On our road near Salamanca we also 
 observed at a distance, on the other side of the river, 
 the hills where the battle of Salamanca was fought ; and 
 our route lay in that of the pursuit through Alba, then 
 on to Peneranda, another good old town, and so, through 
 villages, to Arevalo, where we arrived in four days, 
 tracing men's bones and bits of soldiers' dress, as well as 
 horse bones and carcasses, on the route thither. 
 
 This country resembles Salisbury Plain, in open cul- 
 tivation of corn, and is covered very thick with neat 
 
22 DIFFICULTY OF GETTING QUARTERS, 
 
 villages, with a general appearance of comfort. Arevalo 
 is a large place in ruins. There are many remains of 
 fine richly -wooded brickwork, convents, churches, many 
 good houses, and the town standing very finely on a hill, 
 nearly surrounded by the river, which runs in a deep 
 hollow round it, with four or five substantial and rather 
 picturesque bridges. Our route was by Yalladolid, 
 where we should have been in three days, and which I 
 regret much not to have seen, for I hear it is second only 
 to Madrid, and very little damaged. Had I proceeded 
 on the route I should have reached Valladolid the day 
 before the French entered it. Hearing that the army 
 was rapidly retiring, the road became unsafe. No one 
 knew where head-quarters were to be ; the treasure, and 
 my mules with it, were consequently halted, and instruc- 
 tions were written for. For four days we remained at 
 Arevalo. The treasure party were then ordered to 
 Olmedo to deliver their cargo, and head-quarters were 
 here at Eueda. I proceeded with them to Olmedo, 
 rather a handsome and a large town, where I was housed 
 in the good quarters which had been occupied by the 
 Prince of Orange. "When I arrived here, my beasts 
 were kept standing loaded in the streets, and all of us 
 without anything to eat until past six, before I could 
 get a quarter. The people were civil, but I had to go 
 to the Quarter-Master-general, Adjutant-general, to the 
 billet-manager, to the Military Secretary, &c. One said, 
 " go here ;" another, " go there ;" a third sent a Serjeant 
 to inquire, and then thought no more about it. 
 
 At last I procured an indifferent quarter vacated by a 
 Commissary, only a shed, and holes through the floor 
 into the cellar below. My animals, therefore, stood all 
 night in the entrance of the passage. 
 
 This morning, 5th, I heard of a Spanish aide-de-camp 
 of Castanos', who is here, and who had three small 
 stables close to me. I found him in bed at nine o'clock, 
 
CHARACTER OF THE SPANIARDS. 23 
 
 but he could speak French, and I persuaded him to 
 give me one of the stables for my four animals. Thus 
 we are better off to-day, and, as a favour, I have got 
 them something to eat. I was introduced to Lord 
 Wellington this morning, and delivered my letters. He 
 was very courteous. We conversed for half an hour, 
 and I am to dine with him at six to-day, in full uniform. 
 He is to send me fifty cases against officers, to examine, 
 in order to ascertain whether any can be made out on 
 evidence, which is the great difficulty. There is a 
 caricature here of Johnny Newcome, who makes it out 
 till sent to the rear rolled up in a blanket in an ox-car, 
 creeping on at the rate of two miles an hour to Lisbon. 
 We are in hourly expectation of moving. The bridges 
 are repaired, and the French within three leagues, and 
 able to cross if they choose. General Hill is expected 
 here to-day. His forces are at Arevalo. Soult is in 
 Madrid ; whether they push on further is to be seen. 
 
 Few reinforcements have arrived; eighteen thousand 
 Spaniards (such as they are) are with us. The lower 
 classes of the people are a very fine race in person, 
 talents, and feelings, and vastly superior to the Portu- 
 guese. It is very provoking that rank and prejudice 
 render this of no avail. The inhabitants of the town 
 seem half French. About six hundred French crossed 
 over to us last night, but retired again. The cavalry 
 were off in the middle of the night from head-quarters. 
 I was alarmed for a moment, but all seems quiet this 
 morning. The last five days have been very fine ; cold 
 dewy mornings, but clear sunny days, damp cold even- 
 ings, but for the time of the year here very fine. There 
 are very queer-looking military figures here, some 
 English, a few Portuguese, many more Spanish. The 
 whole scene presents an odd medley. 
 
 Ciudad Rodrigo, November 19, 1812. To continue 
 my diary from Eueda. Two days afterwards, the 7th, 
 
24 ARRIVAL AT SALAMANCA. 
 
 an order to march at four in the morning came, as soon 
 as Hill's army was within reach. I then first saw what it 
 was to put seventy thousand men in motion, about ten 
 thousand public, and a greater number of private mules, 
 horses, &c. At five we started, and about two that day 
 I reached head-quarters. Torricello by four o'clock. 
 At five next morning started again for Petueja. Here 
 the head-quarters had only thirty houses for one hun- 
 dred and fifty officers. Lord Wellington and the Prince 
 of Orange had only one room each. I was ordered a 
 league in advance, where I found Castanos, who had 
 come in for better quarters. He sent me on another 
 half-league, but when a mile on the road he passed me, 
 as he had heard that the next was the best quarter. So 
 I returned, and at three o'clock got a little hole and a 
 stable. About five came in about three thousand 
 Spanish troops. Half my house was down in a moment 
 for firing, and nearly all the owner's property, pans, 
 dishes, straw, &c., stolen. I secured mine, which was 
 attacked, by swallowing a mouthful and packing up and 
 keeping guard. The remainder of the house was also 
 saved ; and, by the help of a Spanish officer, who took a 
 fancy to the kitchen fire, the house was cleared with fist 
 and foot. My animals were not safe, as my man heard 
 one soldier say he would have one before morning. I 
 saved them by putting them in a row in the passage 
 close to me, where they stood for the night. Tires all 
 round us; noises of all kinds; people breaking in. 
 There were only about six civilians, English, in the 
 village. At five next day off again, and at daylight 
 joined the general train on the road to Salamanca. It 
 was easily found, for it extended five or six miles. 
 
 The day before we again started three cases were laid 
 before me on which to draw charges. Upon these I was 
 to report to Lord "Wellington next day. I drew them 
 up, but he was too busy to receive them. When I went 
 
INCLEMENT WEATHER. 25 
 
 home and sent for a paper, the answer was, " All packed 
 up;" and it seemed that I ought to be so too, as our 
 position was turned, and we were all ordered to be loaded 
 and ready to start. After much hurry, I was ready soon 
 after twelve. My beasts stood loaded at the door till 
 seven in the evening ; then came orders to unload, but 
 to be loaded by four next morning, and to start for a hill 
 a league off, and there wait for orders. There was only 
 one long bridge to pass the whole army, and it was near 
 seven before we were all over. 
 
 It rained hard. We stood on the hill loaded and wait- 
 ing for orders till one o'clock. Nearly the whole of our 
 army was in sight round us, cooking their dinners in 
 the rain, in their new position. The French were all 
 around, about a league off, their fires visible in the woods, 
 and the heads of their columns visible with a glass. 
 They would not attack us, as they might, but ma- 
 noeuvred to turn our right wing. Had there been a 
 battle we should have had a fine view of the beginning 
 at least. At one o'clock we saw our whole army break up 
 and put itself in motion ; and orders came to us to march 
 and keep with the second column. This we did, march- 
 ing in the rain, in a fine confusion, till five o'clock, when 
 Lord Wellington halted at a miserable place for head- 
 quarters, and the men bivouacked on the swampy ground. 
 I was ordered on a league further. Darkness soon came 
 on, and the rain descended in torrents. Misdirected by 
 some Spanish muleteers, I lost my way, and did not 
 reach any village for three leagues, and not till nine at 
 night, wet and starved, as the Salamanca people, in our 
 confusion, stole my bread, &c. 
 
 I was the only English officer there, and got the best 
 quarter at the parish priest's, the best house there. 
 Here I procured a loaf of bread, fire, and a bed, which 
 were no small comforts. I got, however, but little sleep, 
 not knowing how to proceed next day, and being aware 
 
26 RETREAT OF THE ARMY. 
 
 that the French were close at hand. By my map I 
 found that I was in the nearest road to Ciudad Eodrigo, 
 and, taking a retreat to be the object, I determined to 
 wait till eight or nine o'clock next day, and observe 
 whether any one passed. By that time half the army 
 was on the road through the village, and Sir Edward 
 Paget took my quarter for the last night's rest he had 
 before he was taken prisoner. I then had a short march 
 in the rain again this day to Aldea Quella and to Boleado. 
 In two hours' time I got a quarter through Colonel 
 Campbell's influence ; and because the stables would not 
 hold a large horse, all the mules, half the servants, all 
 the soldiers, and most of the officers, were out in the wet. 
 Three Spanish officers burst into my quarters at night, 
 and the people were hammering at the door every mo- 
 ment for straw, shelter, &c., sick and all sorts. In spite 
 of my vigilance, either the Spanish officers or the people 
 of the house stole my pistols out of my room, and finished 
 by purloining the bread and rum of my men. Honesty 
 is not a Spanish virtue. We all of us lose things daily. 
 At two next day we loaded, and at three started for this 
 place, twenty miles, four hours before daylight. Luckily 
 we had some moon. I stuck to Lord Wellington's car- 
 riage and baggage, thinking the people in charge of them 
 would be best informed, though my own inquiries elicited 
 other intelligence than theirs. 
 
 I was told the rivers that way were not passable, and 
 we found the whole road almost under water for miles, 
 ankle, and even knee deep, and three rivers to pass. 
 Many mules were upset or stuck fast, and much baggage 
 damaged or lost. I had only one load overset, and that 
 at the edge, and we saved all, and not much damage 
 done. By daylight there was a general halt; no one 
 knew the ford or the road. At last we passed the river 
 a mile above ; but then, finding the French had been in 
 the village three miles off the last night, we all turned 
 
WINTER QUARTERS. 27 
 
 off by a by-road six miles round, and at last arrived here 
 at Ciudad Eodrigo, miserably cold, with animals knocked 
 up, sore backs, &c., about two o'clock. In the confusion 
 . here, at last I got a bad quarter in the same house with 
 Colonel Gordon, Lord Wellington's aide-de-camp. But 
 I have a place for my animals, and hundreds have no 
 room for animals, or even for themselves. We halt to- 
 day, whether for a longer time I know not. The army 
 is mostly passing the river to-day. We lost many men 
 in the retreat, but a very little money is missing. The 
 sick are numerous. Two officers have died of fatigue on 
 the road, in which dead mules are to be met with in 
 plenty, and some men. To-day we are relating our ad- 
 ventures. We get but little barley for our horses, no 
 hay or straw. The cavalry have been without it for 
 some days ; but this is considered a very orderly retreat. 
 Sir Edward Paget accidentally fell into the enemy's 
 hands near his own division, within six hundred yards of 
 it, between that and another. The French are said to 
 have ninety thousand men, with nine thousand cavalry. 
 They pressed hard until yesterday ; they then relaxed 
 when they might have done us most mischief. The 
 roads and weather, I suppose, and the want of food and 
 forage, impeded them. I hope they will now leave us 
 quiet. I am very sorry for Sir Edward Paget on the 
 public account and on my own, as I found him most 
 friendly, civil, and good-natured. This capture is also a 
 triumph to the French. 
 
 Malliarda de Sorda, November 26#A, 1812. We are 
 now in our winter quarters, and fill all the villages and 
 places for twenty miles round on the Portugal side of 
 Ciudad Eodrigo, the works of which are still quite out of 
 repair where our trenches were made, as the Spanish new 
 work has all fallen in. Wellington's head-quarters are 
 at Frenada, an old station ; the doctors are all at Castello 
 Bom ; and the other civil departments, in which I am 
 
28 EXPENSIVE LIVING 
 
 included, all at this place, Milliarda de Sorda. We are 
 distant four miles of most infamous rocky road from 
 Frenada, and eight from Castello Bom. This I fear 
 must shut me off from nearly all society, as it would be 
 paying most dear for a dinner at Frenada or Castello 
 Bom, to return in the dark, along roads compared with 
 which those of Ireland or Cornwall are bowling-greens. 
 We are in three wretched villages, in a country like Dart- 
 moor, but more wood near, all rocks around, and stone- 
 wall enclosures, and rocky roads ; then woods, with open 
 wastes for twenty miles round. I have a room opening 
 to the street, without ceiling, only open loose pantiles, 
 with holes to let out the smoke of a fireplace without a 
 chimney ; a window tinned up by last year's occupier, 
 except four small panes, two of which are broken ; there 
 is a hole in the floor to look through at my five animals 
 and three servants, who all sleep on the straw below me. 
 
 The weather for the last three days has been a com- 
 plete English December, cutting easterly winds ; and on 
 the 23rd I will vouch for ice three-quarters of an inch 
 thick. All the Sierras are white with snow. I found 
 Lord Wellington's secretaries sitting with candles at 
 twelve o'clock in the day, in order to stop their holes and 
 windows with curtains, and burning charcoal fires. We 
 have had every variety of weather here in six weeks : I 
 never remember it colder in England for the time of the 
 year. Here are no books, no women but ladies of a cer- 
 tain description ; and as to living, you would be surprised 
 what good living is here, except at Lord Wellington's 
 table, and about two more, and even at those no port 
 wine, only thin claret, and the country wines and brandy. 
 
 At Ciudad Eodrigo there was starvation : no corn, no 
 hay, no straw, no bread, no rum, for three days, only 
 beef and biscuit ; at last we got some mouldy biscuit for 
 the animals, which I mixed with carrot, cabbage, and 
 potatoes; everything was devoured. Tea, 225. and 25s. 
 
DISASTERS FROM THE RETREAT. 29 
 
 a pound ; butter, 4s. ; bread, Is. 6d. a pound, above 6s. 
 the loaf; no wine or brandy ; gin, 12s. the bottle ; straw, 
 a dollar for a small bundle, and all sold in a scramble. 
 The truth was, the troops, poor fellows ! came through 
 the town quite starving ; during the retreat supplies had 
 been mismanaged regiments were three and four days 
 without rations, and numbers died of absolute starvation, 
 besides the sick. Lord Wellington is, I hear, very angry. 
 Till I saw B 's mess, &c., I had no notion of the loss 
 in this retreat, and the great suffering of the men and 
 horses. From what I hear, not merely were about one 
 thousand made prisoners, but five or six thousand put 
 for some time hors de combat, by sickness, starvation, and 
 want of horses, &c. The cavalry were too weak to act, 
 mainly from want of food. A great many animals were 
 killed. A treasure-party had a narrow escape: the 
 French were in sight while they were loading, and much 
 baggage was lost. Lord Dalhousie lost almost all ; five 
 horses and thirteen loaded mules, with his name at full 
 length upon his baggage another French triumph ! 
 Colonel Delancy lost three horses, taken at Salamanca ; 
 and the men suffered shockingly from the wet. The 
 whole was so unlucky ; as had the three days' rain begun 
 at Salamanca, in all probability the French would not 
 have crossed the Tonnes and turned our position, and we 
 might still have been there; and had they come three 
 days later, we should have saved our three or four thou- 
 sand sick. "We should, moreover, have had good roads 
 and dry nights, no floods and torrents to wade through 
 by day, nor swamps to sleep on by night ; in fact, we 
 should only have lost drunken stragglers. The distress 
 at Madrid, after all the joy and gaiety, was dreadful. 
 When we left the town sixty thousand poor were con- 
 tending for the remains of our stores the worst objects 
 had the preference given them. King Joseph's Palace 
 was left by him entirely furnished ; and as Lord Welling- 
 
30 ADVENTURE AT FRENADA. 
 
 ton made a point that he should find it again the same, 
 nothing was touched by our army. 
 
 The 26th. To-day is a cheerful, frosty, Christmas-day, 
 and within an English farmhouse the whole would do 
 very well : but I go, like others, to bed at seven o'clock, 
 to keep myself warm. General Castanos and his troops 
 are gone back to Gallicia, which is one grievance removed 
 at least. Ballasteros is in disgrace at Ceuta, for dis- 
 obedience. I fear, upon the whole, the Spanish cause 
 has suffered much by our advance to Madrid and Burgos. 
 The people find we cannot support them, and will be 
 very shy in future ; and the misery of the peasantry and 
 townspeople all the time is extreme. There are few 
 deceptions in England like that about the life in Spain. 
 
 Frenada, Head- Quarters, December 8th, 1812. I will 
 now tell you one day's adventure and how I came here. 
 Two days after writing from Malliarda de Sorda, where I 
 was lonely and heard nothing, I determined to walk over 
 to see how things went on here, and put my papers into 
 my pocket in case I should .be able to see Lord Wel- 
 lington. On my arrival I met the Quarter-Master who 
 managed quarters : he told me he had kept a miserable 
 hole for me, if I chose to move ; it was much worse than 
 even my old one, but I instantly said " YES." The next 
 person I met was Lord Wellington, and I asked him 
 when he wished to see me, and whether he had any 
 objection to my moving here ? He said I might take 'my 
 choice and take the best of the bad. He then asked 
 whether I had my papers about me? I said, "All." 
 " Come up," said he then ; and in ten minutes he looked 
 over my papers, which consisted of four sets of charges 
 against officers. These were all settled with a few 
 judicious alterations, in which I entirely agreed. I then 
 came out and wrote them fair in the Adjutant-general's 
 office, and two were sent off to Lisbon that day. 
 
 On my way home I found a Portuguese half drunk, 
 
PORTUGUESE BRUTALITY. 3L 
 
 killing his wife. He had bruised her, and laid her head 
 open with a large stone ; this occurred on the open road. 
 As I was not in fall strength from the effects of a recent 
 accident, I could only gently interfere, and the brute 
 persisted in his cruelty. A servant then came by on 
 horseback who struck him with a good stout stick ; but 
 the fellow turned on him, and hit him with a great stone 
 on the head. Thereupon two dragoons, who saw the 
 whole affair, came up, and were going to cut the Portu- 
 guese down, when I begged them only to use the backs 
 of their sabres, which they did sharply, and brought him 
 into the village. 
 
 I have dined again with Lord Wellington, and at 
 Castello Bom with Dr. Macgregor, whence I walked 
 home with Colonel Colin Campbell at ten at night with 
 a lantern, over rocks and streams. I have also seen 
 Lord Wellington again, twice, about charges ; but I 
 understand I am not to go over to some Courts-martial 
 which he has just fixed to take place in ten days, at two 
 divisions, about forty miles from hence, but to stay here. 
 He is shortly, as general report says, going to Cadiz or 
 somewhere. At Lord Wellington's we had a curious 
 conversation, about himself, Canning and his speeches, 
 and Vetus's letters in the Times.* He joined in and 
 indeed led the conversation, as if talking of persons and 
 things he was not connected with, but seemed not satis- 
 fied with the Ministry, though he did not favour the 
 opposition. He said he took in the Courier to know 
 what government meant to do, &c., and as a decent paper 
 to show General Castanos. 
 
 It has not lately been very cold ; indeed, we had four 
 or five charming days, but the rain has now begun again ; 
 but want of all books and society is the worst. The 
 little conversation here beyond the topics of the day is of 
 
 * It was generally supposed that these celebrated letters, often compared 
 to those of Junius, were written by Lord Wellesley. 
 
32 COURTS-MARTIAL, 
 
 a review a year old, or a pamphlet. The dress here is a 
 cap made of velvet, cloth, and fur, with a peak over the 
 eyes (that is a foraging cap) ; the handsomest are all of 
 fur, dark or grey for, the former the best, with a broad 
 gold band and tassel on the top. With this is worn a 
 dress great coat, or plain, with military buttons, grey 
 pantaloons ; this is the costume for dinners. Morning 
 dress overalls, boots, and white or more generally fancy 
 waistcoats ; in winter blue and black velvet, or cloth, 
 with fancy buttons of gold, and narrow stripes of gold as 
 an edging. There are four suttlers here, who sell every- 
 thing, and we are, all things considered, well supplied. 
 We have one little Exeter-Change shop, but all very dear ; 
 pepper and mustard dear, a small sauce bottle 7s., tea 
 three dollars a pound, cheese 4s. a pound, porter 5s. a 
 bottle, gin and brandy 7s. Qd. } port wine 6s. 6d. } milk Is. 
 a quart, salt-butter 3s. a pound, sugar Is. 8d. 9 pork (no 
 other meat) Is. Sd. a pound, oil 5s. a quart. These are 
 the prices here at head-quarters. Kemember that dis- 
 tinction ; not the national prices. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, December 31s, 1812. For 
 the last month I have really been too busy to write. Dur- 
 ing the last week, before Lord Wellington went away, he 
 kept me hard at work, and left directions to endeavour 
 to get rid of all the cases pending for Courts-martial. 
 About thirty-two cases were made over to me, some of 
 nearly two years' standing. We have now a Court 
 sitting at Lisbon, one in the second division at Coria, 
 one in the seventh at Grovea, and another here which I 
 attend myself four miles off at Fuentes d'Onore. I have 
 sent six to Lisbon, five to the seventh division, five to 
 the second, and intended taking seven myself to Fuentes 
 d'Onore; the rest have in some way been arranged. 
 Hitherto we have made little progress from the sickness, 
 which keeps back witnesses. I have only myself tried 
 one, and hope to finish to-morrow. One charge is of 
 
MAD COMMISSARY. 33 
 
 that of a mad Commissary, whose trial was put off last 
 week, on account of his being raving. He wrote to the 
 Adjutant-general a mad letter, amongst other things 
 telling him that he had ten thousand men, that he 
 might drive all head-quarters to " Nebuchadnezzar's 
 fiery furnace, where," he added, " Lord Wellington and 
 you may sit at the head of the table." I served him 
 myself with his notice of trial ; he appeared very wild, 
 and I have great doubts how he will behave. 
 
 I have had long instructions to write to the three 
 other Judge-Advocates and summonses for witnesses 
 to send to every regiment and to the Commandants 
 about here, and that over and over again. As fast as 
 one prisoner or witness got well, another became sick, 
 and half the cases are now pending in this way. Then 
 comes a long case to abstract for Lord Wellington; 
 then an opinion for the Adjutant-general by return of 
 post. For these three weeks I have been writing nearly 
 seven hours a day, circulating copies of the charges to 
 prisoners, to the Courts, and to the prosecutors, and 
 much of my labour is thrown away by the sickness of 
 the prisoners and witnesses. I have nine here in the 
 Provost's hands for trial, and five are in the hospital 
 one just dead. There is one comfort, the reflection that 
 such a press of business is never likely to recur. The 
 Gazette and newspapers you sent me afforded me con- 
 siderable amusement and comfort. Since Lord Wel- 
 lington has been absent, Colonel Colin Campbell remains 
 to do the honours and invite at the great house. I 
 spent Christmas-day there, and have dined several times. 
 Besides a good dinner and the best society, I there hear 
 the latest news and get honour. The party is now very 
 small. 
 
 After ten days of horrible damp, cold, rainy weather, 
 we have now a thoroughly good genuine English frost, 
 with an east wind, quite like an old friend in England ; 
 
 D 
 
34 NUMBER OF SICK. 
 
 but the sun has some power, so that it is like our frosts 
 in February rather than Christmas. "We see here very 
 few of the officers. Just before Lord Wellington went 
 he was angry at all the applications for leave of absence, 
 observing, " A pretty army I have here ! They all want 
 to go home : but no more shall go except the sick." As 
 the sick are now fast recovering, I may mention what I 
 did not like to do a month ago, that the returns of the 
 sick were then between nineteen and twenty thousand ! 
 You would have no idea of this. I have dined here 
 with Major and Mrs. Scobell, the only lady here. I 
 have also dined with Lord Aylmer, the acting Adjutant- 
 general here, who is very civil. The Commissary, Mr. 
 
 H , keeps a good table, and often asks me. Dr. 
 
 H is our doctor now at head-quarters a sensible 
 
 man. Lord March has lent me two volumes of Gold- 
 smith's works. 
 
 Castanos' army went back in an orderly manner. 
 Our Commissary reports well of them, and of the 
 country, where, he says (that is, in the Tras os Montes), 
 there is an abundance of bread, poultry, turkeys, &c., 
 and of many things we have no notion of here. They 
 have procured two turkeys at head-quarters this Christ- 
 mas, and have had mince-meat in tins by the post from 
 Lisbon. 
 
 We send to the woods for firing, and bring it home 
 on the mules, and send out from four to six leagues, 
 that is, from sixteen to twenty -four miles, for hay or 
 straw. Ten pounds of straw a-day is the allowance for 
 the animals, but I fear it will not hold out, as the 
 villages are now nearly all emptied. We shall soon 
 have to get little bundles of dry grass, which are already 
 brought to our splendid market for sale. The Lamego 
 wine is the only wine which I can drink with comfort, 
 it is a sort of port. The Sierra di Francia is the 
 next best, a much lighter wine, from the Sierras 
 
SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 35 
 
 towards Madrid, from hence between thirty and forty 
 miles off. 
 
 Lord Wellington, whom I saw every day for the last 
 three or four days before he went, ' I like much in 
 business affairs. He is very ready, and decisive, and 
 civil, though some complain a little of him at times, and 
 are much afraid of him. Going up with my charges 
 and papers for instructions, I feel something like a boy 
 going to school. I expect to have a long report to make 
 on his return. 
 
 I hear a good account of Ballasteros's army : that it is 
 better equipped than that of Castanos'. I wish it had 
 done more. The French are supposed still to have 
 about a hundred and eighty thousand men in the Penin- 
 sula. I do not believe their force in this neighbourhood 
 has increased or diminished. Some have receded to 
 Vittoria, but have been traced by the spies (of whom we 
 have one constantly at Burgos) no further, nor have 
 many supplies of men to any amount been discovered, 
 I believe. We have some difficulty in getting fed; 
 bread in the markets is about 9d a pound ; barley for 
 the horses very scarce : we often go without for two 
 days. A commissary-agent is now in Salamanca buying 
 bread. The villages between Eodrigo and Salamanca, 
 described in my journey, are, it is said, quite destroyed. 
 We did much, the French the rest. Pork is the only 
 thing abundant, about Is. 6d. per pound, very rich but 
 too fat, and the fat not firm; the flesh sweeter and 
 richer than that of our pork, from the acorns on which 
 the swine feed, and which are like chestnuts. 
 
 I was a little nervous at the first Court-martial, but it 
 went off pretty well, and I got the whole over and 
 brought away eight sides of notes in three hours. To- 
 morrow I take my fair copy to be signed, &c. In my 
 way to this Court-martial, Henry and I were puzzled by 
 a river which seemed to be over our necks, a deep hole 
 
 B 2 
 
36 CASES FOR COURTS-MARTIAL. 
 
 off a rock. At last I made out a way zigzag, only about 
 three feet deep ; there was no one near or on either side ; 
 I should have had a swim, I am told, as people are some- 
 times drowned there. A ducking the first time of my 
 appearance in public would have been awkward. 
 
 Two cases have just been brought in to me ; they are 
 for shooting natives, one an alcalde. Adieu. 
 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE GAZETTE. 37 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 Arrival of the Gazette More Courts -martial The Mad Commissary 
 Intentions of Lord Wellington Social Amusements Sporting Wel- 
 lington's Fox-hounds His Stud A Dinner at the Commander-in- 
 Chief's Number of Courts-martial Anecdotes of Wellington. 
 
 Head-quarters, Frenada, Jan. 3, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 IN hopes of giving you letters every week, I must 
 seize every odd half-hour to write in, and you must not 
 be nice as to my writing, &c., as my hand is quite tired 
 of the regular official style, and my fingers cold, for we 
 still have fine, clear, frosty weather ; but in the middle 
 of the day it is very pleasant. 
 
 Pray thank John very much for his parcel of news- 
 papers, and especially for that of the 17th December, 
 with the Gazette, &c., and the glorious news. I was the 
 only person here with a paper of the 17th. Head- 
 quarters had only that of the evening of the 1 6th with 
 the Gazette ; and though this was, in fact, much the same, 
 this was an event and I sent mine up to Colonel 
 Campbell, by his desire, for his dinner-party at head- 
 quarters. It has been in constant request ever since. 
 
 All the Gruerilla party reports here state, that a body 
 of French cavalry has left Spain for France, for some 
 purpose. They say that from three to four thousand 
 men are gone ; this agrees with your story ; but our 
 Portuguese Quarter-Master, from his spies, reports other- 
 wise. The forces in this neighbourhood are now but 
 
38 CAPTURE OF DESPATCHES. 
 
 small; about four hundred men in Salamanca, which, 
 by-the-by, has been much plundered ; and the English 
 dollars, which they extorted from the hungry troops by 
 their high prices, pretty well squeezed out of them. At 
 Segovia there are only one thousand men, more at Yalla- 
 dolid, and a force at Madrid, and thus dispersed about ; 
 but as to their being starved, their country is much 
 better, I believe, than ours ; and as I have already told 
 you, our Commissary goes to Salamanca for bread. The 
 light division near this place, and troop of Horse Artil- 
 lery, have had scarcely any corn for their horses for the 
 three last weeks, and the cavalry will not be fit to act 
 much before April and May. 
 
 Yesterday a great event occurred here the arrival of 
 a Guerilla chief, who was formerly a sort of smuggler or 
 robber. This man, whose name, I believe, is Sumeil, 
 attacked a French party, carrying despatches from King 
 Joseph to France, at a village near Valladolid, at twelve 
 o'clock at night. He came in upon the French by sur- 
 prise, and the plan succeeded. The despatches were seized, 
 some of them on the person of the courier, but the most 
 material in a secret place in the pummel of a saddle. A 
 little spring in the buckle of the brass ornament dis- 
 covered a keyhole, and in the saddle was the pocket to 
 conceal the papers. They are principally in cipher, but 
 some have been made out, and are, I understand, 
 important. I have heard the contents of only one letter 
 from King Joseph to the family in France, full of com- 
 plaints of want of money and much distress ; he states 
 that he cannot get a dollar. From eighty to a hundred 
 prisoners were taken by the party. These prisoners were 
 French, and two English officers were released. The 
 French were much irritated, and sent eleven squadrons 
 of cavalry after the Guerilla chief, but he got off with 
 most of his prisoners, booty, despatches, and party. 
 Only one or two of the officers, and a few of the Guerilla 
 
PICTURESQUE WALK. 39 
 
 privates, have yet arrived here, but more, with the 
 prisoners, are expected shortly. Sumeil expects to be 
 made a General for this. He was at first very shy of 
 suffering the aide-de-camp and Colonel Campbell to look 
 at his despatches, desiring to show them to Lord Wel- 
 lington in person ; nor could he consent to give up the 
 most important, until General O'Lalor, who was at 
 Ciudad Eodrigo, was sent for, and explained matters to 
 him. I was to have met them at head-quarters at dinner 
 the day of their arrival, but they were busily engaged at 
 cards when sent for ; and said they were tired, and 
 declined going out to dinner. I was very sorry for this, 
 as it would have been curious to see their manners at a 
 formal dinner. 
 
 I have sent out my mules and Portuguese to forage. 
 They now are obliged to go so far for it that they cannot 
 get home by night, and soon, I fear, must stay out some 
 
 days. I must get another horse ; Colonel C has a 
 
 handsome Spanish horse to sell, strong, showy, and, con- 
 sidering the price of horses here, not very dear, two 
 hundred and fifty dollars ; it is a sort of a Eubens, sleek, 
 black, manege horse, with a fine, thick, curved, sleek, 
 black neck. 
 
 I take my morning walk daily, from eight till nine, to 
 secure some exercise, whilst Henry lights my fire and gets 
 breakfast ready. Instead of the gravel walk at Sheen or 
 in Lincoln's Inn gardens, it is a stroll over the rocks, 
 down towards the Coa river, which is almost two miles 
 from hence, and in parts is wild and picturesque ; large 
 masses of rock, rounded by the weather, stunted trees, 
 stone-wall enclosures, a succession of ravines, and ruined 
 fortified villages on the hills at a distance ; for Castello 
 Bom, Castello Mendas, Castello Eodrigues, and Almeyda, 
 which, as well as Guarda, are in sight from the rocky hill, 
 half a mile from hence. Behind the whole, the sierras of 
 Portugal and Spain, now generally covered with snow. 
 
40 INTERCEPTED LETTERS. 
 
 By these means, and with a hasty ride or walk now and 
 then in the middle of the day, my health is certainly 
 better. The work, except on account of health, I have 
 no sort of objection to : I only lament the delay in the 
 proceedings, on account of the sickness of the prisoners 
 and witnesses. However, I may have been of some use 
 in law lecturing, and helping the other Deputy Judge- 
 Advocates; and no trouble has been spared by me in 
 facilitating matters. 
 
 If the news from Eussia be good to the extent supposed, 
 it is thought here that the French will withdraw from 
 hence this spring, at least behind the Ebro. This, how- 
 ever, I much doubt ; though it seems agreed that, at any 
 rate, we are not in a state to follow, without very great 
 disadvantage, and almost destruction to our cavalry. 
 
 January the 4th. There are strong reports, as I have 
 said, that the French are retiring ; but General O'Lalor, 
 whom I have just seen, tells me his accounts are otherwise, 
 and that no French have left, or are leaving Spain; on 
 the contrary, he assured me that the intercepted letters 
 from Soult state that the contest will, in the next campaign, 
 be between the Douro and the Tagus. D'Aranda de 
 Duero is therefore to be fortified, and made a good depot, 
 until the Emperor can send reinforcements enough to 
 enable them to enter Portugal. The French head- 
 quarters are at Madrid, nor does it appear that there is 
 any intention at present to give it up, though the Spa- 
 niards thought otherwise from some letters of Soult, who 
 ordered some of his men, detachments of his corps, and 
 letters, to be sent to him from Valencia, but this seems 
 to be only to complete his own corps. General O'Lalor 
 told me that a muleteer of Paget's had just arrived from 
 Bayonne, with a pass, which he showed me, for him to 
 return to Portugal as Sir Edward Paget's muleteer. This 
 man says the French on the frontiers were told that our 
 retreat was a rout, our loss immense, and that sixteen 
 
COURT-MARTIAL ON A MAD COMMISSARY. 41 
 
 thousand prisoners had been taken, who were said to be 
 on the road ; he added that many were fools enough to 
 go several leagues to see them, and found they were 
 about two thousand five hundred; they also reported 
 that the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Paget, was taken.* 
 
 We are trying to send French gazettes of the Eussian 
 business to the French army, to give some of them a 
 better notion of affairs in that quarter, as it seems the 
 armies hear little or nothing from France, and at long 
 intervals. 
 
 January the 6th. I am just setting out for Fuentes to 
 try my mad Commissary, and from the fear of not 
 having time before post on my return, I must now close 
 my letter. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, January I6th, 1813. I was 
 so much occupied last week that I could not find time to 
 give you one of my usual scrawls before the post-day. 
 The business of the mad Commissary's was finished in 
 two long days last week, but I have had a long job in 
 copying it fair, as he put in a half-mad defence of five 
 sheets in folio. He is now off for Lisbon. I have bought 
 Colonel C 's horse for two hundred and fifty dollars. 
 
 Our last accounts from Lord Wellington are Cadiz, 
 the 8th. He was going to Lisbon on the 9th or 10th. He 
 has taken the command of the Spaniards ; and is ex- 
 pected here on the 23rd. Lord Fitzroy Somerset seems 
 much pleased with Cadiz ; I do not know whether Lord 
 Wellington is. The Prince of Orange is not yet returned 
 from Oporto. He *has been very much feted and enter- 
 tained ; there is dancing every night, and he is much 
 pleased. Lord March is just returned from thence; 
 
 Colonel Gl from Seville ; so we all begin to re-assemble 
 
 here. I have just been making out on a large sheet the 
 
 * Meaning Lieut .-General Sir Edward Paget, second in command, who 
 was taken prisoner in the retreat. Lord Paget, afterwards Earl of Uxbridge, 
 now Marquis of Anglesea, was not in the Peninsula at this time. 
 
42 DROLL REVERSE. 
 
 states of the Courts-martial for Lord Wellington. They 
 are thirty-one in number, which are now going on, just 
 finished, or which are to proceed when witnesses can be 
 collected. At present my place is no sinecure. 
 
 The French, they say, have been for some time in 
 motion here, but I believe only to forage, &c. ; their last 
 movements are southward of Madrid and towards Seville 
 again, but this is thought to be either a feint or to be for 
 the sake of supplies. 
 
 Doctor M'Gregor has been a tour to visit the sick ; of 
 whom I am sorry to say many have died ; more than I 
 was aware of. He has been as far as Oporto. 
 
 I have gone on very smoothly with my Courts-martial. 
 General V - is the President, and has been very civil. 
 They are all light infantry, and have been very attentive, 
 orderly, and obedient. 
 
 January 1 7th. The house which I now occupy belongs 
 to the Portuguese lad who is in my service, and who is 
 about eighteen. It is a droll circumstance to live in the 
 house of your own servant, who receives six dollars a 
 month, and is a tolerable groom. These reverses are here 
 very frequent in the fortunes of this class of people. He 
 owns three houses here, such as they are stone barns ; 
 and his family had sheep, goats, and land. 
 
 There is plenty of game about, and we now get wood- 
 cocks frequently, shot by the officers, very good hares, 
 better, I think, than in England, a few good snipes and 
 plovers, and a very few partridges ; the latter are very 
 wild. We have had, off and on, frost *for this month and 
 more, and some very fine days, others like a London 
 November fog, a little snow, and now and then a day's 
 rain ; but in eight hours again, from a sudden change of 
 wind, all dry and frost. The sun, when out, makes the 
 mid-day very pleasant ; and though the winds are very 
 cold, and produce very hard ground and thick ice for the 
 time in a very short period, yet the ice does not continue, 
 
THE PORTUGUESE AND SPANIARDS. 43 
 
 as in England, and accumulate. It never gets much 
 thicker than it is in one night with a cold wind, and in 
 the daytime the ground is soft ; the cold, therefore, 
 though for a time very sharp, certainly cannot be near so 
 intense in reality as in England. We go to bed some- 
 times with the ground entirely wet at eleven o'clock, and 
 at six in the morning find there has been a very hard 
 frost, which is then going off again. 
 
 The population here is very considerably thinned, and 
 there is much less land in cultivation than formerly ;. the 
 people remaining have generally lost their flocks and their 
 animals for agriculture. Few have now means of plough- 
 ing and manuring. The vineyards are generally in a 
 very neglected state also ; not manured or in any way 
 attended to, and eaten close down by our hungry animals. 
 Yet the labour required is so moderate, and the light soil 
 seems so productive, that the country might very soon 
 recover itself; but we take the oxen over the whole 
 country, buy up, and eat up everything. Out of our reach, 
 in the Tras os Montes, are plenty of poultry, sheep, 
 turkeys, &c. The Portuguese, naturally lazy, never 
 repair the damages of war, never rebuild, clean out, or set 
 to work to bring things round. They despair, and only 
 just work to supply our market with onions, 4d. each ; 
 eggs, 3d each; potatoes alone rather cheap at %d. the 
 pound; pork, Is. Qd. the pound, and good. The 
 Spaniards, on the contrary, begin, very soon after the 
 armies go, to restore ; they put on their tiles, rebuild 
 their walls, and especially whitewash the inside of their 
 houses ; they collect their cooking-vessels, and get to work 
 on their farms. The peasantry recover themselves much 
 more and much faster than the Portuguese, but yet they 
 have not in any one place suffered so much and so often 
 as this part of Portugal has ; and in this town they are 
 pretty much as lazy as the other. 
 
 The 20^. A very interesting case of a poor deserter 
 
44 ALMEYDA. " 
 
 whom we tried yesterday at Fuentes, I must copy out 
 fair to carry over to the general president for his signa- 
 ture to-morrow. The deserter, poor fellow ! deserted for 
 love to the Spaniards, with a Spanish girl from the 
 neighbourhood of Madrid whom he had brought away 
 with him. She had been most honest and faithful in 
 very trying scenes during the retreat. On being ordered 
 to send her off by his Captain, he appeared to have had 
 no intention of going over to the French. I was no^ 
 aware of the merit of his story till I copied the whole out 
 fairly. It was translated in broken bits, by a not very 
 skilftd interpreter. Three deserters came in here yester- 
 day ; they are Flemings. They report that part of the 
 French cavalry are gone to France, and that all the cars 
 round Salamanca have been put in requisition to carry off 
 the sick from the hospital there. But this does not prove 
 much, as it would at any rate be an unsafe place, and out 
 of their line of defence next campaign. They state that 
 the sick have been very numerous, and Salamanca well 
 plundered. 
 
 I have been one morning over to Almeyda to break- 
 fast with the governor and see the town. At breakfast 
 I met a sawny Spanish signora, with a crying, poor-look- 
 ing child : she breakfasted on beefsteaks, onions, par- 
 tridges, and wine, and did nothing all day. Almeyda is 
 twelve miles off. I rode thither on my new horse. He 
 is just such a horse as you would admire, prancing, 
 showy, sleek, like a Flemish picture of a horse, rather 
 clumsy and heavy ; but he went well and quietly. Al- 
 meyda is in ruins ; a mere heap of rubbish ! The works 
 are being repaired, and much is already done ; but there 
 is yet a great deal to do, and the workmen, though well 
 watched, seem very lazy. There are very good shops 
 among the ruins for the materials of all articles of wear- 
 ing apparel ; these from Oporto, and not dear ; cloth and 
 baize of all sorts, linen, stockings, but not a cup and 
 
STATE OF WEATHER. 45 
 
 saucer to be had, or a drinking-glass. Most of the new 
 work at Almeyda is at present only earth slanting so 
 that you might run up in a storm, I think ; but the 
 masonry is going on, and it would cost some men to storm 
 it, if we defend it. At present there is only a Portuguese 
 garrison. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, January %3rd, 1813. I do 
 not quite feel as I did in England, nor can I make out 
 that others do either. There is a languor and laziness 
 which seem in some degree catching from the natives, as 
 they have it in such perfection. We have had almost 
 constant frost or cold, fog and sleet, but in general clear 
 cold days ever since Christmas. It seems that we are 
 likely to have some snow, which hitherto we have 
 only on- the sierras and hills (where it lies almost con- 
 stantly), except a very few storms of snow which melted 
 as it fell ; and then rain in February ; then some warm 
 days in March and in April, with very cold mornings and 
 nights, and some very cold days again, even so late as in 
 May at times. By-the-by, our English post from all 
 the different parts of the army, to each other, and to Lis- 
 bon, is now in general in very good order, which saves 
 me much trouble in my extensive correspondence relative 
 to the Courts-martial. I have now also got through the 
 great worry of the number of cases which came upon me 
 at once, and, though fully employed, business comes 
 more regularly. I have persevered in being civil and use- 
 ful as far as I could to every one, never objecting to any- 
 thing, answering all queries, and taking everything upon 
 myself. I endeavour to model the whole as it was 
 arranged in England, before the Adjutant-general's offices 
 did two-thirds of the business of Judge- Advocate. As I 
 have no clerk, and am not allowed a soldier, this at times 
 presses me hard, but the greatest stress is now over, 
 though new cases come in regularly. I yesterday sent in 
 one against a Lieutenant-colonel, with six charges and 
 
46 REPORT OF GOING INTO CAMP. 
 
 thirty-seven witnesses. I have another Commissary just 
 come in here as a prisoner, for purposely burning down a 
 house, a mischievous freak, when drunk. 
 
 I now dine out about three or four times in the week, 
 generally once or twice at head-quarters and occasionally 
 with Major and Mrs. Scobell, who give very pleasant 
 little dinners, and tender meat, and a loo party after- 
 wards. He is a clever man, in the Quart er-Master- 
 general's department, and has the command of the corps 
 of guides, and the arrangement of the English post 
 through the country. 
 
 The report current now is, that next campaign is to 
 be in camp, and not in towns and villages, as Lord Wel- 
 lington wants to keep the army more together than he 
 can do in quarters ; and unless he goes into camp, the 
 other Generals also leave their divisions and come into 
 the towns. At any rate, it will not be as it was last 
 year, when the men went into camp in February and 
 March, as, from general rumour, the army will not be in 
 a state to move much before the end of April ; nearly 
 one-third are still sick, and this state of things mends 
 now but slowly ; this I observe from the general daily 
 state of the whole army made for Lord Wellington, which 
 is kept most perfectly. The horses will not be ready till 
 they have had a month's green food in March and April ; 
 straw, bad hay, and a little Indian corn do not suit them 
 for very active service. 
 
 I want a neat lantern sent out, to go out after dark in 
 these horrible villages, where if you go only a hundred 
 yards in the dark you step from a rock half up your legs 
 in mud. 
 
 There is a shocking set of servants at head-quarters ; 
 idle, drunken English servants and soldiers, almost all 
 bad, and the Portuguese are every day running off with 
 something or other from their masters and others. 
 There has been no chaplain here for these last eight or 
 
REMARKS UPON THE AMERICANS. 47 
 
 nine months, or any notice taken in any manner of 
 Sunday! It used to be, I hear, a very regular and 
 imposing thing to attend divine service performed out of 
 doors with hats off, but the people must now think we 
 have no religion at all, as almost every public business 
 goes on nearly the same as on ordinary days. The 
 English soldiers, however, keep it as a holiday, though 
 the Portuguese will many of them work, particularly 
 after three o'clock. We have had a glee or two with the 
 aides-de-camp of the Prince of Orange and some others. 
 There is also a Spanish Commissary who sings and plays 
 the guitar very well. I wish my violoncello were more 
 portable, and, with a flute or two, we should have a little 
 music now and then here, in the evenings. They have 
 asked me to send for a collection of glees. 
 
 People here are all very sore about the Americans and 
 our taken frigates. I think we deserve it a little. Our 
 contempt for our old descendants and half brothers has 
 always rather disgusted me, and with some English is 
 carried so far as not to be bearable. This reverse may 
 set matters right. The Americans have faults enough ; 
 we should allow them their merits. Our sailors all 
 thought the Americans would not dare to look them in 
 the face. I think the army rather rejoice, and laugh 
 aside at all this falling on the navy, as they bullied so 
 much before. I will not write to you of northern or 
 English news, for it would be absurd ; you would, if I 
 did, receive comments and observations on what was 
 nearly forgotten, or entirely altered, by the time my 
 letter reached you. I keep this paper under my business 
 heap, and take it out and scribble when anything occurs. 
 Lord Wellington is to arrive to-day ; and I must get up 
 my lesson for to-morrow, so adieu ! 
 
 Tuesday. Lord Wellington arrived last night at six 
 o'clock. I saw him with the rest who happened to be 
 in the market-place when he came. He was looking well. 
 
48 WELLINGTON'S FOX-HOUNDS. 
 
 There is a great quantity of game around us, and the 
 sportsmen supply their tables. It is not mere sport here, 
 but more like the case of Eobinson Crusoe, a matter of 
 necessity. Nearly all our luxuries are thus obtained. 
 
 Commissary H , two days since, went across the Coa 
 
 for about five hours, and brought home five hares, four 
 couple of cocks, three snipes, one partridge, and a rabbit. 
 All these animals are remarkably good here, except the 
 partridges, which are nothing in comparison to ours, and 
 I think not so good as the French. Lord Wellington, 
 except presents now and then, buys up all we can get 
 gives 85. for a hare, and so on. Turkeys are only to 
 be had thirty miles off: the price, which has been 25s., 
 is now 14s. Powder and shot are very scarce, only a 
 little to be had now and then at Almeyda. This you 
 will think at the head-quarters of sixty thousand men 
 rather strange, but the same stuff which *kills men 
 will not bring down birds. We have three odd sorts of 
 packs of hounds here, and the men hunt desperately: 
 firstly, Lord Wellington's, or, as he is called here, the 
 Peer's ; these are fox-hounds, about sixteen couple ; they 
 have only killed one fox this year, and that was what is 
 called mobbed. These hounds, for want of a huntsman, 
 straggle about and run very ill, and the foxes run off to 
 
 their holes in the rocks on the Coa. Captain W 
 
 goes out, stops the holes over-night, halloos, and rides 
 away violently. The ground is a light gravel and rock 
 all over the country. Prom a hard rock sometimes the 
 horse gets up to his belly in wet gravelly sand ; thus we 
 have many horses lamed, and some bad falls. The next 
 set of hounds are numerous, greyhounds. The Com- 
 missary-general, Sir E. Kennedy, is a great man in this 
 way, and several others. And thirdly, the Capitan 
 Mor here, that is the principal man of the place, has an 
 old poacher in his establishment, with a dozen terriers, 
 mongrels, and ferrets, and he goes out with the officers 
 
CHANGE OP QUARTERS. 49 
 
 to get rabbits. Lord Wellington has a good stud of 
 about eight hunters ; he rides hard, and only wants a 
 good gallop, but I understand knows nothing of the 
 sport, though very fond of it in his own way. There 
 will soon, I hear, be good trout-fishing in the Coa and in 
 the streams in the ravines near it. 
 
 Wednesday, January %7th. It has happened just as I 
 expected ; I have no time to add more, for I have three 
 new cases to draw charges in, and most troublesome ones 
 too : one of four fellows, old commissariat clerks I 
 suppose turned off, who have been about the country 
 living by their wits, extorting provisions, forage, &c., 
 from the Spaniards, by frauds, false passports, &c., under 
 pretence of acting for the English and Portuguese Com- 
 missariat. There are thirty-seven enclosures sent to me, 
 papers taken upon them, all in Spanish, in general badly 
 written, and no translation. The case, it is to be feared, 
 will never be proved. I have got General O'Lalor to 
 help me in this case. In short, my hands are full again ; 
 and my report of the old stories not made out. We 
 occupy from Coria, Guinaldo, Vizeu, Covilhaon, and 
 even almost to Coimbra; hospitals at Celerico, Yizu, 
 Coimbra a few, Abrantes, and Santarem. I fear my 
 Court-martial will be moved farther off. Some addi- 
 tional attached Spaniards are to have their head-quarters 
 at Fuentes d'Onore to be about his Excellency, now that 
 he takes the command of the whole generals, &c., and 
 General Vandeleur and the famous Ca^adores are to 
 move from thence in consequence ; the arrangements, 
 however, are not yet completed. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, February 2nd, 1813. Lord 
 Wellington is returned in high spirits and great good- 
 humour with every one ; and, in spite of the number of 
 deaths here, which are very formidable (between four and 
 five hundred every week for the last six), declares that 
 he shall take the field this year with nearly forty thousand 
 
50 THE GUERILLA CHIEF. 
 
 British, and, on the whole, with a hundred and fifty 
 thousand of one sort or other. 
 
 General Yandeleur is to go to Fuente Guinaldo, and 
 the Courts-martial will in future be there. It is about 
 twenty-four miles off. I must sleep out always, and 
 shall thus lose one or two days' post ; this will be incon- 
 venient to me, and just now to the service, but it cannot 
 be avoided. The General is very good-humoured, and 
 we are very good friends ; he has offered me a quarter, 
 and a dinner, if I will bring my bed. At present our 
 weather is colder than ever, but generally clear frost; 
 the wind is excessively sharp. The ice yesterday on the 
 road would bear my horse; and the thermometer, at 
 seven in the evening, was four degrees below the freezing 
 point ; at night sometimes it is much colder. 
 
 Two packets have just arrived ; the last brought Lord 
 Wellington the last good news from Wilna. I have 
 dined once at head-quarters since Lord Wellington's 
 return, with Sumeil the Guerilla chief, looking like a 
 dirty German private dragoon, in a smart new cavalry 
 jacket, on one side of me, and Dr. Curtis, the Catholic 
 head of the Salamanca college (who has been sent off 
 from Salamanca very lately), opposite to me. The 
 Spanish General O'Lalor treated Sumeil like a child, 
 told him what to do and eat ; but he had, I conclude, 
 dined long before, for he ate little or nothing. Dr. 
 Curtis seemed to. be a clever, sensible, gentleman-like 
 priest. He said the French knew immediately of Lord 
 Wellington's absence, but were not clear about it, and 
 very anxious in their inquiries to ascertain the fact. 
 General Hill's corps, who did not share in the early 
 siege of Eodrigo last year in January, nor the wet bad 
 work at Badajoz, are by far the most healthy part of the 
 army, and, next to them, the light division here. The 
 fifth and seventh, near Lamego, are the worst, and the 
 Guards (the new comers) very bad. General Hill has 
 
PRESSURE OF BUSINESS. 51 
 
 only about fourteen hundred in the hospital, and about 
 seven thousand fit for service. I suppose we shall have 
 an active campaign next year, if the whole be not put an 
 end to by peace, which is not improbable, if the Allies 
 are not too unreasonable in consequence of their suc- 
 cesses. If Austria will join in dictating the terms with 
 Eussia, Prussia, and Great Britain, they should be very 
 good for Europe ; but if the devil Bonaparte be driven 
 hard, he will rouse himself, appeal to the vanity of the 
 French, and recoil upon us stronger than ever. The Gril 
 Bias set of swindlers who went about Spain with false 
 papers and passes, raising the wind under pretence of 
 getting supplies for the British and Portuguese com- 
 missariat service (one was a Grerman, two Spaniards, and 
 the fourth a Portuguese), I much fear it will not be easy 
 to convict. 
 
 February the 3rd. You must excuse my writing, for 
 it is done at all odd moments, as a relaxation from all 
 my formal letters of business, which require a good deal 
 of method and order in a small compass not to get into 
 scrapes, such as sending witnesses to wrong places, &c. 
 As I have Courts sitting here at Fuente Gruinaldo in the 
 light division ; at Lamego, in the fifth ; at Maimento, 
 in the seventh; at Alter de Chaon; at Coria, in the 
 second division ; at Maimento de Biera, in the third ; 
 and at Lisbon; letters coming at all hours of the day 
 about each, a witness wanted here, a difficulty arising 
 there, and so on ; I can only get on by keeping a book, 
 in which I instantly put down the exact state of every- 
 thing, and keep copies of all my letters till the business 
 is over ; and I make it a rule, if possible, to answer 
 every letter by return of post, as the only way not to 
 get in arrear. I am very glad that I persuaded my 
 Court at Fuentes d'Onore to have patience, and let me 
 take down all the long love story I told you of, of the 
 deserter Prang Neigabauer. It was quite a pretty 
 
 E2 
 
52 HABITS OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 story. Lord Wellington pardoned him, from the good 
 character of his regiment, and that which the Colonel 
 gave him. The Prince of Orange is returned, and we 
 are all here again assembled in this magnificent town ! 
 
 5 o'clock. I have been sent for twice to-day by Lord 
 Wellington, besides twice last night, and have so much 
 on my hands about Spaniards, Portuguese, and English, 
 that I cannot add more. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, February 7th, 1813. There 
 never were known so many Courts-martial in this army 
 as at the present moment, and as I have the whole 
 direction of them all, I really scarcely know where to 
 turn, and my fingers are quite fatigued, as well as my 
 brains, with the arrangements and difficulties as to 
 witnesses, &c. I sent out seventeen letters yesterday, 
 and to-day I have one case of thirteen prisoners who 
 have been committing every sort of outrage on their 
 march here. Lord Wellington is now much more easy 
 with me, and seems to trust to me more. Yesterday I 
 was pleased when he said, " If your friends knew what 
 was going on here, they would think you had no sinecure. 
 And how do you suppose I was plagued when I had to 
 do it nearly all myself? " 
 
 He seemed to feel relieved, and of course I could not 
 but feel gratified. I can assure you, however, that we 
 have none of us much idle time. Dr. M'Gregor has 
 seven hundred medical men to look after. The Quarter- 
 Master-general, all the arrangement of the troops, 
 clothing, &c. The Adjutant-general, daily returns of 
 the whole, constantly checked by an eye which finds out 
 even a wrong casting-up of numbers in the totals. Lord 
 Wellington reads and looks into everything. He hunts 
 almost .every other day, and then makes up for it by great 
 diligence and instant decision on the intermediate days. 
 He works until about four o'clock, and then, for an hour 
 or two, parades with any one whom he wants to talk to, 
 
SPANISH NEWSPAPER. 53 
 
 up and down the little square of Frenada (amidst all the 
 chattering Portuguese) in his grey great coat. 
 
 General Alava, whom I have seen lately much more 
 about Spanish business, is a very gentleman-like, and 
 appears to me to be a clever man. 
 
 "We have had constant frost hitherto ; but I fear the 
 rain is going now to begin. Some of the days lately 
 have been delightful, like the frosty days in England at 
 times at the end of February, with a fine clear warm sun 
 in the daytime. 
 
 I have just heard of five German deserters, brought in 
 to the Provost here ; and shall, I suppose, have to try 
 them. They were taken on the other side of Eodrigo 
 by the Spaniards ; they are just come out to us from 
 England. Don Julian's cavalry are very useful in this 
 way, and very active. The Cortes want to encourage 
 farming in the country, and will give land to any 
 wounded soldiers of the allied armies, English as well as 
 natives, on condition of building and living on the spot. 
 
 General Wimpfen, one of the Chief's new Spanish 
 staff, is arrived, and will be stationed with us. 
 
 At Ciudad Eodrigo they are going to set up a Spanish 
 newspaper, which is to come out once in a week : I mean 
 to take it in. My new black horse goes on hitherto very 
 well ; I like him much ; but use him little. Whenever 
 I can, I get a gallop and a trot for an hour on the 
 common just close by, and return home to write again. 
 
 Excuse this stupid letter. I am very tired and must 
 to bed. 
 
 On Thursday, the llth, I go to Fuente Guinaldo, and 
 shall probably sleep there, at General Vandeleur's. j 
 
54 MORE COURTS-MARTIAL. 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 More Courts-martial Bal Masque" Anecdotes of Wellington Songs in 
 his praise Spanish Banditti Excesses of the Army Carnival More 
 Anecdotes of the Duke The Staff Grand Entertainment at Head- 
 quarters Wellington's opinion on Affairs at Home Murder of an 
 Officer General Craufurd. 
 
 Frenada, February 12, 1813. 
 
 8 o'clock, Friday night. 
 MY DEAR M- , 
 
 ON my return from Fuente Guinaldo I found in- 
 structions for two new Courts-martial in Lord Wellington's 
 rough pencil notes, a broad scroll in pencil in one 
 corner, " Eefer all this to the Judge Advocate," meaning 
 me to draw charges, &c. I must now tell you of my 
 expedition to Fuente Guinaldo. We were to have tried 
 the Commissary for burning a house down, but by my 
 advice he offered to pay all the damage done to General 
 Alava, the Spanish agent here, and in consequence to be 
 forgiven if it was paid in time. This was the best for 
 the Spaniards, the owners, and a tolerably sharp punish- 
 ment for a man whose only lawful pay is 7s. 6d. a-day, 
 the damage being near fifteen hundred dollars. The 
 night before the trial he had not raised the money. I 
 went to Lord Wellington to know what I should do, as 
 the witnesses were all ready. He told me to give him 
 till Monday next, and have all the witnesses rationed and 
 kept till that time at Guinaldo. Suspecting that this 
 would be my instruction, I had got another case ready 
 for the Court there. 
 
BAL MASQUE. 55 
 
 About seven o'clock, after a crust of bread and a glass 
 of rum and milk for breakfast, off we went, Henry and 
 I, for Fuente Ghiinaldo, and at the same time I sent one 
 of my Portuguese men with my mattress and blankets, 
 coverings, corn and hay for my horses, to meet us there, 
 Henry carrying my papers, Mutiny Act, testaments, and 
 all writing implements, &c., for my Court-martial. The 
 morning threatened much, as the frost is just broken up ; 
 but we got there dry and in time, and I found my way 
 without any blunder, which, as the road was entirely 
 across open downs, or through woods without inhabitants, 
 and full of cross tracks, was some merit ; I had, however, 
 applied to Captain Wood, the hunter, who knows all the 
 country well, for instructions. 
 
 We arrived at Gruinaldo in two hours, finished a case 
 and tried a man for shooting a Portuguese, acquitted him 
 of murder, but found him guilty of very disorderly 
 conduct, and sentenced him to receive eight hundred 
 lashes. I then walked round the town, looked into the 
 church, and came back ; wrote the whole out fair on six 
 sides of folio paper ; dined with the president at six, had 
 a hospitable reception ; and in the evening went to a sort 
 of frolicsome masked ball, given extra on account of the 
 Courts-martial. As the Greneral went, I accompanied 
 him. There were all the equivoque belles of Gruinaldo, 
 and all the light infantry officers, many in disguise and 
 masquerade ; some as females, and one as a Spanish 
 farmer, the regular dress. We were all struck with the 
 becoming appearance and picturesque style of the 
 costume. One or two of the ladies were dressed as 
 officers, and so on. The ball went on very well for some 
 time, but the two ladies who were the leading beauties of 
 the evening quarrelled, and the harmony was disturbed. 
 At ten I went home, and left the party half tipsy and 
 rather riotous, so that it was time for Generals and Judges 
 to retire. The Court-room was my quarter. This 
 
56 THEATRICALS. 
 
 morning before breakfast I read over my fair copy of the 
 evidence, &c., with, the General. He signed it, gave me 
 some breakfast, and I set off home, on a very threatening 
 day which was as good as it promised ; my cloak, how- 
 ever, kept me nearly dry. 
 
 Fuente Guinaldo is nearer the Sierra de Gutta, and 
 several degrees colder than we are here at Frenada, though 
 we are many, many degrees colder than Lisbon. The 
 Spanish staff are now all arrived, but scarcely a Spaniard 
 amongst them all foreigners. General Wimpfen, a 
 Swiss ; General O'Donoghue, Irish ; and so of others. 
 They all dined two days ago at Lord Wellington's. 
 
 Tell John, in answer to his inquiry, that with regard 
 to the campaign and the siege of Burgos, it is a question 
 much argued and discussed. Some say we should never 
 have lost time by going to Madrid, and that was the 
 mistake ; some that if we had taken Burgos, as we 
 should have done but for the very bad weather, all would 
 have gone right. General O'Lalor, however, told me he 
 thought that would have made no difference, but that if 
 the French chose to give up the South, and unite against 
 us ninety thousand strong, we must have been off just 
 the same even though Burgos had been taken. 
 
 My quarter at Fuente Guinaldo, having no window, 
 is rather cool, but being in Spain, is clean. The church 
 is a fine building, and the town not quite broken up ; 
 I suppose we shall move there next. To-night is a 
 play-night in the gay light division at Galegos, and 
 Lord Wellington was to have gone there, but the per- 
 petual rain will probably prevent him. He meant to 
 ride there, a distance of ten miles, at night. Had it 
 been very fine I might have been almost tempted to 
 take my mattress round that way, and go once to the 
 theatre, which all say is very tolerable in regard to 
 acting, scenery, &c., the whole carried on by the light 
 division in a chapel at Galegos. I was not a little 
 
CONDUCT OF WELLINGTON. 57 
 
 surprised to see common country dances very tolerably 
 performed last night at Gruinaldo, and even Sir Eoger de 
 Coverley. 
 
 Two or three days ago I was somewhat puzzled, 
 when, upon my pointing out the sentence of a Court- 
 martial as illegal, Lord "Wellington said, "Well, do 
 write a letter for me to the president, and I will sign 
 it, and it shall be sent back for revision." I did not 
 know his style, but my letter was fortunately approved 
 
 of. I had yesterday a visit from Colonel , of the 
 
 Engineers, begging for a favourable report upon the 
 case of a complaint against a Captain of artillery; I 
 suppose people think I have some weight in Lord 
 Wellington's decisions, but that is by no means the 
 case. He thinks and acts quite for himself; with me, 
 if he. thinks I am right; but not otherwise. I have not, 
 
 however, found what Captain told me I should 
 
 find, that Lord Wellington immediately determines 
 against anything that is suggested to him. On the 
 contrary, I think he is reasonable enough, only often 
 a little hasty in ordering trials, when an acquittal must 
 be the consequence. This, in my opinion, does harm, as 
 I would have the law punish almost always when it is 
 put in force. 
 
 Wednesday, Yiih. I have heard no news at all: still 
 strong reports that the French cavalry are partly gone 
 from hence to France ; but I cannot ascertain that they 
 are actually removed beyond Vittoria, and that may be 
 only for forage, as our cavalry are wide apart and dis- 
 persed. The first division, under General Bock, is at 
 and below Coimbra, near the sea, where I have just 
 fixed a Court-martial to try a set of men of the 9th and 
 87th for most outrageous conduct on the march to join 
 the army. Lord Wellington has had the whole com- 
 plaints against this party along the road written out, to 
 send home, with an official copy of his letter, as he finds 
 
58 EBULLITION OF TEMPEK. 
 
 that an account of the matter has travelled home, and is 
 quoted as a specimen of the conduct of our army on the 
 march. The first division of cavalry is, on the other 
 hand, at Alter de Chaon, towards Castello Branco, and is 
 all much dispersed ; General Hill, with the second divi- 
 sion, Coria ; sixth division, Cea ; fifth, Lamego ; third, 
 Maimento de Beira ; seventh, Maimento ; light, Fuente 
 Guinaldo. These are the head-quarters of the troops. 
 Marshal Beresford is better, and his wound nearly 
 healed ; he talks of soon joining; his head-quarters will 
 be Villa Formosa. I now see Lord Wellington almost 
 daily on business ; he one day fell into a passion about 
 the Courts-martial for not doing their duty, by acquit- 
 ting and recommending to mercy, &c., and also about 
 officers commanding parties not being attentive. He 
 has always been civil to me, though at times quick and 
 hasty in business. I nearly got into a scrape by saying 
 
 a good word for Captain , merely from his good 
 
 character, as I did not personally know him. How- 
 ever, Lord Wellington so far acquiesced, that he said I 
 need not draw the charge as yet ; but he should send 
 him word that if the village in question were not satis- 
 fied for their forage and bullocks in a week, he should 
 either have him tried or sent home. 
 
 I have just got a letter of reprimand to send out, 
 according to a written memorandum from Lord Wel- 
 lington ; a little slap at a deputy of mine, and greater at 
 the Court-martial, with directions how they should act. 
 Adieu. 
 
 Monday Evening, Head- Quarters, Frenada, February 
 2Znd, 1813. On getting up in the morning yesterday, 
 I said to myself for the first time these two months, 
 " Well, I do think I have no business to-day, and will 
 write to M ." In two hours' time, however, before 
 I had finished my breakfast, and read one of Vetus's 
 letters, in came three new cases, and old General O'Lalor 
 
WANTON OUTRAGES. 59 
 
 to tell me he had sent me a case to try at Guinaldo a 
 man charged with shooting a Spanish girl through the 
 door, because she would not give him some chestnuts ! 
 The wanton outrages of our people are quite extraor- 
 dinary. There are four poor fellows to be hung this 
 week in the second division ; one for desertion, and three 
 for a burglary near Coria about a fortnight since. For 
 the sake of immediate example I hastened the case, by 
 giving full instructions to the Deputy Judge- Advocate 
 there. The men were tried immediately, and three are 
 to be hung to-morrow. The Commissary charged with 
 burning the house was at last let off for a large sum 
 of money. I was very glad when it was settled, for 
 I had more trouble about it than if he had been tried 
 and hung ten times over. An overwhelming heap of 
 Spanish proceedings has just reached me about the man 
 for shooting the poor girl; and yet I have very little 
 doubt, when the Court meets, I shall have much 
 difficulty in proving that the man shot her, and that 
 she is dead. I go over for that purpose the day after 
 to-morrow. 
 
 During the last two or three days the weather has 
 been delightful quite a mild south-west breeze, with 
 a clear sun ; but this was, I heard, too unusual to last. 
 I like " Vetus " much, and agree with him in most 
 things ; but his style is not by a good deal to be com- 
 pared with Junius. In parts there are considerable 
 blunders, and often confusion and want of clearness; 
 but there are some curious stolen cuts, if facts. I have 
 just heard from General O'Lalor that we have been 
 attacked at Bejar by a party of French, and have beaten 
 them back. It was the second division, General Hill's 
 corps, who were concerned, and I believe the 50th 
 regiment principally. I am told no great loss, but 
 know no particulars. You will hear more of it from 
 the papers than I can tell you. It is still said that we 
 
60 SPANISH SONGS, 
 
 are to encamp and bivouac this next campaign. We 
 are now consuming our last stock of hay two great 
 stacks, which have been saved by Lord Wellington's 
 orders at Almeyda. After that we must buy reaping- 
 hooks, and try to cut grass before the green corn forage 
 comes in ; and though I can see a plain difference already 
 in the colour of the hills, and the young green corn and 
 spring grass are here and there making a show, there is 
 very little to be got to eat yet in that way. 
 
 We have still many sick, and the doctors do not take 
 better care of themselves than of their patients, for no 
 less than five medical men have died at Ciudad Eodrigo 
 since we have been in quarters here. The Trench have 
 got all about the part of the country near General Hill, 
 near Nava, Morguende, Mentrida, &c., and are moving ; 
 but I do not expect anything important for some time. 
 Some say the French will begin this campaign; and 
 I rather hope they may. The 10th Dragoons have 
 arrived, I hear from every one, in the highest style and 
 in excellent order. This is very good news. 
 
 We have three Spanish songs' in honour of Wellington, 
 one rather gone by now : " The E-etreat of Marmont," 
 " Ahe Marmont, onde vai, Marmont," a very pretty air ; 
 the other was composed at Cadiz lately when Lord 
 Wellington was there. I suppose you have them in 
 England. Moretti of Cadiz is the composer. , One of 
 them is good, and the other very well. Lord Wellington 
 sits and hears his own praises in Spanish with consider- 
 able coolness, and calls for it himself at times. 
 
 February 23rJ, Tuesday Morning. Just a few lines 
 more, and but a few, as I have just been with Lord 
 Wellington, and, having got rid of one batch of papers, 
 have returned with another. I hear the affair at Bejar, 
 or Banos, in the sierras north of Placentia, was not much. 
 We had six taken and a few wounded. It is supposed to 
 have been a Trench party for provisions and plunder, as 
 
FLAG OF TRUCE. 61 
 
 they wander about for these purposes, and to have been 
 no serious movement. Our men got a position first, 
 which the French tried to get, at Bejar. We had no 
 cavalry, or an attempt might have succeeded to turn the 
 French party ; but without this assistance the 56th drove 
 back the French, and saved Bejar and that country. The 
 71st were also there, and concerned. 
 
 Lord March is just returned from a flag-of-truce 
 excursion to the French. He fell in with their pickets 
 half a league from Ledesma, where the French seemed 
 in force. They were very civil. He dined with a 
 General Goutier, or some such name, and stayed about 
 four or five hours. Their men and cavalry looked well, 
 and clothing very fair ; accoutrements, &c., bad and 
 slovenly ; horses in good condition ; but he concludes 
 that he saw the best, for he found they knew of his 
 approach five leagues off. They kept away all the 
 Spaniards, who were getting round him, and were parti- 
 cularly violent against the canaille, the Guerillas. The 
 latter were close upon the French. He passed them 
 very near the town. They abused Sumeil; said he 
 would rob even the English, and would not believe he 
 dined at Lord Wellington's table. They hoped to see 
 the English in a month, they said. His five hussars and 
 his trumpeter were surrounded by eighty men in a trice, 
 and all communication cut off, and a thousand questions 
 asked of course, but little given in answer. The French 
 officer and escort of five dragoons, who escorted Lord 
 March on his departure, would not go above half a 
 league, for fear of the Guerillas, and was half inclined to 
 accept Lord March's offer to let his trumpeter and some 
 men see him back, with a party of the Guerillas ; but at 
 last he said he had a good horse, and galloped back. I 
 do not know what Lord March went about ; some say 
 on Sir Edward Paget's affairs. 
 
 Guinaldo, February %4>th, 1813. From the blunder 
 
62 GUINALDO. 
 
 of General , here I am, after a wet ride, with no 
 
 Court-martial to-day, and nothing to do. The conse- 
 quence is, I must stay to-morrow also, when I really 
 hope to get this business over, for I have plenty to do at 
 home. Marshal Marmont had the quarter I occupy 
 when he was here, as well as Lord Wellington. The 
 former shut the whole up, and used candles all day. 
 The latter got on as well as he could in the dark, and 
 used the General's bedroom, which is rather a better 
 room, as his dining-room. The owner was once a man 
 rich in flocks, herds, and lands and houses, and has 
 another good house at Ciudad Eodrigo. At present I 
 take it his worldly goods are not sufficient to make him 
 think too much of this world. Between Pago and Coria 
 there are banditti and robbers ; and two or three murders 
 have been committed there by armed men, Spaniards, 
 I believe, and Portuguese, five or six together. What a 
 state this poor country is in ! 
 
 Frenada, March 1st. Several of these banditti I hear 
 are deserters from our army, and Lord Wellington has 
 sent out after them. On the Thursday I tried the man 
 at Guinaldo for murdering a poor Spanish girl. We 
 had some difficulty in coming to an understanding. The 
 witnesses were all Spaniards, principally the relations of 
 the deceased ; the only interpreter was Portuguese ; the 
 prisoner a German, but he spoke bad French. At last, 
 as I had looked into all the Spanish proceedings, we got 
 on, as most of the Court understood Spanish as well as 
 the interpreter, and nearly all understood Trench. The 
 prisoner's defence was in French. I then read it in 
 English to the Court as he went on, and took it down. 
 He had a very narrow escape for his life ; I thought it 
 murder, and the Court were long in doubt ; at last they 
 only found him guilty of a most disorderly outrage and 
 killing the poor girl, and gave him a thousand lashes. 
 
 I wrote it fair, got it signed, dined again with the 
 
ANECDOTE OP WELLINGTON. 63 
 
 General, and came over here on a beautiful day. We 
 have now again fine clear, frosty mornings, beautiful, 
 but really almost too warm days and too cold evenings. 
 I wish this would last ; and yet it is trying to the con- 
 stitution, for there must, I think, be thirty degrees 
 difference between the temperature at three and at six 
 o'clock. 
 
 On my return here I found that no less than nine 
 Courts -martial had arrived and plenty of newspapers. 
 One Court-martial had met thirty-eight days, and 
 another sixteen : thus I had plenty to read and report 
 upon. I saw Lord Wellington, in consequence, two 
 days running, for nearly two hours, as I thought four of 
 the cases ought to go back for revision, and one only 
 to be confirmed, as it was half illegal eight hundred 
 lashes and transportation for life which latter is not a 
 legal sentence for mutiny. In truth, the men should 
 have been shot. 
 
 The Courts will not do their duty : Lord Wellington 
 was quite angry. He swore, and said that his whole 
 table was covered with details of robbery and mutiny, 
 and complaints from all quarters, in all languages, and 
 that he should be nothing but a General of Courts- 
 martial. He has given some broad hints to the Courts in 
 general orders. I sent out three new cases yesterday, and 
 have about fifteen deserters just in hand now in general 
 Poles from the second King's German Legion light 
 infantry battalion. 
 
 I made it a rule, whenever possible, to clear off every- 
 thing as I go, and answer every letter by return of post, 
 which is the only way ; and I am glad to see my pile of 
 papers done with now larger than that in hand. Whilst 
 I was with Lord Wellington, the Commissariat returns 
 came in, and were very confused. That added to his 
 ill-humour ; but he was very civil to me, and gets more 
 easy, as I do with him. He sent orders for fifteen 
 
64 SPANISH HILARITY. 
 
 thousand complete black accoutrements to be sent round 
 to Corunna, so I hope the Grallician army is to be 
 increased ; some of their regiments got home much more 
 entire than any of ours during the retreat, but upon the 
 whole they diminished very much by desertion when 
 they first got away from home. 
 
 The people of Guinaldo, whilst I was there, were 
 almost mad nothing but dancing and noise in all 
 quarters. They told me it was a particular day, when 
 the women were to rule the Dios de Madre ; but it 
 seems to me they are always in this gay state. The 
 people agree there very well with the English, parti- 
 cularly with the 52nd, which is now there, a fine light 
 battalion, seven hundred strong, and in high order. 
 The ladies go about, and tie strings to the coats of the 
 officers, and even of the General ; dance about, sup, and 
 drink with them, and are all alive both with them and 
 the men. 
 
 The 52nd and 43rd lost part of their baggage in the 
 retreat, and one on the Court-martial told me an anecdote 
 as to his baggage. A Trench officer and a few men over- 
 took his batman with the canteens, &c. " Where's the 
 key ?" he said ; f ' come, quick ! break it open ; out with the 
 tea and sugar, I have had none these three months :" and 
 in this manner he took all worth having, the best horse 
 and mule, and left the batman frightened to death. 
 
 There is one regiment of the Cacadores that is the 
 constant astonishment of the English. Badly paid, no 
 new clothes for the last two years, almost in rags this 
 winter, and yet scarcely a man has been sick. I wish 
 this was the case with them all. Our men are getting 
 their clothes much better than last year, but still many 
 are sick. Of two hundred men, a reinforcement to the 
 43rd light regiment Walcheren men, ninety have died; 
 and the Guards have suffered terribly, but still all are in 
 spirits ; though the verses I enclose to you (and which 
 
BARON WIMPFEKT. G5 
 
 are printed at the Adjutant-general's portable press, used 
 for printing the army orders, &c.) give a very fair des- 
 cription of the life in Portugal. 
 
 I have taken a ride to Malliarda de Sorda, and found 
 
 the Deputy Paymaster-General H very unwell, with 
 
 an attack of fever. One must not think of these things : 
 that is the best way, I believe, if posible. Sir W. Erskine, 
 who threw himself out of the window here in a delirium, 
 came to his senses after his fall, and said he never thought 
 he could have been guilty of such an act, and that he did 
 not intend it. This was very melancholy ; but I am told 
 he had been two years confined, and that he should not 
 have been here as chief officer of the cavalry it was too 
 great a risk. 
 
 We have a report here of a revolution in France ; but 
 I do not credit it yet, though not unlikely. It seems to 
 me Bonaparte is a man to run that hazard by his con- 
 scription and immense levies, and that there will be either 
 a revolution, or he will soon be again formidable; and 
 much is yet to be done. I hope we shall make a good 
 end of it here this year. 
 
 Wednesday. I dined yesterday at head-quarters, and 
 sat next to Baron Wimpfen, the new Quarter-Master- 
 general attached to Lord Wellington. He is a very gen- 
 tleman-like man, and talks French well. We had much 
 conversation together, in which Lord Wellington, who 
 sat next to the General, often took part. He gave us the 
 whole history of the battle of Fuentes d'Onore, which 
 was fought some time since near here, in which the 
 French were three to one, and in which Lord Wellington 
 said he committed a fault, by extending his right too 
 much to Po<?o de Velho ; and that, if the French had 
 taken advantage of it, there might have been bad conse- 
 quences, but that they permitted him to recover himself 
 and change his front before their face. 
 
 Another new comer at dinner yesterday was a Mon- 
 
 p 
 
66 MOVEMENTS OF THE FRENCH. 
 
 sieur Saudri, an agent for the Portuguese, a sort of inter- 
 preter. He gave an account of the state of the Portu- 
 guese provinces. Some are recovering fast, it seems, 
 Coimbra particularly, but many are still in great distress. 
 
 Yesterday was the last day of a sort of carnival here. 
 We had fools, and pantaloons, and straw bulls, &c., and 
 masks walking about the streets much noise but no 
 great magnificence. I saw poor pantaloon fall in earnest 
 when throwing his sword after a soldier, and he could 
 scarcely get up again. 
 
 A general order has just been issued for all the officers 
 to apply for tents for the next campaign. I must do the 
 same, I suppose, and try that sort of life, which in dry 
 weather may be well enough, but bad work if as it was 
 last year, when the little bed-legs sunk in mud up to the 
 mattress, and the blankets got quite muddy ! 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, March 6th, 1813. A man 
 arrived here two days ago from Madrid in five days, for 
 payment of a Commissariat bill due to him. He states 
 that the French are in small force at Madrid, and that 
 Joseph was packing up. But I believe this is only 
 because he individually is going away ; for I understand 
 that the French are still in force below Madrid, and that 
 the only notion entertained as genuine here as to their 
 troops going homewards is that ten men picked from 
 each squadron and battalion, or as some say from each 
 company, are to be sent home to make good the Imperial 
 Guards. I do not think myself they will withdraw at all 
 now. They keep the country to support themselves till 
 we are ready to move, and then I think they will collect 
 and risk an early action with us, as their difficulty is to 
 keep together long. If they beat us, they will remain as 
 they were, and I think that is all, unless we are quite 
 routed ; if we beat them, then they will go behind the 
 Ebro. The conjecture is, as far as I can understand from 
 the probabilities, a late opening of the campaign on 
 
ANECDOTE OF WELLINGTON. 07 
 
 account of the Spaniards not being ready, and then an 
 early action when it does begin. 
 
 Some say that the Spaniards will not be ready to move 
 before the harvest in July, or not much before. The 
 French have nearly ninety thousand men in their ex- 
 tended positions, with their right on and near the Douro 
 and the left on or along the Tagus. We shall have, 
 when we begin, about forty -four or forty -five thousand 
 British, about twenty or twenty-two thousand Portu- 
 guese, and how many Spaniards no one can tell, or what 
 they will do. So do not expect to hear of a march to 
 France to the Ebro, or very possibly up to Burgos 
 again. The opportunity for effecting this must be by 
 obliging the French to assemble, and then by rousing 
 up all the Guerillas to starve them. Having heard 
 Lord Wellington give his account of the battle of 
 Fuentes d'Onore to General Wimpfen, the Spanish 
 Inspector-General, I rode there yesterday with Lord 
 Aylmer (who was present in the action) over the whole 
 field of battle, saw all the field-works, the positions of 
 the different divisions, and the plan of the whole. I 
 perfectly understood Lord Wellington's blunder, and the 
 risk he had run, and could form a very good notion of 
 the strength of the position, and the nature of it as pro- 
 tected by the ravines of the Coa, &c. Lord Aylmer gave 
 me two striking instances of Lord Wellington's coolness : 
 one when, as he was pursuing the French, in a fog in 
 the morning, he found a division of our men under Sir 
 William Erskine much exposed in advance, and nearly 
 separated from the rest of the army, and the French in a 
 village within a mile of where he was standing, he could 
 see nothing; but, on some prisoners being brought in, 
 and asked what French division and how many men were 
 in the village, they, to the dismay of every one except 
 Wellington, stated that the whole French army were 
 there ; all he said was, quite coolly, " Oh ! they are all 
 
 F2 
 
68 QUARTERS AT FRENADA. 
 
 there, are they ? Well, we must mind a little what we 
 are about then." Another time, soon after the battle of 
 Fuentes d'Onore, and when we were waiting in our posi- 
 tion near them to risk an attack, in order to protect the 
 siege of Almeyda, early one morning Lord Aylmer came 
 suddenly in to him whilst he was shaving, to tell him 
 that "the French were all off, and the last cavalry 
 mounting to be gone ;" the consequence of which move- 
 ment was to relieve him entirely, to give him Almeyda, 
 and preserve Portugal. He merely took the razor off for 
 one moment, and said, " Ay, I thought they meant to be 
 off; very well :" and then another shave just as before, 
 without another word till he was dressed. I find, how- 
 ever, it is said he magnifies the French now and then 
 sees double as to the number of blue uniforms, and cannot 
 see all the scarlet ; but I believe most men in his situa- 
 tion do this more or less. I must now proceed to sum- 
 mon some witnesses : so, for the present, adieu. 
 
 Monday, 4 o'clock. You ask me what my house is 
 like, and what Frenada is ? Frenada is a village much in 
 decay, very dirty ; in the streets are immense masses of 
 stones, and holes, and dung all about, houses like a farm 
 kitchen, with this difference that there are the stables 
 underneath. My last lodging was like a part of a Welsh 
 farm-house, boarded off at one end from the common 
 room, with a hole through the wall and one pane of glass 
 let in. I am now in a distinct building like a granary, 
 with the stables below, in an English farm-yard, in 
 which are my animals of all sorts, servants and aUL The 
 kitchen is a miserable shed, not water-tight, where the 
 woman of the house and three children live quite separate. 
 The building I occupy has one opening with a wooden 
 door besides the entrance-door, and the end, about eight 
 feet wide by sixteen long, was boarded off by an officer 
 last year. In this I sleep, eat, drink, write, &c., and live 
 altogether, as it has a fireplace in the corner built by the 
 
THE STAFF. 69 
 
 same officer. The fireplace is so contrived, however, as 
 to let more smoke into the room than up the chimney, 
 and of course my eyes suffer, and all I have looks yellow 
 and smells of smoke. 
 
 It is said that Lord Wellington and the Court here 
 are to go to Ciudad Eodrigo, to a fete, to install the new 
 Knight of the Bath, General Cole. I shall not go unless 
 especially invited, and I have enough to do here, for ex- 
 cept, probably, the Adjutant-general, the Quarter-Master- 
 general, and perhaps the Commissary-general, I have 
 more correspondents than any one here. 
 
 I take it in the army that the officers in the lower 
 branches of the staff are sharp-set, hungry, and anxious to 
 get on, and make the most of everything, and have a 
 view even in their civilities. I have tried not to notice 
 much that I could not help seeing, and which gave me a 
 moderate opinion of the profession, which has not the in- 
 dependence to be seen in all the most respectable at the 
 bar. There is much obsequious, time-serving conduct to 
 any one who is in office, or is thought to have a word to 
 say to his lordship. 
 
 Lord Wellington gets angry about the Courts-martial, 
 the difficulty as to getting witnesses, the inconvenience, 
 and then at last the great lenity of the Courts. " How 
 can you expect," he remarked to me, " a Court to find an 
 officer guilty of neglect of duty, when it is composed of 
 members who are all more or less guilty of the same ?" 
 He does not like the tribunal. We have, however, hung 
 six men within this month, broken several officers (at 
 least their cases are gone home with that sentence), and 
 flogged about sixteen or eighteen (pretty well, this), and 
 we are still at work. I have now twenty-two cases left 
 on hand, about thirty-six tried, about two or three new 
 cases every week, yet I hope we are getting on better 
 now. I am glad to be made of such importance as you 
 say I am in England ; my reputation increases here a 
 
70 ANTICIPATED FETE AT RODRIGO. 
 
 little, several Courts-martial having been sent back for 
 revision: for this I get in a degree the credit, and in 
 some instances justly. I am thought a formidable person 
 to whom it is as well to be civil, and who can often be of 
 service to others. 
 
 The Princess of Wales's letter is good ; and I think, 
 and have always thought, that if she could once dare 
 inquiry, her case would be unanswerable, and the Prince 
 in a complete dilemma. We have heard here that 
 Brougham wrote the Princess's letter : is there such a 
 story in England ? 
 
 Wednesday, IQth March. No more news, and no 
 more mails, and no more time. I am to be asked, it is 
 said, to Eodrigo to the fete there on Saturday. Lord 
 Wellington wants to be very magnificent in his own city, 
 and has said that he wished to give a supper to a hundred 
 and fifty, but is told that it is quite out of the question, as 
 the town and head- quarters would not supply dishes and 
 plates, &c. There is, however, to be a small dinner first 
 before the ball. But this arrangement may be a little 
 disturbed by an event I have this moment heard from 
 General O'Lalor. A Spanish dragoon is come in, with 
 news that the French are moving in the Sierra di Francia ; 
 their object, I think likely enough, to rout us up before 
 we are ready. I know no more ; General O'Lalor went 
 to Lord Wellington to tell him the news. N.B. Orders 
 have just come into prepare charges against nine Polish 
 deserters. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, March I5th, 1813, 9 o'clock 
 at night. As to Sir Isaac Heard's coming over here to 
 invest the Marquis with the Garter, doubtless the old 
 Garter king would like it ; and at this time of the year, 
 while quiet here, and neither hot nor wet, no mosquitoes, 
 and without baggage, he might do it tolerably well. If 
 you travel without baggage, as Lord Wellington did 
 when he went to Cadiz, with good horses, you get on 
 
FETE AT CIUDAD HODKIGO. 71 
 
 thirty, forty, and even fifty miles in a day ; avoid all the 
 bad places, only stop in towns, get the best accommoda- 
 tion, and only rest where there are English Commis- 
 saries, &c. Lord Wellington came from Lisbon here in 
 five days, with relays of horses ; the last day he rode 
 fifty miles between breakfast and dinner. 
 
 The movements of the French I mentioned in my last 
 came to little or nothing it was a mere alarm. 
 
 I have had a long letter from Sutton in answer to 
 several queries. He agrees with me in every point which 
 I have had to decide ; and I am particularly glad to be 
 right in the great one on which Lord Wellington differed 
 with me, and directed me to send home his reasons. 
 Still Lord Wellington is hardly satisfied, but desires me 
 to wait till I hear officially from Sutton about it. 
 
 The day before yesterday we had a hard day's work 
 in the shape of gaiety and amusement. Lord Welling- 
 ton desired to invest Greneral Cole with the Order of the 
 Bath, in a suitable manner ; and as he had never done 
 anything at Ciudad Eodrigo, of which he is Duke, he 
 determined upon this opportunity to give a grand fete 
 in the midst of the ruins a grand dinner, ball, and 
 supper. All heads of departments, generals, public 
 authorities, Spaniards and English, were invited to 
 dinner, to the amount of sixty-five. In the evening, 
 ladies about forty, and men about a hundred and fifty, 
 came to a ball and supper. The dinner and supper were 
 half cooked at Frenada, and carried over in military 
 waggons and on mules. All the plate at head-quarters 
 was put in requisition, and there was enough to afford a 
 change of silver at dinner. Plenty of claret, champagne, 
 and Lamego, i. e., port, was sent over. A caravan of 
 glass and crockery arrived from the governor of Almeyda, 
 and from a shop just opened there. Almeyda is twenty- 
 five miles from Eodrigo. The whole went off very well, 
 except that it was excessively cold, as a few balls during 
 
72 GRAND ENTERTAINMENT. 
 
 the siege had knocked in several yards of the roof of the 
 ball-room, and it was a hard frost at the time. 
 
 Lord Wellington was the most active man of the 
 party he prides himself on this ; but yet I hear from 
 those about him that he is a little broken down by it. 
 He stayed on business at Frenada until half-past three, 
 and then rode full seventeen miles to Eodrigo in two 
 hours to dinner, dressed in all his orders, &c., was in 
 high glee, danced, stayed supper, and at half-past three 
 in the morning went back to Frenada by moonlight, and 
 arrived here before daybreak at six ; so that by twelve 
 he was ready again for business, and I saw him amongst 
 others upon a Court-martial on my return at two the next 
 day. Campbell and General O'Lalor managed the fete. 
 I made cards for every place at dinner, with correspond- 
 ing ones for each person, with his name, table, and num- 
 ber of his plate, and so there was no bowing and scraping, 
 or pushing for the first table. We got quarters in the 
 ruins. Stables there were none scarcely, and we took 
 over hay and barley for the horses for the night, and our 
 beds to lie down for an hour or two. Several ladies, re- 
 fugees from Salamanca, were there, and the band of the 
 52nd. 
 
 The house at which the entertainment was given was 
 the best in the town, with some very good rooms ; but 
 it had suffered a little by the siege, and had, moreover; 
 only bare walls. Luckily, however, the General O'Lalor 
 discovered that the Intendente of the Palace of St. Ilde- 
 fonso had brought away the hangings of five or six of 
 the best rooms to save them from the French, and had 
 deposited them at Eodrigo. These were obtained, and 
 the bare walls of the ball-room were hung all over with 
 yellow damask satin with a silver border, with openings 
 at each end in festoons, like a tent, and looked very well. 
 The other supper-rooms were hung with crimson satin 
 and gold from the same palace, and in tolerable condition. 
 
GRAND ENTERTAINMENT. 73 
 
 The whole was laid out so as to astonish the inha- 
 bitants, and the defects were concealed almost entirely. 
 Near one hole in the floor a man was placed to take care 
 that no one got a leg in, and a mat was put over the 
 whole. The ladies were not very handsome, but two 
 or three good-looking, and several very lady-like in their 
 manners. 
 
 I was most pleased with the bolero and fandango 
 dances, which were executed by two Spanish ladies, Cha- 
 noinesses as they were called, nieces of two Chanoines, 
 and two Spaniards, one of whom danced very well. The 
 best was the old fellow who was sent for to play on his 
 ornamented paper square tambourine, or rather flat drum, 
 who sang the airs and accompanied himself with great 
 humour, and afterwards gave us . a dance in the true 
 style. The enthusiasm of the Spaniards was also amusing, 
 and their eager applause. All the other dances were 
 English country dances, which the ladies execute very 
 well and exactly like ours, except that they waltz the 
 poussets, and generally, therefore, dance waltz tunes, 
 and have that figure. They are also a little more twisted 
 about and handled than our fair ones would like at first ; 
 but upon the whole, perhaps our country dances are im- 
 proved by the change. We had much drinking and 
 toasts given on both sides, at the expense of the French: 
 " Ferdinand the Seventh," " The next campaign," " Death 
 to all Frenchmen," &c. In short, several Spaniards as 
 well as English got very drunk by five o'clock in the 
 morning, and they chaired the Prince of Orange, General 
 Vandeleur, whom they let fall, and several others, as 
 soon as the ladies were gone, and there was nothing else 
 to do. The Spaniards at first began with " vivas," but 
 soon learnt " hip, hip, hip, hurra !" 
 
 With great care a few silver spoons and knives and 
 forks only were missing, and it is said one plate. 
 Henry tells me the servants saw one Spanish officer 
 
74 REPAIRS OF CIUDAD RODRIGO. 
 
 with, a turkey's leg sticking out of his pocket ; but, like 
 our aldermen, they are given to pocket even at Madrid, 
 and have some excuse, for they are paid little, and find 
 everything very dear. Probably a turkey had not been 
 seen there for months : they were, I believe, all brought 
 from thirty or forty miles down the Douro, near La- 
 mego. Besides the Spanish military authorities, there 
 were some civilians of rank, as the Marquis d'Espeja 
 and a few others. Colonel Gordon was the only officer 
 who would return with Lord Wellington; and though 
 he has the best horses here next to those of the chief, 
 he borrowed another horse which had come over earlier, 
 to ride back upon with Lord Wellington, and left his 
 own, which he had ridden on in the morning with his 
 lordship, to come back later in the day. 
 
 The repairs of the walls of Ciudad Eodrigo are going 
 on better, and they are now nearly cleared of rubbish, 
 so as to be ready to begin to rebuild the new work, 
 which all fell down last autumn. I sat at the grand 
 dinner directly opposite to E , who introduced him- 
 self to me afterwards in the ball-room. Colonel Fisher, 
 of the Artillery, was next, a very pleasant man, a great 
 artist, connoisseur, traveller, &c. _ Except at a grand fete, 
 and the few great men who come to head-quarters, or 
 when crossing a division on the march, which we always 
 avoid if possible, we seldom see any regimental officers. 
 
 Tuesday Night (IQth). We have flogged and hung 
 people into better order here, I think, but have now 
 got into a little squabble with the Portuguese Govern- 
 ment, who will become bold by success. By the Por- 
 tuguese law a magistrate is only to give evidence in 
 writing by deposition, which our Courts, if it be a fact in 
 his own knowledge, and where he is wanted as a witness, 
 ought not to receive. I fear the Bill proposed at home 
 will be unpopular, and yet inefficient in a great measure. 
 
 The Guards, who joined nearly when I did, have suf- 
 
 
WELLINGTON ON AFFAIRS AT HOME. 75 
 
 fercd most of all by the campaign. They came out a 
 noble battalion of fine men, twelve hundred strong; 
 four hundred are dead, and not above five hundred are 
 now fit for duty. This is very shocking. 
 
 The division on Grattan's motion in the House is 
 stronger than I expected it would be after all the outcry 
 on the subject. I had a long conversation while walk- 
 ing up and down the market-place with Lord Wel- 
 lington here, a few days since, upon 1 that and the Indian 
 question. He has, from what he saw in Ireland, taken 
 up a strong notion that independence is what the Irish 
 really aim at, and he is, therefore, for giving no more, 
 but proceeding upon King William's plan to keep them 
 down by main force, for he thinks that they have too 
 much power already, and will only use more to obtain 
 more, and at length separation. He said he thought 
 his brother and Canning had just taken up the Catholic 
 question when the tide of popularity was turning against 
 it. I hope this is not so ; and though I agree with him 
 that the party for separation is strong, his plan would 
 drive them to extremities, and is now too late ; the only 
 chance is, to get the higher orders of Eoman Catholics 
 and the priests, if possible, by pay or otherwise, and by 
 looking for pay and patronage, to be dependent on the 
 Crown and on England more than they are, and at the 
 same time not to be a degraded class. 
 
 Did I tell you the size of Erenada, about which you 
 asked? It is about as large as Ashted, without the 
 three gentlemen's houses in it. Lord Wellington's 
 house is, however, better known than the inn there 
 (the Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower), and more orna- 
 mented, though it does not 'contain more room or as 
 : much comfort. This is as good a description as I can 
 give you, only that all the houses are more roomy than 
 in our villages more like barns for the straw, corn, 
 and all are left under the same roof. 
 
76 EXTRAORDINARY ARRIVAL. 
 
 As Sutton only answers my letters indirectly, and not 
 officially upon the point on which we differed, Lord 
 Wellington says he will not act until he has an official 
 answer. He does not like to be wrong, and yet I am 
 very glad he is so. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, March 19/A, 1813. The 
 day before yesterday we had a most extraordinary 
 arrival here in General Murray, the Quarter-Master- 
 general of the army. He left Plymouth late on the 
 10th instant, and was here at Frenada on the 18th, 
 in the morning, in about seven days and a half. He 
 got to Oporto from Plymouth in less than five days, 
 and here in three, travelling post on horses, ponies, 
 mules, and anything he could get : he brought London 
 papers of the 8th. His baggage went round by Lisbon. 
 He was to have come out with General Graham and 
 General Stewart, but was sent off here express with 
 despatches in a sloop of war. No one knows what the 
 important news is which made it advisable to send out a 
 Quarter-Master-general as a messenger. 
 
 I hear of no movement yet in the army, and as part 
 of the cavalry are down below Coimbra, and part still 
 below Abrantes, near Cabeca de Vide, Aunde Chad, and 
 Monforte, it will be necessary to give some notice of 
 anything like a serious movement in good time. Per- 
 haps head- quarters may move to Guinaldo in a month 
 I think not sooner, for there is no grass there yet, and 
 the cold is not gone, nor the rain come, though the sky 
 has threatened much for the last day or two. I have 
 now to send above thirty miles for bad hay or straw for 
 my animals, and that I hear is nearly exhausted. We 
 have been obliged to send fifteen miles for some time 
 past, which is hard work for the poor mules during what 
 should be their resting-time. 
 
 You ask about our religious duties. There are four or 
 five or more clergymen in Portugal, but no one now at 
 
INCREASE OF CULTIVATION. 77 
 
 head-quarters. The clergyman stationed there went away 
 ill about a twelvemonth since, I hear. 
 
 Sunday, %Ist. The remains of the battalion of Guards 
 which lost so many men, and was so sickly, is going 
 down towards the coast and towards Coimbra, to recruit 
 with sea-air. 
 
 I must now away to answer letters. I have only read 
 four of the newspapers out of the last fifteen ; you may 
 therefore conclude how much I am employed. I get 
 through one at breakfast-time, and when at home two of 
 an evening ; nor have I yet read half through one review. 
 Lord Wellington is as bad ; he borrowed my " Yetus " 
 nearly three weeks since, and has not read it. 
 
 Wednesday, 4 o'clock, Post-day. Having got all my 
 proceedings written out fair by half-past six yesterday, I 
 dined with the General. Early again this morning I 
 breakfasted with him; compared the two, got the fair 
 one signed; picked you up botanical specimens of the 
 flowers in the fields in my ride back, and here I am. 
 
 Since Eodrigo has been taken, the inhabitants about 
 Guinaldo feel more confidence, and more land is this year 
 in cultivation. They are tempted also by the high price 
 of everything ; and near Guinaldo I saw a new enclosure 
 going on, and trees being grubbed up to a considerable 
 extent. The old lady where General Vandeleur is quar- 
 tered, is doing this to an extent of several thousand acres. 
 To give you a proof of the lightness of their ploughs, I 
 met a man walking off a mile or two to work from 
 Guinaldo with a complete plough on his shoulder, the 
 whole plough fit for use, iron share, &c. ; he was walking 
 three or four miles an hour, quite upright. I hear that 
 the inhabitants of Bejar, rather an opulent Spanish town, 
 and where there is a cloth trade, have been so well 
 satisfied with the 50th regiment for having driven away 
 the French and saved their town, that they have given 
 them all round a pair of pantaloons each, and several 
 
78 MURDER OF AN OFFICER. 
 
 days' double rations of spirits, and some other presents. 
 The place is now strengthened considerably as a post, it is 
 said, for the French seem to be making some stir, though 
 no one seems to know what they mean to be about. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, March 27th, 1813. Satur- 
 day. The statement of Courts-martial, which I shall 
 present to Lord Wellington to-morrow, satisfies me that 
 we are mending, and that we have not tried fifty cases, 
 hung eight, transported eight or ten, flogged about sixty 
 severely, and broke several officers for nothing. I have 
 now only eighteen left in hand, and three of these very 
 old cases. We had one very melancholy piece of business 
 here last week : a young corporal, Mac Morran, a Scotch- 
 man in the 42nd, was reprimanded mildly by his officer, 
 Lieutenant Dickenson, for neglect of duty ; he answered 
 rather impertinently, and was then told to consider him- 
 self a prisoner, and to follow. Having walked a few 
 yards, Lieutenant Dickenson looked round, and the cor- 
 poral, having (no one knows how) loaded his musket, 
 levelled it at him, and shot him dead through the heart. 
 The corporal has been tried, and is to be hung to-morrow. 
 They were both under twenty years of age, I hear, and 
 the most promising young men in their respective 
 stations. The officer was a man of mild, humane cha- 
 racter. The corporal made no defence : it seemed an 
 excess of Scotch pride. It is altogether a very painful 
 business. 
 
 We have still very cold north-east winds, and to-day a 
 little fall of sleet, hail, and stormy, windy, black sky. 
 Lord Wellington is gone hunting, which gives me a little 
 time. 
 
 I hear the French are moving ; two divisions of 
 Soult's army are said to be retiring behind the Douro, 
 near Yalladolid : and I am told they are engaged in 
 fortifying all the fords and bridges near the Douro, at 
 Toro, Tordesillas, Aranda de Douro, &c. Probably they 
 
THE FRENCH ARMY. 79 
 
 will make a grand stand on that river ; where, from what 
 I saw, they have great advantages, for the banks on our 
 side are low and flat, and on their side, towards France 
 (the right bank) high and commanding, and the position 
 on that side also strong. It is thought the slight move- 
 ment in advance of one of our divisions, the fourth, from 
 St. Jean de Piscara, merely for convenience of supplies 
 and change of air, caused this movement on the part of 
 the French, who only stay down about Toledo, probably, 
 for food. 
 
 Accounts have just come in from one of our look-out 
 officers, who live close to the French, and act as spies, 
 and have correspondence with them a Captain - , 
 who was here a fortnight since. He says that the 
 French are all moving, and apparently towards the other 
 side of the Douro. Joseph has left Madrid. His 
 informers state that the French are going at once behind 
 the Ebro ; but he himself thinks not, as they would not 
 willingly give up the fine country between the Douro 
 and Ebro for nothing, and have fortified, report says, the 
 passes. So we stand. Conjectures are made, that our 
 advance will not be the same as last year, through Sala- 
 manca, as we have no great depot being made yet this 
 way at Eodrigo, and should have to force these passes on 
 the Douro; whereas some depots are being formed in 
 Portugal near the Douro, more in the north of Portugal ; 
 and we could in that direction cross the Douro without 
 opposition, turn all these French works on that river, and 
 join the Spanish army in Galicia, but the roads in that 
 case will be much worse. I hope we may go that road, 
 and thus see a new country, and in part, I believe, a fine 
 one. There is one fine pass in the Agava, only five 
 leagues hence, at Barba del Puerto, which I have never 
 yet had time to visit, but shall do so, if possible, after the 
 rain, provided we remain here. 
 
 Lord Wellington, in conversation the other day, told 
 
80 PORTUGUESE LADY. 
 
 me that some Spaniards of rank had talked to him about 
 educating their children at a Eoman Catholic school in 
 England, if there were such. I knew of one or two good 
 girls' schools, but could not remember any good Eoman 
 Catholic boys' school. 
 
 We have a most furious Portuguese lady now here, 
 the wife of a hidalgo of Portugal, whose daughter was 
 run away with by an English officer. Lord Wellington 
 told her that he would give him up to the laws of Por- 
 tugal ; but as he has now married her, Lord Wellington 
 says he will not interfere at all. The woman swears that 
 she will get the priest who married them transported for 
 life by their law, as well as the officer, and has moreover 
 declared she will kill the daughter if she meets her ! 
 
 As to Mr. E , concerning whom you inquire, I 
 
 know nothing about him : we have a ci-devant major of 
 that name just arrived here. He is full of travellers' 
 stories ; has been long a prisoner in Trance : had a pre- 
 fect's wife for his chere amie; escaped with wonderful 
 risks ; joined the Guerillas, got to the coast, and off, I 
 believe, to Cadiz. I am told that he is to be an officer 
 in a new horse-police staff corps about to be esta- 
 blished. 
 
 30th March, Tuesday, 4 o'clock. I have presented four 
 Courts-martial to Lord Wellington, and sent one back 
 for revision as illegal, and confirmed three, two against 
 one man together, two thousand lashes. This is absurd, 
 he will bear six or seven hundred, and there it will end. 
 The sentence, however, is legal, which it was not before, 
 when transportation was the punishment. Lord Wel- 
 lington now addresses me with the familiar " How are 
 you?" So we go on more easily, and I made a sort of 
 proposal to him to insert a passage in general orders now, 
 to be read to the men every day until we march, to let 
 them know that a new police corps was established to 
 catch them, and to tell them that seven officers would be 
 
SICK REPORTS. 81 
 
 sufficient now to hang them, and that Courts would be 
 held always ready in every division. He said he would 
 think about it, and thought it would be of use. 
 
 Dr. M'Gregor told me yesterday, that his sick-list was 
 improving daily, and that if Lord Wellington would give 
 him another month he thought he should bring the 
 greater part into the field. King Joseph, I have just 
 heard, arrived at Valladolid from Madrid on the 23rd 
 instant ; Lord Fitzroy Somerset just read it out of a 
 Spanish private letter. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, Sunday, April kth y 1813. 
 You will observe that I do know when Sunday comes, 
 although that is certainly nearly all. We, however, have 
 a church and a bell, which goes on tolling for hours in a 
 most unattractive manner. We have a church, too, 
 which is made use of for various purposes, civil as well as 
 ecclesiastical ; for instance, one night about one hundred 
 and fifty Spaniards and their mules, officers and all, slept 
 in it. The building is large, considering the size of the 
 village, the floor covered with straw like a stable, but the 
 end where the altar is, is all gold and glitter up to the 
 ceiling. The decorations must originally have been very 
 expensive, for, besides the great expenditure of gold-leaf 
 and foil, and carving, all the ceiling, which is coved and 
 circular, and divided into squares, has a picture of a saint, 
 or a father, a founder, a hermit, or some great divinity 
 hero, in every square. Masses, the funeral service, wed- 
 dings, and christenings, are also performed there. I just 
 look in now and then, for it is awkward to stand there, 
 when all are on their knees on the floor. There is also a 
 little chapel belonging to the owner of Lord Wellington's 
 house ; which is fitted up by Colonel Gr for his quar- 
 ters. He has hung it with red baize, fitted up the altar 
 as his dressing-table, put up an iron stove, and made it 
 one of the best quarters here. 
 
 Lord Wellington looks forward very coolly to another 
 
 G 
 
82 APPEARANCE OF THE ARMY. 
 
 winter here. He said yesterday he should have twenty- 
 five couples of fox-hounds next season. The other day 
 the Commissary-general told him that we had eaten 
 nearly all the oxen in the country, that the cultivation of 
 the lands in Portugal could not go on for want of them, 
 and that he scarcely knew where to turn for a supply of 
 beef, as there was this year no reserve store near Lisbon. 
 Lord Wellington said, " Well, then, we must now set 
 about eating all the sheep, and when they are gone I 
 
 suppose we must go." And General M added, 
 
 "Historians will say that the British army came and 
 carried on war in Spain and Portugal until they had 
 eaten all the beef and mutton in the country, and were 
 then compelled to withdraw." Without joking, I fear 
 our Commissariat may have great difficulties next year. 
 Talking on this subject, I must add that the Portuguese 
 agent here, a sly, money-making man, who has realized 
 about 25,000. during the war, said the news was so 
 good, that he now hoped to get a peace, and that the 
 Portuguese would get rid of the " beefs," meaning the 
 English. Communication as to necessary articles and 
 others is so difficult with Lisbon, that one of Lord Wel- 
 lington's aides-de-camp has been six months getting two 
 bridles up, and C. Campbell four months in getting up a 
 great coat. 
 
 Lord Wellington yesterday, talking of his soldiers and 
 English notions, observed that his men were now all so 
 round-shouldered and slouching in their gait, that he 
 was sure, if his regiment here was in its present state 
 to pass in review at Wimbledon Common, the whole 
 would be sent to drill immediately, and declared quite 
 unfit for service. Indeed, he added, that the men had 
 now got into such a way of doing everything in the 
 easiest manner, that he was often quite ashamed of the 
 sentries before his own quarter. He did not mention 
 this by way of complaint, but as showing how ideas here 
 
SHORTNESS OF PROVISIONS. 83 
 
 and at home differed. He also laughed at our notions in 
 England about the supply of the army, saying that some 
 corporate body or society in England had once made him 
 an offer of twenty bullocks for the army, which would 
 
 last head-quarters only about a week. General M 
 
 said it must have been a mistake the offer must have 
 been for his table only ; not for the army. 
 
 Orders, it is said, are gone round for the Alicant army 
 to be re-embarked and landed in the rear of Suchet, to 
 compel him to quit Valentia if possible ; this will be the 
 first step I conclude. You say you are all looking to us, 
 and want us to move. Our black clouds have all rolled 
 away, and to-day we have again a clear north wind and 
 hot sun, and not a blade of grass growing ; without the 
 latter we cannot stir. If the rains will but come soon 
 and bring grass, we may, perhaps, move in the first week 
 of May, but not before : that is, no important move can 
 take place. Our cavalry, though down below Coimbra, 
 are very much distressed for food, and complaints come 
 up without number from the Portuguese that our people 
 will feed their horses with the young corn, which is now 
 great waste ; but what is to be done ? When we have 
 finished the oxen we may go, as Lord Wellington says, 
 to the sheep, but what are horses to do when hay is all 
 gone, and straw, and there is no grass come ? How little 
 yo YL know in England about the real state of things here, 
 and the requisites for moving in a campaign ! You 
 forget our ten or fifteen thousand animals for baggage 
 and for food, besides the cavalry and artillery, &c. The 
 Portuguese agent here repeats that another campaign in 
 Portugal will be impossible, for there will be neither 
 animals to eat, nor for transport, unless we bring all with 
 us. I hope, however, not to pass another winter at Fre- 
 nada ; but so hoped those who were here last year. 
 
 Did I ever mention to you Lord Wellington's saying 
 how anxious the Prince Eegent was that he should corre- 
 
 G 2 
 
84 THE GUERILLAS. 
 
 spond with him, and how much hurt he was that he hud 
 never done so. " But," observed Lord Wellington, " I 
 wrote to his ministers, and that was enough. What had 
 I to do with him ? However, his late favour was a reason 
 for my writing, and I have had a most gracious answer, 
 evidently courting further correspondence ;" but which he 
 intimated he should not comply with. 
 
 I understand the famous Guerillas are much more 
 dreaded by their own countrymen in the north of Spain 
 than the French, and I fear with some reason, as they are 
 (many of them, at least) very much like banditti. The 
 French, however, suffered so much by them, that they 
 have adopted the same plan, and have their counter 
 Guerillas ; some with French officers to conduct them, 
 and some headed by Guerilla chiefs, who have quarrelled 
 and separated from their companions in the good cause. 
 I was sorry to hear this. The French continue moving 
 about, and their force towards the Tagus diminishes. 
 
 You have my news as I hear it : we are now getting 
 ready ammunition, &c., to the front, to prepare for an 
 advance when possible ; so, perhaps, we may pass Eodrigo, 
 and cross the Douro to the left of Salamanca, if the French 
 stand on that river, as we have now this year pontoons, 
 which we had not last year. We have also a new and 
 more portable battering-train, come out from England, 
 which has arrived as far as Abrantes, where it only waits 
 for means of transport to come on here. That which we 
 had here last year, I am told, was excessively clumsy. 
 
 April 7th. I have heard a number of anecdotes of 
 General Craufurd. All admit that he was very clever 
 and knowing in his profession, and led on his division on 
 the day of his death in the most gallant style ; but Lord 
 Wellington never knew what he would do. He constantly 
 acted in his own way, contrary to orders : and as he com- 
 manded the advanced division, at times perplexed Lord 
 Wellington considerably, who never could be sure where 
 
GENERAL CRAUFURD. 85 
 
 he was. On one occasion, near Guinaldo, .he remained 
 across a river by himself ; that is, with his own division 
 only, nearly a whole day after he was called in by Lord 
 "Wellington. He said he knew that he could defend his 
 position. Lord Wellington, when he came back, only 
 said, " I am glad to see you safe, Craufurd." To which 
 the latter replied, " Oh, I was in no danger, I assure you." 
 " But I was, from your conduct," said Lord Wellington. 
 
 Upon which Craufurd observed, " He is d crusty 
 
 to-day." 
 
 Marmont, when he saw Craufurd filing off next morning, 
 could not believe it : " Diable ! voila Craufurd ! ma foi, 
 faurais pu deviner cela" Another time, Lord Welling- 
 ton said, " Craufurd, you are going into a delicate 
 situation; what orders do you wish for? I will write 
 what you think best." Craufurd told him his own plan 
 and went away. Whilst Lord Wellington was writing 
 them out, and acting accordingly, Craufurd sent him word 
 that he had done something else. On another occasion, 
 Lord Wellington sent to him to say he should inspect his 
 division, and came accordingly. Craufurd never attended 
 until it was half over, and then said that Lord Wellington 
 was before his time ; yet he was very strict with his own 
 division, and would be very exactly obeyed. His division 
 all complained of this, and many officers talked of who 
 should call him out, on one or two occasions, for this. 
 Yet he was so much valued, and the whole division had 
 such confidence in him, that, when he joined them again 
 just before the attack to take the command in the 
 engagement in which he died, the whole division set up 
 a loud shout, so as to frighten a small party of French 
 who were near, who did not know what was the matter, 
 and they ran away. Lord Wellington knew his merits 
 and humoured him. It was surprising what he bore from 
 him at times. 
 
 Lord Wellington celebrated the day of the storming of 
 
86 GRAND DINNER. 
 
 Badajoz with a grand dinner yesterday; only those 
 present at that event were invited. Lord Aylmer had a 
 rival dinner-party, at which was General Murray, &c,, 
 where I dined also. If the good news brings peace, what 
 will become of your humble servant and many others 
 here ? " Othello's occupation's gone 1" 
 
 General Murray is apparently very clever and clear- 
 headed. In my opinion, he comes next to Lord Welling- 
 ton, as far as I have seen. We are all full of the news, 
 for a paper of the 22nd has arrived at Oporto several 
 days later than the mail. We now know about Ham- 
 burg and Cuxhaven, Berlin, &c. I fear that the French 
 will be driven together into one large body, and may then 
 be more than a match for any one army opposed to them, 
 but they will be considerably cowed and disheartened. 
 When will the Dutch be roused to do anything ? Now 
 or never is their time ! 
 
NEWS OF THE PKENCH. 87 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 News of the French- Castilian Costume Equipment of the Army- 
 Melancholy Court-martial Case Wellington in the Battle of Fuentes 
 d'Onore The Chances of War Anecdotes of Wellington His Opinions 
 of the War The New Mutiny Act Wellington on " Vetus "General 
 Murray Advance of the French. 
 
 Head-quarters, Frenada, April 12, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 FROM what I hear, if we could only get grass, 
 Lord Wellington would move about the second week in 
 May. There is no immediate prospect of this, as you will 
 perceive, when I tell you that the Military Secretary has 
 sent all his horses nearly a hundred miles off for grass. 
 
 The news here is, that some more of the French, about 
 twenty men from every regiment, are ordered home. 
 Some, but I believe no great number hitherto, are actually 
 gone : and about three or four thousand conscripts are 
 supposed to have arrived in Spain to fill up the vacancies 
 of the old soldiers removed. Head-quarters will not now 
 probably move until we march; and, from report, we 
 shall not go to Gruinaldo, but stay here quietly until the 
 army is drawn up around us, ready to move. 
 
 The clergy, both here and in Spain, are in general, I 
 understand, fortunately of the same opinion as to the 
 Pope's signing the Concordat, as you say the emigrants 
 are ; that he did it from compulsion, or that a different 
 instrument was substituted for his signature. It was 
 feared that artful plan would have assisted Bonaparte 
 in Spain, 
 
88 THE PRINCE OP ORANGE. 
 
 I hear the same accounts of the state of commerce at 
 Lisbon as George sends from London. Old Colonel 
 Arentschild here says, "She (meaning England) will 
 make enough in Germany, by trade, to enable her, in the 
 first six months, to carry on the war for two years, if 
 necessary." I fear the news in the papers concerning 
 the Prince of Orange was rather premature. He states, 
 that he has hitherto had no offer except from the Conti- 
 nent, nor heard anything from the newspaper. It will 
 prove a prophecy, I hope, instead of a fact. He seems a 
 very amiable, deserving youth, is liked by every one, and 
 has had the greatest of all advantages for a young prince, 
 that of being educated in a great measure with persons 
 who have behaved to him as if he were their equal. So, 
 indeed, he is treated now; except that he has a little 
 more respect paid to him, which I believe is really felt, 
 for he lives nearly on terms of equality with Lord Fitzroy 
 
 Somerset, Lord March, Colonel G , &c., and is quite 
 
 one of the set, and is little or no restraint to any one. I 
 met him, two days ago, scrambling down on the banks of 
 the Coa, three miles off, by himself on foot. He must 
 just now have some interesting subjects for contem- 
 plation, and I have no doubt some very nattering visions 
 pass through his brain. 
 
 I am looking so much better than when I arrived at 
 head-quarters, that Lord Wellington and several others 
 think I am an exception to the general rule, and that the 
 climate here agrees with me. Lord Wellington says he 
 has had so many ill and dead since he has been here, that 
 he does not like to think of it ; many, like General Hulse, 
 &c., whose loss he feels in every way. He says now, he 
 is always ready to let every one go home when first he 
 complains, and is disposed to tell every one who looks ill 
 to be off. 
 
 I have just seen some very handsome specimens of the 
 Castilian dresses, male and female, of the higher classes 
 
DRUNKEN FREAK. 89 
 
 of rich peasantry, made I believe, by a tailor from Sala- 
 manca. The three female dresses Lord Wellington means 
 to give to his nieces for masquerades ; they are covered 
 with work embroidery, lace, and gold ; he gives two 
 thousand dollars for them. The man's dress was for 
 Lord March, and is certainly most becoming to almost 
 every one. 
 
 I must now go and consider the new intended Bill to 
 punish our offenders here, which Lord Beresford has sent 
 for Lord "Wellington to consult him upon it, and he has 
 sent it to me the draught of the intended Act I mean ; 
 and as every one makes some observation, I must make 
 a few also. So, for the present, adieu. 
 
 I never told you that some of our military great boys 
 here got very tipsy on the commemoration of the fall of 
 Badajoz, and went to a poor Juge de Fores, that is a 
 Portugal law magistrate, who was on a visit, and poured 
 a bottle of blacking partly in his mouth, and partly over 
 him, at twelve at night ; and then made him dress, and 
 
 go and help break poor C 's only pane of glass, and 
 
 upset his bed, as he had retired. Soldiers, lawyers, and 
 all, I see, are boys at times alike. 
 
 April I3th. Much too hot for hunting I should 
 think ; but all the sportsmen are out. Lord Wellington 
 has not got good horses to be idle ; he works them well. 
 Besides all the hunting, &c., the day before yesterday, 
 after doing business until twelve o'clock, off he went by 
 himself, without saying a word to any one, across to 
 Ciudad Eodrigo, seventeen miles off, inspected all the 
 works, and was back again here in five hours and a half 
 to dinner. He says that they are now going on very 
 well there, and seems to be a little anxious about his own 
 town. I suspect when we do move that we shall get on 
 fast, for Lord Wellington will like to pass the Douro 
 before the French know his plans. 
 
 Wednesday, April Uth, Post-day. This will be but a 
 
90 CLOTHING OF THE ARMY. 
 
 stupid packet, as I have no news or events here to com- 
 municate. General Castanos arrived here yesterday in a 
 great lumbering carriage, with eight mules and ropes 
 from Cadiz, on his way to his division. He called here 
 for instructions. 
 
 We have had in my own line another murder : a 
 private grenadier of the Buffs shot his officer, on their 
 private parade at Placencia, in the second division, from 
 the window of his quarter, just opposite to that of the 
 officer, and just as he came out to the men, who were all 
 there. The officer was Lieutenant Annesley. The 
 grenadier wounded a sergeant at the same time, and was 
 instantly secured. No quarrel or disagreement was 
 known, but he said that he was satisfied he had killed 
 his enemy, and the day before, when another man com- 
 mitted suicide, he said, "What a fool, not to kill his 
 enemy first, if he had one ! " The officer is well spoken 
 of. The conduct of the grenadier resembles madness 
 more than anything else, yet they say he was not mad ; 
 I have just sent out a charge against him, and an order 
 for his trial. 
 
 Our own army is now quite clothed, I believe. I fear 
 that the Portuguese are only in the middle of theirs, and 
 will not have finished these three weeks. You have no 
 notion what there is to be done before an army like 
 ours is fit to move in such a country as this. We have 
 been three months getting up these clothes from Lisbon 
 for our men ; the tents have not yet arrived for 
 head-quarters, and some say that only the army are 
 to use them. I suppose, however, that we must carry 
 them. 
 
 Lord Tweeddale continues here as an amateur, and 
 will probably advance with us. When we march I may 
 not be able to write so often, as our time will be much 
 occupied, and pen and ink will not be always at hand. 
 An order has just now come out to pay everything up to 
 
APPEARANCE OP CROPS. 91 
 
 the 24th of December, that the officers may have a little 
 money to prepare for the march. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, April 17 th, 1813. The com 
 looks very ill about this place, very thin, very yellow, 
 and indeed positively very bad crops. Whether this is, 
 however, also only comparatively bad as to other years I 
 cannot say ; it would appear to be so to some extent. 
 The soil is here very poor, and I suspect the harvest is 
 never very abundant. Several parts of Spain have this 
 year suffered much from the want of rain, and the very 
 early heat of the weather ; Estremadura in particular : 
 where the sun has been very powerful, everything has 
 been burnt up. My authority for this is General 
 O'Donoghue. 
 
 In my own department I have another rather melan- 
 choly story. Mr. M , a clerk in the commissariat 
 
 department, had been guilty of fraud and embezzlement of 
 stores (some pork, rice, and milk), to no great amount, as 
 far as I could prove under 20?.; but it was sold out of the 
 store at Graligas, in a neighbouring village. By Lord 
 
 Wellington's orders I made out a charge against M , 
 
 and sent it to him at Coimbra, with an order from the 
 Commissary for him to attend under close arrest at Cea 
 to take his trial, as the witnesses were near Galigas. 
 Soon after the receipt of this letter and order he shot him- 
 self, and has thus put an end to the whole business. He 
 was well connected in England, it is said, has respectable 
 friends, and was in a good situation there. A woman 
 with whom he lived here, I believe, was the cause of the 
 whole. When he turned her off she stirred up the wit- 
 nesses against him, and was the cause of its being made 
 known to Sir B. Kennedy, and by his means to Lord 
 Wellington, when of course a prosecution was inevitable. 
 By the Mutiny Act he was liable to transportation for 
 life, fine, imprisonment, or pillory : and he could not stand 
 the disgrace. He partly admitted the charge, but pleaded 
 
92 PROSPECTS OF A MOVE. 
 
 sickness and distress. It was unfortunate that the dis- 
 covery fell on such a subject, for it was, I believe, the first 
 falling off from general good conduct. 
 
 I have now got a Court-martial in the fourth division, 
 the only one which has been hitherto free, to sit near 
 Escalpaon, and to try three fellows for going out at night 
 and stealing seven sheep, keeping sentry as a guard over 
 the two shepherds, whilst they skinned the sheep and 
 divided the meat; two other men, of better characters, 
 were with them, and they are therefore to be admitted as 
 witnesses against the three. The Court at Coimbra has 
 suffered the two worst fellows to escape almost with twelve 
 hundred lashes ; they ought to have been hung, for they 
 are desperate fellows, both Irishmen. They have been 
 most mutinous and insolent whilst under trial, and one of 
 them, a few days since, said he did not know whether he 
 was to be hung or flogged this time, but if the latter, he 
 would take care next time that there should be no wit- 
 nesses to tell of what he had done. 
 
 Lord Wellington said at dinner the day before yester- 
 day, " We must move by the end of the first week in 
 May, that's positive." And then spoke sharply to 
 
 Colonel F of the artillery, because the artillery was 
 
 not arrived. The Colonel coolly replied, " My lord, I do 
 not think the artillery have been, or will be, the cause of 
 your lordship staying at Frenada. Transport is the great 
 difficulty animals are so scarce. The Portuguese make 
 much money, but are afraid of spending it, or getting or 
 breeding animals for fear of their being seized or embar- 
 goed." An engineer has been appointed and sent to each 
 division, and a messenger or Spanish courier (who arrived 
 three days since in four days from Cadiz post), was last 
 night sent post round through Seville to Alicant. Some- 
 thing, therefore, is in agitation, and all this looks like 
 preparation for moving. He expected to arrive at Alicant 
 in eight days at furthest, if not in seven. 
 
NARROW ESCAPE OF WELLINGTON. 93 
 
 Lord Wellington the other day was again talking of 
 the battle of Fuentes d'Onore. He said that he was 
 obliged to ride hard to escape, and thought at one time, as 
 he was on a slow horse, that he should have been taken. 
 The whole of head-quarters, general and all, he added, 
 English dragoons and French dragoons, were all galloping 
 away together across the plain, and he more than once 
 saw a French dragoon in a green coat within twenty 
 yards of him. One Frenchman got quite past them all, 
 and they could not knock him off his horse. At last they 
 caught his bridle and stopped him. 
 
 21 st April. We sup early (as you call your late 
 dinners) here, and are as smart as you are in England in 
 that respect. At present half-past seven is the hour. 
 We cannot change this hour till Lord Wellington does, 
 for business is now going on till six. We also beat the 
 most fashionable in London in one respect, for we have no 
 female society at all here. There is one lady here, Mrs. 
 
 S , and that is all the English we see, once in a week 
 
 perhaps ; and then the men preponderate so that the tone 
 of the society is quite male. There is one Portuguese 
 lady, niece to the Capitan Mor here, or principal resident 
 inhabitant : but she is ugly, and said to be perfumed too 
 strongly with oily salt fish. She is no favourite, and is 
 very little noticed. Her little uncle hunts with Lord 
 Wellington on a little country pony, and does wonders 
 in that way ; he seems an active little Portuguese. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel W , in the Adjutant-general's 
 
 Department here, who was ill when I joined, has now 
 returned. He has had some curious adventures in this 
 country. He once fell in, accompanied by two dragoons, 
 with a small party of French, close to their main body, 
 who were attending some baggage. He, his men con- 
 senting, attacked the French, beat them off, plundered 
 their baggage, and brought off the best mule. The 
 latter he kept himself, and has it here now, and the two 
 
94 ANECDOTE. 
 
 soldiers took the money, &c. On another occasion, lie was 
 riding quietly with Captain D , of the same depart- 
 ment, on the advance from the lines at Torres Vedras on 
 the retreat of Massena. They were quietly jogging on, 
 and were about to enter a place intended to be English 
 head-quarters that day. When close to it, they found the 
 French were still there in force, and saw three French 
 dragoons close upon them, who, however, did not see 
 them. They resolved to attack by surprise. They 
 knocked two off from their horses, and attacked the third ; 
 he got away and they pursued him. In the mean time 
 
 the other two set off. It ended, however, in W and 
 
 D securing one dragoon horse, and some other booty, 
 
 with which they got safely away. Soon after this Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel "W was himself taken prisoner at 
 
 Sabugal, when the French advanced during the siege of 
 Badajoz. He was then mounted on this very dragoon 
 horse, which he had kept as booty ; the horse was known 
 by the French when he was carried in. He was asked 
 how he came by the horse ? He said he bought it of a 
 soldier ; and as the three Frenchmen had reported that 
 they had been attacked by a " dozen men in buckram," 
 and had said nothing of two officers, it all went off well, 
 and he kept their secret and his own. He refused to give 
 his parole, and was therefore ill fed, and kept prisoner 
 .with privates, and treated like the rest, except that they 
 let him ride Dragon, as he had christened his horse. 
 
 Near Salamanca, a Spanish friend to whom he had 
 been kind came to offer his services to him : " Only get 
 me a new pair of very sharp rowels to my spurs," said 
 he, "that is all I want." This was done, and on the 
 next day, the party, a whole French column of infantry, 
 marched on at daybreak about seven. Just near the end 
 of the wood, near Salamanca, in a wide open part of the 
 road, he observed that most of the French horsemen were 
 dismounted ; so turning about, he used his new rowels 
 
IMPROVED STATE OF DISCIPLINE. 95 
 
 strongly, got the start of them in some way, and was off. 
 He galloped till he heard no one behind him. At first 
 there was a shout of " Le Mayo, le Mayo'' and some pur- 
 sued; he then crossed another road where another 
 French party was, got round by the mountains, reached, 
 I think, Tamones by eleven that night, and to Fuentes 
 d'Onore next day safely. The French had fed their 
 horses in the fields at night on grass, and were soon 
 blown. He had refused to suffer his horse to leave him, 
 and gave him only a little bran, yet though his horse 
 was a slow one too, he thus got safely off. He has since 
 sold the horse. Lord Wellington asked him " Why ?" 
 He said, " Because, my lord, I was very near being taken 
 again on him when with your lordship at the battle of 
 Fuentes d'Onore, and that would be awkward, as the 
 horse is known by the French." He seems an odd 
 character. 
 
 The Commissaries all live here exceedingly well, the 
 Lord knows how out of their pay ; and that ought to be 
 nearly their only advantage. 
 
 Frenada, Head- Quarters, April 24#A, 1813. Four 
 Generals have arrived Graham, Fane, Picton, and 
 Oswald: Sir Stapleton Cotton, who has received orders 
 to command the whole cavalry, has, however, not yet 
 arrived, and is much wanted; but Graham and Picton 
 are very good officers. 
 
 Lord Wellington, a few days since, said that he 
 hoped the Spaniards were in many respects getting on 
 much better ; that there was a numerous body now well 
 clothed at least, and armed and tolerably disciplined; 
 that he was always ordering the drills to go on with 
 spirit, and by perseverance he thought they were much 
 improving ; that he never interfered with the mode, but 
 asked what their military rules and laws were, and then 
 said, " Well, that is very good ; now mind and see that 
 they are put in force, and, remember, it is not I but your 
 
96 ANECDOTE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 law orders this ; I have only to see your laws executed, 
 which are very good, and they must be obeyed." He 
 said, the Staff here seemed well satisfied. 
 
 The artillery is what Lord Wellington rails at most. 
 They cannot get on so well as he thinks they ought, or 
 at least as he wants them to do. I do not mean in 
 particular at this moment, but generally. The officers 
 commanding this part of the army are rather heavy and 
 slow, or, as Lord Wellington said himself one day of a 
 late commander, "I took care to let him feel that I 
 thought him very stupid." " That must have been," 
 General Murray said privately, "by telling him so in 
 
 plain terms, I have no doubt." Colonel F , who 
 
 commanded the artillery at the battle of Salamanca, and 
 who is very well spoken of by every one, but at times, I 
 believe, is slow, was once with Lord Wellington at an 
 audience when things went wrong, and Lord Wellington 
 got irate, who told him pretty nearly that his friend 
 concerning whom he was inquiring " might go to h ." 
 
 Colonel F came muttering out, " 111 go, Sir, to the 
 
 Quarter-Master-general for a route," which Lord Wel- 
 lington heard, and laughed at well. 
 
 General Murray says that on hunting-days he could 
 get almost anything done, for Lord Wellington stands 
 whip in hand ready to start, and soon despatches all 
 business. Some of the Generals, Lord Wellington 
 observed one day, used to come and hunt and then get 
 on business, and get him to answer things in a hasty way, 
 which he did not intend, but which they acted upon. 
 " Oh, d - them," said he, " I won't speak to them 
 
 again when we are hunting." Colonel F J s friend 
 
 on his route to his destination would have found plenty 
 of fuel but less green forage than we have here. 
 
 By all accounts the first day after we were in Ba- 
 dajoz, the scene was very shocking in every way. 
 Nothing but dead and wounded on all sides, and 
 
CONVERSATION WITH WELLINGTON. 97 
 
 drunkenness and plunder in all directions. Even Lord 
 Wellington, when in the street with his staff, was fol- 
 lowed by drunken soldiers, continually firing feux-de-joie 
 over his head with ball-cartridges, and never thinking 
 where the balls went. 
 
 The Portuguese Government have got bolder, and 
 have tried some of our people by their laws, when caught 
 in the act, and have sent two or three of them to the 
 coast of Africa. If this were generally known, it would 
 do more good, I believe, than our flogging. Lord 
 Wellington said formerly, that their government always 
 declined trying our people themselves, but now they 
 generally accepted the offer when made. Lieutenant 
 
 K , of the Gruards, who was tried and acquitted last 
 
 week of ordering a sentry to fire and killing a native, was 
 very much alarmed lest the Portuguese should try him, 
 as it was at first agreed. It was a hasty act on his part, 
 but there was a slight riot, and I think in law he was 
 properly acquitted, for he was struck with a stone by 
 some one in the mob which was collected. 
 
 My cases are now rather increasing again, I think, and 
 will probably continue until we march. I have had two 
 very blackguard officers to try in the Eoyal Drivers' corps. 
 Sheep-stealing has now succeeded to pig-shooting, as pork 
 is out of season. The horses are now like mad when 
 turned out, and are scampering all over the country. 
 
 I had a long conversation with Lord Wellington yes- 
 terday. After discussing our business up and down the 
 market-place, he said that " the want of rain began to be 
 very alarming ; but that as soon as the pontoons arrived 
 he would be off. The heavy artillery have started two or 
 three days since from Castello Branco, and will be here 
 by the 31st. The pontoons are stuck somewhere on the 
 road." He discussed the wai; here, and in the North, 
 with me : observing that, " a country ought to think well 
 before it undertook to do what Spain did ; that, certainly, 
 
 H 
 
98 CONVERSATION WITH WELLINGTON. 
 
 Spain and Portugal were the fittest places to try the 
 experiment of a battle for the mere soil, because in general 
 there was nothing else in the country much worth 
 fighting for, or which could be much damaged." 
 
 "As, for instance," he added, "what is this village 
 worth ? burn it, and a few hundreds would make it as 
 good as ever with a little labour ; but now," he continued, 
 " he believed that a great portion of the Spaniards began 
 to be very anxious to bring the business to a close ; they 
 had rather that we should beat out the French and be off, 
 but, next to that, they had sooner the French beat us out, 
 and had quiet possession, than that such a war as that of 
 the last three years should be continued." He said "he 
 thought the Cortes were going on ill ; that they were 
 unpopular, knew it, and did not know how to set about 
 becoming otherwise ; that he disapproved of their med- 
 dling with the royal feudal tithes, or church property, and 
 particularly with the elections of the next assembly, with 
 which he thought they had nothing to do. They have 
 declared the elections of one district all void, from some 
 informality, and as the new elections have run much upon 
 priests, they have been trying to make these void, as 
 being within the clause concerning placemen in their 
 constitution ' that no placeman was to be elected for his 
 own district/ However," he continued, " in the present 
 state of things all the real and urgent business, and what 
 is now the most material, namely, all relating to the army 
 and the war, is done here, at Frenada, and let them 
 squabble at Cadiz ; if they will leave us alone, I don't 
 care. Portugal is for some time quite safe and out of the 
 scrape, and if things go on well I think Spain will be out 
 of the scrape also." "But," he added, "he should be 
 almost sorry to see such a war as this has been carried on 
 all over Germany, where there is so much to destroy, and 
 to be lost." 
 
 In spite of the poverty of the country and the difficulty 
 
NEW MUTINY ACT. 99 
 
 as to obtaining bullocks, we have somehow or other 
 collected one thousand here to begin the campaign with : 
 I hear one hundred and fifty fine ones for the artillery. 
 
 April Z6th. I am kept going to the last minute. A 
 number of new cases are come in, and I am very busy 
 again ; the more so, as the time is so short, and so uncer- 
 tain when all my Courts are to break up. I cannot get 
 below a dozen cases in hand, for new ones arise faster 
 than I try the old ones. 
 
 I have just heard from Coimbra, that one Court-martial 
 is broken up by a division of cavalry moving down to 
 Oporto. I do not quite understand this, but conclude 
 that they will pass the river somewhere below, and so 
 march through the Tras os Montes, and join us again on 
 the other side of the Douro, and have a good untouched 
 country to advance through otherwise this does not look 
 like a march. No one knows, however, and probably I 
 know as much as the Adjutant-General. I must now 
 write to Lord Wellington ; this movement at Coimbra 
 has disturbed two of my Coimbra cases very much. 
 
 The new Mutiny Act has been sent out to me. There 
 are several changes, one I see which I suggested ; but the 
 business is very much bungled. The Mutiny Act and 
 Articles of War are now at variance, as the latter have 
 not been altered with the former. By the first, an officer 
 may be tried here by a Court of seven members ; by 
 the articles, there must be thirteen. 
 
 Some of the fifth division have, I hear, moved across the 
 Douro at Lamego. This confirms the opinion I have 
 given above, especially as D'Urban's Portuguese cavalry 
 are all north of the Mondego, and have been some time 
 there. This will disturb another of my Courts. Lord 
 Wellington says, that the witnesses must follow and try 
 and catch the Court ; but I am no hunter, and shall try 
 to remove the case to another place. I dine with Lord 
 Wellington. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 SPANISH GAZETTE. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, Saturday May 1st, 1813. 
 This last week I have again been very busy, and shall 
 remain so, no doubt, until we move. This will probably 
 be in a week or so, for our wings are in motion. The 
 cavalry round by Oporto, as I mentioned before, and some 
 Portuguese infantry, under Colonel Hamilton, are ad- 
 vancing to Alcantara from near Portalegre and Eloss. 
 We shall soon be drawing together, but head-quarters, I 
 have very little doubt, will be the last to move. We have 
 just got the "Spanish Gazette" of Seville, with Elio's 
 letter, stating the victory gained by General Murray near 
 Alicant, and his driving Suchet back with loss, through 
 Bejar and Yillana to Fuente Higuera. I conclude you 
 will have heard this in England before this reaches you. 
 We have no English account, but Lord Wellington seems 
 to consider it very good news. He came running into the 
 Military Secretary's room, where I was yesterday, to 
 communicate this, saying, " Murray has beat Suchet, 
 Fitzroy." I always expected the fighting would begin in 
 that quarter this campaign. We got also yesterday from 
 Lisbon the almost incredible good news that Austria had 
 agreed to join the Allies with eighty thousand men in 
 Germany, and one hundred thousand in Italy, and that 
 Davoust and Grenier had been again defeated. Lord 
 Wellington seems rather to give credit to all this. Poof 
 Bony will go mad if it should prove all to be true. 
 
 A few days since at dinner at Lord Wellington's, he 
 got upon the subject of " Vetus." He said, " He thought 
 he knew the author, and that he had been in India 
 not Mackintosh, as reported here." He then went on to 
 say, " he did not think much of Vetus 's letters :* that 
 many of his facts as to this country were quite without 
 foundation ; that neither Yetus, nor the O. P.'s, nor 
 
 * If the letters of Vetus were written, as was supposed, by Lord 
 Wellesley, it is quite clear that Lord Wellington was ignorant of the 
 fact. ED. 
 
MRS. M. A. CLARK. - 10 1 
 
 Lord Wellesley, knew anything about the war here, and 
 what could or could not be done ; that he fully believed 
 Government had done all they could ; that the men who 
 did come could not have been here sooner, and perhaps 
 had better have come still later ; thai more cavalry he 
 could not have employed, had he had them at Lisbon, 
 for want of transport for food ; that when he advanced 
 formerly to Talavera, he left several thousand men at 
 Lisbon, because he could not supply them had they been 
 with the army ; that even now he could not have brought 
 up the Hussar brigade into the field, unless by draught- 
 ing home the three regiments whose men he lately had 
 sent back, and thus setting at liberty their transport; 
 that the Guards, Life and Blues, he knew of some time 
 since, and sent five months ago to Estremadura to collect 
 mules for their supply; that every two dragoons em- 
 ployed a mule to feed the men and horses, and that all 
 this difficulty in the detail was quite unknown at home. 
 In short, he said, Lord Wellesley knew nothing about 
 the matter, and he had no reason to be dissatisfied with 
 Government at home." All this made several of us 
 stare. I am told that Lord Wellington was very angry 
 with Lord Wellesley for his resignation, and hardly 
 spoke to any one for some days after he had heard the 
 fact. Lord Paget has just sent up here two of the 
 Hussars, a corporal and a private, to wait as orderlies on 
 my lord the peer ; two very fine fellows. This 'was done 
 out of compliment. They will only be ruined at head- 
 quarters, which is a terrible place for soldiers and ser- 
 vants ; over-pay, great idleness, and every third house a 
 wine-house. 
 
 I have just read Mrs. M. A. Clark and the Messrs. 
 Fitzgerald's, &c., which Lord Fitzroy Somerset sent me 
 by desire of Lord Wellington. It is a curious produc- 
 tion, and very ingenious as I understand it, merely as a 
 punishment on the Chancellor of the Exchequer for not 
 
(' GENERAL MUEEAY. 
 
 letting her profit by the Treasury, and, at the same time, 
 a strong inducement to all others in her favour, held over 
 their heads in terrorem, not to be guilty of equal ingrati- 
 tude ; that is, not .to neglect making up her deficiBnces in 
 cash when a hint has been given them of the necessity. 
 
 May 2nd. Lord Wellington, I hear is to go to-day to 
 General Cole's division, the fourth, near the Figuiera, 
 above Castello Eodrigo, and near Eschalao. He sends 
 his hounds over the six leagues to-day : they hunt there 
 to-morrow. On Tuesday he is to review the fourth divi- 
 sion, and return here to dinner at Frenada afterwards. 
 Lord Wellington said, some days since, he would move 
 on the 5th of May : some of the army may, and will, I 
 have no doubt ; but I do not think we shall before the 
 1 Oth. No one knows, however ; and I dare say no one 
 will know until the day before, when all will be in a 
 bustle. I hope we shall not set out in this weather, 
 however, which continues constant cold, rain, and wind. 
 By watching sharp, I can generally get an hour's ride 
 dry ; but it will be rather dismal work to start on a long 
 march in this wet, and it would, from the state of the 
 roads, knock up the mules too much at first, when I take 
 it they will have far enough to go. 
 
 If the news from Austria be true, and General Murray 
 has really beaten Suchet in an English and not merely 
 in a Spanish fashion, the French, when they hear we 
 have crossed the Douro, will probably go at once behind 
 the Ebro, carrying all they can with them that is move- 
 able and worth carriage. At present, however, their 
 plan seems to be, to try to make a stand on the Douro 
 first. They are evidently receding gradually from Ma- 
 drid. 
 
 Later. I have just heard that part of my gossip of 
 head-quarters is not correct. Lord Wellington has got 
 a cold, and has determined not to go to General Cole to- 
 day, though the weather has now cleared up. 
 

 PRINCE REGENT'S STALLIONS. 103 
 
 May 3rd, Monday. Lord Wellington is rather worse 
 to-day, I hear, and does not leave Frenada. I hope his 
 review will be quite put off. He has, I believe, only a 
 bad cold. We have still no further news from Alicant : 
 at Cadiz they had only seen the same account that we 
 have. Mr. Wellesley says that the people were in high 
 spirits about it there, though I suspect that some of the 
 Spaniards did not behave well. The allied loss is reported 
 to be nine hundred, that of the French at two thousand. 
 If we could kill off at this rate, and make the Spaniards 
 bear a fair share, this would do very well. I have since 
 
 heard from Colonel C that it is supposed Elio's 
 
 troops behaved ill, and threw away their arms. Elio's 
 corps had received orders not to fight, but to unite with 
 General Murray : he was just about to do so, and part of 
 his corps was on his left, but too far distant, and gave 
 way when attacked. The orders were, for all the corps, 
 Elio's, Del Parque's, &c., to unite with General Murray 
 without a battle. General Murray will scarcely be able 
 to do much (if he has beat Suchet) with his small force, 
 if he cannot trust the Spaniards. I hope, however, 
 Whittingham's corps has behaved well. 
 
 May 4>th t Tuesday.- Lord Wellington has just got 
 eight of the Prince Eegent's grey stallions up from 
 Lisbon to draw his carriage on the march : they are 
 small, but showy, little, prancing, round-carcassed ani- 
 mals. They have the same mark as is on my black 
 horse from Machacha ; but mine beats them in beauty. 
 To-day they were tried, and not having been for some 
 time, or ever, in harness, or not liking the country so 
 well as Lisbon, they would not for a long time go at all. 
 One reared up and fell backwards twice, clean over, and 
 one got astride the pole. They got on better, however, 
 at last, and did not break the carriage as I expected. 
 Lord Wellington's six old large mules would do the 
 work much better, though they are not so showy for 
 Spain, 
 
104 DISCORDANT ACCOUNTS. 
 
 I saw Lord Wellington to-day, he said he was much 
 better ; but has apparently a heavy, bad cold. 
 
 May th. Here we are, still mum, as I expected ; 
 and the reason for it is now said to be that the pontoons 
 are not yet arrived. They left Castello Branco May the 
 1st only, and, it is said, cannot reach this place before the 
 9th. Monday the 10th is now talked of; I think, how- 
 ever, it may be still Thursday next, the day after the 
 post-day again, before we stir ; most people say, however, 
 Tuesday the llth ; much may depend on news. Of 
 course, Lord Wellington must be very anxious to know 
 the true state of the North of Europe before we start ; 
 and the present strong south-west gales are much against 
 our hearing soon ; he also wishes to know the exact effect 
 of the fight at Alicant. I dined yesterday at head- 
 quarters, and Lord F. Somerset told me that they had 
 more irregular accounts of the latter business, and that 
 they became less and less satisfactory. It was understood 
 that the Spaniards, when first attacked alone, were charged 
 and quite cut up by the French muy mal tratado, is the 
 Spanish private account ; and one whole regiment, I am 
 told, surrendered. Three regiments are considered to be 
 mis hors de combat. Our army, it appears, did certainly 
 afterwards at last beat back a French partial attack with 
 loss ; but our vanguard had been beaten back before, and 
 the loss in our army, English and Sicilians, without 
 Spaniards, was nine hundred. This will not do ; still 
 it is to be hoped that Whittingham's people behaved 
 better. 
 
 Lord Wellington dined at table again yesterday, and 
 was much better. I sat next to him on one side and the 
 Prince of Orange on the other, as there happened to be 
 no other grandees there ; and we had much conversation. 
 This has happened two or three times lately, when I have 
 been there, and there are few besides his own establish- 
 ment present. He always calls the two who are on his 
 right and left, and Campbell settles the rest. Lord F. 
 
ADVANCE OF THE FRENCH. 105 
 
 Somerset sent me yesterday a little pamphlet of Lord 
 Wellington's, containing the account of the Eussian 
 retreat rather a catchpenny, I think ; and, though not 
 exceeding the Russian gazettes in the number of French 
 prisoners, adding several rather incredible details, such 
 as the French crawling into the fires like gnats into a 
 candle, without being sensible of their danger, &c. 
 
 The French, who had quitted Toledo altogether, have 
 again advanced, and occupied it with much the same 
 force as before, to the great discomfiture of the junta 
 there, who thought the " Esclaves " (as they call them in 
 the account of the Alicant battle) were gone for good and 
 for ever. To-day Lord Wellington keeps the anniversary 
 of the battle of Fuentes d'Onore, and all present at that 
 battle are to dine with him. 
 
 5M (Later). Since writing the above, I have received 
 a case of a deserter from the Isla de Leon. Two years 
 since he deserted to the French, and persuaded others to 
 go with him. As no time is now to be lost, I have 
 drawn the charge and sent the whole off to Lamego for 
 trial directly. My only Court which has as yet moved, 
 or had orders to move, is that at Coimbra, who are 
 cavalry, and are now at Oporto. I have sent Mr. Com- 
 missary D , from Coimbra, there to be tried, for a 
 
 breach of orders ; and a number of witnesses are all gone 
 with him on both sides to Oporto : I only hope they may 
 not, by any sudden order, have all their march .for 
 nothing. We have now, since Christmas, tried eighty 
 cases, and there are still ten in hand, besides about 
 thirty which have come to nothing. 
 
106 NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Newspaper Complaints Wellington's Comments Review of the Por- 
 tuguese Gatherings at Head-quarters Reviews Recommencement of 
 the March The Route. 
 
 Head-quarters, Frenada, 
 
 May 8, 1813. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 I HAVE first to thank you for your letter and 
 paper of the 21st, which was most acceptable, as it hap- 
 pened to be, once more, the only paper of that date at 
 head- quarters, and of course the only one which had the 
 accounts from the French papers of Bonaparte's having 
 left Paris, and of the state of their armies, &c. Finding 
 this to be the case I hastened to read it, and laid it, with 
 three Courts-martial, before Lord Wellington ; more par- 
 ticularly, among other things, pointing out to him a 
 malicious letter against him, from Lisbon, stating the 
 discontent of the cavalry officers at having their horses 
 turned over to the Germans, and at its being done by a 
 Grerman officer, &c., and the disgrace at being sent home 
 dismounted. He read it through, and at every sentence 
 of that part relating to the general state of the cavalry, 
 he went on, with a laugh, " a lie ! " ' ' a lie ! " " a lie ! " 
 except as to Lieutenant-colonel Sherlock's being vexed at 
 the regiment being sent home. " That's very true all 
 the rest is a lie ! " 
 
 I think we are still likely to be here for some days. 
 The pontoons are only expected to arrive in this neigh- 
 bourhood to-morrow, and I have then heard it whispered 
 that we shall not stir until they are on the banks of the 
 
GENERAL GRAHAM. 107 
 
 river, or indeed till they are fixed ready. The brigade of 
 heavy artillery, namely, six eighteen-pounders, were en- 
 camped about two miles from hence on Thursday, and I 
 went over to see them. The difficulty of transport may 
 be conceived when I tell you that there were above a 
 hundred and sixty of the strongest oxen employed in 
 getting these six pieces, with the appurtenances, along 
 the road, besides spare animals. 
 
 The next day the whole proceeded to Almeyda ; this, 
 and what I hear about the pontoons, makes me conceive 
 that a part of the army at least will cross the Douro 
 immediately, somewhere in the vicinity of Eschalona ; but 
 of course I can only conjecture, and am very much in the 
 dark on the subject. The troops still remain at Lamego, 
 Vizeu, Cea, Coria, Moimento, &c. ; the cavalry only round 
 by Oporto, and some of General Hill's, have moved yet. 
 The Hussar brigade are now all up near us, and the 
 Household troops all in the road on this and the other 
 side of Sabugal. Some of the 'Blues have been here ; they 
 are in fine order. I saw some horses as fat as in Eng- 
 land ; I hear, however, a much worse account of the Life- 
 Guard horses. Colonel H., of the Blues, says that he does 
 not see why his horses should not continue to be in as 
 good condition as they are now, and look as well through 
 the campaign; the other soldiers here, however, say, 
 " Wait for a little duty and starvation, and then talk ; 
 you have done nothing but come up in the best time of 
 the year, in the grass season." 
 
 I dined yesterday at head- quarters, to meet General 
 Graham. He is a very fine old man, but does not indeed 
 look quite fit for this country work ; every one seems to 
 think and say the same, and also that he is broken since 
 he was here. It is really to be regretted that such a fine 
 old man should be exposed as he must be. General 
 Picton was also there, and seemed in full vigour. All 
 the great guns come here to pay their respects to head- 
 
108 REVIEW OF SPANISH CAVALRY. 
 
 quarters. Lord Wellington is quite well again ; was out 
 hunting on Thursday, and, being kept in by rain all 
 yesterday, is making up for it to-day by persisting in his 
 expedition to the fourth division. He was to set out 
 at seven this morning for the review of General Cole's 
 division, on a plain beyond Castel Eodrigues, about 
 twenty-eight miles from hence, was to be on the ground 
 about ten, and was to return to dinner to-day by four or 
 five o'clock. This is something like vigour, and yet I 
 think he overdoes it a little ; he has, however, a notion 
 that it is exercise which makes head-quarters more healthy 
 than the rest of the army generally is, and that the 
 hounds are one great cause of this. 
 
 Monday, May IQth. The weather is, since yesterday, 
 clearing up again, and is just now perfection a mild sun, 
 moist ground, and fine, genial, south-west wind : it will 
 soon turn now to heat. I inquire daily about the 
 pontoons, upon which our movement depends, and have 
 now ascertained that they only left Castello Branco three 
 days since, and that a commissariat clerk went yesterday 
 to meet them with fresh animals at Sabugal. They 
 cannot be here, it is clear, before the 13th and 14th, and 
 so says General Picton, who passed the men on the road. 
 If they are then to move on to be fixed, we cannot well 
 stir before the 16th or 17th, and that seems the general 
 opinion here now, though Lord Wellington appears to be 
 impatient about it. 
 
 I have now to tell you of a piece of gaiety of mine 
 yesterday. I went to leave a Court-martial with Lord 
 Wellington about twelve o'clock; saw him, and found 
 that he was at two o'clock to set out for another review 
 of the Spanish cavalry of the Conde de Penne Villemur, 
 who have often been mentioned, and were of use in General 
 Hill's surprise, &c. I had much curiosity to see these 
 gentlemen, and finding, after calling upon the Adjutant- 
 general, that I had only one summons to send out, I 
 
REVIEW OF SPANISH CAVALllY. 109 
 
 agreed with Lord Aylmer to go with him to this review, 
 ran home, wrote, sent off my summons, dressed, &c., got 
 my black horse equipped in his best also, and at one we 
 set off for Huero, near which the cavalry were ordered to 
 assemble, on the Agueda. It was about twelve or thir- 
 teen miles distant, and we got there, riding gently, soon 
 after three, having gone about two miles round, under 
 the guidance of Colonel B = , close to the Quinta de 
 Agueda, a pretty farm and gentleman's house (so esteemed 
 here), in a wild, park-like scene in the wood. I knew the 
 road well, for it was nearly my way to Ghiinaldo, but I 
 had no objection to see this Quinta, so took merit for my 
 modesty, but only undertook to be guide home. The 
 meadows were quite green, the woods all coming out in 
 leaf, and the thorn in blossom. 
 
 At about a mile from this place we fell in with Lord 
 Wellington and his aides-de-camp, who had got over, in 
 about an hour and twenty minutes, by my road. The 
 party then consisted of Lord Wellington, Lord F. 
 Somerset, Colonel C. Campbell, the Prince of Orange, his 
 
 aide-de-camp, Lord Aylmer, Colonel B , and myself; 
 
 and I assure you the black went neighing about in high 
 spirits, looking very sleek and respectable. On the 
 ground we were met by the Spanish generals O'Donnell 
 and O'Lalor, and found the cavalry drawn up in front of 
 the river in open order, about seven hundred in all. The 
 first and best regiment was that of Algarve, the second 
 was that of Estremadura, and then came on the left a 
 single squadron of partizans, to be the regiment de 
 Gallicia. The two first regiments were tolerably clothed, 
 and some of the men fine-looking fellows, all very fierce 
 in appearance, with their dark faces and black beards, &c. 
 The arms, though not uniform, good enough ; the greater 
 part with our cavalry broadsword and carbine, but many 
 with our sailors' long straight boar ding- sword, and no 
 bad weapon either I should think the best of the two. 
 
110 EEVIEW OF SPANISH CAVALRY. 
 
 The helmets black and steel, or rather bright iron- 
 were serviceable, and seemed to have seen no little 
 service ; many, however, were black and brass, belonging 
 to other regiments, of Saguntum, &c. ; the belts generally 
 white, at least those of the Algarve regiment, many black 
 in the other. The horses, in general, very small, and 
 some scarcely fit for duty, but for the most part appa- 
 rently well fed, and in very fair condition ; out of the two 
 one very tolerable set might have been chosen, as good, I 
 understand, as many French regiments have been when 
 here. 
 
 The left squadron of Portuguese were queer-looking 
 gentlemen, in dirty brown, blue, and green jackets of all 
 hues and ages ; one fellow among them was quite a 
 monster m size, and excited much notice. Lord Wel- 
 lington quite burst out into a laugh as he passed. After 
 his lordship and his suite had passed in front and in the 
 rear of the whole, as in England, they passed him in 
 troops and saluted. The officers then appeared the 
 worst they were awkward louts; some -did not salute 
 at all, some in a most clumsy manner ; but perhaps this 
 was not a custom with them, as they had inquired what 
 was usual with us. They were, many of them, how- 
 ever, round-shouldered, dirty, ill-looking men. Lord 
 Wellington desired them to form once into close column, 
 and then to deploy again, and as there was more room 
 across the river, desired it might be done there. We gal- 
 loped across, and then the scene of the cavalry passing 
 the ford was very picturesque, as the day was very fine 
 and the mountains and country in great beauty. This 
 was between Huero and Castilegos. They manoeuvred 
 thus much very tolerably, that is, the regiment, for the 
 squad of partizans remained behind practising the broad- 
 sword. The ground on which the regiments were re- 
 viewed was quite a bog. 
 
 About five o'clock off went Lord Wellington in a 
 
REVIEW OF SPANISH CAVALRY. 1 1 1 
 
 gallop across the country home to dinner. We all followed 
 close for about a league, and then, to save our animals, 
 not having fifteen as he has, Lord F. Somerset, Lord 
 Aylmer, General Oswald, and myself went quietly on, 
 and got here about a quarter after seven, I for one much 
 pleased with my trip. The Conde P. Villemur did not 
 command, and, as I understand, has retired in disgust 
 altogether, because there is a commander-in-chief ap- 
 pointed in the cavalry, and he wished to be appointed if 
 there was to be one, or at least not to have any one over 
 him. He was always, it is said, a person who had a will 
 of his own, and did not like to obey orders. These jea- 
 lousies and quarrels are much to be regretted. The 
 officer who commanded was Monte Major. His aide- 
 de-camp told me that a number of their men were on 
 duty, and that their real numbers were above one thou- 
 sand. 
 
 The review of the fourth division was, I believe, much 
 more satisfactory to Lord Wellington, as everything was 
 in high order Portuguese and all, about six thousand 
 five hundred ; but having so often seen a good English 
 review, I was much more gratified with these Spanish 
 gentlemen. The Life-Guards, &c., are to be inspected 
 to-morrow. 
 
 The messenger who was sent off on the 17th to Ali- 
 cant has returned to-day, and has been round by Cadiz 
 in his return. He makes our loss less only about three 
 hundred, I hear from the official statement and that of 
 the French greater : and I was very glad to hear that 
 Whittingham's men had behaved well, and that General 
 Murray was well satisfied with them. The messenger 
 rode from Cadiz here in three days. 
 
 We have here to-day all the grandees Marshal Beres- 
 ford, General Alava, Don Julian, General Graham; the 
 latter has been to the review above sixteen miles distant, 
 to see the Household Brigade. They mustered eight 
 
112 INCREASE OF DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 hundred and twenty-nine rank and file in the field, that 
 is, Blues and Life-Guards together, and seven hundred 
 and fifty-one horses, and performed very well. The 
 horses of the Blues much the best, some of the Life- 
 Guards' rather skeletonish. I still fear General Graham 
 is too old for this work ; at least he must not act as he did 
 at Barossa. Before the battle, I am told, he stood up to 
 his middle in the water for an hour or more, encouraging 
 the troops to get on, English and Spanish ; and jumped 
 off his horse on purpose for the example. It is added, 
 some of the men said, " Come, old corporal, do go and 
 take care of yourself, and get out of our way." 
 
 Lord Wellington was to-day in his full Colonel's dress 
 uniform of the Blues, and looked very well in it. 
 
 Wednesday, Y&tli, Post-day. Head-Quarters,Frenada. 
 Still here, and very probably we shall be so for some 
 days. There are symptoms, however, of a move soon, 
 such as the packing of Lord Wellington's claret, &c. 
 The pontoons are expected the day after to-morrow. 
 The twenty-four-pounders are on their march through 
 Gallicia from Corunna. The eighteen-pounders have 
 passed on by Almeyda from hence. The cavalry near 
 the coast, whom I caught for a Court-martial at Oporto 
 sending every witness from Coimbra, have now in part, I 
 understand, passed Braga. I sent a case yesterday to 
 Lamego, but fear it will be too late, and must be tried 
 on the march : there are so many little delays, however, 
 that I may yet be in time. The difficulties now increase. 
 
 Lord Wellington and Colonel F of the artillery do 
 
 not agree. Lord Wellington complains much of the 
 
 heads of that department. He sent B home some 
 
 time since, and I now hear F is to go to England, 
 
 and for the present at least Lieut. -colonel D is to 
 
 have the command. F is much of a gentleman, I 
 
 think ; draws, it is said, very well, &c., but has a bad 
 memory, is nervous, and raises difficulties, which I sus- 
 

 THE PONTOONS. 113 
 
 pect Lord Wellington does not encourage, but expects 
 things to be done if possible. I am now told that 
 General Pakenham is to act as Adjutant-general to the 
 army, and supersede Lord Aylmer, the deputy Adjutant- 
 general, but who has acted hitherto as principal. Every 
 one speaks most highly of Pakenham. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Frenada, May 15th, 1813. Saturday. 
 The first division of the Guards and Germans left 
 Vizeu for Lamego three days since. The fifth division 
 have left Lamego, and are marching through the Tras os 
 Montes. The seventh division have left Moimento, I 
 believe, on the same route. The sixth have also left Cea. 
 
 "When the French, who are still at Salamanca, Arevalo, 
 Avila, Madrid, &c., hear that we have thus crossed the 
 Douro and turned their position, they must either assemble 
 and give battle, which I think they will not do, or they 
 must at once go beyond the Ebro, and then I suppose we 
 shall attack Burgos, and cross after them. However it 
 be, I expect a good long march in the outset. The 
 army, however, on the whole, is in good condition, and 
 never has had so long a repose, or been so regularly 
 clothed. The sick are reduced to nearly seven thousand, 
 and will probably be never much less. A very bad report 
 has been made of the pontoons : they changed the oxen 
 for horses, and these treated them roughly. The day 
 before yesterday so bad a report was made of them, that 
 yesterday, when they reached Sabugal, off went Lord 
 Wellington about twenty-six miles to look at them with 
 his own eyes. I hear he is glad to know the worst, 
 but that is bad. They are made too slight, were old and 
 had new bottoms made for them, but now the sides are 
 very much shaken and decayed. Exaggerated reports 
 have reached us that the tin covering is knocked in 
 holes, and that the wood of the sides may be pinched out 
 by the touch in some places. Lord Wellington may now, 
 however, act accordingly, knowing the worst. They will 
 
 i 
 
114 NUMBERS AT HEAD-QUARTERS. 
 
 not pass this way, it is said, but across by Galegos, a 
 different road from that taken by the heavy guns, the 
 eight een-pounders. I now think, therefore, that the 
 heavy guns will cross towards Lamego by the bridge, and 
 that the pontoons will be fixed, if at all, further north up 
 the river. We shall probably cross at Zamora, but can- 
 not tell : it is said the bridge is not destroyed there. 
 
 On Monday Lord Wellington will review the light 
 division in our front under General Anson the 43rd, 
 52nd, 95th, and the Ca^adores Portuguese, a very fine 
 body of men. To-morrow he is to fix his tent in the 
 Praga of Frenada, and will give a dinner to -Marshal 
 Beresford, the 16th being the anniversary of the battle of 
 Albuera. To this I am asked, though not a military man, 
 and certainly not present on that fortunate occasion. The 
 
 town is so full that some encamp ; and Captain M , 
 
 who is just arrived here, sleeps and dresses in the ante- 
 room of the Adjutant-general's office, where the printing- 
 press is all day at work, and leaves him a fine perfume of 
 printing-ink at night, besides the full smell from the 
 stables below, through the open floor, which he enjoys 
 almost as much as I do myself here in my quarters. 
 The numbers at head-quarters are so increased that I 
 fear we shall find it very difficult to get quarters when 
 on the march. We have now Lord William Eussell 
 and Lord John here, the former on Lord Wellington's 
 staff, the latter, I believe, as an amateur. We have 
 also Lord March's brother in the dragoons, and last, 
 but not least, I can assure you, Captain Fitzclarenee, an 
 immense young man : he is in the Adjutant -general's 
 department. 
 
 The first division from Yizeu are, it is said, to be 
 at Braganza about the 17th. Great part of the army 
 will be there by the 22nd, and by the same day the 
 second division, under General Hill, from Coria, will be 
 within seven leagues of Salamanca; yet the 52nd, who 
 
THE LIFE GUARDS. 115 
 
 to-day are at Nava da Ver in order to attend the review 
 of the light division at Espeja, are to return to 
 Guinaldo. 
 
 I have just fallen in with a dozen of the Life Guards, 
 with their brass helmets, &c. I think before they have 
 lived to October they will have a very philosophical idea 
 of a vacuum one pound of bony, lean beef will occupy 
 but a little of their long stomachs. I suspect our 
 good allies, the Spaniards, will think that we have sent 
 them a regiment of Don Quixotes, and the horses from 
 present appearances may in a little time make no bad 
 Rosinantes. Five or six of these tall, six feet high men 
 were mounted on mules going to Almedia, to get iron ; I 
 pitied them to-day as they were bargaining for a bit of 
 dear cheese and some dried chestnuts in the market. 
 They have some spirit, however, and will not enter the 
 staff mounted corps, a new thing, considering it to be a 
 sort of police, and declaring that they would rather be 
 police at home as before than here, if they are to be police 
 at all. This corps of staff horse is to be two hundred, 
 and to be composed of volunteers from all regiments. 
 Officers do not hitherto take to it, but very good-looking 
 men have volunteered in general ; none from the hussars, 
 I hear. 
 
 Monday Evening, \lth. The dinner yesterday went 
 off famously, very well managed in the tent, and very 
 comfortable. Lord Wellington was supported by Marshal 
 Beresford and General Sir Lowry Cole on one side, and 
 by General Castanos and Sir T. Graham on the other ; 
 and then all the staff of the three Generals, Wimpfen, 
 O'Lalor, Alava, &c., with the aides-de-camp ; the Portu- 
 guese Quarter-Master-general, and other staff, Lord* 
 Aylmer, Lord F. Somerset, Marquis of Worcester, Lord 
 March, and all the heads of departments. Almost all 
 were with stars, medals, Portuguese orders, or something 
 distinguishing. If I were in the American General 
 
 i 2 
 
116 A DAY LOST. 
 
 Harrison's army, perhaps I might get an honourable 
 mention, like his good friend Charles Walker, the Judge 
 Advocate-general, who was of such use in the corps of 
 spies. Then we had Mr. Joe Kelly, of the Life Guards 
 a famous singer, whom I recognised as having heard at 
 Shrewsbury races, and he gave us some good songs ; and 
 we " hip ! hip ! hipped !" &c., to the grandees. I was 
 much entertained at the etiquette observed between the 
 Marshal and General Castanos, who should go into the 
 tent first : at last they went in side by side, as other great 
 men have before determined that knotty point. Castanos 
 seems very easy and good-humoured, and willing to give 
 way, and even to have a little fun, but he is very old. 
 All the fashionables Were at the review this morning near 
 Espeja, and a very fine sight it was. Between five and 
 six thousand of the elite of ours, and of the Portuguese 
 troops ; the line near three-quarters of a mile long, two 
 deep, and they marched in line near half a mile over 
 rough and smooth, and then changed their front three 
 times, and at last passed in review admirably. The 
 German hussars, commanded by Colonel Arentsfchild, 
 were on the right, in excellent style, and beyond them a 
 brigade of artillery : the day was beautiful, and the scene 
 upon the whole very striking. Lord Wellington is inde- 
 fatigable. He goes six leagues to-morrow another way 
 to Friexada, to review the English hussars, the 10th, &c. 
 He looks, I think, a little fagged and anxious. 
 
 Guinaldo, May I8th. On my arrival here at eleven 
 o'clock to attend the Court-martial, I found the President, 
 General Vandeleur, had stayed with Lord "Wellington to 
 go over to the review, and had sent an order for the 
 Court to assemble to-morrow, the 1 9th, instead of to-day, 
 of which he had forgotten to give me any notice. If we 
 march on Thursday I shall be at my wit's end, and it is 
 so provoking to lose a whole day thus, just at such a 
 moment. He is so hospitable, civil, and good-humoured, 
 

 SPANISH GRENADIERS. 117 
 
 that, though very much inconvenienced, I cannot be 
 angry. 
 
 The fourth division march from Escuao to-day. The 
 light will, I suppose, move with us. The second division 
 are now moving along the Sierras de Francia, the moun- 
 tains in sight of us here. This air must be aguish ; five 
 of the officers and a great number of the men of the 
 52nd, though such fine-looking fellows, are attacked by 
 the ague when doing no work, and in fine weather. At 
 Frenada most of the sickness was among the natives. 
 
 Lord Wellington, at the review yesterday, was on one 
 of his new purchases from General L. C. Stewart. He 
 gave four hundred guineas for the two, and for this two 
 hundred and fifty a gentleman who has gained some 
 plates in England, and has a name. It is a very pretty 
 animal, but is as troublesome in regard to neighing as my 
 black. They were answering each other all the morning. 
 Indeed this neighing gives quite a character to a Spanish 
 review it is heard more than the trumpets. I met in 
 my way here about twenty Spanish grenadiers, who, I 
 understand, were part of a treasure escort. They were 
 very fine men, and were well clothed. Individually they 
 greatly surpass the Portuguese in appearance : tall, 
 straight, well-limbed, and with good young countenances. 
 As to their discipline, or how they will stand, I cannot 
 say ; but such men can only want good officers to do 
 anything. In the review yesterday, besides the two 
 regiments of Caadores Portuguese, there was the 17th 
 of the line Portuguese : they really marched and went 
 through the evolutions very nearly as well as our own 
 men. The men, however, are naturally mean, shabby 
 men in general, like the pictures of the Queen's family at 
 Frogmore, which you must remember. The officers look 
 much better than those of the Spaniards, and seem most 
 of them to know more of their duty. The Spanish men, 
 as men, independent of discipline, are wonderfully supe- 
 
118 SPIRIT OF THE PORTUGUESE. 
 
 rior to the Portuguese ; and yet we have seen, from want 
 of that knowledge of acting in a mass, and total mistrust 
 of their leaders, how inferior they have hitherto been. 
 
 The Portuguese people, though they do not talk so 
 well as the Spaniards, or look so well, have shown much 
 more practical spirit. When the French passed through 
 the Spanish towns or villages, the alcalde went to meet 
 them, the people remained quiet, submitted to the exac- 
 tions, and the French in general treated them tolerably 
 well in consequence, for they thus got food and forage. 
 In the Portuguese villages, on the contrary, when the 
 French last entered Portugal, almost every inhabitant 
 sacrificed his house and property, and fled, according to 
 orders ; and thus it was that the French were so plagued 
 and puzzled for food, and provoked to destroy the houses 
 as they did. 
 
 May 19 if A, Six o'clock, evening, Head- Quarters, Frenada. 
 ' Just returned from Guinaldo in time for the post. My 
 Court met at twelve. We tried the man by one o'clock. 
 I wrote the proceedings fair, got them signed, and here I 
 am, very hungry, and find that every one has dined, for 
 Lord Wellington began to-day to dine at three o'clock, 
 instead of eight. We do not march to-morrow, perhaps 
 not till Saturday, 
 
 Frenada, May %Ist, 1813, Friday. At last, to-morrow 
 morning we all break up for the march. I go, as a civil 
 department, by the route enclosed ; I shall, therefore, see 
 nothing of the greater part of head-quarters for a fort- 
 night. Dr. M'Grregor goes my way ; but who else I 
 know not. Indeed Dr. M'Grregor wishes to go to Oporto, 
 and perhaps I may have the whole road nearly to myself. 
 I am told that the road is pleasant ; at least it is new all 
 beyond Almeida. The light division is to march to-day. 
 The second are not far from Tamames by this time. 
 Tamames is, I believe, the military head-quarters on the 
 second day's inarch, the 23rd. The fourth division 
 
THE MARCH. 119 
 
 passed the Douro, I believe, yesterday ; the others have 
 already done so, and in two or three days the main body 
 of the army will be at Braganza, Outeiro, and Miranda de 
 Duero ; and the light and second divisions and head- 
 quarters on this side of the Douro. 
 
 Some of Hamilton's Portuguese in the second division 
 are so ill supplied, that Lord Wellington has, it is said, 
 threatened the Marshal to send them in the rear if they 
 be not better clothed and fed. He says he would rather 
 be without two or three battalions, than have them in 
 such a state as these are. Indeed, he seems either not 
 quite to trust the Portuguese, or they cannot be supplied ; 
 for he leaves a full battalion, I hear, at Abrantes, and one 
 or two elsewhere, saying he has Portuguese enough in 
 proportion. He seems in good spirits, but looks worn 
 and anxious. The pontoons have crossed the Douro, so 
 now I do not know where they are to be laid down, 
 unless to let the second and light divisions and head- 
 quarters pass over, whenever necessary, or to bring over 
 the others, if the Trench should collect. 
 
 The French have hitherto always judged of the situa- 
 tion of the main body of the army by that of head- 
 quarters : they were thus twice taken in last year. 
 Before the siege of Badajoz, Lord Wellington had moved 
 away nearly the whole of the army before he stirred, and 
 the whole of the head-quarters were not protected against 
 two thousand men. This deceived the French then, and 
 I hope will now, but they are on the alert ; at Salamanca 
 constantly on the qui vive, and ready for a run, &c. The 
 Commissary here has already trusted a man with money 
 to go and collect forage, &c., at Salamanca, before the 
 French are gone. Everything is now alive. General 
 Graham, I believe, commands at Miranda de Duero, or 
 at least will very soon. General Picton has the ague, 
 and is too ill to take the command of this division yet, 
 but remains with it. I thought him looking very well ; 
 
120 ROUTE FOR HEAD-QUARTERS. 
 
 but there is something in this climate which does not 
 suit the English at all, even when quiet and living well. 
 The natives have their annual ague fit, and seem to think 
 it a part of their existence : they are rather unhappy 
 when it does not come as usual. Lord Wellington's cars 
 with the heavy baggage are off. 
 
 Frenada, May 20/A, 1813. Eoute for the head-quarters 
 of the army. 
 
 The military department will move on the 22nd instant 
 to Ciudad Eodrigo. 
 
 The Civil Department. 
 
 May 22nd. Almeida. Depot of provisions. 
 
 23rd. Pinhel. 
 
 24th. Cotimos. 
 
 25th. Villa Nova de Foscoa. 
 
 26th. Torre de Moncorvo. Depot of provisions. 
 
 27th. Halt. 
 
 28th. Tornas and Lagouca. 
 
 29th. Villa Dalla. 
 
 30th. Sendim. 
 
 31st. Miranda de Duero. Depot, &c. 
 
 a. MURRAY, Q. M. GK 
 
 To the Commandant of 
 
 Head- Quarters. 
 
ALMEIDA. 121 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 The March commenced Scenes on the Koad Villa DallaToro Castro 
 Monte Palencia Prospects of a General Action Skirmishing Massa. 
 
 Head-quarters, Civil Department, 
 Torre de Moncorvo, May 27, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 WE here halt a-day ; on the 22nd, about twelve,! 
 arrived at Almeida that heap of ruins and turned out, 
 by the authority of the Governor, two Portuguese officers, 
 to get one miserable room as my quarters. Colonel Le 
 Mesurier, the late governor, was too ambitious a man to 
 remain inactive, shut up in Almeida during a campaign. 
 He therefore applied for a brigade in the Portuguese ser- 
 vice, and, though he could not obtain it, gave up his 
 government to command a regiment. I met him at the 
 gate on his way to Miranda de Duero to join his division. 
 The new Portuguese governor was just moving, but as he 
 had not yet got into the present government-house he 
 gave us up all the great stable, which was very good, and 
 he was in every respect very civil and willing to do the 
 most for us. In my way here we had no particular 
 adventures. By the aid of the Spaniard in loading we 
 have much less trouble, and I have always ridden on, and 
 got a quarter before the baggage arrived. My only com- 
 panions were the Paymaster-general, Hunter, and Mr. 
 Whitter, and nine other clerks with him, and the military 
 chest, &c., and two or three commissariat parties. The 
 weather has been uniformly fine, and at times very hot. 
 
122 SCENES ON THE ROAD. 
 
 We have daily been roused at five o'clock, and off at six, 
 but have nevertheless suffered from the heat, at times 
 very much, before we arrived at our station. 
 
 On the 23rd we left Almeida and descended to the Coa 
 and passed it by a very picturesque bridge, rendered more 
 so from one stone arch having been blown up, and 
 repaired with wood in a rough style. After a mile of 
 steep ascent, we reached a lofty, rough, level common, in 
 a wild, uncultivated country, like Dartmoor; with the 
 Sierra d'Estrella on one side, still partly tipped with snow, 
 and the ridge of hills and Castello Eodrigo on the other. 
 We passed Yalverde, a complete ruin now a village 
 without one roof remaining ! I was sorry to hear that 
 we had begun the destruction of it, and that the Portu- 
 guese soldiers afterwards left very little remaining for the 
 French to do. The next village, Periero, was pleasingly 
 situated, and we then soon got down by a river, and 
 observed Pinhel with its old Moorish tower, fort, and 
 walls, and a bishop's palace, and a convent adjoining, a 
 league before us, on the brow of a hill. At Pinhel we 
 were all fixed by the Juez de Fores in the bishop's palace, 
 and had a choice of large empty rooms in this now unin- 
 habited but lately handsome house. It was all tight, and 
 Mr. Hunter having a table by means of baggage, and 
 tubs for seats, we fared very well. The stables are mag- 
 nificent, good ones for thirty horses, and inferior for sixty 
 horses more. 
 
 At Almeida there was no green forage to be had ; we 
 bought small bundles of grass at about a shilling each in 
 the grass-market for our animals. At Pinhel we however 
 got an order for green barley from the Juge, twenty-eight 
 pounds each animal for the day, and they all fared so 
 luxuriously that my black gentleman was. the next day 
 very troublesome. In the bishop's palace at Pinhel, the 
 rooms formed a very handsome suite round a square court 
 in the centre ; the hangings, &c., all removed, but the 
 
PINHEL. 123 
 
 ceilings ornamented ; the rooms well shaped, with a tole- 
 rable garden adjoining ; but the house standing exactly 
 like the Castle Inn at Marlborough, by the road side, at 
 the end of the town. The water is very bad, a nuisance 
 from which we are, it seems, to suffer much throughout 
 the summer in Spain. Last year our men were at times 
 obliged to hold their noses when they drank. At the 
 convent adjoining the palace, which has been much 
 damaged but not destroyed, one or two monks still 
 remained, and I met one as I wandered over the building. 
 He was very .civil. The palace is now appropriated as 
 barracks for officers or troops as they pass. The bishop 
 lives at another, at Santa Euphemie, a league beyond 
 Pinhel. 
 
 The castle is like all the Moorish castles I have seen 
 here, with the square smooth towers of well-cut hard 
 stone, as sharp now almost as when first built. In the 
 castle lying about are four curious specimens of old 
 cannon, two ribbed, made of beaten iron bars and braced 
 together ; one of them appeared to be hollow at both 
 ends, and solid in the middle. The other two a sort of 
 mortar, something in the shape of a very old-fashioned, 
 clumsy earthenware jug, with a sort of handle to raise and 
 fix it for use. 
 
 At the convent was a small aqueduct of stone pillars 
 across the garden, to conduct a little stream of water to 
 the monks' habitations ; the stream was so small in the 
 pipe that you could scarcely see it run at all, but it was 
 good, and ran constantly all the year, which, as the 
 only good water was a mile off in the river, was very 
 valuable. 
 
 On the 24th, our party, consisting of the ten pay- 
 masters, three commissaries, and myself, with about 
 fifteen dragoons, and thirty or forty - horses, and about 
 thirty or forty baggage animals, assembled at five in the 
 morning in the palace-court and marched onwards. 
 
124 SCENES ON THE ROAD. 
 
 In less than a league we passed a very pretty village, 
 called, I believe, Yalbom, and in another short league 
 came to Euphemia, another village, with rather a large 
 but imperfect house where the bishop resides now ; and I 
 believe he was there sitting in his shady colonnade. In 
 a short time we descended again and crossed the Lamego ; 
 here we all dismounted, and let the animals graze on the 
 banks, whilst we got some bread and cheese. Half a 
 league further on we turned up out of our road to 
 Cotimos, our destination for the night. It was a bad 
 village, but with a few houses formerly good and still 
 tight. Mr. Hunter, Mr. Whitter, and I, were in a 
 fidalgo's house, and tolerably comfortable, though there 
 was only an old woman there, but we had chairs and 
 tables. We made a great cup with the country wine, 
 brandy, lemons, &c., and were very well off for a dinner 
 by the purchase of a leveret, eggs and bacon, and mutton 
 broth. 
 
 On the 25th left Cotimos ; and about a league beyond 
 we came to a much better village, with two or three 
 very good houses, of imposing appearance. This was 
 directly in our road, and would have been a better divi- 
 sion of the distance. After another league of excellent 
 road we passed Maiialva, half a league on our left, a vil- 
 lage, with another Moorish castle. After another half 
 league we came to the entrance of a long winding descent 
 of a mile and a half, which brought us into a pretty vale, 
 with another Moorish castle on the hill on our left ; and 
 there we again ate and the animals grazed in the meadows 
 near a little stream. Thence we had a league and a half 
 of excessively steep hill to ascend until we got on the 
 high level where stands Villa Nova de Foscoa; this 
 ascent at near one o'clock was tremendously hot work, and 
 very difficult for the baggage. 
 
 "We here began to get into the army train. About 
 twenty hospital waggons were encamped on the hill 
 
SCENES ON THE ROAD. 125 
 
 near the town, and two troops of the waggon train ; and 
 near them were about eighty ox-cars with bales of cloth 
 done up in a sort of sacks to fill with straw for hospital 
 beds, &c. We here got good quarters and tolerable 
 fare. 
 
 On the 26th, leaving Villa Nova, we began immediately 
 to descend a winding road to the Douro ; this was very 
 fine, one of the best things I had seen here. 
 
 I was off" as soon after sunrise as possible to pass the 
 ferry before the military chest. I got down to the bank 
 and found about eighty cars drawn up to pass with ammu- 
 nition, boards, planks, and beams, for the repair of bridges, 
 &c. Two at a time crossed in one boat ; and there was 
 another for mules, &c. I stopped some Portuguese ; and 
 having waited an hour for the baggage, who had loitered 
 on the road when I left them, we at last got on board 
 this platform as close as we could stick. Mr. Hunter, 
 and six other gentlemen, about a dozen servants, seven 
 stallions, three mares, and six loaded baggage mules. 
 After some kicking and confusion, we landed safely, and 
 after a league of ascent arrived at Torre de Moncorvo. 
 Both banks of the river were covered on the sides of the 
 road with parties of artillery or baggage grazing, &c. ; 
 some bivouacking, and others in camp. The scene was 
 interesting, except that I regretted the obligation of cut- 
 ing so much of the corn for green forage just as it was 
 becoming ripe. 
 
 Here we found the same scene in all the environs ; 
 parties picketed and bivouacking, and more artillery 
 drivers ; quarters very moderate ; but shops very decent ; 
 the town not destroyed, for the French have never been 
 here. 
 
 The great number of troops which have been quartered 
 here on the march has cleared most of the shops, and 
 injured many of the buildings ; even here we cannot 
 buy anything except honey, sugar, bacon, bread, and 
 
126 
 
 TORRE DE MONCORVO. 
 
 cheese. The convent of Franciscans above the town is 
 nearly entire, and has two tolerable pictures the altar- 
 piece, and one in the refectory, by Eomano, the monks 
 said, and from the style it may be so. There are some 
 houses here with the furniture remaining ; that of the 
 Capitan Mor (the head inhabitant, and a colonel of 
 militia) has painted coved ceilings, and apricot-coloured 
 silk hangings, with old-fashioned wooden chairs and 
 sofas, with bottoms to match the hangings. The church 
 also is handsome. The town is surrounded by hills like 
 Bath, and yet we ascended to it three miles from the 
 Douro. I saw also something like a female to-day, a 
 smart, pretty Lisbon miss going to church quite a 
 curiosity ; and so, I believe, the inhabitants think. My 
 old patrona (or landlady) here came to tell me to look out 
 of the window, as " The Lady " was going by. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Civil Department, Villa Dalla, May 
 29*A, 1813. On the 27th, the night before I marched 
 from Torre de Moncorvo, we had some heavy rain, which 
 cooled the air, laid the dust, and made our journey 
 onwards much more agreeable. 
 
 On the 28th, the road to Lagouga was very rough 
 and hilly, and the distance four long leagues. The 
 country is fine ; the distance very like parts of Somerset- 
 shire and Devonshire in its general features, but the 
 valleys are less rich, and there are some large pine-woods 
 on the hills. About half way we passed Carvacies, a 
 large village ; and at the end of four leagues, Tornas, a 
 poor place, where we had the option of stopping, but 
 preferred Lagouca. A part of the staff corps were en- 
 camped near the pine-wood, with several cars and mate- 
 rials for bridges. They are, I understand, about to lay 
 down a bridge somewhere on the Douro, very near that 
 part, as a safe retreat in case of accidents. 
 
 At Lagouca I got a tolerable quarter, and bed, at the 
 padre's. House dirty only. I found books which he 
 
VILLA DALLA. 127 
 
 could not understand, and I believe never looked at. 
 There was the ' Eecopilacion of the Spanish Laws/ a 
 book of authority in Spain. He asked me if it was 
 mine the authority I acted from ; had I known how to 
 carry it I would have bargained with him for it. There 
 was also a Horace, Bourdaloue's Sermons in Spanish, 
 and a few other sermons. He gave me some wine, and 
 was very civil; and honestly sent after me something 
 that I left behind. 
 
 Within a mile of Lagouca, but out of the main road, 
 you look down on the Douro, which runs down in a 
 deep rocky chasm, very fine and wild, with a very pic- 
 turesque convent, which was once Mas Bonito, half way 
 down on the Spanish side of the river, and the Spanish 
 town of Miesa above. The French had long been at 
 these places, and had much .injured the convent ; but 
 had never got over, as there is only one little bark ; and 
 the brave Portuguese had a sort of battery. The scene 
 was very fine. 
 
 To-day (the 29th) I started again after breakfast (but 
 before six o'clock, being always called at four) for this 
 place. The road was in general good, though rather 
 hilly and in parts boggy. We passed to the left of 
 Brosa ; to the right of Majaduero, and near two or three 
 other villages. The country is finer, and still more 
 approaching Somersetshire. I have here, at Villa Dalla, 
 got a decent quarter in a great farmhouse, where there 
 are five or six beds about my room, which has, however, 
 only a door, no window or ceiling. In winter I should 
 have been starved ; it is now well enough. I got a table 
 and chairs, and have bought one small fowl for a dollar, 
 and two little chickens, nearly as big as pigeons, all 
 bone, for half a dollar. We get eggs, and sometimes 
 milk ; and though this country has never seen the 
 French, the houses do not seem quite in a state of 
 English repair. The whole road is covered with marks 
 
128 MIRANDA DE DUERO. 
 
 of the encampments of troops, &c. The back of the vil- 
 lage Lagouga was just like a drawing of an Otaheite 
 village, and not much better, with bad thatch instead of 
 tile, the general roof. The villages, however, are nume- 
 rous, and much more populous than in the other parts of 
 Portugal I have seen, and rather cleaner, being nearer 
 Spain. There was bread from Zamora in the market at 
 Lagouca regularly for sale. 
 
 Miranda de Duero, May 30A. I came on here to-day 
 a very long journey, meaning to have two days' rest, 
 but found Lord Wellington's head-quarters had passed 
 through here this morning ; that his lordship left Sala- 
 manca yesterday, -and was to be six leagues off in ad- 
 vance, near the Esla, to-day, the 30th. The French 
 absolutely ran away, near Salamanca, and a small party 
 were taken. Spanish head-quarters here to-day, and all 
 in confusion. 
 
 Head-Quarters, Toro, June 3rd, 1813. A day's halt 
 will enable me to give you a few lines to let you know 
 how we go on. The day I sent my last from Miranda 
 de Duero (May 30th), I learnt that head-quarters were 
 to be that day and the next at Carbajales, near the Esla, 
 to superintend one great object of the movement, the 
 passage of the Esla, a formidable river in a military 
 point of view. Fearing to be left behind, though with- 
 out orders, I determined to march again the next morn- 
 ing (31st), at four,, six long leagues to Carbajales. I 
 tried to find the nearest road, the longest being round 
 by Constantia, and, though the best, I did not wish to 
 go above a league out of my way. My directions were 
 to pass Yal d'Aguia, Aldea Nova, Fonfrio, and Yer- 
 milho. I got right to near Fonfrio and then, through a 
 wrong direction given me by a little miss who sent me 
 by mistake for Carvajosa, I found myself two leagues out 
 of my way at Pino, and had to cross straight over the 
 country for Vermilho. The consequence was that I 
 
FERRY OVER THE DOURO. 129 
 
 arrived late and tired at Carbajales, where head-quarters 
 still remained, and at last got a very bad quarter there, 
 but a good stable, which General Graham had just left. 
 
 In the evening of the 30th I went down part of the 
 way to see the ferry over the Douro at Miranda. The 
 scenery was very fine, and very like that at Lagou^a ; 
 the river very deep and narrow, running violently 
 through a chasm of rocks not unlike Chedder cliffs in 
 Somersetshire ; and the little ferry-boat almost invisible 
 from above the road down and up above three miles, 
 though the real distance across seems not above a quarter 
 of a mile. * Lord Wellington and a part of the staff only 
 came over there. Heavy baggage, printing-press, &c., 
 were left with the light division near Salamanca. 
 
 In my way to Carbajales, the road I kept near the 
 Douro towards Aldea Nova was very picturesque, but 
 bad. For the rest of the way the road became better, 
 but the country was ugly, like Bagshot Heath, only with 
 several villages and the mountains in Gallicia, still 
 tipped with snow, on our left, or nearly behind us. The 
 morning of the day I got to Carbajales (the 31st), the 
 pontoon bridge was placed, and made passable on the 
 Esla, in less than three hours. The Hussars passed a 
 bad ford of above four feet water and bad bottom early 
 in the day to protect this operation, and two divisions of 
 the army passed before night and encamped. Lord 
 Aylmer, who had forded in the morning to go over and 
 look about him, found the bridge ready, and the troops 
 passing as he returned. These were the pontoons which 
 had travelled up from Lisbon, and had been the cause of 
 so much anxiety. About nine of them were used, and 
 the river about the width of the Thames at Windsor. 
 This being the state of things, the orders were to have 
 all head-quarters' baggage down at the water-side by six, 
 and to get them over before the other troops should 
 arrive and the guns. As I had got into a quarter with 
 
 K 
 
130 ZAMORA. 
 
 Spaniards, and they were lazy, I had some trouble to get 
 mine off, but succeeded at last, and afterwards rode with 
 Lord Aylmer. 
 
 We soon fell into the train of head-quarters' baggage, 
 the whole of the eighteen-pounders with their ammuni- 
 tion, &c., and one hundred aud sixty oxen and their 
 spare horses ; and also the whole of the fourth division 
 of the army a train of three miles length in the whole. 
 The scene presented by the winding down the hill to the 
 bridge, and the order with which everything was managed, 
 and the winding up the opposite bank, was very interest- 
 ing. We passed about eight o'clock, baggage and all, 
 and the guns and two more divisions of the army were 
 safely over before five o'clock in the evening, with bag- 
 gage, &c. We then had about three more leagues of a 
 Bagshot Heath road, sand and pines, until we suddenly 
 came in sight of Zamora and the Douro. The latter is 
 here about as wide as the Thames at Kew Bridge, rather 
 wider more perhaps as it is at Fulham. It winds along 
 a large plain on the south side under the ridge of higher 
 ground to the north, on which, boldly and well-placed, 
 stands Zamora with its Moorish church. 
 
 The town pleased me much. It is nearly the size of 
 Salamanca, and having been much less destroyed, is, at 
 present quite as good a town : the convents alone have 
 suffered and been gutted. Some of the French had not 
 left the place until the very morning our troops entered ; 
 the greater part, however, went off the night before. The 
 castle was rather strong, and would, if defended, have 
 delayed us two or three days, but the garrison would 
 have been sacrificed. It was fitted up very regularly in 
 the inside by the French for troops, places appropriated 
 for everything, with the names inscribed. There was 
 also a large foundling hospital, and a general hospital for 
 the poor. In the former were only about ten or twelve 
 babies, and about sixteen children, for they had now 
 
ENTERTAINMENT AT ZAMORA. 131 
 
 scarcely any funds. Nearly opposite was the general 
 hospital, with much space and good wards, but not above 
 six or eight sick, partly from the same reasons, and partly 
 because the French had only left the people the use of 
 one small ward, and the room of the intendant, and 
 occupied the rest with their sick and wounded. They 
 had also now in this last retreat carried off all the linen, 
 &c., and only left bedsteads and bedding. They had not, 
 however, done any wanton mischief in Zamora when they 
 left it this time. 
 
 The bridge is handsome, but in our retreat last year 
 we blew up the centre arch out of about a dozen ; it had 
 been repaired since with wood. This the French had 
 burnt on the 30th, but by to-day it is repaired and pass- 
 able. The people received us very cordially, scattered 
 roses over our heads, cried viva, &c., and hung all their 
 counterpanes and the hangings of their rooms out of the 
 windows. The lady at my quarters embraced me, and was 
 very kind, but she was old. There was another like 
 a plump Englishwoman, to whom I passed on the 
 compliment. 
 
 The people entertained Lord Wellington and the staff 
 with a concert, lemonade, and ices, &c. The former did 
 not admire the time lost in singing psalms to him, as he 
 said. I met him in the evening, in his Spanish uniform, 
 riding down to the bridge to give directions. In the 
 morning he was on one side of the pontoon bridge, and 
 Marshal Beresford on the other. I almost knocked 
 myself up running about to see Zamora, for we were to 
 march again next morning. I could not attend a little 
 dance given by Lord Wellington in the evening, and 
 except for the iced lemonade should have been in a fever. 
 A thunder-storm in the evening cooled the air, and a 
 good bed made me ready again to march for this place 
 (Toro), five long leagues, the next morning, June 2nd. 
 The French having left Toro on the 1st of June, it 
 
 K2 
 
1 32 TORO. 
 
 became an object to take possession, and open a commu- 
 nication with the light division, and the second from 
 Salamanca, 
 
 The road was admirable; a flat sandy level, by the 
 river nearly all the way, until we came to the ascent on 
 which the town of Toro is placed, standing still more 
 boldly over the river than Zamora. The only village 
 we passed, and that a poor one, was Fresno; but we 
 saw several on our left, and across the river in the flat on 
 our right. 
 
 Toro is very old, surrounded by ruined mud walls, and 
 though it covers much ground has not many good houses, 
 and is not to be compared to Zamora ; there is, however, 
 a market, with a little mutton and beef, and vegetables, 
 pork, eggs, &c. The Moorish church here is much 
 smaller than at Zamora, though that is not very large ; 
 there are a few tolerable pictures in both. The castle here 
 is stronger than the one at Zamora, and appears almost 
 new: it stands on the hill above the bridge, and is 
 rather formidable. The two centre arches of this bridge 
 had been blown up by us, repaired by the French with 
 wood, burnt again by them now, and is now being repaired 
 again by us. 
 
 We passed, two miles from hence, the sixth division 
 and the seventh, taking up their encamping ground on a 
 fine meadow by the river side, near a small wood. It 
 was a very lively scene, the men marching with music, 
 and as regular, without any disorder or loiterers, as if 
 going to a review ; the whole in high order. Yesterday 
 evening the light division arrived from a place within 
 three leagues of Salamanca, a march of nearly eight 
 leagues, and encamped in a meadow near the water side, 
 close to the bridge and ford opposite this town : they 
 only left six men behind in their march. This morning 
 the horse, the baggage, and the artillery, have all come 
 over, passing by the ford; and though it is both wide 
 
DASHING ATTACK OF HUSSARS. 133 
 
 and deep, I believe without accident, except wet baggage. 
 The infantry crossed by ladders across the breach in the 
 bridge that is, down one side, then up the other one 
 by one. They encamp at Morales to-day. This was 
 also a very interesting and animating scene from the hill, 
 which is a humble imitation of Richmond Hill in point 
 of beauty. 
 
 The Hussars have commenced famously ; they brought 
 into Zamora an officer of the 16th (French), and about 
 thirty prisoners, whom they dashed at, and knocked over 
 in fine style, with little loss. The officer came in here 
 prisoner on horseback, which offended the Spaniards, who 
 were disposed to insult the prisoners, whom they dared 
 not fight, and who had been with them now nearly four 
 years or more. 
 
 Yesterday the Hussars again came up with the 16th 
 French cavalry and some others ; the latter had only a 
 small bridge to pass which would only carry four abreast. 
 Two squadrons of the 10th formed and charged; the 
 French stood at first well, but were broken, and then 
 formed again. The 10th formed, charged again, and 
 again broke the French; the latter then still made 
 another effort, but at last ran for the bridge. The 10th 
 killed a few, and brought about a hundred and ninety 
 prisoners in here ; no horses were taken. Twelve or 
 fifteen men badly wounded were left about two miles oft', 
 where it happened. Several of those who came in here 
 were much cut and wounded, covered with blood, wounds 
 neither washed nor dressed ; but they were fine-looking 
 men ; their horses thin, and smaller than ours. Another 
 officer was taken, to whom I spoke. He said he had 
 advised that they should not remain on this side the 
 bridge, but his superior officer ordered otherwise, and 
 afterwards ran away when attacked. We lost a Captain, 
 who was taken prisoner, and a Lieutenant killed, both of 
 the 10th; and about five or six men killed and wounded. 
 
134 PORTUGUESE TROOPS. 
 
 The Captain passed some way over the bridge, where the 
 French had artillery and infantry in force, and they came 
 down and cut him off. 
 
 The French had yesterday, I hear, nearly ten thousand 
 men about five miles off, and nearly thirty-eight thousand 
 or more in the vicinity of Yalladolid. This made us halt 
 to-day. The second division are still between this and 
 Salamanca, but are expected. The whole are now within 
 eight leagues of this, I believe ; most of the divisions 
 very close. The Spaniards are near Benevente : Don 
 Julian's cavalry, between this and Salamanca, have sent 
 in about thirty prisoners and two officers here to-day, 
 who were marauding, I suppose. The French told the 
 people here that they were only moving to make room 
 for other troops. 
 
 The Portuguese troops are generally in very high 
 order, as well as ours, quite as well clothed, and hitherto 
 well in health, though they bivouac when ours encamp, 
 their Government not furnishing them with tents. Yes- 
 terday was a pleasant cool day for a long march. I met 
 Lord Wellington again last night, walking about in his 
 grey great coat alone. We have a hundred pieces of 
 field artillery with us, besides the eighteen-pounders. 
 
 A French commissariat party were caught in a wine- 
 house on the 1st of June ; one was brought in prisoner, 
 and nine were killed in the house, as they would not 
 surrender. 
 
 Lord Wellington reviewed the sixth and seventh divi- 
 sions near Morales to-day. They did not perform well, 
 and the poor aides-de-camp were galloped all over the 
 country in consequence : the Portuguese were stupid. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Castro Monte, June 5th, 1813. On 
 the 3rd, we started for La Mota, three long leagues of 
 good road. I was late, for my careless fellows had 
 allowed one of the mule -saddles to be stolen in the night, 
 and we were a long time getting off in consequence, and 
 
SCENES ON THE ROAD. 135 
 
 vainly endeavouring to replace the loss ; but upon the 
 whole, when I hear of all the sore backs, lost animals, 
 &c., around me, I am lucky. I looked at the two hun- 
 dred French cavalry horses which were sold, with a view 
 to purchase one, but they were all half-starved, and the 
 service having seized upon the best hundred and fifty 
 for Government, the remainder, which were sold by 
 auction, were most miserable. 
 
 The road from Toro was full of animation : it was one 
 train of baggage and soldiers the whole way, three 
 leagues, as we are now in the midst of the division. La 
 Mota is a very good, large farming village, in a productive 
 corn country, and the quarters were very good in con- 
 sequence, the inhabitants being comfortable ; the French, 
 however, who had left it the day before, had carried off* 
 all the bread and fowls, &c. My landlord, Don Fer- 
 nando Granado, was very gracious to me. Lord Wel- 
 lington was in a large and elegant palace of the Duke of 
 Berwick and Alva, and, in order to celebrate the King's 
 birthday, had the band playing, &c. 
 
 At five this morning we marched for this place, three 
 long leagues again only. It is a miserable hole ; with 
 only eighty houses of all sorts, and we require a hundred 
 billets. Several are doubled up, several are encamped, 
 which, as we have now a thunder-storm and rain, is not 
 very agreeable. I have an humble quarter, with mules 
 and all close. 
 
 We had a hot but cheerful ride to-day, as we were in 
 the midst of the march. I first passed the Household 
 Brigade ; the Blues look very well, the Life Guards fair 
 enough; then the third division, then the fourth, the 
 seventh ; I saw also the light division ; five are within a 
 league of this. The second crossed the Douro yesterday, 
 and are to-day about a league on our right, under 
 General Hill. I saw Picton with his, looking tolerably 
 well. The French left Madrid the 20th or 28th of May, 
 
136 AMPUTIA. 
 
 finally, and have by forced marches joined their army 
 near here. The French were off again yesterday from 
 Yalladolid and Tordesillas, and were to be to-day at 
 Duennas; it is thought they may stand at Palencia, or 
 near there ; I suspect not, however, though we all wish 
 they would, and fight whilst our men are in health and 
 spirits. I have just heard that their right is at Pla- 
 cencia. 
 
 To-morrow we move for Amputia, a good town, it is 
 said, five leagues off. On our road to-day, about half' 
 way, we passed one of the finest convents in Spain La 
 Espina in ruins ; situation good, domain considerable ; a 
 large building, handsome, as far as it remains, but the 
 walls only are standing. Adieu: I shall finish and send 
 this off to-morrow. 
 
 Amputia, 2 o'clock, 6th June. I arrived here at ten, 
 having left Castro Monte at half-past five, and seen my 
 baggage off, after breakfast; of course I was up soon 
 after three. The road was by a bye-way over the 
 common, but tolerably good, and covered with troops 
 and baggage the whole way, for the third, fourth, and 
 light divisions of infantry, with their baggage and 
 artillery, head- quarters, the Household Brigade, and the 
 Hussars were all on our route, and passed in their way ; 
 they are now in this neighbourhood. 
 
 We passed Villa Alba de Alcor, three leagues further ; 
 an old ruined village rather, with a castle and walls all 
 around, but nothing particular; after that Villa Eeal, 
 a little village, and then here. This is a large old- 
 fashioned town, with the houses in the streets projecting, 
 and standing on wooden pillars, so as to form covered 
 footways, a tolerably large church, and a castle nearly 
 perfect, where our police corps and the cavalry are 
 quartered. The people are apparently more cordial and 
 zealous. I have been over the church, spire and all, and 
 castle, and have taken two sketches, for the rain has 
 
RETREAT 0V THK FRENCH. 137 
 
 made it rather cool and pleasant to-day. The country 
 round this town onwards, towards Sahagun, Placencia, 
 &c., is a dead flat, covered with villages and towns, but 
 no trees. Another large castle on a hill, half a league 
 oft, and on the whole rather striking. 
 
 The French left Palencia the day before yesterday, and 
 are off again in advance, with a good start. Eeport 
 says they have also left Burgos town, not the castle; 
 they are seventy thousand strong, but think us, we hear, 
 too much for them, end are consequently retiring to 
 strong positions. By very long marches we might 
 perhaps press them, and take some prisoners, and part of 
 the cattle and provisions they are carrying off ; but this 
 might put our army out of the high order and condition 
 it is now in, and Lord Wellington does not seem to 
 think this worth while for such an object. So the 
 Hussars and Household are both kept quiet in this 
 neighbourhood, and not sent in pursuit ; indeed they 
 could do little without strong support. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Amusea, June 9th, 1813. Another 
 halt to-day enables me to proceed with my journal. 
 The night I sent my last from Amputia, our orders were 
 to have all the baggage ready to start, at the end of the 
 town, by five o'clock on the following morning ; and that 
 I should fall in, and proceed on the road towards Palencia, 
 in the rear of the column of the third division, but at 
 the head of the baggage of all the light, third, and 
 fourth divisions. This was because the French had 
 shown twelve squadrons of cavalry at Palencia; and 
 Colonel Waters who went on there that day, could not 
 enter, so that it was not certain that it should be safe to 
 give out in orders, "head-quarters, Palencia." The 
 cavalry had marched early ; and as they entered one end 
 of Palencia at about six in the morning, the last of the 
 French were off at the other. 
 
 I passed the third and fourth divisions, went through 
 
138 PALENCIA. 
 
 Paradilla, and entered Palencia with the light division. 
 On getting my billet, I wandered about to see all that 
 was to be seen before my baggage came. The city is 
 old and curious, in size much about the same as Zamora. 
 Lord Wellington passed us on the road soon after six, 
 and went on through Palencia, some way, to reconnoitre. 
 
 We passed through a good open corn country until 
 about a league beyond Paradilla, and then descended a 
 long hill, with a deep clay soil, into the green and rich 
 valley in which Palencia stands. The city appears to 
 great advantage surrounded with meadows, and some 
 trees, but mostly young ones. The Carrion is a respect- 
 able river, and we passed the canal near it, about half a 
 mile from the city, where a very considerable paper 
 manufactory remains unfinished ; and the French having 
 taken down windows, mill-wheels, &c., for firing and 
 shelter in their huts for their bivouacs there the day 
 before, the work will, I take it, be for some time inter- 
 rupted. 
 
 The bridges into Palencia were handsome and entire. 
 The streets are rather narrow, and the main one, the 
 " Calle Mayor," about a good half-mile long, contains 
 about three hundred houses, all old-fashioned, and stand- 
 ing upon stone tall pillars over the footway, on each 
 side, with the shops under, like Covent Grarden. The 
 houses are in the old style, like Exeter, or Chester, and 
 Greneva ; the streets badly paved, with a most offensive 
 gutter in the middle; the whole dirty. The bishop's 
 palace is a large, plain, neat stone edifice, quite modern, 
 of 1799, being built round a square, complete only on 
 one side and a half however, the rest being bare walls. 
 
 The cathedral is Grothic and very handsome, the arches 
 lofty and rich ; but the custom all over. Spain of having 
 the choir in the centre, with very high double screens, 
 deprives you altogether of the fine main aisle, so magnifi- 
 cent in our churches. This spoils the effect, though the 
 
THE PORTUGUESE ARMY. 139 
 
 screens and sides of the choir in the centre were most 
 richly wrought, with Gothic masonry, like some of our 
 monuments of Henry Vllth's time. . The side-aisles 
 above are left open, and as there is a range of chapels 
 the whole way down each side, and at the end, filled 
 with gildings, saints, and pictures, the whole striking. 
 There were also a few good pictures. 
 
 I afterwards went to the top of the spire, to survey 
 the town, villages, and roads around. On my return, 
 I was sorry to find orders to march again for this place, 
 Amusea, next morning. 
 
 The town was all hung with counterpanes on our 
 arrival, which made it look gay, and the people cheered 
 us much. The general cry, however, is everywhere, 
 " Viva Espana I " though there is scarcely a Spaniard to 
 be seen in our line of march. Now and then, however, 
 we hear, " Vivan los Ingleses ! " and " Los Portugueses ! " 
 or " Las tres nacwn^s aliadas ! " The Portuguese are in 
 the highest order, the men really look at least equal to 
 ours, better than some ; the officers are well dressed and 
 gay, and have the advantage of language ; the infantry 
 and the Ca^adores in particular. The whole army 
 marches very fresh hitherto, but the Portuguese in 
 particular: they come in even to the last mile singing 
 along the road. The cavalry are not nearly so good, 
 and, I suppose, are not much to be trusted. From 
 what passed last year near this place, when they 
 turned short round and ran away, they are called the 
 Vamuses, for they ran off with a general cry of 
 " Vamus ! " Their infantry are termed Yalorosas, 
 from their having hugged and cheered each other early 
 in the war, when they had for the first time behaved 
 well and beat off the French, each patting the other 
 on the heart, and saying, " Mucha valorosa ! Mucha 
 valor osa ! " 
 
 I hope the latter will support their name ; and indeed 
 they are disposed to do so, for we have put so much beef 
 
140 CUTTING WHEAT FOR FORAGE. 
 
 into both men and officers, that they are quite different 
 animals, and will not submit at all to what they used to 
 do, even from the English. 
 
 Our horses finished the half-eaten meal of the French, 
 and I believe that has been all they have left behind 
 for us hitherto; not a store of any kind, sick man, or 
 anything else, has been discovered at Yalladolid or any- 
 where ; they must have been well-prepared for this plan. 
 
 The young avenues of trees round the town suffered 
 a little by the French bivouac ; and our men laid waste 
 many a field of wheat in their march and for forage. 
 The former is particularly wrong, being quite unne- 
 cessary, and merely to save perhaps a few hundred yards, 
 or to get before others a little. I was glad to see 
 General Picton stop a party, and about to punish them 
 on the spot. The taking the wheat for forage is also 
 very bad, for the commissaries regularly buy a field at 
 each place, and allow us to take each our proportion, 
 cutting the whole fairly and properly; whereas the 
 fellows who go and steal, cut patches all about, and 
 tread down more than they cut. 
 
 King Joseph left Torquemados, three leagues on the 
 right, the day before yesterday, and it is said, peeped 
 in again afterwards. The last French troops left it 
 yesterday at five in the morning, and I believe General 
 Hill's head-quarters were there ^afterwards from Duenas. 
 Castanos and his Spaniards are on our left all the way ; 
 they came by Benevente across the Esla and so towards 
 Carrion. Their head-quarters were yesterday, I believe, 
 at Villoldo, on our left. The Life-Gruards and Blues 
 looked well on their entrance into Palencia, and on their 
 march yesterday the former, however, seem dull and 
 out of spirits, and have some sore backs among their 
 horses. The Blues seem much more up to the thing, but 
 they are neither of them very fit for general service here. 
 Lord Wellington saves them up for some grand coup, 
 houses them when he can, and takes care of them. To 
 
FRENCH DESERTERS. 141 
 
 be sure, if many of the French cavalry are like some 
 specimens we have seen, particularly two deserters 
 yesterday, who were on ponies I could almost jump over, 
 one of our Householders must upset them like an elephant, 
 if they come fairly in contact. 
 
 A French officer, a deserter (the third officer), came 
 in two days since, with a pretty woman, daughter of 
 a Greneral, with him ; he calls her his wife. Another 
 starved scullion came here yesterday, and says he is an 
 officer, and has some papers, but I think he stole them. 
 He is a little dirty beast, in rags and without uniform. 
 The cavalry who have been taken and deserters are quite 
 new-clothed, and the men very fine; the last who has 
 come in is a Fleming, and had they not persuaded him 
 to enter our corps of guides, I should have taken him as 
 a groom, and bought his pony. 
 
 Tamarra, a village a league from this, was deserted 
 by the inhabitants, with their provisions ; the French, in 
 consequence, made an example of it, and it is as bad as 
 the Portuguese villages now, almost a heap of ruins. 
 Indeed, all the houses and villages on the high road to 
 Torquemada have suffered terribly, and the villages 
 generally are now becoming worse, more dirty, and a la 
 Portuguese. I hear this is now the case all round 
 Burgos, and till we get across the Ebro, if we are 
 destined to do this. We are eleven leagues now from 
 Burgos. The weather has been cool and excellent for 
 the march this last week, and rain often in the night ; it 
 has now rained the last sixteen hours, and I hope will be 
 fine again for the march to-morrow. I dined with Lord 
 Wellington yesterday, for the first time on the march, 
 and gave him your Roman Catholic book, with the lists 
 of their schools and establishments in England. He 
 looks well, but anxious, as you may suppose just now, 
 for a false step may be fatal. All prospers hitherto. 
 The eighteen-pounders are near, the twenty -fours still at 
 
142 APPEARANCE OF COUNTRY. 
 
 Corunna, and if wanted will, I suppose, go round by sea 
 to St. Andero. For the present, adieu. 
 
 June Ilth, Head- Quarters, Castrogores. The church 
 at Amusea is large and handsome : a room 150 feet by 
 50, and 70 feet high, without a pillar, and the whole 
 end one mass of gilding. Yesterday morning, after the 
 violent rains of our halting day, we started at five on a 
 fine day, the roads in a terrible state, for Mergan de 
 Fernamental, head-quarters, on the 10th, five long 
 leagues. Our way was near the noble canal, and through 
 Pino (one league), a large village. From thence another 
 league through Fromista, a larger place ; then another 
 league to Requena: then another to Lantidillo, where 
 we crossed the Pisuerga over a large bridge, left entire ; 
 and then after another long league, Mergan de Ferna- 
 mental. 
 
 The country was flat, and rich in corn, meadows, &c., 
 nearly all the way, but low and boggy, and a hard march 
 for men and baggage, &c. ; mine started at five, and did 
 not arrive till about two. There were villages thickly 
 set all around us, and all with large churches. The 
 latter, compared with ours, are very much superior, con- 
 sidering the size of the places : all possess a considerable 
 church of rather curious construction, and all somewhat 
 different, though in general appearance alike. The 
 church at Mergan was particularly handsome, and more 
 like our Saxon at Gloucester and Tewkesbury. It had 
 some decent pictures, so indeed have several of the 
 quarters, though perhaps not very valuable. Many are 
 to be bought very cheap, and I should have purchased 
 some, had I known how to carry them home. 
 
 At Mergan we were in the right road for Eeynosa 
 and St. Andero, and the first division were two leagues 
 in advance the same way. I conjectured we were going 
 to open a communication with St. Andero, and to cross 
 the Ebro as soon as the French from Burgos, and thus 
 
PROSPECTS OF A GENERAL ACTION. 143 
 
 turn them. There seems now, however, to be a change 
 of plan, as to-day we are come three leagues here, 
 nearly in the right road again for Burgos, which we had 
 before left on our right. Here we have fallen in with 
 General Hill's division, who are now within half a league 
 of this place. We are thus all now quite close together, 
 and report says that the French have united their army 
 of the north to the rest, and are now between this and 
 Burgos eighty thousand strong, about four leagues 
 distant. 
 
 They thus seem to make a stand here, and we are, 
 probably, assembled in case they should persist, but 
 many think it is still only a plan to make us assemble 
 and draw up, to see what we have, and also to give time 
 for their baggage and plunder, oxen, &c., to withdraw 
 
 OO O JT ' ' ' 
 
 without loss : time will show. The sooner the battle 
 comes for us the better, I think : and so do most, but it 
 will be more tremendous, probably, than any hitherto 
 fought in Spain. The numbers now approach those of 
 the great continental armies on both sides, and we are at 
 least equal, if you reckon all that are well dressed and 
 ought to fight on our side ; as to the Spaniards, hitherto 
 we must put a query to that. Don Julian's cavalry 
 have sent in about forty or fifty infantry stragglers of 
 the French, and have killed a dozen or more, about 
 fifty or sixty in all; several with bad pike or lance 
 wounds. 
 
 Mergan is a very dirty old town, but this town, 
 Castrogores, though larger, and the quarters better, is in 
 that respect much worse ; the streets so offensive, that 
 you must hold your nose in passing through them, and 
 everything about the place filthy. We passed the 
 Grerman hussars in quarters half a league off on our way 
 here, and crossed the line of march of the light and 
 fourth divisions, meeting General Hill's army on our 
 arrival here. 
 
144 GENERAL MURILLO's CORPS. 
 
 The scene is now very animated. This place is above 
 a mile long, round the botton of an insulated hill, with 
 a castle at the top of it, which looks over a rich country 
 for some way to a ridge of hills which bound the whole, 
 about a league off; trees, however (except just round a 
 few quintas or villas, and about the several ruins of the 
 old monasteries), are very scarce ; corn most luxuriant, 
 but not much forwarder than with us in England. 
 Weather, hitherto, scarcely at all too hot, and that only 
 for a few hours ; at times very cold. Lord Wellington 
 has gone through again on in front. 
 
 Castrogores, June ISth. As we halt here to-day, instead 
 of marching to Eglesia, as was intended, I determined 
 to finish this, and seal up to-day for Lisbon. Colonel 
 
 A , of the German hussars, told me that he saw 
 
 about two or three thousand French cavalry the day 
 before yesterday, but they filed off as we came in sight. 
 Colonel Waters went on yesterday to within a league of 
 Burgos. He only saw about fifteen thousand French in 
 a valley near there, near Quinta della Duennas. They 
 were about to march, and the reports are that they are 
 off again, and the whole of the second division of General 
 Hill's army have advanced hence this morning. They 
 began at daylight, and about eight o'clock the Spaniards 
 began to file by, just below my house. This was General 
 Murillo's corps : I went down to look at them. There 
 were about ten regiments, I think, but most of them 
 small ones. The men looked very well, though a great 
 many were quite boys. They were singing, joking, and 
 ia good spirits : the artillery with them in good order, 
 the draft mules quite fat. The clothing and equipments 
 of some very good, though unequal to ours, or to the 
 Portuguese ; others moderate only. They wore a sort of 
 flannel jacket and trousers not at all alike, and some 
 were ragged, here and there a man barefoot, very few ; 
 all with good caps, in the French style, and the officers 
 
GENERAL ALAVA. 145 
 
 more respectable than usual, and generally mounted ; 
 some very fierce-looking pioneers, fine grenadiers, and all 
 with good English town muskets in good order, brighter 
 than our own, being, most probably, nearly new: in 
 short, the whole was respectable. If they will but 
 fight as well as they look, it will do. Doyle's regiment 
 was one of the best ; but the very best, I think, was the 
 Eegimento del Unione. 
 
 General Alava, the Spanish great man at head- quarters, 
 is in high spirits, thinks all going on well, and is begin- 
 ning to ask one or two to dine with him at his mansion 
 near Vittoria, where his estates lie. He only begs that 
 he may have a guard to preserve his green forage from 
 our soldiers. The Spaniards are astonished at our bag- 
 gage. The French carry very little, as they make the 
 people at the quarters furnish everything they want, 
 which is not so much as we require. We carry every- 
 thing with us. An English captain, therefore, has 
 (plunder excepted) almost as much baggage as a French 
 colonel. Barley is already scarce, and not to be bought, 
 though we pay in guineas. Bread is also scarce, as well 
 as beef. I hope soon to hear through St. Andero, but 
 the French have Castro and Santona. We still have 
 reports that the works at Burgos are being destroyed ; it 
 may be so, if the French resolve to go to the Ebro, for 
 the garrison will otherwise be sacrificed. We have only 
 six^ eighteen-pounders, about the same as last year; the 
 twenty-fours are at Corunna. This will not do for the 
 siege well, and I hope that will not be necessary. For 
 the last thirty miles and more the style of the houses has 
 changed. They are generally now mud or cob walls, 
 like those in Devonshire, whitewashed, but not in the 
 best repair, or else they are unburnt brick, or dried mud 
 bricks with mud plaster. 
 
 Miserable He ad- Quarters at Massa, June 14$, 1813. 
 The regular English post-day was yesterday, but I had 
 
146 SKIRMISHING. 
 
 not time to write then, and as it is ten to one but that 
 this will be in time for the same packet, though you will 
 have, I hope, a long letter by the same mail, yet, wishing 
 to give you the latest news from hence, and to let you 
 know the events which have occurred, I write again. 
 
 At four o'clock on the 12th, as I told you, Lord Wel- 
 lington had not returned from the front when my last 
 letter was sent off. He came back at seven o'clock ; he 
 and his horse and his comrades well tired. The enemy 
 were found about fifteen thousand strong, two leagues 
 south-west nearly of Burgos, with cavalry and artillery. 
 We had up the hussars (heavy), and General Fane's 
 brigades of cavalry. Manoeuvring went on a considerable 
 time with skill. Our infantry could not get up in force 
 in time, or much would have been done. We had a gun, 
 however, close to a French column, and killed a few. We 
 also took an officer and about ninety men prisoners, some 
 desperately wounded, and one gun. A charge of cavalry 
 was ordered, but the French moved oft'. 
 
 There seems to be considerable confusion at times in 
 the intermixture of the French and English. The light 
 divisions were at hand; the second near with the Spaniards, 
 but not up. The Prince of Orange galloped about well, 
 with orders ; he knocked up his horse, and was in some 
 danger. Lord March met a French dragoon, took him 
 till he came close for an English soldier, turned short 
 round, was struck at by the Frenchman, and his horse 
 slightly hit below the ear : in short, something material 
 was very nearly happening. 
 
 The next day (the 13th) we had orders to march to 
 Villa Diego, where head-quarters were yesterday ; a dirty 
 place, but quarters tolerable. The country between is 
 rich and good, and covered with villages. We passed, 
 among others, Ormillos, Villa Sandine at a distance, and 
 Sasamon, in perfect ruin ; the whole place, church and 
 all, both of considerable extent and size, having been 
 
INCIDENTS ON THE ROAD. 147 
 
 burnt by Eomana and his army for some real or supposed 
 treason. The destruction was certainly well performed ; 
 the punishment severe, and very impartially inflicted. 
 The next place we came to, which had been a very neat 
 village, was nearly in the same state, from the same 
 cause. Villa Diego was nearly six or seven leagues from 
 Burgos. Lord Wellington, &c., went round that way, 
 to see how matters went on. They could not find any 
 French, and at last ascertained that the works, castle, 
 &c., of Burgos, had been all blown up and destroyed by 
 five o'clock yesterday morning. This news caused no 
 little joy to every one, and most particularly to those 
 who expected to have to knock their heads against the 
 place. Many good lives have thus been saved. This 
 news met us about four o'clock yesterday, and in con- 
 sequence to-day we had a long march to this place, Massa, 
 on our way to the Ebro. 
 
 "We shall probably nearly all get across about the same 
 time ; I think French and all. Some of the Spanish army 
 of Gallicia pass to-day up towards Eeynosa. The first 
 division do the same to-day or to-morrow. We met one 
 cavalry brigade on their road to cross at St. Martine to-day. 
 General Murray told me that we should probably cross 
 to-morrow ; but I find we are here five leagues from a 
 bridge or ford. The first two leagues here to-day were 
 through a productive country like Wiltshire; round 
 smooth chalk hills, well-watered meadows, and rich 
 pasture valleys, with abundance of grass : draining and 
 better farming, with cleanliness, were all requisite. We 
 then entered a rough, wild country, with rocks, &c. We 
 nearly all lost our way, including General Murray, the 
 Quarter-Master-general, with whom I was riding, Lord 
 Wellington himself, and nearly all the baggage ! We 
 were near a place called Brulla, ought to have passed 
 Cuirculo, near Urbel de Castro, whereas we got through 
 
 L2 
 
148 MASSA. 
 
 a rugged pass in the rock, came down to a picturesque 
 village, called La Piedra (so called, probably, from the 
 rocks around it), and there we fell in with the fifth 
 division. At last, after passing another little space called 
 Fresnoy, and leaving Urbel de Castro, in a valley on our 
 right, with a curious small castle on a pointed hill close 
 to it (from whence the name), we arrived at this wretched 
 place. The houses in this place would not in any way 
 hold half of us ; so the Spaniards have been sent back to 
 Fresnoy, the artillery, commissaries, paymasters, and 
 doctors to Vilalda, or some such place, a league off. 
 
 I was forgotten, but have, from there being one spare 
 quarter, got a wretched dirty hole here : it is the worst 
 of dirty cottages. My baggage is all in the entrance. I 
 have no place but a dirty passage to put up my bed in ; 
 I have a table and chair, but am surrounded by baskets, 
 hampers, tubs, boxes, sheepskins, dirt, &c. Cobwebs and 
 dirt are dropping upon me continually. Most have en- 
 camped. Lord Wellington and Marshal Beresford are 
 walking up and down the street, and the Military Secretary 
 is writing under a wall, upon his knees, whilst his servants 
 are pitching his tent. In a little field where General 
 Alava is about to encamp, there were just now the Military 
 Secretary, Colonel Scovell, the Commander of the Police 
 Corps, Fitzclarence, General Alava, the Spanish Aide-de- 
 camp, Colonel Waters, the Prince of Orange, and your 
 humble servant, all lying upon the ground together, 
 round a cold ham and bread, some brandy, and a bottle 
 of champagne. And no bad fare either you will say. 
 The Prince and Lord Fitzroy, like two boys, were playing 
 together all the time. 
 
 The people in this part of the country are as bad, if 
 not worse than in Portugal. There is nothing but filth 
 and laziness. They are not good-looking either. They 
 live in dirty mud houses, and fleas are so abundant that 
 
MASSA. 149 
 
 I cannot sleep from their annoyance. I suppose we shall 
 cross near Puente Arences, or Eampalaise, to-morrow, or 
 next day at the latest. The French have left about ninety 
 sick or wounded at Burgos, and the bedding of the hos- 
 pitals, about eight hundred beds. No cannon, &c. We 
 are already short of forage or corn for the horses ; bread 
 scarce, as well as spirits, and the country we enter pro- 
 duces little or nothing. 
 
150 
 
 MAKCH CONTINUED. 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 March continued Quintana Anecdote of Wellington Morillas Vittoria 
 The Battle Its Results Plunder Kindness to the Enemy Madame 
 de Gazan The Hospital Sufferings of the Wounded Estimated Loss. 
 
 Head-quarters, Berberena, 
 June 18, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 MY last left me at Massa, on the other side of the 
 Douro, in a miserable quarter. On the following morn- 
 ing (the 15th) we marched for Quintana, on the same 
 side. For about four leagues we proceeded through a 
 rough hilly country, barren, but at times picturesque. 
 We passed troops all the way, and at last came to a 
 tremendous long hill which led us down to Quintana, 
 near the banks of the Ebro. Troops were descending 
 the hill, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, from eight or 
 nine o'clock until past four; and at last the baggage, 
 which was kept waiting on the banks around the road- 
 side, moved on; the scene was very striking. The 
 artillery was much shaken ; some guns were lowered by 
 hand, with the wheels locked, without horses, and all 
 very gently ; four wheels gave way, and the 18 -pounders 
 had to go round by St. Martine. 
 
 The valley in which Quintana and six or seven other 
 small villages were placed, and through which the Ebro 
 passed, was very rich and beautiful, surrounded with 
 rocky heights and covered with corn, beans, fruit, vines, 
 trees, &c., and the villages externally very picturesque. 
 Internally, however, they were most wretched, and my 
 
CROSSING THE EBRO. 151 
 
 quarter was misery itself. The people had not seen the 
 French in the valley for two years, until about ten days 
 before we were there, when they had been through to 
 collect contributions, and to seize part of a magazine 
 formed there by Longa. The head-quarters' house was, 
 however, good, and near it was a large but unfinished 
 and unoccupied college, for young persons of both sexes, 
 founded about twenty years ago by the owner of the 
 head-quarters' house, by the desire of his deceased wife, 
 for the education of children of the valley. The great 
 man of the valley, however, was the owner of the Adju- 
 tant-general's quarter, and only a Procureur there a 
 poor abode. I think he was called the Marquis de Yilla 
 Alta. There was a small castle, and the whole scenery, 
 particularly along the banks of the river, was very de- 
 lightful. I longed for a tent, for I could not live in my 
 house in the daytime from the smoke, and could not 
 sleep in the night from the fleas. The light division and 
 the fourth were encamped in the meadows across the 
 river, and added, by their fires and tents, much to the 
 interest of the scene ; the cavalry and artillery passed 
 through the valley. The river runs in this part about as 
 wide as the Severn above Shrewsbury less than the 
 Thames at Maidenhead. 
 
 The next day (the 16th) we crossed the river, and pro- 
 ceeded with the troops between the lofty rocky banks of 
 the river, above the valley, on a road cut close to the 
 water, and winding alongside the river for about a league 
 and more, most beautifully ! in some respects like the 
 Wye, the cliffs almost like Cheddar, and wooded to the 
 water's edge. The constant line of cavalry and infantry, 
 whenever the eye caught the winding road, was very pic- 
 turesque. In two places were the remains of walls across 
 the road made by Longa or the French I do not know 
 which. 
 
 The road afterwards turned from the river, and through 
 
152 GENERAL LONG A. 
 
 a fine country brought us to Medina de Pomar, leaving 
 Villa Cayo on our left. Medina de Pomar, our next head- 
 quarters, was a straggling dirty town, and the accommo- 
 dation very moderate indeed. I got a tolerable clean 
 room for myself at the apothecary's, but my stable was 
 down a cellar with dark stairs, and I could scarcely get 
 my animals in or out. The alcalde was not civil, nor did 
 the people appear glad to see us. The town was very 
 full, for the Spanish Generals Mendizabel and Longa 
 (the ci-devant Ghierilla chief) were quartered there on our 
 arrival, and did not seem disposed to move for us. 
 
 I saw Longa in the street ; rather a stout man, well 
 dressed in a sort of hussar uniform, and looking civilized 
 enough. I was in hopes of meeting him at Lord Wel- 
 lington's, where I dined that day, but he did not stay. 
 The party of cavalry attending him were all uniformly 
 dressed, and seemed to me to be more regular than most 
 of the Spanish regulars. They wore scarlet jackets, and 
 appeared not unlike some of our volunteer yeomanry 
 cavalry, but they had quite an air of consequence which 
 was amazing. Longa has left thirty of them and two 
 officers at head-quarters, as part of the corps of guides, 
 to assist in keeping up the communications of the army, 
 in which way I have no doubt they will be very useful. 
 
 Lord Wellington was at Medina in a large nunnery 
 where there were twenty-five ladies, who came and played 
 at bo-peep with us in the chapel, which was a handsome 
 building. The altar was very rich, and in the centre 
 was a piece of clock-work of small moveable figures de- 
 scribing the crucifixion. 
 
 On that day General Jeron arrived, the General of the 
 Gallician Spanish army acting with us, and he dined 
 there. Castanos, the former General, is now a sort of 
 General of two armies, and amuses himself by parading 
 through all the towns and places in the rear of the army, 
 Burgos last : I suppose he is employed somehow in this 
 
GENERAL LOXGA. 153 
 
 way. Jeron is a man about thirty-six, I should think, 
 and looks very much like a gentleman and a man of 
 talent ; he is very well spoken of, and considered as one 
 of the best of the Spanish leaders. Through Corunna 
 we have news to the 6th of June. Talking during dinner 
 of the late accounts from Bonaparte, and of the senti- 
 mental story about Duroc, which Lord Wellington was 
 laughing at, General Jeron said, " If there was such a 
 place as hell, he thought Bonaparte quite right, and that 
 he and Duroc would most certainly meet again there." 
 
 Yesterday, the 17th, we started again (having had no 
 halts) for Quincoces, five long leagues almost, towards 
 Vittoria, but to the left : there our head-quarters were 
 yesterday, in that and the neighbouring villages. The 
 troops I think were pushed on in this way, from an ac- 
 count received from Longa and others, that the French 
 rear was still at Pencorbo, and part even at Briviesca, on 
 the other side of the Ebro. Longa gave great hopes of 
 doing something. We have, however, our difficulties 
 from this. We get no corn for the horses, and bread is 
 very scarce ; stores gone for the present, for we outrun 
 our supplies, and there is very little to be bought. We 
 have bought some and baked it, to supply us as we go, 
 but some divisions have been for one or two days entirely 
 without, and others on short allowance. We hope now 
 soon to get into a better country, towards Yittoria, but 
 Longa and the French have cleared everything about this 
 country. 
 
 Longa, when we came to Quincoces, was ordered on to 
 Orduna, having had all he could from this place. On 
 taking leave he collected all their oxen for the plough, 
 ninety in number, all they had left, and drove them off. 
 The people received us with tears and lamentations, and 
 with no small fear, not knowing what we should require 
 next. My patron seemed quite stupified and melancholy. 
 We told this to General Alava, and he galloped off with 
 
1 54 SKIRMISHING. 
 
 two dragoons after Longa's people and the oxen, over- 
 took them, and compelled them to restore them to the 
 owners, to their no small satisfaction. At last we found 
 eight hundred pounds of bread, that is, flour ; half a day's 
 rations for head- quarters only. "We bought it, paid for 
 it with guineas, and baked it voila la difference ! But 
 this cannot last or be general ; the divisions cannot do 
 this. 
 
 We last night heard that the French were over the 
 river Ebro, and as near Yittoria as we were. However, 
 we advanced in hopes of something arising, and head- 
 quarters were ordered to be at this place, Berberena, and 
 the neighbouring villages. It was intended that Marshal 
 Beresford should have been at a village half a league in 
 front of this place, but when we arrived near here, about 
 nine o'clock, we found two divisions of the 1st and 5th 
 halted here until further orders. We heard a cannon- 
 ading in the front, at this village, and found that the 
 French were making some stand in a narrow pass near it, 
 and in the village. Beresford was put into a village to 
 the rear of us, and an order soon came out for all bag- 
 gage to proceed to that village for security. Mine was 
 unloaded ; but as I saw the French just before us, only 
 about a mile off or little more, I made my people all load 
 again and stand ready to be off, whilst I went with my 
 glass to the end of the village, to a rising ground, to 
 witness the skirmishing, and to be ready to act accord- 
 ingly. 
 
 A brisk cannonade was going on, a few shells were 
 thrown, and a light infantry attack. The French I saw 
 very plainly in the churchyard and village on the hill 
 beyond. They advanced under a ridge in the ground 
 and some bushes, where they stood above an hour and 
 more, when I saw our men and the Portuguese advance 
 gradually and drive them back. The cannon advanced 
 also, and the French by degrees went out of sight round 
 
MORILLAS. 155 
 
 the hill, our guns and soldiers after them. Very few I 
 believe were killed on either side ; but our light division 
 I find went round by Espeja, and, falling in with another 
 division early in the day, routed them so completely, 
 that two battalions dispersed, and the light division got 
 a quantity of mules and baggage, with a good deal of 
 money ; some privates got two or three hundred pounds. 
 About three hundred prisoners were taken, and some of 
 the runaways are still coming in. One French battalion 
 fled towards Frias, and some Spaniards are sent off after 
 them. 
 
 Morillas, Head- Quarters, June 20#A. Our orders yes- 
 terday morning (the 19th) were to set out at eight o'clock 
 through Osma, where a little affair took place the day 
 before, and so on to Escorta, following the fourth divi- 
 sion. We did this, and I was riding with the doctors 
 just before that division on towards Escorta, when we 
 were told that the French were only two miles in ad- 
 vance, and that there was nothing between us. Upon 
 this we turned out of the road into a field of vetches for 
 the horses, and let the fourth division go by, and have 
 the honour of preceding us, as we did not quite think 
 the French would run away at the sight of us civilians. 
 When this division came well up we went on, passed 
 through Escorta to another village half a league beyond, 
 and then, by the advice of an officer, who told us they 
 were going to attack the French, who were strong at 
 this place, Morillas, and that the passage of the river 
 was to be forced, we ascended a high hill on our right, 
 which commanded the whole scene of action, and there 
 with our glasses we could distinctly see everything. 
 
 As soon as the light division had got almost round 
 the hill on our right, from the direction nearly of the 
 Frias road, in order to be ready to advance and turn the 
 French position, the fourth division advanced to the 
 village here, and the skirmishing began from the houses 
 
J 56 SKIRMISHIXG. 
 
 and a chapel on the river. In about half an hour our 
 men entered the village, and we got ahout three field- 
 pieces into play close to it. We then saw the French, 
 who were in considerable force on the other side, and 
 formed into a crescent on a hill near, begin to move off, 
 at first gently, but soon in quick time, and a part of our 
 division was very soon formed beyond the village over 
 the river. The skirmishing thus went on all the way 
 up the road and hill beyond to another village half a 
 league further on the hill, where the French were drawn 
 up in greater force. When our men got up, however, 
 the enemy went off pretty quickly, and were last night 
 in great force, some say fifty thousand, in a plain about 
 a league and a half from this, and about half way to 
 Yittoria. 
 
 The pass here was very defensible, and not easily 
 turned ; but the resistance was very slight, and few fell 
 on either side. I suppose the French were afraid of 
 bringing on a general action by further resistance. They 
 had not any artillery with them near here, I conclude, 
 from the fear of losing their guns, as just through and 
 near the village the road is so bad and narrow, that our 
 baggage, without any resistance, did not pass through to 
 the two divisions beyond until dark at eight o'clock, our 
 head- quarter baggage having all followed on here. 
 
 Lord Wellington walked into a house and made it 
 head-quarters. I have a sort of barn here. We have 
 had wet and cold weather for these three days ; I can 
 scarcely keep myself warm to write, though with my cap 
 on and double waistcoats This is considered extraor- 
 dinary here for the 20th of June, though the climate is 
 always much colder and more subject to wet than in the 
 more southern parts of Spain. 
 
 There is a large plain near Vittoria, and then all be- 
 yond is hilly to France. An officer of the 95th was 
 killed on the 18th, and about seventy men wounded, I 
 
BATTLK OF VITTOR1A. 157 
 
 lioar. Yesterday an officer of the Fusileers was wounded 
 badly in this village, and lies in a house here : in another 
 house a very spirited Portuguese (Cayadores) serjeant is 
 also lying wounded. 
 
 3 o'clock. The French remain in the valley, but it is 
 thought will be off to-night. 
 
 Vittoria, June 23rd, 1813. My last was of the 20th 
 from Morillas, and on the 21st I arrived here after a 
 scene never to be forgotten. Our baggage was that 
 morning ordered to remain ready to load until further 
 orders. The French were very strongly posted at about 
 a league and a half distance, directly across the road to 
 Vittoria, about sixty or seventy thousand strong, and 
 extending about a league ; their centre supported by a 
 wood and a small river, their left by strong wooded hills, 
 and their right on another hill not so strong. The 
 attack was ordered in the manner you have seen before 
 this in the " Gazette." General Graham was to turn 
 the French right flank; General Hill their left. I 
 mounted my horse about nine to see the result, leaving 
 Henry and everything behind, with directions to do 
 exactly the same as Lord Wellington's servants. I got, 
 with Dr. M'Gregor and a few others, on a hill about a 
 mile from the French, which commanded nearly the 
 whole scene. At about half-past ten the firing began 
 very briskly on the hills on the French left. The dif- 
 ferent ridges were well contested; but our people con- 
 stantly, though gradually, gained ground, and advanced 
 along the top ridge to turn the French. The cavalry 
 were nearly all close under us to be ready, some in the 
 rear, and one division of infantry also. Greneral Paken- 
 ham's division was not up at all it was four leagues in 
 the rear. 
 
 By the ground gained on the French left, and soon 
 after from General Picton having got up quite on the 
 ridge of the hills there with his division, a steep and dif- 
 
158 BATTLE OF VITTORIA. 
 
 ficult ascent, the centre were enabled to advance a little 
 also, and much skirmishing began there near a little 
 village before us, which was for some time contested. 
 At length, some guns being brought to bear there, and 
 one also half way up the hill, the village was passed by 
 our people, and we saw them lying sheltered under a hill 
 beyond, nearly opposite the wood at the French centre. 
 A smart contest then ensued. The cannon and a few 
 men from the hill and village fired into the wood, and a 
 constant firing was kept up from the wood on our men ; 
 the main contest being still, however, on the hills on the 
 French left. By this time, about one, we on our hill all 
 advanced to another nearer, to observe more distinctly 
 witli our glasses. Soon after this, General Graham's 
 attack began on the French right, and a very brisk can- 
 nonade was then kept up right and left. The French 
 line on the hill on the right and left (for we saw the 
 whole of their line) began to give way a little, and to put 
 itself in motion, and the plot then thickened. Still we 
 gained ground, and some of our men also got close to the 
 wood, and, lying down, kept up a smart fire. The can- 
 nonading lasted two or three hours, the English con- 
 stantly gaining ground. Our party moved a second time 
 to a third hill within the original French picquets, and 
 in front of our cavalry. At last we saw our line forming 
 gradually under shelter of the rising ground, within half 
 a mile of the French line and guns. They then ad- 
 vanced, and the cavalry began to move up some say 
 rather late, as Lord Wellington was not there to give 
 the orders. 
 
 We then left our hill and advanced with the House- 
 hold Brigade constantly as they moved. We now began 
 to see the effects of the guns. Dead and wounded men 
 and horses, some in the most horrible condition, were 
 scattered all along the way we passed. These were prin- 
 cipally cannon-shot wounds, and were on that account 
 
ITS RESULTS. 159 
 
 the more horrible. It was almost incredible that some 
 could live in the state we saw them. From my black 
 feather I was taken by some for a doctor, and appealed 
 to in the most piteous voice and affecting manner, so 
 that I immediately took out my feather, not to be sup- 
 posed so unfeeling as to pass on without taking any 
 notice of these poor creatures. Our hospital spring- 
 waggons were following, and men with frames to lift up 
 and carry off those near the roads. Some in the fields 
 about crawled by degrees into the villages ; but hundreds 
 have lain without food or having their wounds dressed 
 until now, two days afterwards. Parties are sent all 
 over the contested ground to find them, though the pea- 
 sants are continually bringing in the wounded. 
 
 On the hill in the centre of the French position, at a 
 village where we first came in full sight of Vittoria, and 
 about two miles distance, the contest was very sharp, 
 and the three first guns were taken, with several tum- 
 brils, und there the first charge of cavalry took place. 
 The sufferers there were principally Portuguese of the 
 llth and 21st regiments, and we had all along seen 
 more of our people wounded than the French. We now 
 found swords, muskets, knapsacks, &c., in all directions. 
 The stragglers and followers were stripping and plunder- 
 ing, and a scramble ensued for the corn, &c., which was 
 in the tumbrils with the ammunition. The Hussars in 
 their charges suffered much. The Life Guards I kept 
 close to all the way to Vittoria, and to that time they 
 were not engaged. 
 
 We could hear the whistle of the cannon-shot, and 
 saw the ground torn up where they struck. Tumbrils 
 and guns were now found upset or deserted at every 
 half-mile ; and when we got near Vittoria the road was 
 absolutely choked up with them, so that our artillery was 
 some time stopped. Some of the Life Guards were 
 placed at the gates and in the streets here, to keep sol- 
 
160 COUNTESS DE GAZAX. 
 
 diers, &c., out, and to preserve order as far as possible ; 
 and we rode into Yittoria amidst the cries, hurras, and 
 vivas of the mob, which consisted chiefly of women. "We 
 looked into the stores and found little left, and then 
 passed through the town, at the further side of which we 
 stopped at a very curious scene. The French so little 
 expected the result, that all their carriages were caught, 
 and stopped at this place three of King Joseph's, those 
 of the Generals, &c. ; the Paymaster and his chest, the 
 Casa real, hundreds of tumbrils, the wives of the Generals, 
 all flying in confusion ; several carriages upset, the horses 
 and mules removed from them, the women still in their 
 carriages, and the Spaniards (a few soldiers, but princi- 
 pally the common people) beginning to break open and 
 plunder everything, assisted by a few of our soldiers. 
 Upon the whole, our people got but little of the plunder, 
 except by seizing and selling a few mules. The seats of 
 the carriages were broken with great stones and ran- 
 sacked, and gold, silver, and plate were found in several 
 in abundance. I took a case of maps, part of Lopez' pro- 
 vincial set, and a horse-cloth, which I bought of a Portu- 
 guese soldier as a memorial, but would not meddle with 
 the rest. Maps, books, &c., were thrown aside ; brandy, 
 &c., drank. 
 
 In the midst of this, a lady in great distress, well 
 dressed and elegant, with her carriage in the ditch, and 
 she herself standing by, appealed to me, and, asking me 
 if I could speak French, said she was the Countess de 
 Gazan, wife of the French General, and that she wished 
 to get back to the town, and, if possible, save her horses, 
 mules, and carriage, and those of King Joseph, which 
 were by. With the assistance of two hussars, after above 
 an hour, I at last accomplished this in a great measure ; 
 that is, I got the lady, her woman, the carriage, and four 
 out of six of the animals, to the house of a friend whom 
 she pointed out to me, and also a few loose things out of 
 
COUNTESS DE GAZAN. 161 
 
 the carriage. The other two animals and the three 
 trunks of clothes had been plundered before I arrived. I 
 also put King Joseph's carriage and horses in their way 
 to the square of the town ; I then went and tried to find 
 out amongst the prisoners a little boy of two years old, a 
 son of the General, whom some French gensd'armes had 
 taken from the carriage to carry off, and who had not 
 since been seen, and whom the mother thought was taken 
 prisoner. I could not find him anywhere ; but I met 
 Lord Wellington returning to the Palace at ten at night 
 to his quarters there ; and as Madame de Gazan was most 
 anxious that he should know she was taken, I told him, 
 and also about her boy. He desired me to say that he 
 could not then see her, but that she might rely on his 
 doing what he could to find the child, and that she should 
 be immediately at liberty to join her husband. This I 
 went and told her. I also found an English aide-de-camp 
 of General Hill, who had "been released only the day 
 before, having been prisoner, and to whom she had been 
 very kind when he was with the French, and who had, 
 on taking leave, promised, if the fate of war should make 
 a change in their relative situations, to return her atten- 
 tions. 
 
 My return and message made her more easy : I fear, 
 from what I have since heard, that her boy was killed 
 between two carriages; but still hope he may have es- 
 caped. The confusion lasted all night, and indeed, has 
 continued until now. The event was also so little ex- 
 pected on our part, that for a long time there were no 
 guards for the prisoners, and many escaped in conse- 
 quence, and several are still wandering about the country. 
 
 The next day (22nd) the head-quarters followed the 
 French to Salvatierra; but I was advised by Colonel 
 Campbell and others to stay quietly here, and proceed 
 afterwards. I did so, but already repent, for no place is 
 so certain of news, and so secure, as head-quarters, though 
 
162 SUFFERINGS OF THE WOUNDED. 
 
 the accommodation is often most wretched. I have been 
 over the hospital, and the scene which I there witnessed 
 was most terrible ; seventeen or eighteen hundred men, 
 without legs or arms, &c., or with dreadful wounds, and 
 having had nothing to eat for two or three days, the 
 misery extreme, and not nearly hands sufficient to dress 
 or /take care of the men English, Portuguese, Spaniards, 
 and French all together, though the Spaniards and Por- 
 tuguese had at first no provision at all for their people. 
 Half the wounded have been scattered round the villages 
 in the neighbourhood ; and there are still many to come 
 in, who arrive hourly, and are lying in all the passages 
 and spare places around the hospital. A Commissary is 
 just established. 
 
 Six hospital waggons are just now setting out for 
 another load of these poor wounded fellows ! 
 
 I do not know what now to do as to proceeding to join 
 head-quarters ; for, to our great surprise, last night Lord 
 March was sent over here to tell the Commandant, who 
 was just appointed, that it was discovered that from ten 
 to twelve thousand French, supposed to come from 
 Bilboa, were in our rear, and might be in here soon; 
 that a division of men (I believe Greneral Pakenham's) 
 was left for our protection, but that every man here capa- 
 ble of bearing arms must be kept in readiness, and every 
 one must be ready to leave this place at an hour's notice. 
 I now, therefore, do not know what to do exactly, and 
 wish myself at head-quarters. The pay-chest, with about 
 a hundred or a hundred and twenty thousand dollars of 
 French prize money in addition, is still here, and several 
 of the doctors. 
 
 In the blue coach was a box of gold in different shapes, 
 which a servant of King Joseph stayed behind to give up 
 to Lord Wellington, and which report says he has given 
 to his own personal staff. But everything was in confu- 
 sion ; even the ammunition waggons were left unguarded, 
 

 ESTIMATED LOSS. 163 
 
 and were broken open to be ransacked, and we have had 
 accidental or intentional explosions almost every hour 
 since. One tumbril with twenty shells was set fire to by 
 the foolish Spaniards yesterday, and several persons were 
 hurt in consequence. Every one is taking and wasting 
 the musket cartridges, notwithstanding Lord Wellington 
 is really in want of some. All, however, are now busy in 
 trying to remedy this confusion. 
 
 I hear that nearly one hundred and forty pieces of 
 artillery have been now taken in different states and 
 places between Morillas and Salvatierra. The French, 
 however, have comparatively lost fewer men than we did ; 
 the Portuguese more than their proportion; the Spa- 
 niards, several. Some corps behaved well, though General 
 Picton said some liked best to fire away and make a noise 
 at a distance. 
 
 I fear that few prisoners are taken as far as I can 
 learn about a thousand ; and I suppose they had a thou- 
 sand killed and wounded, having done us much mischief 
 with their tremendous artillery firing. Their line would 
 not stand at all when Graham advanced to turn them, but 
 they were off so quick that our men opposed to them 
 could not get up to them. Had they waited for a fair 
 attack, the prisoners would probably have been numerous. 
 As it is, the French still have numbers, and, though the 
 equipments of the army are gone, they may, if they can 
 fall back on supplies, be again formidable. Keport also 
 says that Suchet is moving fast to join them. Last 
 night, when our head-quarters were at Salvatierra, the 
 rear of the French was three leagues in advance ; they 
 are off so quick, the weather is so bad and wet, that I 
 fear we shall have many sick in the pursuit. The result 
 of the whole is, however, the most glorious possible, what- 
 ever may be the consequence ; never was there for the 
 time an army of sixty or seventy thousand men, as we 
 say, more completely routed and put to flight. Several 
 
 M 2 
 
164 FRENCH COMMISSARY-GENERAL. 
 
 French Generals are killed, wounded, or prisoners ; in 
 officers of rank the French have suffered much. 
 
 It is so very difficult to be at all certain as to our own 
 loss, unless one is in the secret, that I shall say nothing 
 but that General Colville, who had a slight knock in the 
 arm, is the only officer wounded of whom I have heard. 
 The 18th Hussars suffered much. I must now see the 
 Commandant, and settle whether to move or not. The 
 reports when not at head-quarters puzzle one very much. 
 A dragoon (Spanish) rode into the town yesterday, and 
 came up to me in the square to ask for the mayor of the 
 town, to tell him that six thousand French were only two 
 leagues off. I took him to General Pakenham, whose 
 division had just arrived. He carried the man off to see 
 what he knew, and said, if true, he would have a dash at 
 them. I suppose this was in part true, from what passed 
 afterwards about the French in our rear ; the division of 
 men is still, however, close to us. 
 
 Suchet was endeavouring to join the other French 
 army, and was, as the prisoners say, in the neighbourhood 
 of Logrono for that purpose, so that he will soon be with 
 the others. Tarragona we hear is taken, and I conclude 
 Murray is after Suchet. I have had much conversation 
 with the Commissary- general of the army of Portugal, 
 a talkative perfect Frenchman. He has lost everything, 
 and has neither money nor a change of linen, but he 
 seems tolerably happy. He says he had orders to pay 
 out of the Treasury when the fire had commenced, which 
 was madness, and he described the confusion of the fight 
 mtost eloquently and most truly I am sure. Joseph had 
 sent off a caravan of valuable pictures only the day 
 before, and various kinds of baggage, and a heavy train 
 of artillery. Some of this will, I think, be caught in 
 the confusion, but the pictures probably destroyed. 
 
 Head- quarters are to-day at Echarva Aramaz, and I 
 mean to get as near that place to-morrow as I can, or 
 
LOSS OF THE FRENCH. 165 
 
 even there, if I can get my baggage over the nine 
 leagues in the bad state of the roads, for it has rained 
 constantly these ten hours. Lord Wellington has not 
 given the box of treasure to his private staff. It has not 
 yet been opened, but is here. Colonel Campbell, who is 
 just come into the town on business, says that the French 
 have committed great ravages on their route from this 
 place, destroying property, committing every excess. A 
 girl at Lord Wellington's quarters at Salvatierra accuses 
 even King Joseph of an attempt at violence ; but I do 
 not believe it. Some very strange things were found in 
 the baggage. I was sorry to find that, except stragglers 
 and more baggage, we have got little more by our pursuit. 
 There are tumbrils I am told to the amount of five 
 hundred, and carriages and carts as many. King Joseph 
 had neither a knife and fork nor a clean shirt with him 
 last night. The loss to the French must be very consi- 
 derable, though our gain is not nearly so great, from the 
 destruction of many, and the quantity of things taken, to 
 us of little use. 
 
166 STATE OF THE ROAD. 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 Pamplona Pursuit of Clausel Wellington on the March Prospects of 
 more Fighting Effects of the War The French Position turned 
 Anecdote of Wellington Ernani St. Sebastian Wellington's Move- 
 ments. 
 
 Head-quarters, half a league from 
 Pamplona. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 I HAVE repented staying two days at Vittoria. The 
 consequence has been that I fell in with all the fagged 
 division of the army, and found every hole full of troops, 
 and nothing to eat or drink. The roads were poached up 
 knee-deep with clay, and I have almost knocked up both 
 myself and my animals. Yesterday I had no dinner, 
 and to day no breakfast, and the first day I was twelve 
 hours on the road going six leagues to a place two 
 leagues beyond Salvatierra; from thence I got in 
 thirteen hours more to Orunzun, eight leagues. There 
 my baggage did not arrive in time, and I went to bed 
 without dinner and without anything except the comforts 
 of a Spanish cottage. 
 
 I set out this morning for head-quarters. Now we 
 start fair again; to-morrow we march. Pamplona is 
 invested, but I fear that we have little means for a very 
 regular siege ; and accounts state that Clausel is, with 
 fifteen thousand men, on his road from Logrono, endea- 
 vouring to escape towards Suchet. It is hoped that we 
 may intercept him, or at least his guns ; and so we 
 march, though the army is terribly fagged, and the 
 
NARROW ESCAPE OF KING JOSEPH. 167 
 
 animals also. General Graham is at Tolosa ; Mina at 
 Tudela to assist against Clausel. From Yittoria to this 
 place we have constantly passed at first stripped and 
 unburied dead, then baggage and animals without number, 
 but the French have got off to France, and march away 
 like monkeys, scrambling over everything, consequently 
 there are few prisoners. Lord Wellington is in the 
 highest spirits. King Joseph was within two hundred 
 yards of our dragoons, and had a narrow escape. A few 
 more cannon have been taken. 
 
 It is one continued pass, or valley, all the way from 
 Yittoria to this place ; the road infamous, villages every 
 mile, but much damaged by the French, and the people, 
 from affluence, reduced to misery and distress. Oh war ! 
 war ! little do you know of it in England. At Orunzun 
 the French had spent much in a blockhouse and fort ; 
 they withdrew the garrison for the battle, and the 
 peasants destroyed it immediately. 
 
 One league from Sanguessa, Head- Quarters, Casseda, 
 June 29^, 1813. Thus far we have arrived in pursuit of 
 Clausel and his division, who were at Logrono, on their 
 way to join King Joseph. Had the battle been delayed 
 two days longer, we should have had these fifteen thousand 
 men, in addition, to contend with ; for by that time they 
 would have joined the king's army. As it was, they were 
 in some degree cut off and separated from their friends, 
 and might have been in some danger ; for had it not 
 been for the information of some treacherous alcalde 
 (I believe), these men would have proceeded towards 
 Pamplona, and would then have fallen 'completely into 
 our net. As it is, hearing of our approach, and having 
 the start, there is no chance of doing anything with 
 them, I think; they have full opportunity of joining 
 Suchet, and nothing material in their way, though Mina 
 may harass them much. Our army, by this pursuit, 
 already is terribly harassed and out of sorts. 
 
168 HABITS OF THE BRITISH SOLDIER. 
 
 In marching, our men have no chance at all with the 
 French. The latter beat them hollow ; principally, I 
 believe, owing to their being a more intelligent set of 
 beings, seeing consequences more, and feeling them. 
 This makes them sober and orderly whenever it becomes 
 material, and on a pinch their exertions and individual 
 activity are astonishing. Our men get sulky and despe- 
 rate, drink excessively, and become daily more weak and 
 unable to proceed, principally from their own conduct. 
 They eat voraciously when opportunity offers, after having 
 had short fare. This brings on fluxes, &c. In every 
 respect, except courage, they are very inferior soldiers to 
 the French and Germans. When the two divisions, the 
 fourth and light, passed through Taffalla the day before 
 yesterday, the more soldierlike appearance and conduct of 
 the foreigners, though in person naturally inferior, was 
 very mortifying. Lord "Wellington feels it much, and is 
 much hurt.* 
 
 The 23rd and llth Portuguese regiments, who be- 
 haved in the field on the 23rd as well as any British did 
 or could do, are on the march, though smaller animals, 
 most superior. They were cheerful, orderly, and steady. 
 The English troops were fagged, ;half tipsy, weak, dis- 
 orderly, and unsoldierlike ; and yet the Portuguese suffer 
 greater real hardships, for they have no tents, and only 
 bivouac, and have a worse commissariat. 
 
 * Mr. Larpent's opinion on the moral deficiency of the English soldier 
 has astonished many ; but it should be remembered that he was a non- 
 combatant, and his professional practice as Judge-Advocate-general 
 brought him more in contact with the delinquents than with the real 
 steady soldiers of the army. Let any reader who inclines to think that 
 the French can outmarch the more robust English, remember the advance 
 of the light division to Talavera under General R. Craufurd, so justly 
 eulogized in Napier's History. An English soldier becomes sulky, careless, 
 and insubordinate in a retreat; but let a battle be announced, and spirit 
 and discipline reappear together. Witness the conduct of Sir John Moore's 
 army, when he offered battle at Lugo, and afterwards when he was attacked 
 at Corunna. ED. 
 
TAFFALLA. 169 
 
 I think we shall to-morrow retrace our steps to Pam- 
 plona, and give over this pursuit. Lord Wellington, 
 I think, sees it will not do. "We had a very long march 
 the day before yesterday to Taffalla. The road was, 
 however, very good on the Canuria Eeal from Pamplona 
 to Tudela. Thinking that the French were making to 
 Tudela, we proceeded that way by this forced march. 
 The country was very fine. About two leagues from 
 Pamplona was a handsome, plain, elegant aqueduct, of one 
 hundred arches, light and simple. We passed several 
 villages, and, near TaiFalla, a quantity of well-managed 
 orchards and garden-ground ; the consequence was, fruit 
 and vegetables cheap and good, plenty of cherries about 
 Id. a-pound, pears and plums, &c. ; onions, beans, peas, 
 lettuce, pork, cheap ; in short, a most plentiful Spanish 
 market. 
 
 Taffalla is a good town, and the people civil and 
 hospitable. They had never seen us before, and gave us 
 a welcome. I should have liked another day there, for 
 both my men and animals were knocked up, and wanted 
 it. The next day, however, we proceeded by a mountain- 
 road over a little sierra to this place (Casseda), changing 
 our direction of march, though the object was the same. 
 Last night, I believe, it was found that the French had 
 much the start of us, and had crossed the Ebro. In 
 short, I presume from this, and from the very harassed 
 and bad state of the men to-day, we halted here ; and I 
 suspect to-morrow we shall return. 
 
 Lord Wellington himself seemed knocked up yester- 
 day ; he ate little or nothing, looking anxious, and slept 
 nearly all the time of sitting after dinner. I think he 
 was not quite well, and anxious, no doubt. Lord March 
 was sent off to General Graham, at Tolosa ; he returned 
 yesterday, and reports that General Graham had entered 
 Tolosa, which might have been well defended. He blew 
 open the gates with a nine-pounder, and so got in. 
 
170 VIEW OF THE PYRENEES. 
 
 General Foy, however, had taken a position beyond, with 
 eighteen thousand men, in such a strong country, that 
 Graham dared not attack him, and Lord March thought 
 the loss would be great if we did, unless we could turn it 
 by a circuitous march. He said the country was in that 
 direction full of positions; in short there is much yet 
 to do. 
 
 Tarragona is, I believe, not taken at last. General 
 Murray re-embarked when Suchet's army came that way. 
 This, as a plan to free Valencia, has, I believe, answered, 
 and Elio, &c., have advanced. Longa's people have 
 behaved well in another affair since the battle. The day 
 after to-morrow I expect to be either in sight of Pam- 
 plona again, or to be on the way towards the Tolosa 
 road ; but time will show. 
 
 From this place, which is a large village on a hill, we 
 have a full view of a long range of the Pyrenees, which 
 I have been spying at with a good glass. They are fine 
 mountains, but much less so, I think, than the Alps. I 
 see much snow on them, but no glaciers. The shapes 
 are more picturesque, but less astonishing and sublime. 
 We are, however, far off, and perhaps I do not do justice 
 to these hoary gentlemen. There is no snow summit so 
 far as I can see, only great lodgments of snow. 
 
 Huarte, July 2nd, in front of Pamplona. As ex- 
 pected, we yesterday set out on our way back here, a 
 short cut over the sierra, to Monreal the day before 
 yesterday sending the guns, &c., round by Taffalla, and 
 from Monreal here yesterday. This is a wild road, and 
 yet not very picturesque. About this place we have a 
 fine plain, in which Pamplona stands. The town is 
 invested, but I believe that is all, and no steps have yet 
 been taken for the siege; the place is strong, and we 
 have as yet no guns for the purpose. We yesterday 
 found the suburbs burning, the work of the French, and 
 more women sent away from the town. The town looks 
 
BAD NEWS. 171 
 
 handsome, but somehow has disappointed me. A French 
 party also still holds out at Pancorvo ; the worst of all, 
 however, is the bad news from General Murray. It is 
 said that he went off in such a hurry when he heard of 
 Suchet's approach, that, without waiting to know his 
 exact danger, or where Suchet was, he embarked, leaving 
 all his battering artillery, or as some say twenty pieces, 
 with all the ammunition, &c., belonging to them, in a 
 perfect state for the use of the French ; and this when, 
 in fact, he had four days to remove it in, and when the 
 Admiral offered to undertake to bring it off. I am glad, 
 however, to hear that Lord William Bentinck has arrived 
 to take the command. The odds are, however, that the 
 Spaniards will get a beating under Elio before our men 
 join them again; it is now said that Suchet left five 
 thousand men at Valencia also. In short, in this game 
 of chess we are playing, there is almost always some bad 
 move to counteract Lord Wellington's good ones. 
 
 It is now said that we are not to wait here for the 
 siege, but to move towards Bayonne, and the King's 
 army, which is said to have taken up a position on the 
 frontiers. We expect to move towards Eoncesvalles to- 
 morrow; but this is not settled. In my opinion we 
 should have done this immediately, without going after 
 Clausel ; but no doubt Lord Wellington knew best what 
 to do. We have to-day cold rainy weather again, bad 
 for men in camp. This place, Huarte, is rather a large 
 village with tolerable market. Villa Alba, half a mile 
 off, where some troops are posted, seems better still. 
 We are about two miles from Pamplona, across a little 
 stream, noV from the rains become a respectable river. 
 The great distress at present is for horseshoes, and to- 
 morrow I expect a mountain march. 
 
 It is now stated that we took fourteen hundred pri- 
 soners altogether in this late battle, not wounded, eleven 
 hundred wounded, and about seven hundred and fifty 
 
172 EFFECTS OF THE WAR. 
 
 were found dead ; the prisoners reckon their own loss at 
 eleven thousand. However, as they say, thousands ran 
 away over the mountain, and left the army altogether, 
 this must be exaggeration. If the armistice produces a 
 Eussian and Prussian peace, and we are left here to 
 Bonaparte's sole attention and undivided care, I fear we 
 may again see the neighbourhood of Portugal before six 
 months are passed, notwithstanding the late most glori- 
 ous victory. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Ostiz, July 3rd (Civil Department at 
 Boutairi). Here we are now within five leagues and less 
 of France, and on our way, at least, towards Bayonne. 
 General Hill is, I believe, to be to-day at Estevan, and 
 we have some men in France, at St. Jean Pied de Port. 
 General Foy's (French) eighteen thousand have left their 
 position beyond Tolosa, having given the great convoy 
 three days more time to be off. This convoy had the 
 pictures, immense service of plate of the King, three 
 hundred pieces of heavy artillery, &c. : I think we might 
 have caught it had we known how things were going on. 
 They have now retreated to France, and I believe Graham 
 after them. All cars and wheel carriages remain at 
 Orcayen, near Pamplona; I guess, therefore, we shall 
 soon be back again, and perhaps proceed against Suchet, 
 if he joins Clausel at Saragossa, as his orders, from inter- 
 cepted letters, were supposed to be. Your proverb, 
 however, vedremo co'l tempo, applies here as well as every- 
 where. Dr. M'Gregor is very much engaged, and if this 
 wet weather continues will, I think, be more so. I am 
 so cold now that I am writing with my coat buttoned 
 up, and my hat on, and we have constant showers. For 
 about three hours the day before yesterday it was exces- 
 sively hot. So we go on ! As yet we have seen nothing 
 very beautiful on this road, but it may mend. I am 
 hungry, tired, and worried, and must send this off to 
 Ostiz : so adieu. 
 
SPANISH HORSESHOES. 173 
 
 Lord Aylmer has now a brigade, and has joined it as 
 Major-general. General Pakenham is the Adjutant- 
 general. Three thousand of our men wounded at Yittoria. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Lam, July th y 1813 (Civil Depart- 
 ment, the Spaniards and Artillery at Arriez). We were 
 yesterday ordered to proceed to Lans, but not very early, 
 as the French were in the neighbourhood. It rained all 
 the way, and was very cold and uncomfortable, and what 
 added much to the unpleasantness of the journey, was 
 the horrible road and the loss of my horse's shoes. The 
 first league of this camina real was a narrow lane of large 
 loose stones, nearly the size of my head, with all the 
 interstices filled with good Brentford slop, half a foot 
 deep ; baggage constantly stopped the way. About half 
 way, however, I bribed a Spanish farrier to put me on 
 three Spanish shoes, with the heads of the nails half an 
 inch square, upon six of which heads in each shoe the 
 horses walk, as the shoe never touches a stone ; these 
 skaits are, however, much better than nothing. Having 
 stopped an hour in the rain for this, I proceeded, and at 
 Lans found an order to go on half a league on the left. 
 We are almost all here, or close by, except the Adjutant- 
 general's and Quarter-Master-general's departments, and 
 except Marshal Beresford. The latter was to have been 
 in my house, but did not like it, and found a place at 
 Lans. The quarter being vacant, I popped into a large 
 rambling black place, with long tables and benches, like 
 your servants' hall, great stables, &c., all under one roof. 
 
 The villages are nearly all alike in general shape and 
 accommodation ; scarcely any cottages but farm-houses, 
 and I suppose the great tables and benches they all 
 contain have been in better times used for the workmen 
 to dine. This has been the character of all the villages 
 for the last ten or twelve miles, and they lie very thick, 
 four in sight here, and probably ten within a league. 
 The hills around are all covered with wood ; the valley 
 
174 APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 almost knee deep with grass for hay, and abounding in 
 corn ; the walks further on towards the mountains very- 
 pleasant ; fine oaks and rocks, &c. ; the climate very cold 
 for England in July, and wet ; the verdure like that of 
 Ireland ; plenty of sheep on the mountains, but little to 
 be had here except milk. At Lans there was pork at a 
 penny a pound, and French brandy. 
 
 To-day we halt here, for the French are disposed to 
 stand a little further. Our cavalry moved last night 
 to Almandos, two leagues on, the 14th, and some 
 Germans, and General Hill's head-quarters, to Berueta, 
 whence the French retired. The reports now are that 
 General Hill sent word last night that the French were 
 strongly posted a little farther on, and that the peasants 
 said they were eight thousand ; but though he could not 
 see so many, he did not much like the position. Lord 
 Wellington sent him word that he would be there by 
 ten o'clock this morning, and L he is gone with most of 
 the military staff. We have heard firing very plainly, 
 but know not where it is. This is famous ground for 
 sharp-shooting, as you cannot see in general a hundred 
 yards before you. General Byng, with some British 
 and Spanish, is gone along the Eoncesvalles road, 
 toward St. Jean Pied de Port, and Graham proceeds 
 by the great road. Some stores are ordered round to 
 land at Deva; I conclude we shall only secure the 
 passes, and that we shall not enter France. Ground 
 is broken up before Pamplona, but I think only for form 
 sake; very few men at work. Only the six eighteen- 
 pounders are at hand. An artillery serjeant I hear 
 deserted from Pamplona two days since, and is supposed 
 to have given important information. General Wimpfen 
 tells me that the French have some works at Elisondo, 
 which is, I suppose, the place General Hill is stopped 
 by, and that they seem disposed to make a little stand 
 there. I wish Suchet would either come up by Sara- 
 
SPANISH PATRONA. 175 
 
 gossa and fight near Pamplona, and thus save us that 
 long trip, or that he would be off at once, like the rest ; 
 the latter is, however, I fear, more to be wished than 
 expected. With Clausel, he will have probably, in- 
 cluding garrisons, about forty thousand men. If after 
 all a peace should be made, leaving out England and 
 the Peninsula, we must even now still be off, and I only 
 hope it will be settled before the autumn bad weather ; 
 another rainy retreat from this part will never do. I 
 think we may at least stand towards the Astrinos and 
 Gallicia, and not go back to Frenada, for Bonaparte, 
 with all his energy and activity, can scarcely be ready to 
 follow us in force this autumn. 
 
 My old witch of a patrona came in just now, into 
 the place where I am, and moving the heavy bed, dis- 
 appeared down a trap -door under it to get up a little 
 clean linen from her hiding-place, where she conceals 
 things from the French. She also produced a guerilla 
 soldier's shirt, which he had left to be washed, and 
 called for to-day. She was very much frightened 
 at us yesterday, as all here are, but is more sociable 
 to-day. 
 
 We have turned about three hundred mules and 
 horses into the meadows here, and have cut down two 
 or three fields for the feeding at night, instead of the 
 green oats or barley, for that is scarce here. How 
 would you like all this in England? The peas and 
 beans also are pretty well pillaged by our soldiers, and 
 frequently the cattle get in besides. I do not pity the 
 Spaniards for this ; but as they are obstinate, they will 
 not pick and sell to us officers who ask them, conse- 
 quently the soldiers and our muleteers pick for themselves 
 gratis. I do not think the crops here are so forward as 
 in England ; we are, therefore, luckily for the horses, just 
 in the grass season. If we go back to the barren, brown, 
 southern plains, it will be rather a disagreeable change. 
 
176 COMPLAINT OF PILLAGE. 
 
 "We shall then, however, probably, get corn for the horses, 
 which now is very scarce. For the present, adieu. 
 
 If the French do not move, probably we may halt 
 here to-morrow again ; but I doubt we shall proceed. 
 Twelve Portuguese field-pieces were following us up 
 this horrible road; the French got two guns by the 
 same road to Pamplona last year. For the last fort- 
 night we have found the people of Navarre very stupid, 
 and their language unintelligible. They do not under- 
 stand good Castilian, but have a lingo of their own, very 
 barbarous ; the little Spanish I have picked up is here, 
 therefore, of no use, and I am nearly reduced to the 
 state of the deaf and dumb, to have recourse to signs 
 and acting. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Irurita, July 7th. From Lans and 
 Arriez we proceeded on the 6th to Berueta, through 
 Almandos, across a part of the Pyrenees. The first 
 league was through a fine oak wood, and * very hilly ; 
 the next there was more hill, and, if possible, worse 
 roads, and in particular a very long descent. The hills 
 were, however, green and wooded to the summits, 
 rounded, and not wild or savage, in short it was hilly 
 scenery and not mountain this is the Lower Pyrenees. 
 From one part on the Lans road, the sea, I am told, was 
 visible. Some Portuguese artillery followed us all the 
 way, and have arrived safely. 
 
 We then reached Almandos, which contained a few 
 very large houses for head-quarters ; there the artillery, 
 engineers, and Spaniards of head-quarters remained, and 
 we descended a zigzag hill, and then ascended to Barueta. 
 I there got a very bad quarter, but staid, in order to be 
 at the head-quarter village, to inquire into some com- 
 plaints of public money taken by a Commissary at 
 Vittoria. On the night of the 5th I was sent for at 
 nine at night from Arriez to Lans by Lord Wellington 
 about this business. It is a most horrible road even in 
 
KERRUETA. 177 
 
 the day time, and in my way .back alone, I lost myself 
 on a boggy common, and did not arrive until nearly one 
 o'clock, having for about an hour and a half splattered 
 about in a bed of wet clay, up to the horse's knees at 
 times, and having some notion of wolves, &c. This made 
 me anxious to be at the head-quarters village, where I 
 dined with Lord Wellington, and examined the Com- 
 missary in General Pakenham's presence. 
 
 Berrueta was a small French post against the Guerillas, 
 and the ground was strong ; the church and about four 
 houses, and a wall near were cut with loop-holes for 
 musketry, and a little round bastion built in front with a 
 double row of loop-holes commanding the roads, and 
 a little tiled roof for one sentry at the top. The house 
 had a rough eagle in black drawn upon it, and the in- 
 scription " Place Napoleon." The little street or alley 
 within the enclosure was called Rue Imperiale. In 
 spite of this the French, about three thousand strong, 
 had the day before been driven from this ground and 
 position by about five hundred of the second division, 
 and had left us in possession, allowing General Hill 
 to go on to this place, Irurita, a good league further, 
 where we have now the head-quarters. General Hill 
 has proceeded this morning to try and drive tho French 
 from a position about two leagues and a half further on 
 near the French frontier at Maya, where thej have 
 made a semblance at least, with about eight thousand 
 men, as if they meant to defend the pass there. 
 
 The road from Berrueta to Irurita was over one long 
 hill of a league, but good enough, and then brought us 
 down to this place at one extremity of the valley of 
 Bast an. This valley is a very rich tract, surrounded by 
 cultivated hills, well built and peopled, and terminated 
 on the other extremity by the pass of Maya. 
 
 General Hill has moved on his head-quarters from 
 hence to Elisondo, full a half league further, near the 
 
 N 
 
178 EFFECTS OF THE WAR. 
 
 centre of the valley ; and if the French give way, is 
 to proceed further. Lord Wellington and all his suite 
 are gone on forwards to watch the event. This place 
 contains a number of large houses, but is in general 
 dirty and bad in the interior. Lord Wellington's house, 
 and that of Marshal Beresford, and a few others about 
 here, are in the French style, with glass windows in 
 folding doors, and French blinds, &c., and they are clean 
 and comfortable; at Elisondo, there is more of this, 
 I hear. This valley has a sort of nobility of its own, 
 and most of the numerous good houses belong to an 
 inferior nobility. They almost all sport arms, and most 
 the chequers. I understand this valley is also famous 
 for the number of men of talent who have at different 
 times issued from it. There is also trade in the valley, 
 and commercial connexions even with Cadiz. These 
 second-rate nobles have had the sense not quite to 
 despise that mode of getting money, and thereby all 
 other comforts. The effects of the war and of the times 
 are, however, equally manifest here, but on a higher 
 scale than in the ruined cottage, or the farmer stripped 
 of his cattle and corn. Lord Wellington's patron, whose 
 house is now opposite and very handsome, was a native 
 of this place, and went as a merchant to South America : 
 he was engaged there in trade twenty-six years, and 
 then returned to enjoy himself, like our Scotch Indians, 
 in his native place. He, however, foolishly bought no 
 land, and continues engaged in trade by means of an agent 
 at Cadiz, and another at Vera Cruz, living here on the 
 profits. One rich vessel we took from him before the 
 declaration of war ; this shook him a little : since that 
 his Vera Cruz agent turned gambler and failed. We 
 have taken another vessel of his since, and he thus was 
 reduced nearly to his moveables. To supply French 
 contributions, and to find the a quoi vivre for himself 
 and two sons, he has sold all his plate, &c., and jewels. 
 
ANECDOTES. 179 
 
 He has now only some tolerable bedding in twelve bed- 
 rooms, and straw chairs and deal tables. The little 
 man, however, told all this to General O'Lalor in my 
 presence with much good humour, and did not seem 
 very unhappy. He was very anxious to please Lord 
 Wellington in his quarter. 
 
 Here we see the miseries of the contest in another 
 shape. The old mad Marquis d' Almeida left this to- 
 day to go on with General Hill, very anxious to beat the 
 French in their own territory, and give them back their 
 own again. He has attached himself to General Hill's 
 corps all along. 
 
 I believe King Joseph's gallantry in trying to seduce 
 a young girl at Salvatierra, the night of the battle of 
 Vittoria, was mentioned in a former letter by me. In 
 this valley he performed a most noble feat : after the 
 dinner given him by his patron and the neighbours, he 
 permitted or ordered his servants to sweep off and carry 
 away all the utensils, table-cloths, spoons, &c. The 
 Padre at Arriez, our last place, told General Wimp- 
 fen that he had there carried off the sheets. This is 
 a noble exit ; and all his suite were without a change of 
 linen. 
 
 The papers taken at Yittoria make it appear that 
 nearly a million of property was taken after the battle 
 250,000^. in gold. Only about one hundred and 
 twenty thousand dollars have been paid into the chest. 
 Much was certainly plundered by the natives and 
 soldiers : the latter were offering nine dollars for a 
 guinea, for the sake of carriage. Lord Wellington, 
 however, has his suspicions of pillage by the civil de- 
 partments; has heard various stories, also, of money 
 taken on the road back from Vittoria. I do not know 
 what may come of this : I have made out but little 
 satisfactory -as yet. One gentleman, however, whom I 
 examined yesterday intended to keep two thousand 
 
 N 2 
 
180 FRENCH POSITION ATTACKED. 
 
 dollars. At the same time, the understanding that this 
 was all fair seems to be pretty general. 
 
 Captain Brown was knocked off his horse by a sabre 
 cut on the head and taken prisoner, but as he had his 
 sword left, he cut down his guard, who was pricking him 
 with his sword, and ran into our dragoons and escaped, 
 changing his own horse for a French one in the confusion. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel May had a musket-ball in his belly. 
 It passed through his double sash, his waistcoat, and 
 pantaloons, and then, by striking the button of his 
 drawers, was so deadened as only to give him a swelling 
 the size of an egg, and he has been long with us again. 
 I dined with him at Arriez the day before yesterday. 
 
 In the skirmish on the 5th, at Berrueta, we had about 
 twenty wounded. The Spanish peasantry are a fine, 
 stout, tall, well-made race of mountaineers, and behaved 
 that day with spirit. Several would act with their fire- 
 arms with our light troops, and brought in two prisoners ; 
 and one set would go on with a picket of six of our 
 cavalry, and when told by Major Brotherton that they 
 were acting foolishly, as he could not protect or support 
 them if the French cavalry turned on him, they said 
 they could run as fast as those French horses, and 
 would not be caught so. The rulers here have also 
 been forward in offering supplies, a good part of which, 
 I believe, they were ordered to have collected by the 
 French, and by which collection we have profited. 
 
 More Portuguese troops and artillery are now passing 
 this way. I believe no English artillery has come this 
 road. The Portuguese guns are not so wide in the 
 wheels, having been made for their own roads, and are 
 therefore more adapted to this. 
 
 Irurita, -Head -Quarters, July 9th. Still here. The 
 day before yesterday, the 7th, the French showed fifteen 
 thousand men in the Maya pass, two leagues and a-half 
 in front, a line of nearly two miles. It took much time 
 
FRENCH DRIVEN OUT. 181 
 
 to climb the hills to turn this position. About four, we 
 got possession of a hill which had that effect ; the French 
 saw their error, tried three times to recover it, drove 
 back our men a little, but it would not do; they just 
 now will not stand against us. A battalion of Ca9adores 
 behaved well, and drove them back once. A close column 
 of theirs was opposed on the hill by two columns of ours, 
 the .39th ; our fellows, when near, shouted and came 
 down to the charge, and the French were quickly off. 
 It was dark, however, before the pass was abandoned, 
 and past eleven before Lord Wellington and his staff 
 got home to dinner, as he lost his way for some time 
 in the fog, despising guides, &c. Yesterday the French, 
 in part, came back to a little village near the pass, and 
 stood some time against our light infantry; but the 
 third shot of our two guns which were brought to bear, 
 sent them scampering off. They little think that we 
 have some eighteen field-pieces in this valley. 
 
 Yesterday Lord Wellington came in early, and left 
 the French in another pass in the last Spanish village. 
 They were, I hear, to be driven out to-day unless they 
 retired. They had yesterday, however, nearly succeeded 
 in surprising some of our men. They appeared in rear 
 of our advanced troops, through a pass on our right, 
 which communicates with the Koncesvalles pass to St. 
 Jean Pied de Port, drove in a small picket, and came, 
 about fifty of them, down very nearly to a village in 
 which we had much baggage. The peasants said they 
 had five hundred men there : they however went back 
 again, and one of our Serjeants, by himself, caught one 
 of the stragglers when the others were gone. Just then 
 there was only a small body of cavalry between their 
 party and our baggage, and even between them and our 
 head-quarters here. This was soon looked to, and a 
 Ca9adore regiment ordered into the neighbouring village. 
 The peasants here continue to behave with great spirit 
 
182 FRENCH PEASANTRY. 
 
 and activity, and want to enter France to take some re- 
 venge. They had been told by the French that we were 
 ten times worse in regard to plundering, &c., than them- 
 selves, and so the French are told now. The French 
 respect their own people, and do not treat them like the 
 Spaniards. In Spain a French encampment was covered 
 with all the doors, window-shutters, beams, trees, &c., of 
 the Spanish villages near ; in France, though in rain, they 
 are now seen without any such shelter on the bare ground. 
 
 The French peasants in these parts, I hear, are as fine 
 men as the Spaniards here, and formidable. If we enter 
 France, we must not wander and ride about as we do 
 here, nor let our baggage cover leagues in extent, It is 
 said that they disposed of four of our soldiers, Portuguese 
 I believe, whom they caught stealing cherries. I do not 
 think head-quarters will enter France, here at least, but 
 enter down towards the sea : this is, however, only my 
 speculation. General Byng sent an invitation yesterday 
 to dine with him in France. The Spanish troops are in 
 France in part also. 
 
 The day before yesterday Lord Wellington ordered 
 young Fitzclarence to go and bring up two Portuguese 
 companies to attack. He went. It was close by ; but 
 he was highly pleased with the order. When he had 
 given his instructions, he saw a cherry-tree, and went up 
 to break a bough on 7 , and eat the cherries. When Lord 
 Wellington lost his way the other night in the fog 
 (returning to head- quarters), Fitzclarence told Lord 
 Wellington he was sure the road was so-and-so, as 
 they had passed the place where he found the two Por- 
 tuguese companies. " How do you know that ?" quoth 
 Lord Wellington. " By that cherry-tree, which I was 
 up in just afterwards," was the answer. It amused 
 Lord Wellington much ; and yesterday he called to him, 
 with a very grave face, and desired him to go and get 
 some of the cherries, as if it were an important order. I 
 
HOUSE ON FIRE. 183 
 
 believe we only lost about seventy men killed and 
 wounded, Portuguese and all included, on the 7th. 
 
 I misinformed you some time since about General 
 Jeron, the Commander of the Grallician army. I under- 
 stand he was not named at the suggestion of Welling- 
 ton ; there are two opinions about him. 
 
 We have had stories against several of the civil de- 
 partments in regard to the plunder. One or two I have 
 saved from suspicion by an immediate inquiry and ex- 
 planation, which I stated to Lord Wellington directly. 
 It is always best to know the whole openly at once, 
 as ten suffer in reputation from reports for one really 
 guilty. One Commissary, I believe, will have leave to 
 resign. 
 
 Yesterday the chimney of the house of Lord Welling- 
 ton's patron was on fire, from the dressing of Lord 
 Wellington's dinner. I was much afraid that it would 
 spread and complete the poor man's ruin, by destroying 
 nearly all he had left. It was with difficulty at last put 
 out, when the fire-bell had collected all the town buckets 
 full of water, and a wet blanket had been pushed down 
 the chimney, which, being half wood, made the event 
 very uncertain. I was really glad when it was put out. 
 Lord Wellington was out in the rain with his hat off, 
 and a silk handkerchief over his head, giving directions, 
 as well as your humble servant. 
 
 P.S. Head- Quarters, Zo bieta, July IQth. We arrived 
 here this morning, in the direction I expected, about four 
 leagues from Irurita, on the road to St. Sebastian, through 
 a very pretty wooded valley all the way, the road 
 good, and by the river side, with villages every two 
 miles. We passed St. Estevan, the largest place, and 
 perhaps the only one you will find in any map, except 
 Lopez' provincial ones. Some of the other villages were 
 large, containing some thirty or forty good large farm- 
 houses, and some mansions. The light division was dis- 
 
184 GENERAL ORDERS. 
 
 persed on the road, and in one village I found George 
 Belson and his artillery. I do not, however, expect to 
 hear any more of him for some time, as he is not likely 
 to follow us any farther, from what I am told of the 
 road. 
 
 To-morrow head-quarters move eight or nine leagues 
 of mountain track road through Gaygueta to Ernani, in 
 parts it is said scarcely passable for a mule ; so at least 
 Colonel Ponsonby reports, who came last night from 
 Ernani. In consequence of this account, civil depart- 
 ments and baggage are, if they choose, to stop at Gay- 
 gueta, which is half way. At Ernani we are on the 
 high road to Bayonne from Yittoria. Something is 
 now, I believe, going on at St. Sebastian. I understand a 
 convent near it was to be attempted to-day or to-morrow, 
 preparatory to the grand attempt. The heavy guns are, 
 I believe, landed, and are, it is said, at Deba for this 
 siege. The garrison is two thousand strong, about six- 
 teen hundred of their own, and four hundred from another 
 fort near, now blown up. Santona is left with a strong 
 garrison, and well supplied, and would be a more diffi- 
 cult affair, from what I learn. Pancorvo was taken by 
 O'Donnell and the Spaniards : they took an outwork by 
 storm, and the men then surrendered. 
 
 Pamplona is more closely invested by means of some 
 redoubts, and I believe nothing more will be done there. 
 These redoubts will be of use, if this undertaking is left 
 to the Spaniards. Though we have thus to-day gone 
 away from France, I conclude we, or rather some of the 
 army, are to be within France soon, as Lord Wellington 
 has published some long and good general orders on the 
 subject of well treating the people, &c., and not copying 
 the French in Portugal and Spain, as we are at war with 
 Bonaparte, and not with the inhabitants, and that recevos 
 are to be given for supplies, &c. Still I think we shall 
 only keep on the frontiers. Clausel, it would appear from 
 
DIFFICULT TRAVELLING. 185 
 
 the Spanish authorities, has, since we left him, made off 
 for France by the great Tacca pass in Arragon, instead 
 of joining Suchet, as I supposed, and Suchet was at Tor- 
 tosa when last heard of. Zobieta is but a miserable place, 
 and the people quite unintelligible. We shall soon be in 
 Biscay again. 
 
 Head-Quarters, Ernani, July 16^, 1813. My last 
 was from Zobieta, a little village in the lower Pyrenees. 
 Our next day was a tremendous journey to this place. 
 I started at six o'clock in the morning, and we immedi- 
 ately began to ascend near the bed of the stream, which 
 ran by Zobieta towards its source, in order to cross the 
 mountain at the back of the town, which divides that 
 valley from the one in which the river is situated, which 
 runs down by this place to St. Sebastian. 
 
 In less than half a mile the road became choaked with 
 baggage. There was only one path winding zig-zag up 
 the hill, and every mule whose load got more on one side, 
 or out of order, discomposed and stopped the string. I 
 had one mule lightly loaded, and my man, foolishly eager 
 to get forwards, led it up straight from one path to the 
 cross one above, instead of following the track. He got 
 on safely, but this tempted three of Colonel Dundas's 
 mules to do the same. Just as I passed below, the hinder 
 one fell backwards, with a heavy load, and the whole 
 three being tied together, he pulled both the others down 
 upon him, and they all lay in a heap at my feet kicking 
 in the path. With some difficulty I got an ass out of 
 the way in time, and scrambled upon foot, leading my 
 horse to get away, that I might not be pushed down the 
 side of the hill ; by this means I also gained ground, and 
 by continuing on foot for about two miles of the steepest 
 ascent, I got up tolerably quick. Two of General Mur- 
 ray's mules rolled into the river below. 
 
 We then continued to the highest point of the moun- 
 tain, whence we were told Bayonne was visible. When 
 
186 PASSAGE OF LORD WELLINGTON. 
 
 we arrived the fog was so thick that we could not see a 
 yard, and we went on two leagues more in this mist 
 through the clouds, along the top and side of the hill, 
 until we got over Gaygueta. Then we had a very bad 
 descent of about two miles to that place. Near the 
 town we passed General Longa and his suite going to 
 meet Lord Wellington, and we found the town full of 
 his troops all drawn up to receive the English General. 
 They looked very well, fine men, tolerably well dressed 
 and equipped ; about five thousand in the whole. One 
 grenadier company looked very fierce and military. 
 
 I here found every quarter occupied, and could hear of 
 none ; after waiting an hour, I determined to proceed. 
 After an ascent of about half a league again, very steep, 
 we went along the top of a hill for another half league 
 to Eranos ; here I found another thousand of Longa's 
 troops, and all the houses occupied. I therefore went 
 to a shop where they sold bread and wine, and we got a 
 large loaf and some wine, which, with the help of the 
 horses, for whose sake I principally stopped to procure 
 this feed, we soon finished, and then proceeded refreshed. 
 
 Whilst I was thus employed Lord Wellington and his 
 staff passed. I was sorry to hear Longa had missed 
 him, and that he was much mortified at this, especially 
 as his men scarcely knew Lord Wellington and his party, 
 and he had almost passed before they irregularly pre- 
 sented arms to him. The one thousand men at Eranos 
 were more fortunate, for at a hazard I told them, when 
 they inquired, that he would pass in about twenty 
 minutes, and he actually passed within the half hour. 
 I followed in Lord Wellington's train to this place, 
 Ernani, over a road still worse than the last, a mere 
 water-channel, with irregular broken steps and slippery 
 clay; most of our horses got more or less on their 
 haunches. The road ran up and down on the side of a 
 thick wooded hill on the banks of the river, near which 
 
ST. SEBASTIAN. 187 
 
 we saw two or three works for iron, in which this country 
 abounds. 
 
 We arrived safely, about four o'clock; very little 
 baggage got in that night. All mine came in by seven 
 o'clock, except one mule load and man, who stuck, 
 knocked up, at a house two miles back. I bought some 
 eggs and bacon and went to bed. About eight, next day, 
 my stragglers arrived, the mules strained in the shoulder 
 and scarcely able to move. Dr. M'Gregor had two mules 
 killed down the mountain, and many have suffered as well 
 as myself. 
 
 The next morning after my arrival at Ernani, I walked 
 off to see what was going on at St. Sebastian. Not 
 knowing how long we might be here, my horses being 
 tired, and having no shoes, I made this survey on foot. 
 The road is a wide camina real, a rough sort of pavement, 
 but a good road. About half a league distant I saw the 
 fort or citadel of St. Sebastian, and the smoke of the 
 guns, the noise of which I had heard before. I pro- 
 ceeded on by our heavy guns, which were near on the 
 road side, passed about four thousand Spanish troops of 
 the Grallician army drawn up to receive Lord Wellington, 
 and then our reserve park of artillery, with some small 
 works around. Here I began to hear the distant whistle 
 of the balls, which occasionally got near the road. At 
 about a league from Ernani, just at the brow of the 
 descent to St. Sebastian, and about half a mile from the 
 latter, a barrier of tubs of earth was placed across the 
 road and sentries posted, our advanced sentry being at a 
 turn of the road a hundred yards forwards. I went to 
 the left to take a sketch, and soon heard a musket-ball 
 whistle by me, which I took at first for a rocket behind 
 me. I thought this an accident, but soon came a second, 
 and a third. I then concluded that I was the object, and 
 leaving my sketch rather in a hasty unfinished state, I 
 
188 SIEGE OF ST. SEBASTIAN. 
 
 returned behind the barrels as the last shot came into a 
 bush close to me. 
 
 Our trenches were open about fifty yards to the right, 
 against a convent on the side of the hill, which was full 
 of French, and from which almost all the musket-shots 
 proceeded. I determined just to peep into them before 
 I went off, and having been cautioned how to proceed, 
 I looked in : but having had one more shot whistle close 
 to me, and passed a bloody hole where a shell had just 
 fallen, which had carried away a man's arm, I walked 
 home, to dine at Lord Wellington's at three o'clock. 
 At dinner I met Castanos, Jeron, Alava, Mendizabel, 
 and a number of inferior officers, amongst them the 
 Major who had been left as a Captain to defend Villa 
 Alba de Tormes, when we retreated last year, and who 
 held out the time he was ordered to remain, and brought 
 off two hundred out of three hundred of his men to Fre- 
 nada. For this he was made a Major, I believe, at Lord 
 Wellington's request. General Alava also introduced an 
 officer who came to present to Lord Wellington King 
 Joseph's sword his dress sword set in steel and dia- 
 monds, and very handsome. Where taken from, or 
 whence obtained, I did not learn. Lord Wellington 
 just looked at it as he took his seat at dinner, and telling 
 his man to put it by safely somewhere, fell to at the 
 soup and said no more. 
 
 On the following day the alarm was spread that we 
 were all to go back to the mountains the next day by 
 the same road. At last, however, orders came out that 
 Lord Wellington was going, and that only his immediate 
 staff, and those who could be very useful, were to attend 
 him. Even General Murray, the Quarter-Master-general, 
 the life and soul of the army next to Lord Wellington, 
 staid here, .not being quite well. He appears to me 
 decidedly the second man ; and it is thought that with- 
 
ACTIVITY OF WELLINGTON. 189 
 
 out him, and perhaps Kennedy, the Commissary-in- 
 Chief, we could never have done what we have ; even 
 Lord Wellington would be, in some degree, fettered and 
 disabled by a bad Quarter-Master-general and a bad 
 Commissary-general. 
 
 Not to lose a day, Lord Wellington, the first day he 
 was here, rode all about St. Sebastian to examine it in all 
 directions, &c., and was provoked at the Spaniards pa- 
 rading for him, when his object was to be unobserved. 
 The second day he went to Irun, on the frontiers, on the 
 Bidassoa, to see how things were going on there. The 
 day before yesterday, having waited till eight o'clock 
 (morning), just to receive the " Gazette," with his battle 
 despatches and his appointment of Field Marshal, away 
 he went, nine leagues over the mountains, for St. Estevan. 
 He is going to see more of the mountain passes that way, 
 and says that he shall be back the fourth day, if possible, 
 though many think it impossible. 
 
 We have heard of Lord Wellington eating some trout 
 at Graysueta at twelve, and arriving at St. Estevan at 
 five, the day he left this. All baggage nearly is left 
 here. The day he went I was occupied all day, by his 
 desire, in examining some gentlemen on a report which 
 had got about concerning some of the captured money, 
 which report Lord Wellington had been caught by, and 
 had suspicions. I hope I have sent a very satisfactory 
 explanation. To me it is so, at least. I sent it off by 
 express the same night to General Pakenham, who is 
 with Lord Wellington on his tour. One idle day, since 
 I have been here, I went to see Passages, about five 
 miles distant, but an infamous road. There are two 
 towns of that name, the Spanish and French, as they are 
 called -, one on each side of a narrow deep stream, or 
 inlet from the sea, which forms rather a picturesque basin 
 within. I should have thought more of it had I not 
 seen Exmouth, Dartmouth, and some other western 
 
190 PASSAGES. 
 
 English scenery of the same kind first, which I think 
 superior. The towns were built with the same kind of 
 narrow alleys, only fit for a horse to pass through ; these 
 standing up the side of the hills. They were, however, 
 a better description of houses, and four stories high, with 
 balconies. The scene was more enlivened than usual by 
 our transports, by the landing of biscuit, rum, shot, am- 
 munition, the twenty-four pounders from Sir Greorge 
 Collier's ship, and other great guns, with their apparatus, 
 for the siege ; two Portuguese regiments at work, and 
 about three hundred mules, besides the oxen, &c., for the 
 guns : gabions and fascines were making in every direc- 
 tion by the Portuguese. The road was so narrow and 
 slippery in one place, that my horse, as I led him, nearly 
 slipped into the sea. 
 
 Yesterday, having a few hours again to spare, I went 
 round to look at St. Sebastian by the right, where I wit- 
 nessed a sharp conflict, and saw more than I had done 
 before, with much less risk. I was out of the way of 
 the musketry, and only had one cannon-shot, which 
 went over the intended mark from the town, and, 
 whistling along, dashed into the water just under me. 
 It was nearly spent, as I heard it, I think, long enough 
 to have got out of the way had it come up higher. If 
 it clears up to-day, I mean to go to the lighthouse, on 
 the left of the town, or the cliff, where it is said the view 
 is very fine, and where, with a glass, you see much and 
 in safety. 
 
 There was almost as much firing yesterday as in a 
 battle, cannon-shot and musketry, particularly on the 
 Prench part, and many shells ; and we made a feint to 
 obtain the convent with only a few men, yet I hear 
 that only four were killed on our side, and about ten 
 wounded. 
 
 The convent is almost in ruins, but we have in vain 
 tried to burn it with hot shot, and the Prench continue 
 
NARROW ESCAPE OP KING JOSEPH. 191 
 
 to pepper from it. A shell of ours fell amongst their 
 men in a redoubt in rear of the convent, and they ran. 
 I believe this led to our attempt, but it was soon found 
 that they were strong just behind, and several men still 
 in the convent ; and three new parties were pushed 
 along the causeway from the town about two hundred 
 and fifty men to strengthen the convent party. Ours, 
 therefore, were off very quickly, not being supported. 
 One shell of ours fell just into one of the three new 
 parties, and killed one man and dispersed the rest. 
 Several wounded French were seen carried back over the 
 causeway and bridge. The number of cannon in the 
 town is very considerable ; and though our works proceed 
 fast, the town is considered formidable. 
 
 I have heard more stories of King Joseph from the 
 Paymaster of his head-quarters, Mr. Frayre, who was 
 taken. He said that the King was in the town until our 
 dragoons were close upon it. He then rode quietly 
 along, through the train of carriages and baggage, with 
 Jourdan and his guard in a walk, in order not to give 
 any alarm, until he was out of the bustle. He then 
 changed his coat for a nankeen jacket, and away they all 
 went, galloping off for Salvatierra, on the road to Pam- 
 plona. In the first village, a mile or two from Vittoria, 
 there are two turnings, and he was heard to call out, 
 " Par ou faut-il alter ?" " Tout droit, tout droit" said 
 Jourdan, and away they went again as hard as they 
 could go. Of the twenty-seven Grenerals who met in the 
 house at Salvatierra, a great proportion were slightly 
 wounded, and their greetings at seeing each other alive 
 were very loud and sincere. Joseph's servant had a sort 
 of saddle-bag with him for the King, and that was all 
 their baggage. 
 
 I hear that there are two millions of dollars on the 
 road. Just now we are without anything in our military 
 chest to pay for our daily food and expenses, which 
 
102 MOUNTAIN PATH. 
 
 are very great. Corn for our horses, we got none. 
 Bread is not dear here, or scarce, as yet. Bullocks, I 
 hear, we have bought enough for nearly forty days for 
 the army, in this part of the country, mostly from the 
 mountains. Nine hundred head have been bought within 
 these ten days. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Lezaca, July ISth, 1813. On the 
 16th I went up to the lighthouse in the evening. I met 
 Baron Coiistans coming down. The French did him the 
 honour of a cannon-shot, a proof they were touchy. I 
 proceeded within half musket-shot, but at a trot, and 
 they left me quiet. I stayed an hour on the hill ; view 
 beautiful, evening clear, scene very interesting. I saw 
 all the French sentries, troops, inhabitants, &c., in the 
 town, and on the island near, in the convent, redoubt, 
 &c. I could see our advanced sentinels and pickets, 
 and those of the French near the convent, within sixty 
 yards of each other in some places, behind ruins, &c. I 
 could also see a long extent of French coast, and many 
 other objects. The ruined convent, and the French 
 sticking to it in several parts and firing, was, however, the 
 most curious and novel. 
 
 I came down at seven and rode home quietly by nine 
 in the dark ; when, lo ! I found an order for head- 
 quarters, baggage, &c., to join Lord Wellington at this 
 place on the mountains, on the frontiers, six leagues of 
 bad road distant. 
 
 I was off, however, by eight yesterday morning, bag- 
 gage and all. The first two leagues we?e by the high 
 French road, the camina real, through Astigarraja and 
 Oyarjun. At the end of the last town we turned from 
 the great road, which is a broad, well-laid road, and has 
 been very good, though now broken up a little, and very 
 rough. We then went along a paved mountain road, up 
 a valley for half a league, and then began climbing a 
 mountain path over two long hills until we got into this 
 
ATTACK OX ST. SEBASTIAN. 193 
 
 valley, and to this place. There is a great sameness in 
 the scenery round hills, wooded* in part below and a 
 stream nothing very fine. About a league from hence 
 we saw the camp of the 95th regiment, on a hill above 
 Vera, which is lower down in this valley, and near the 
 immediate frontier division. We also saw the seventh 
 division camp near and the French cantonment bivouac 
 on the opposite hill ; for a short time they kept half Bera 
 or Yera ; now we have the whole. 
 
 We halt here at Lezaca to-day ; the Commissariat 
 baggage is ordered a league and a half in the rear in case 
 of an attack. I believe when reinforcements arrive we 
 shall make one. I was sorry to leave St. Sebastian, for 
 an attack was to be made that morning. We heard and 
 saw a violent firing throughout all our route, and I last 
 night heard that the convent had been taken by our men, 
 and some ruins below, &c., and that the new battery had 
 been opened. The French stood firm when the Portu- 
 guese advanced, who behaved very well, but when the 
 English regiment which had been ordered up to assist 
 was seen advancing, the sight of the red coats made the 
 French soldiers run, and the French officers were seen in 
 vain beating and pelting them to make them stand. 
 The causeway (as I had seen) below was cut by the French 
 in two places. This stopped our men for a time, and the 
 French attempted to return, but did not succeed; thus 
 matters stood last night. Some of the first division 
 returned from Oyarjun yesterday to help, and we met 
 them on the road. The French surprised about one 
 hundred of the Spaniards in this place a few days since. 
 The noble inhabitants of Saragossa have contrived to open 
 one of their gates, when the French were in the town, 
 and to let in Mina and his men. The Spaniards now 
 have the town. I believe the French still stick to a 
 fortified part, and have destroyed the bridge ; this comes 
 from the English Captain who is with Mina, and employed 
 
 o 
 
194 LEZACA. 
 
 in procuring intelligence. A flag of truce was sent in 
 to the French, carried *by Colonel Gordon, this morning 
 " Pourquoi ?" " Je rien sais rien" Lezaca is rather a 
 good village, and has a running stream in it, which might 
 be more used. It was plundered by the French, and now 
 contains nothing, no bread even, only some straw ; and 
 we have now been seven days without corn for the poor 
 horses ; even grass is here very scarce : we want the 
 course of the Bidassoa to keep up our communications 
 with Irun, &c. The French now interrupt this the 
 river runs in part through France. 
 
 Soult, the great Soult, the Marshal, is said to have 
 arrived, and taken the command against the allies : so 
 say the country people, &c. To-day it is very hot. A 
 report is circulated that the French have attacked us. 
 So adieu for the present. 
 
 July 19th, Lezaca. No fresh news. I am going to 
 ride up a hill, a league off, to the seventh division camp, 
 from whence Bayonne and much of France is visible. 
 
MOVEMENTS OF THE ARMY. 195 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 Movements of the Army Wellington on the Portuguese His Personal 
 Habits St. Sebastian The Siege Miseries of War Wounded Officers 
 The Prince of Orange Vestiges of the Eetreat English Papers 
 False Accounts of the Campaign Incidents of the War. 
 
 Head-quarters, Lezaca, 
 July 21, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 HERE we are still, deluged with rain almost 
 incessantly, accompanied at times with violent storms 
 of wind, hail, and thunder. This is terrible for the 
 troops in camp, and for every one more or less, and 
 indeed for everything except the Indian corn, which 
 thrives here most luxuriantly in consequence of this 
 perpetual wet. I took a ride (the 19th) up to the hill 
 above the seventh division as I intended ; it was a league 
 and a half, the latter part very steep. The French were 
 in sight all along the hills on the other side of Bera, all 
 around one ridge, but quite quiet: When at the summit 
 I saw the sea-coast around Bayonne (though not the 
 town itself), and the low country in France, for probably 
 thirty miles inland, with the enclosed fields and villages. 
 It was a very fine prospect ; I was only sorry to see that 
 the French had apparently so much more productive a 
 country immediately in their rear than we had. Thejr 
 must now, however, be supplied at the expense of old 
 France. We are but ill off here for everything just now, 
 until our supplies come regularly to this coast. 
 
 Passages is to be the depot and landing-place, I hear, 
 
 o 2 
 
196 
 
 MOVEMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
 
 for our infantry, and Bilboa for cavalry. Major-general 
 Lord Aylmer is to-day setting off to take a command at 
 Passages ; he expects nearly four thousand men there 
 very soon. We still hear the battering guns of St. 
 Sebastian continually roaring at a distance ; I fear we 
 may lose many men in this siege. Good luck, however, 
 may do something for us, and the French seem every- 
 where dispirited; sickness, at present, if this weather 
 lasts, will be our most destructive foe. 
 
 Suchet, I hear, left a garrison at Murviedro, when he 
 crossed the Ebro. They seem to have intended to give 
 us some tough work until they were ready to return ; I 
 hope here, at least, that will not be so easy. Both sides 
 are now strongly posted, and the assailant must have the 
 worst of it. Soult is said to have refused to take the 
 command of the army here unless the pay of the troops 
 was more regular. Talking of this, Lord Wellington 
 paid the highest compliment to Bonaparte, by saying, 
 that if he came himself, he should, as he always did, 
 reckon his presence equal to a reinforcement of forty 
 thousand men, for that it would give a turn to everything. 
 
 Lord Wellington, talking of the Portuguese, said 
 that it was extraordinary just now, to observe their 
 conduct ; that no troops could behave better ; that they 
 never had now a notion of turning ; and that nothing 
 could equal their forwardness now, and willing, ready tem- 
 pers. I am sorry to say that some of our foreign corps do 
 not go on as well. Of the Brunswick corps, ten went off 
 from picquet two nights since to the French, and fourteen 
 from the camp, and others have gone off also ; and some 
 have been surprised, so that I believe they are ordered to 
 be sent more to the rear, and cannot be trusted. I do 
 not wonder at it, as Government have taken men from 
 the French prisons, who were only taken last year, and 
 who, no doubt, only enlisted on purpose to desert the 
 first opportunity. 
 
CELEBRATION OF THE BATTLE OF SALAMANCA. 1 ( J7 
 
 Lezaca, July 2'2nd. To-day Lord Wellington cele- 
 brates the batt e of Salamanca by a great dinner. His 
 victories and successes will soon ruin him in wine and 
 eating, and if he goes on as he has, he had better keep 
 open house at once every day, and his calendar of feasts 
 will be as full as the Romish one with red letter days. 
 This morning the guns have been thundering salvoes. 
 
 I think the breach at St. Sebastian must be ready 
 soon. I only hope that we shall not lose many of our 
 fine fellows. Pamplona is invested more closely that is 
 all that is attempted. Two sallies have been repulsed ; 
 there are about fifteen thousand Spaniards there. I was 
 sorry to hear that bread was, very lately, in the town at 
 the same price as when we were first there, and that a 
 low Spanish price ; this does not look much like starving 
 the garrison out. For a regular siege we have no means, 
 and the place is formidable from the very circumstance 
 that makes it look otherwise the citadel is all flat, there 
 is nothing to fire at, and 110 ground to approach it by. 
 The scenery all about this lower Pyrenees and coast, is 
 like the north coast of Devonshire and Somersetshire, a 
 little enlarged as you get inland, and so increasing in size, 
 but the same character remaining for a considerable extent, 
 only that the valleys become deeper, and the hills higher. 
 There is nothing, however, so striking here as the passage 
 of the Ebro, and the valley near where we crossed it. 
 
 Major D has still got his prize here taken on the 
 
 field of battle, namely, a Spanish girl, a pony, the 
 wardrobe, monkey, &c., the property of one of King 
 Joseph's aides-de-camp. I am still kept at work. We 
 yesterday tried two men for plundering Lord Aylmer's 
 tent in the night whilst he slept. 
 
 Out of 500,000/. sterling, the supposed plunder at 
 Yittoria, only about 30,000/. has found its way to the 
 treasury, or military chest. Lord Wellington seems to 
 think the best of Mina, Longa, and the Empecinado; 
 
198 INGENIOUS DEVICE. 
 
 amongst the Spaniards there is much to be done yet, 
 to make them like our vagabonds or the Portuguese, in 
 regard to fighting; for plundering and the "savoir vivre " 
 here without money or rations, they beat us both already ; 
 we cannot improve them. 
 
 Castanos, the other day at dinner, asked Lord Wel- 
 lington how Madame Gazan had been treated, as she was 
 accustomed to have a considerable number of lovers ? 
 Lord Wellington looked rather drolly at me, and said, 
 she had been treated, he believed, very properly and 
 respectfully. Castanos said, " Elle en serait bien fachee" 
 
 Last week some of the light division had rations of 
 wheat in the grain instead of bread. One fellow, who 
 was sulky, said, he supposed he should have " long 
 forage " next, that is, straw. Another more good 
 humouredly said, he was as strong as a horse now since 
 yesterday ? How so ? " Why, they have given me a 
 good feed of corn you see, so how could it be otherwise." 
 We had one very ingenious device by two of our fellows 
 last week ; they were employed to take care of two thou- 
 sand dollars prize, for the benefit of the regiment, and to 
 carry it on a mule or ass given to them for that purpose. 
 General Cole passed this donkey on a bridge, and being 
 irritated from the obstruction caused by the baggage, &c., 
 swore he would upset the whole over the bridge if they 
 were not off. When he had passed, one said, " That will 
 just do, let's divide the money, and say the General upset 
 it in the river/' This was done, and the report made ; 
 something, however, was overheard, and this led to an 
 inquiry, when one of them admitted that this was the 
 case, and that a serjeant shared and proposed the plan. I 
 said that they could only be flogged for this. Lord 
 Wellington therefore said they might as well be tried in 
 their regiment, for three hundred lashes was as good as a 
 thousand, and that to publish these things was only to 
 put similar ideas into other people's heads. 
 
WELLINGTON'S PERSONAL HABITS. 199 
 
 Lezaca, Head- Quarters, July 23rd Lord Wellington 
 and all his party went off at eight this morning for 
 St. Sebastian to see how things are going on. He 
 intends returning to dinner, a late one, though they all 
 have fresh horses on the road. It is feared that his hints 
 have not been attended to, and that the breach has been 
 made too soon before all other things were ready, so that 
 the place of danger is discovered to the enemy in time, 
 perhaps, to enable the French, who are ever quick and 
 ready on these occasions, to let in some sea, and make a 
 wet ditch behind, or to throw up new works, &c. The 
 breach may thus, as at Badajoz, become the worst place 
 of the whole to attack. It is to be hoped that this is 
 only a false alarm ; but things do not appear to go on 
 well, unless Lord Wellington or General Murray are on 
 the spot. Lord Wellington is not so easily roused from 
 his bed as he used to be. This is the only change in 
 him ; and it is said that he has been in part encouraged 
 to this by having such confidence in General Murray. I 
 understand he was always naturally fond of his pillow. 
 He had rather ride like an express for ten or fifteen 
 leagues, than be early and take time to his work. Upon 
 the whole this may fatigue him less, as being a less time 
 on horseback. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Lezaca, July 25^, 1813. We have 
 now been some time stationary in these mountains, and I 
 am at work again, and have little time, and less to write 
 about. We have been in hourly and nervous expectation 
 of news of the storming of St. Sebastian. It was first to 
 have taken place the day before yesterday, but we were not 
 quite ready ; then at five yesterday morning ; but either 
 from our shells firing a house near the breach, and the 
 French encouraging the flames to spread, or from their 
 originally setting fire to that part of the town, there was 
 such a considerable fire all around the breach, that it was 
 thought too hot to attempt the storming. It was then, 
 
200 FAILURE OF ST. SEBASTIAN. 
 
 by Lord Wellington's order, I believe, fixed for this 
 morning, and lie has been as usual very anxious about the 
 event. 
 
 He was very fidgetty yesterday, when I went to him 
 about two poor feUows who are to be hung for robbing 
 Lord Aylmer's tent ; and to-day he came out to the 
 churchyard, where we were listening, about eight o'clock, 
 to judge from the noise of the guns whether our batteries 
 had ceased, and what the firing was. He has been once 
 over himself, but appeared to wish to leave it to Graham, 
 and not directly to interfere. At eleven this morning, 
 however, Colonel Burgh came over with an account of 
 our attempt having failed ; that our party (consisting of 
 English, too, and I believe of the 9th and 38th) went up 
 to the breach, then turned, and ran away. This will 
 terribly discourage our men who have to go next, and 
 encourage the enemy. Lord Wellington has ordered his 
 horse, and is going over immediately. 
 
 Nothing can be done, however, before the evening or 
 to-morrow morning, as the attack must take place within 
 two hours before or after low water, in order to pass the 
 sands for the breach. I am told the latter is wide and 
 easy, and we cannot tell what possessed our men on this 
 occasion. The object, St. Sebastian, is most important 
 for the army ; first, to enable us to keep our ground here, 
 as an appui to the left flank, and secondly, as a safe place 
 for stores, sick and wounded, where, in case of retreat, 
 they may be all left to be brought off at leisure by sea, 
 and also as a refuge for Guerillas, &c. A few things are 
 now beginning to be brought to us in these wild inhos- 
 pitable regions, but still they are sent from Lisbon by 
 land, with the six weeks' carriage on a mule to pay for. 
 If some one would speculate to Passages direct, it would 
 fully answer, for Irish butter is 4-9. 6d. a pound ; sugar, 4s. ; 
 ham, 3s. ; tea, 20s., the same as that sold at Lisbon for 
 85. ; and so on. 
 
RETROGRADE MOVEMENT. 201 
 
 To-day I am going about three miles up the Bidassoa 
 river to a posada, in which the artillery of Colonel Eoss's 
 troops are quartered, to dine with them. Part of the way 
 to their present quarters from St. Estevan they had to 
 cut their road with spades and pickaxes for the guns ; but 
 there they now are safe. 
 
 I am sorry to say several of our men (English) desert 
 as well as the foreigners. I have just heard that the 
 cause of their failure at St. Sebastian this morning was 
 partly the same as that of Badajoz formerly a deep ditch 
 behind the breach, and nothing to fill it up with, if indeed 
 that were possible ; but it is said to have been very deep. 
 Our men looked, came back, got for shelter under the wall, 
 and were then ordered back, and they ran a little. This 
 is a much better account of the business. The attack 
 was also too soon, so that the tide prevented one attack 
 from being attempted, and it is feared that our artillery 
 even fired from that cause on the attackers. The French 
 certainly understand sieges better, I think, than we do. 
 
 Plead -Quarter s, Berrio Planca, in front of Pamplona, 
 half a league, July 31st, 1813. To my great surprise, 
 here I am again, and now tell you how and why. 
 
 Head- Quarters, again at Lezaca, near Bera, in the 
 Mountains, August 3rd, 1813. I had just taken up this 
 paper, and headed it as above, to begin my history, when 
 a turn of good fortune, arising from the courage of our 
 army from the superior manoeuvres of our General, have 
 in eight days brought head-quarters back to our old 
 place, whence the first sheet of this letter was dated. I 
 have been too much occupied in this interval almost to 
 sit down, much more to write ; but I will endeavour to 
 detail the important events I have witnessed in them in 
 the best order my recollection will permit. 
 
 On the 25th July I went over to dine with the artil- 
 lery. About seven I mounted to return home, Colonel 
 Eoss, Captains Jenkinson and Belson riding with me. 
 
202 SUCCESSFUL ATTACK ON 
 
 On our way we met a messenger. I asked him to 
 whom he was going? He said to Colonel Eoss. The 
 Colonel was thereupon called back. It turned out to be 
 an order to march that night, and rather to the rear. 
 There had been a distant firing all day, on the right 
 wing near Maya. Lord Wellington was over at St 
 Sebastian. Belson was sent to General Alten with orders 
 by Colonel Ross. Jenkinson galloped back to order the 
 troops to get ready. Colonel Eoss begged me to tell 
 General Murray he would endeavour to reach Sambillo 
 that night ; and giving a receipt for the letter, was off. 
 On my return I found Lord Wellington still absent, and 
 reports flying about, but no orders. I soon found, how- 
 ever, that matters were not going on *well, and ordered 
 everything to be ready for the march next morning. 
 Lord Wellington returned to dinner at eight, and found 
 the following account of matters on our right just arrived 
 to greet him on his return from the failure of St. 
 Sebastian. 
 
 The French had collected a force both at the pass of 
 Eoncesvalles against Greneral Cole, and at the pass of 
 Maya against General Hill. In the morning of the 
 25th they pushed a strong reconnoissance against Gene- 
 ral Stewart, commanding Hill's advance brigade near 
 Maya, made a show, but gave way again. This report 
 we had heard, and thought all was over. About three, 
 however, the French advanced against Cole and Hill. 
 About twenty-two thousand against Cole's force, about 
 sixteen thousand against General Stewart's brigade ; the 
 force of the latter are scattered on the hills round the 
 pass. The French came up in one close body, and 
 gradually ascended the hill. Our people fired on them 
 the whole time, and the destruction was very con- 
 siderable. Still, however, they gained ground. Twice 
 were they charged by a single regiment of ours, and the 
 head of the column gave a little, but the press of numbers 
 
THE BRITISH POSITION. 203 
 
 urged them on, and as our force was only about three 
 thousand men, and that acting only by small bodies of 
 regiments or companies, the French drove all before them 
 after a most gallant but fatal resistance, before a suffi- 
 cient reinforcement could be brought up. Four Portu- 
 guese guns were abandoned. Our loss in killed and 
 wounded you will see in the " Gazette" It is said to be 
 twelve hundred British, almost all in three or four regi- 
 ments principally the 50th, 92nd, 74th, and 28th. In 
 the 92nd, I am told, there was no officer except the 
 Quarter-Master in a state to march off the men at parade. 
 Colonel Belson (28th) had only four officers left besides 
 himself on duty, as he had been thinned at Vittoria. To 
 add to this disaster, Greneral Cole thought he was not 
 justified in opposing the superior force against him, and 
 gave way in the pass of Eoncesvalles. This left an 
 opening for the enemy to get in the rear of Greneral 
 Hill in the valley of Bastan at Elisondo. Of course, 
 therefore, he was obliged to fall back also, and the result 
 was that Lord Wellington on his return found his right 
 wing forced, and his position completely turned. Retreat, 
 and that a rapid one, became necessary, in order to take 
 a new position, and to fall back on the divisions near 
 Pamplona. 
 
 After I was in bed on the night of the 25th the order 
 came to march, as I expected. Lord Wellington was off 
 early straight across to the second division. The light 
 divisions fell back from our front ; the seventh also 
 toward St. Estevan towards the second ; the artillery 
 proceeded to St. Estevan by Sambillo. Head-quarters 
 were sent over the mountains by Yanga and Aranor to a 
 little village called Eligarraga, just as you descend into 
 the valley of St. Estevan, there to wait for orders. 
 
 We had a wild and tedious road of four leagues, up 
 and down the mountains like Blue Beard's procession, in 
 which we should now all be adepts. A road ran round 
 
201 
 
 MISERIES OF WAR. 
 
 the bottom through Sambillo, but probably it was not 
 thought safe, and that it might interfere with the artil- 
 lery, as it was narrow the whole way, and nothing could 
 pass. 
 
 About two o'clock on the 26th we reached Eligarraga, 
 and there found Major Canning sitting by the wayside 
 to order on everything three long leagues further 
 through Estevan, and then after keeping the road along 
 the valley about a league beyond towards the pass into 
 the Bastan Valley, near Trinita and Elisondo, we were 
 to turn at Oronoz through a pass on the right, which 
 brought us into the rear of the valley of Bastan, and into 
 the rear of General Hill's division, to a place called 
 Almendoz, on the road to Pamplona from Elisondo, 
 General Hill's head-quarters being half a league in our 
 present rear as we retreated, at our old head quarters, 
 Berrueta. In the meantime the seventh and light divi- 
 sions got down into the valley of St. Estevan that night. 
 
 At Almendoz we found the effects of the battle at 
 Maya. The wounded had just reached that place, and 
 there those who had not been dressed, had their wounds 
 examined, and all were urged on to the rear over a 
 mountain pass to Lanz as fast as possible. The village 
 of Almendoz was very small ; the wounded lying about 
 in all directions, till cars and mules could help them on. 
 It was near seven o'clock, and we had nothing to eat 
 since seven in the morning ; quarters very bad of course, 
 and the inhabitants all in the greatest distress, beginning 
 to pack up, to desert their houses, as the people in the 
 valley of Bastan, at Elisondo, &c., had done already, the 
 French having got possession. A retreat is a most dis- 
 tressing scene even at the best, and when conducted with 
 perfect order as this was. 
 
 About nine o'clock that night orders came to march at 
 daylight for Ulague, a place about half-way between 
 Lanz and Ostiz. After a five o'clock breakfast, away we 
 
MISERIES OF WAR. 205 
 
 went for the mountains again. The road was choked 
 with baggage, and artillery, and fugitives, amongst others, 
 fourteen or fifteen nuns in their dresses, who were re- 
 duced by fatigue to beg some rum of us as we passed, 
 which unfortunately we had not with us. We got on 
 by scrambling along the paths near the road, and arrived 
 about twelve. On the 27th we arrived at Lanz. We 
 there found General Murray and several officers, all look- 
 ing very serious and gloomy, and orders given for every- 
 thing to be turned off that road to the right, and not to 
 go to Ulague, as Cole had been pressed. The firing was 
 very sharp, and the French were urging on to that road, 
 besides which, by taking to the right we got towards the 
 camino real, from Pamplona to Tolosa, and could have 
 made for General Graham's if necessary. We were 
 turned through Arayes (where I had been on the advance, 
 and by the road where I had lost myself before in the 
 night), on through a rich valley and several villages to 
 Lissago, or Lisasso. 
 
 Here (the 27th) we were placed very snugly, only about 
 two leagues and a-half from the Tolosa road, about three 
 from Pamplona, and in the midst of the divisions. 
 General Cole, with the fourth division, had fallen back on 
 Pamplona to some hills near Villa Alba, or Yillalba: 
 there he joined the third division, General Picton's, and 
 some Spaniards. General Hill fell back to Lanz. From 
 Berrueta, the seventh division got a short way over the 
 mountains, from St. Estevan to near Lisasso, our head- 
 quarters, and thus got near the sixth. The light division 
 fell back more towards Goigueta, or Ernani, to commu- 
 nicate with Graham and protect the Tolosa road, and 
 thus we stood all night. 
 
 The scene at Lisasso was dreadful ! All the wounded 
 from Lanz had just arrived there, in cars, on mules, 
 crawling on crutches, and hobbling along : all those with 
 wounds in their hands and arms, &c., walking. Finding 
 
206 THUNDER-STORM. 
 
 that they had orders to stop there, all our quarters, ex- 
 cept Lord Wellington's, and about four more houses, 
 were given up, and we all dispersed to the villages round. 
 You may conceive the scene, both on the road and in the 
 village. I thought one of my horses had lost his shoes 
 on the road, and desired my servant to ascertain this. A 
 soldier walking along, apparently one of the best, said 
 that I had not ; that he was still, as a farrier, able to see 
 that, though he thought he should be some months before 
 he could put another shoe on, as he had been shot through 
 the back. I went with Colonel and Mrs. Scovell to a 
 little village half-way up the hill towards Pamplona ; and 
 Colonel Scovell and I climbed up to the top of the hill 
 to listen and look about until nearly six o'clock, when 
 we expected our baggage. The cure of the village and 
 three peasants went up with us. We could see beyond 
 Pamplona, and beyond the firing, but could not perceive 
 the place itself for the smoke. By five o'clock, however, 
 we all agreed that it slackened, and receded a little ; we 
 therefore descended, got a beefsteak, and waited ready for 
 orders. 
 
 About six that evening the wounded were ordered to 
 move on towards Irunzun, on the Yittoria and Tolosa 
 roads; but we remained quiet. About seven, a furious 
 thunder-storm came on, and caught all our poor wounded 
 men on their march : they could not get on to Irunzun, 
 but got to Berrio Planca, near Pamplona. Two officers, 
 one sick and one wounded in a house half a mile from us, 
 heard of this order, left their beds, packed up, and were 
 proceeding ; but came first to us to inquire. We told 
 them that head-quarters were not to move. They then 
 went back to bed, keeping a guide in the house all night, 
 to start in case of alarm. At nine came an order to 
 march to Orcayen, near Pamplona, the next morning. 
 Thus passed the 27th. 
 
 At five o'clock on the 2Sth I began to load to proceed 
 
MISTAKE OF THE ROAD. 207 
 
 to Orcayen, when Mr. Hook, who takes quarters, came 
 back and left word that we were to go to Irunzun instead ; 
 but the sergeant, by mistake, told us he would call again 
 when he had made more inquiry. In consequence of 
 this Mrs. Scovell and I staid until past ten before we 
 marched. Then, finding every one gone, and the 
 baggage of General Hill's division arrived at Lisasso, we 
 started over the mountain. For the first league we were 
 quite right ; but afterwards, in a wood, got too much to 
 the right, and entered a wrong valley : as it was all safe, 
 however, to blunder on that side, and the country was 
 picturesque, we proceeded on that road, and by this means 
 got through to Oscoz, and came into the high Pamplona 
 road to Tolosa, about three-quarters of a league from 
 Irunzun towards Tolosa, instead of half a league on the 
 Pamplona side of Irunzun, which would have been the 
 nearest ; it was not a league round, and very picturesque. 
 "We were, therefore, not sorry for the mistake. At 
 Irunzun, however, came a difficulty ; it was quite crowded 
 with wounded; and of head-quarters we could hear 
 nothing, nor of our baggage. 
 
 Leaving my servant to bring on the baggage if it 
 came, we proceeded forwards towards Pamplona, near 
 where we heard head-quarters were somewhere at least 
 that way. At Berrio Planca, a place on the camino real, 
 we found all our baggage and the nominal head-quarters, 
 Every one, however, was absent, and the place full of 
 wounded, the effects of the preceding day. I got a room 
 in the Prince of Orange's quarter, as he had sent for his 
 bed away that night ; but Henry had all my keys. 
 About eight I found Henry and went to bed. 
 
 The next morning, the 29th, I heard that we had the 
 most severe work on the 28th ; that the French attacked 
 our position on a hill six or seven times, which I believe 
 our troops had only occupied a few hours before the 
 French came up near Oricain or Orquin. These attacks 
 
208 NARROW ESCAPE OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. 
 
 were very desperate : and I understand that such a fire 
 for a short time was scarcely ever known, for four French 
 corps all bore upon one point, and General Pakenham 
 told me that he scarcely dared show any of his men. 
 These attacks were, however, all unsuccessful, and we 
 kept our ground. The French were generally driven 
 dwn with the bayonet, having been suffered to come 
 close, and then received with a volley, a cheer, and a 
 charge. I hear that some of our officers were once very 
 much alarmed for the result. The French remained 
 close and steady, and one regiment (I believe the 40th) 
 went at them rather loose and straggling. However, at 
 the cheer at the last moment the French broke and ran. 
 The Portuguese behaved in general most inimitably, the 
 4th, 10th, and 12th regiments in particular. The 10th 
 did, indeed, once give way, but rallied ; and the 4th 
 charged twice, I think, on the 27th June, in good 
 English style. 
 
 Our loss was very severe ; that of the French, of 
 course, much more so ; but as their cavalry carry off the 
 wounded to the rear, and they have an hospital corps 
 also for that purpose, no one knows their losses ; their 
 prisoners aad deserters say nearly five thousand, Lord 
 Wellington's staff were never so roughly handled. The 
 Prince of Orange, who was sent to thank one regiment 
 by Lord Wellington, was very much exposed while ex- 
 ecuting this order. His horse was shot under him, and 
 he was grazed in the sash. It was near this place that 
 General Cole's aide-de-camp had been killed, and also Bri- 
 gade-Major A , one of my Deputy Judge- Advocates. 
 
 He was trying to rally a Spanish battalion which was quite 
 broken. The Adjutant- general Pakenham had his coat- 
 sleeve much torn by a ball. Colonel Waters, A.A.G.C., 
 w T as shot in the head, through the hat, on the temple, but 
 somehow was little hurt. It is thought that the ball 
 glanced under the hat, against the head, and passed out 
 
ASSISTANCE TO WOUNDED. 209 
 
 through the hat. He was out again the next day. Lord 
 Wellington was near at the time, and told him that his 
 head must be like a rock. 
 
 Lord Wellington said, I hear, that he had never seen 
 the French behave better. He staid and dined at Picton's 
 on the 28th, and few returned to head-quarters. All the 
 29th was quiet; both sides employed in burying the 
 dead and getting off the wounded. On the 29th also the 
 staff and light canteens alone remained at Yillalba with 
 General Cole; and I was left with scarcely anything 
 except wounded men and baggage. All the stores 
 were ordered to be unloaded, and all spare mules of the 
 head-quarters and of the second and seventh divisions 
 likewise. Two troops of Portuguese cavalry were em- 
 ployed from daylight to dark, in addition to cars and 
 hospital waggons, in carrying off the wounded to Irunzun, 
 to be out of the way in case of attack, and on the road to 
 the great hospital at Yittoria. 
 
 I made myself of some use in assisting the arrange- 
 ment, and as there were not hands to move the men from 
 their mules, to get then* rations, &c., and then remount 
 them to proceed, I asked an artillery officer close by, to 
 lend some of his men to assist, which he did directly, and 
 everything went on as quick again. I was sure they 
 would not stand upon form on such an occasion, and the 
 men were standing about waiting for orders ; they only 
 regretted that they did not know it sooner, for they 
 would have given men all day. The scene was a busy 
 one. I suppose nearly twelve hundred went through in 
 this way ; they were provided with rations for two days 
 to get on to Echani, mounted and sent off, their ammu- 
 nition having in the meantime been taken from them to 
 be better used, for that was getting scarce more than 
 once. Some had two, some one ball still in them. Be- 
 sides this, Colonel Campbell, of the Portuguese service, 
 who had been wounded, was lying in my ante-room all 
 
 p 
 
210 FRENCH POSITION FORCED. 
 
 day. He was shot through, the shinbone, a painful 
 wound. He could not get into my room, which of course 
 I offered, but he preferred the cool passage. I was at 
 breakfast when he arrived. I gave him tea, and some 
 newspapers to try and read himself to sleep. A friend 
 was with him, a Campbell, who shared my bouillie ; he 
 ate as good a dinner as I did, but objected to a second 
 bottle, upon which I discovered he was also wounded in 
 the side, and feared that the end of his rib was broken. 
 
 The next morning, the 30th, we were all in suspense, 
 as Lord Wellington had determined on a general attack. 
 The firing began at daylight. At nine o'clock I deter- 
 mine d to go and see what was going on, and mounting 
 my black, proceeded up for the hills, where the sixth and 
 seventh divisions were, on the opposite side of the valley 
 from our grand position, where we had been attacked the 
 day before. I met many wounded, crawling back all the 
 way, and on the top found only the pickets left in the 
 camp of the morning, and that the seventh division had 
 just driven the French from the adjoining hill, and were 
 after them up the valley on the other side. I went on to 
 the point of the hill and saw the battle still raging 
 strong, just opposite on the hills below, on the other side 
 of the valley opposite our position. The French still 
 steady and firing very briskly all round the side of one 
 hill and in the village below us, and our people creeping 
 on by degrees under ridges towards the village and the 
 hill, and also advancing round the back of the hill. We 
 had two mortars and a gun also upon our position-hill 
 constantly at work, playing upon the French, and we saw 
 the shells continually fall and burst close to the French 
 line, whilst the wounded were carried off to the rear. 
 
 This went on for some time, above an hour after I 
 <jame up, and we had men in reserve all round. I then 
 saw our men in the village, and immediately under the 
 French, and appearing at top also. The French gave 
 
PRISONERS OF WAR. 
 
 211 
 
 way, but went on firing all over the hill. In half-an- 
 hour, I heard the loud huzzas of our soldiers, and saw no 
 French left except on the next hills, where they seemed 
 very numerous and strong, but in confusion. The first 
 huzzas were I believe for a body of about eighteen hun- 
 dred prisoners, who were caught, being headed every way. 
 There was soon a shout on our side close by our positions. 
 It proved to be Marshal Beresford and Lord Wellington 
 proceeding down to the village to water their horses and 
 proceed on. I should have wished to have pushed on 
 also, but I knew head-quarters would move, and had told 
 my people I should return, and not to stir until they saw 
 me. I therefore went back to Berrio Planca, found as I 
 expected all loaded and on the move to go towards 
 Orquin ; got a mouthful of mouldy bread in the market, 
 and went back again close to our position at Orquin. 
 There we got orders to halt loaded, until orders came to 
 proceed to Ostiz. We took off our bridles, turned the 
 horses into a field of Indian corn, where the French camp 
 had been four hours before, and where their dead of the 
 28th had been buried. We waited thus, hearing a distant 
 firing, until near dark. The reason of this halt, as I 
 learned from Greneral O'Donnell, who passed, was that 
 D'Erlon had attacked Greneral Hill in the morning, and 
 that he had been rather too much in advance, and was in 
 some degree obliged to give way ; that he had now taken 
 a new position, and expected the second attack without 
 alarm, as he was to be supported. 
 
 About four or five thousand Spaniards moved by us 
 whilst we halted and went up that way. I conclude that 
 this was part of the support alluded to. General Hill 
 was attacked again, and I understand beat Count D'Erlon 
 (Drouet) back with great loss. When this had put all 
 matters straight again, on that side, at least, we were to 
 proceed. At last came orders to advance to Lanz, and 
 we moved again. We drew up first, however, on one 
 
 p 2 
 
212 SCENES ON THE ROAD. 
 
 side to allow eighteen hundred prisoners to march to the 
 rear, a very pleasant sight. I spoke to several, and 
 found all of the 17th regiment, who were numerous, to 
 be Italians, principally Genoese. They said that they 
 hated the French, but were forced to fight in Spain 
 against their inclinations. All the prisoners seemed quite 
 tired of Spain, and were as anxious as most of our people 
 never to see it again. They said that Soult was more in 
 the rear, and did not intend to fight that day, which was 
 true, I believe, for he waited for General D'Erlon to get 
 up from St. Estevan towards Lanz. General Monceau, I 
 believe, commanded. 
 
 We were again a second time stopped under some trees, 
 for Lord Wellington had ordered the French to be moved 
 from their position beyond Ostiz, and driven to the 
 vicinity of Lanz ; the baggage was halted till the result 
 was known. In the villages and on the road, which was 
 strewed with pouches, empty knapsacks, and broken 
 muskets, we passed several bodies all stripped, and in 
 some places could scarcely avoid treading on them, by the 
 horse stepping over a leg or an arm. In one place on 
 the road was a half-buried Frenchman, which the horse 
 had again laid bare. The doctors determined to halt, and 
 encamp under some trees ; and if my baggage had been 
 near me to stop it, I should have bivouacked with them, 
 having no tent. As it was, I proceeded, got a wretched 
 quarter at Ostiz with Colonel Waters and seven country- 
 men, just come from the mountains, at about nine o'clock, 
 got a beefsteak at eleven, and to bed at half-past twelve. 
 
 The next day, 31st, orders came to proceed to Lanz, 
 and wait further instructions. There we arrived about 
 ten o'clock, and I turned my horses into the forage 
 remaining in the French camp of the night before, and 
 got some collected for the mules. Thus we remained 
 loaded until four o'clock without orders. Lord Wel- 
 lington then sent on for fresh horses and his light can- 
 
RETURN TO BERRUETA. 213 
 
 teens, and of our own accord we unloaded to relieve the 
 animals, but for a long time durst not unpack. At last, 
 General Murray came in, and ordered some dinner; but 
 telling us that he had no authority to direct others to do 
 the same. We were all to go to our old quarters ; but, 
 not liking in this state of things to go over to Arriez, my 
 old place, where I had lost myself in the night, I got a 
 room at Haines's, and some dinner, hung my baggage 
 cover up for a door, and went to sleep on the table to 
 avoid the fleas. 
 
 The next day, 1st of August, about six o'clock, orders 
 were issued to advance to Berrueta, and there to remain, 
 waiting orders again. We returned over this mountain 
 thus the third time, and got to Berrueta about one 
 o'clock. I called at Almandoz in passing, to remind the 
 patrona of the house that I had told her we should beat 
 the French, near Pamplona, and be back in a week. I 
 was so in five days, and found her more miserable than 
 before, having been plundered by the French. I gave 
 the green Indian corn the French had left to my horse, 
 and wished her good-bye. About two o'clock, we heard 
 that we had driven the French off the hills above St. 
 Estevan, and also through the town, and head-quarters 
 were to move on to St. Estevan directly. We did so, 
 and got there by five o'clock ; the French having been 
 driven out between twelve and one. We saw about a 
 dozen French, just killed, close to St. Estevan. So we 
 go on, you see. 
 
 The French being driven in, about two leagues towards 
 Lezaca and Echalar, Longa and the Spaniards, and the 
 light division, made a long march back that day, the 1st 
 of August, towards their own ground above Lezaca, going 
 more round, however, towards Echalar. By this, the 
 95th fell in with the French at the bridge, where the 
 road to Lezaca turns off from that to Echalar, headed 
 them, killed and wounded about a hundred, and, without 
 
214 MARCH BACK TO LEZACA. 
 
 discovering it, before dark, drove much of their baggage 
 up the valley round again towards St. Estevan. By this 
 movement, the Trench being then headed at the Lezaca 
 valley, went the Echalar pass and road instead, and in 
 confusion ; and the baggage walked into the fourth divi- 
 sion just as they advanced next morning. 
 
 Yesterday, the 2nd of August, our orders were to pro- 
 ceed again to Lezaca. We started, and got into all the 
 baggage of head-quarters (three divisions) eight miles 
 extent of loaded mules in a string. There was a halt of 
 about four hours, and no one could move. This con- 
 tinued until we got near where the baggage had been 
 caught, which was the cause of the stoppage. After 
 fighting by all the baggage, and leading my horse along 
 some very dangerous places, where, if he had slipped, 
 he must have fallen down to the river (and four to five 
 mules actually did so), I got to the scene of the captured 
 baggage, and then went quietly on. For nearly two miles 
 there were scattered along the road, papers, old rugs, 
 blankets, pack-saddles, old bridles, girths, private letters, 
 lint, bandages, one or two hundred empty and broken 
 boxes; quantities of intrenching tools, rags, French clothes 
 dead mules, dead soldiers and peasants, farriers 5 tools, 
 officers' boots, linen, &c. There were also the boxes of 
 M. Le Greneral Baron de St. Pol, and several private 
 officers' baggage ; the principal thing taken seemed to be 
 the ambulance du 2eme division ; that is, the field hospital 
 of the second division. There were still more things 
 worth picking up, and some soldiers digging up three 
 live mules out of an old limekiln near the road-side. 
 This caused stoppages and confusion. 
 
 Just beyond the bridge of Yanza the French were 
 crawling off, who were wounded by the 95th the night 
 before, and we twice met small parties of prisoners going 
 to the rear, abused not a little by the plundered and 
 exasperated villagers. The prisoners told me that the 
 
FALSE ACCOUNTS OF THE WAR. 215 
 
 country people about these mountains were " diablement 
 mediant^ and treated them very ill. The truth was, 
 however, that the French began this treatment ; for 
 though they had behaved well in advancing, they had 
 plundered and destroyed considerably in their retreat, and 
 much wantonly. I told them they ought never to have 
 come and entered Spain, to which they replied, " We 
 never wished to do so ; it is not our fault." 
 
 About three o'clock, I went round to see what was 
 going on, but my horse was tired, and I was not able to 
 get up, to see the French driven from the hill above 
 Echalar, and also from the hill occupied by the light 
 division. In short, all our old position, and a little more, 
 was gained last night. 
 
 In our advance again, we also saw some of the effects 
 of our own retreat. In one place was an ammunition-wag- 
 gon, with six dead mules, which had all rolled down the 
 mountain together. I ascertained that it was English 
 by sending a muleteer down for some papers in the 
 waggon, which turned out to be our printed blank artil- 
 lery returns. I also saw four other wheels and parts of 
 carriages, and it is said that we lost a howitzer. Colonel 
 Boss's troop suffered the most in this way. The French 
 seemed to have made this advance as a desperate push to 
 relieve Pamplona and St. Sebastian. The garrisons of 
 both sallied ; that of Pamplona was driven back directly, 
 as I hear : that of St. Sebastian (as we are told) surprised 
 us in the trenches napping, as the heavy guns were all 
 embarked for security, and nothing going on, and carried 
 off three companies of Portuguese. This, it is to be 
 hoped, is exaggerated. Near Elisondo, I hear, we took 
 thirty cars of bread and brandy, and some baggage also 
 a day's bread for two divisions; and many are now 
 fighting without it on both sides. There is no delivery 
 of bread to-day, even for head-quarters; corn for the 
 horses we have had none this week. 
 
216 LUDicaous CHARGES. 
 
 Head-quarters have stray papers to the 19th, which I 
 am reading whilst the fighting is going on. One great 
 amusement in these papers, to me at least, is the excess 
 of lies, the impudence, the abundance of them, and then 
 the blunders, and ignorance of what is going on. You 
 will be surprised at the contents of this, when you get the 
 Gazette account, as you will probably long before you 
 receive this. I told you that the beaten army would 
 return in a month : whether they will muster again this 
 year, and attack, depends, in my opinion, upon the fall of 
 Pamplona and St. Sebastian, and the northern war. 
 Pamplona is starving ; at least it is without meat ; but I 
 still doubt, except that this sudden effort proves it to be 
 in danger. It is merely more closely invested by small 
 gun redoubts no battering gun has ever been near it, at 
 present only about six thousand Spaniards watch it, and 
 I think if they choose they might be off, only much 
 harassed by our cavalry. 
 
 The charges made by the Life Guards were the most 
 ludicrous. They were never near the enemy, until 
 beyond Yittoria, as I was before them, and was almost 
 run down twice by their anxiety along the road, galloping 
 away without occasion. I leaped a ditch once to avoid 
 them, not wishing to blow my horse as theirs were, at a 
 time when we were on one side of Vittoria and the French 
 on the other. They were afterwards ordered on, but 
 never came up with the enemy. They could do nothing 
 in such a country, with six-foot ditches round the 
 inclosures. Yery few of the Spaniards have behaved well 
 this time. They have been generally in the rear ; one 
 regiment stood fire well on the 28th, but some ran, and 
 in general I hear they have done little. Longa's people 
 tolerably here. There has been sharp work on the 
 whole. I should put down the allied losses at six or 
 seven thousand, and the French nearly at eighteen thou- 
 sand, provisions and all, that is somehow put hors de 
 
THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. 217 
 
 combat. If the Spaniards will not fight, we can scarcely 
 stand even this advantage long ; we shall be ruined by our 
 victories. The French under D'Erlon behaved very well 
 to Colonel Fenwick, who was left weunded ; no one was 
 allowed to go to his house as a quarter, and every 
 attention was paid both to him and the surgeon left with 
 him. The latter became so popular that the French 
 liked to be dressed by him, better than by their own 
 surgeons. 
 
 August 3rd, six o'clock, evening. The great men are 
 aJl come in ; and I am told nothing has been done more 
 to-day. The last push over the hills, and out of their 
 position has not been made yet. So at least says General 
 O'Lalor. I suspect the Prince of Orange will carry home 
 these despatches, and I think it but fair now, that he 
 should go and see his intended as a conquering hero. He 
 certainly promises very well. An old man just returned 
 home, is thrashing out his wheat over my head, and has 
 been thus employed all the morning, giving me his dust 
 as well as his noise. 
 
 Later, nine o'clock, evening.- Nothing has been done 
 to-day ; the French remain in their strong ground above 
 Bera, a league and a half from this. It was found, I be- 
 lieve, necessary to turn it in a regular manner to avoid great 
 loss ; for though one brigade of red coats yesterday turned 
 two French divisions off one high hill, we can scarcely 
 expect this to be always the case. I think, therefore, we 
 shall remain here some days at least. I have just heard 
 an anecdote of General Picton. General Cole on the 
 17th ordered General Byng to retire from a post on a hill 
 which afterwards formed a part of our good position on 
 the 28th. Byng sent to Picton to say what his orders 
 were, and added that though very important, he felt he 
 was not strong enough to justify his keeping it. Picton 
 said to Byng's aide-de-camp, " No, by G , he shall not 
 give up the hill ; I will bring my division up to support 
 
218 -INCIDENTS OF THE WAR. 
 
 him ; but no, your horse is done up, I'll go myself and 
 tell him ;" and he ordered the division to follow. This 
 saved that hill. Another time, General Cole was by orders 
 leaving a hill, when he received fresh orders to occupy it. 
 His men found a few stragglers on the top, and the French 
 main division half way up ; but they gave them such a 
 volley and warm reception, that they soon turned back 
 and were off. 
 
 We were very nearly destroying some of the French 
 cavalry, and taking two divisions. Two circumstances pre- 
 vented this. The night we were at Berrueta two of our men 
 straggled, and got taken, and they told the French where 
 head-quarters were. This made them conclude we were 
 strongly posted close by, and they decamped at night in- 
 stead of the morning, as they had intended. Thus several 
 hours were gained. The next was, that our light division 
 got their orders seven hours later than was expected. Had 
 they been that time sooner up, they would have headed 
 the French division on their road to Echalar, as well as to 
 Lezaca, and from strong ground might have been able to 
 drive them back upon the other divisions, and have sur- 
 rounded them. Their cavalry also would have been 
 caught on this narrow winding road down by the river, 
 where the baggage was destroyed, with a path in the wood 
 just on the opposite side, from whence our men might at 
 least have picked off the horses if the men chose to run 
 away. This was just missed, however, from these causes, 
 and remains one of the ifs and ands; it is very pro- 
 voking, for that would have completely crippled them for 
 this year. 
 
 A Spanish priest told me to-day that all the priests, 
 nuns, &c., in Spain, were constantly putting up prayers 
 for Lord "Wellington, thinking almost everything de- 
 pended upon him individually, as I believe most people 
 here really think. They were sorry he was so often 
 exposed as he is to fire. 
 
INCIDENTS OF THE WAR. 219 
 
 Lezaca, August kth, 1813. Nothing is to be done, I 
 believe, to-day. Everything in statu quo ; the Prince 
 goes to-night or to-morrow morning with despatches to 
 England, and I shall send this with them. 
 
 P.S. It feels, as you may suppose, very strange, after 
 the whirl about to Pamplona, and all the scenes I have 
 witnessed, to be again quietly drawing charges at Lezaca. 
 I have just heard that the French have increased their 
 force much in our front above Bera on the hills, but I 
 think nothing more will be done immediately on our part 
 or on theirs. 
 
220 WANT OF FORAGE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Rejoicings for the Victory Sufferings of Cole's Division Complaints of 
 the French Statements of a French Prisoner Decay of Spain Cha- 
 racteristics of Wellington His Opinion of Bonaparte Prospects of a 
 renewal of the Attack Exchange of Prisoners Wellington's Spanish 
 Estate His opinion of Picton Disposition of the Army. 
 
 Head-quarters, Lezaca, 
 August 7, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 HERE we are still, quiet, and in statu quo ante our 
 last run to Pamplona. I have sent you a long account 
 of all this business with the Prince of Orange's des- 
 patches. 
 
 Our cavalry have been moving up, both to St. Estevan, 
 and towards Irun. From the former place, however, for 
 want of forage they begin to retire again. Much are left 
 still round Pamplona, where there is only a Spanish 
 infantry force to watch and invest. They have tried in 
 vain to burn the corn just under the walls of the town, 
 for this partly supplies the garrison. Marshal Beresford 
 is gone for a week to the sea side, for bathing ; I 
 conclude, therefore, that nothing is to be immediately 
 undertaken to turn the French out of the remaining hills 
 near this place. I should like to have them clear out in 
 the plains below, for I expect in about three weeks to 
 have them plaguing us again. Something is still in 
 agitation for this purpose, but for the present delayed. 
 We fired, at St. Sebastian, a salute of twenty-one guns 
 for our late victory. The garrison regularly returned two 
 
 
COMPLAINTS OF THE FRENCH. 221 
 
 for every gun fired. They are very well supplied, it is 
 said, and are very impudent. I fear that all our former 
 breaches will now be quite useless, as they are, probably, 
 before this, made the strongest points. Saragossa, or 
 Zaragoza (the fort) has surrendered to Mina with about 
 forty guns, and, it is said, nearly five hundred men ; this 
 will be good, if Suchet intends to come that way towards 
 us. I think he is now retreating a little, and perhaps 
 this late business may make him go back quicker. 
 
 Lord Wellington was on his bed yesterday, and could 
 scarcely rise from the lumbago ; but was in good humour 
 and good spirits. His position near Sorauren and 
 Oricain, or Orquin, was a near-run thing (this was where 
 the last two battles were fought). General Cole was 
 there with the fourth division. In the course of his 
 retreat, Lord Wellington was falling back on him with 
 his staff, saw the importance of the position and galloped 
 over the bridge, and up to General Cole, to form his 
 division, and take up the position at first sight. Pam- 
 plona must otherwise have been relieved. The French 
 were so close upon Lord Wellington, that a part of his 
 staff rather behind could not follow him over the bridge, 
 but were cut off by the French, and obliged to find their 
 way round. This position was afterwards strengthened 
 by the third (Picton's) division, and the Spaniards, and 
 this at least saved the communication with Pamplona. I 
 hope we should in any case have beaten the French at 
 last, but it must have been further back certainly, and 
 probably on the Tolosa road. General Cole's division has 
 had, on the whole, nearly nine days' constant fighting and 
 marching. It is terribly cut up in consequence. 
 
 The French vow vengeance against the Spaniards. 
 An officer, prisoner here, told me yesterday, that the 
 Spaniards had always complained of the French, and 
 often with reason ; but if they came again as he expected, 
 the French were resolved to show them the difference, 
 
222 STATEMENTS OF A FRENCH PRISONER. 
 
 and let them have some reason to complain of them in 
 earnest. He said, that France had lost nearly four 
 hundred thousand men in Spain, in the war, and much 
 more than half from sickness and unfair means, assassina- 
 tion, and treachery. He said there was not a family in 
 France which had not put on mourning for this Spanish 
 war, and yet scarcely any of the Spaniards had fought 
 them like men. He said the notion the French had was 
 that in the general peace which was expected, England 
 and France would make arrangements to divide the best 
 part of Spain between them, and that we should keep 
 Cadiz, Carthagena, and all the useful maritime parts, and 
 leave them to the Ebro. He smiled much at my dis- 
 owning any such honest and honourable intentions on 
 our part. He told me that the French armies had 
 suffered more in their morale here in the last campaign, 
 than by their Russian losses, for every Frenchman laid 
 the latter disasters entirely to climate, and was satisfied 
 he still could conquer a Eussian as formerly ; but here, 
 the troops were fairly beaten, and in general would not 
 stand. Only two brigades, he said, behaved really well at 
 Yittoria, and Jourdan was sent to Paris under arrest for 
 his conduct. As to the money, baggage, &c., they 
 behaved much better on the 18th of July. 
 
 He also told me that not even an English or Spanish 
 officer, in the best of times, had ever been so well treated 
 as the French were when they first came here. He 
 appeared not at all to feel how much worse this made 
 their conduct appear since. This was drawn out by my 
 telling him that Bonaparte had contrived now to make 
 the French detested, almost by every nation in Europe, 
 and that power was all he had to rely upon. The part 
 Bernadotte had taken the French officers seem not to 
 have known, so much are they kept in the dark about 
 every thing. The Frenchman also said, that had it not 
 been for the jealousies of the Guerillas, they might, by 
 
DECAY OF SPAIN. 223 
 
 acting in concert (which they never would do), have 
 sometimes almost annihilated whole French divisions, 
 and that the French could scarcely have kept their 
 ground some time since ; but by local and individual 
 jealousies the finest opportunities were lost. He con- 
 sidered that the good or bad behaviour of an army all 
 depended on their having pay and food ; or, on the con- 
 trary, the want of both ; and I believe so much : that he 
 rightly considered that the French discipline was the 
 best when they had both, but that not being here ever 
 the case, plunder was the consequence. " But why come 
 here at all? " quoth I. " L' Empereur le veut," was the 
 answer, " and we as soldiers have only to obey." " Try 
 and enter France," said he, " and you will soon see how 
 the people feel, and whether your stories of a readiness 
 to revolt, and dissatisfaction are true. So far from it, 
 that there has been considerable zeal shown every where 
 in replacing the Emperor's Eussian losses." The French 
 think there must be war, and therefore the further from 
 home the better. We have heard before you, by French 
 papers, of the extension of the armistice in the North. 
 This is bad for the campaign here. 
 
 The English reviewers and others may say what they 
 please as to Spain not having been on the decline during 
 the last century. It has at least stood still when almost 
 every other country in Europe made rapid advances in 
 everything. In Spain and Portugal, no town is now, or 
 has been lately, on the increase ; but several have mani- 
 festly diminished. The decay of houses is seldom made 
 good, even on the same ground, by new ones ; I do not 
 recollect to have observed, in the whole country, four 
 new houses building, notwithstanding the thousands 
 destroyed of late ; nor does this seem owing to the events 
 of the last five years and the present times, for you see 
 no houses commenced before that time, and left un- 
 finished, at least extremely few. In France, almost 
 
224 STATE OF SPAIN BEFORE THE WAR, 
 
 every large place had its new town as in England, only 
 in a less degree, and evident marks of new buildings, &c., 
 stopped by the Revolution. In Spain there are no 
 appearances of new towns at all, nor of parts of towns, 
 or scarcely even of houses, or unfinished buildings 
 stopped by the present confusion some in Yittoria, from 
 French excitement I believe, but nothing to speak of. 
 The churches are every where on a large and expensive 
 scale ; a few modern, but in general they are old. The 
 Spanish towns have nearly all the appearance of what we 
 should take to be decayed manufacturing towns. The 
 inhabitants appear to have been asleep as to the rest of 
 the world, and not to have made any progress whilst 
 others made great advances. This is a sort of decline. 
 There can have been little demand for manufactures, for 
 the same few chairs and tables seem to have been in use 
 these fifty or hundred years. Whitewashing and new 
 placing the tiles seem the only repairs of the houses. 
 
 Yet, I think many districts seem to have been un- 
 commonly happy and comfortable before this war- 
 large tight houses, abundance of food, good clothes, 
 cleanly habits, a general equality of rank ; no rich among 
 them at all ; no very poor ; and no manufactures. Almost 
 every man could make what he wanted for his farm, and 
 a shoemaker, a tailor, and a farrier, were nearly the only 
 tradesmen, except farmers, in work. Occasional pedlars 
 supplied the other wants of a people who had but few. 
 Such must have been the independent, happy state of 
 many large districts away from the influence of the cor- 
 ruptions of the large towns, where all the idle, lazy, 
 pauper nobility lived: they were alike free from the 
 effects of the misgovernment and oppressive conduct of 
 their rulers. Other districts certainly were very dif- 
 ferent, and more like the dirty and ill-provided Por- 
 tuguese. In Portugal, the higher classes seem, I think, 
 to have been generally better off, and to have enjoyed 
 
LEZACA. 225 
 
 themselves more in their quintas, or villas, and the poor 
 to have been worse off. There are none of the districts 
 in Portugal such as I have described in Spain. 
 
 I have just met General Cole, who commanded the 
 fourth division , he is quite knocked up. . He says that 
 his division alone have one hundred and four officers 
 killed and wounded. 
 
 Lezaca, St/i August. Yesterday I rode up to the hill 
 at the point of our position above Bera, from whence you 
 see Bayonne. I stood on the top until it was nearly 
 dark, and returned down the mountains by moonlight. 
 The French fires were very numerous, and were burning 
 all over the sides of a tremendous hill, which they still 
 occupy opposite to our position. I passed the boundary 
 stone, and got half-a-mile into France, to the highest 
 summit of the rock, where the outlying picket is. I saw 
 the French relieve their pickets, heard their drums as 
 plainly as ours, saw the men at work at a redoubt to 
 oppose us if we should advance, and, lastly, saw five 
 thousand Spaniards come up to occupy the ground in 
 the place of our light division, &c., who were ordered to 
 go elsewhere. These were O'DonnelTs regiments ; they 
 were thin in numbers. A brigade, nominally three 
 thousand, mustered eighteen hundred, but were well- 
 dressed and good-looking men. I only hope they will 
 fight at least that they do not steal as adroitly as 
 Longa's people. We have had the latter near this place, 
 and nothing is safe at all from their fingers from a 
 horse or mule down to a bit of biscuit. In my letter 
 from Vittoria, I told you that the French as an army 
 had escaped, and that we should hear of them again in a 
 month. So it proved ; and so I think it will be pro- 
 bably again, unless the two places surrender to us in a 
 few weeks. 
 
 This small, dirty place, Lezaca, is a curious scene of 
 bustle just now; crowded with Spanish fugitives the 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 SCENE AT LEZACA. 
 
 head-quarters no small body, with all our stragglers and 
 those of Longa's, who are more numerous (he having a 
 quarter here now, and looking like an English butcher in 
 a handsome hussar dress), with abundance of Spanish and 
 Portuguese officers (for both troops are near), as well as 
 with English, with wounded and prisoners passing, with 
 mules and muleteers innumerable, besides all the country 
 people who come here to turn all they have got into 
 money. Noises of all sorts ; thrashing all going on in 
 the rooms up stairs ; the corn then made into bread and 
 sold in one corner; " aguardente" being cried all about; 
 lemonade (that is, dirty water and dark-brown sugar) the 
 same ; here a large pig being killed in the street, with its 
 usual music on such occasions ; another near it with a 
 straw fire singeing it, and then a number of women cut- 
 ting up and selling pieces of other pigs killed a few hours 
 before. Suttlers and natives with their Don Quixote 
 wineskins all about, large pigskins, and small ditto, and 
 middling ditto, all pouring out wine to our half-boozy, 
 weary soldiers ; bad apples and pears, gourds for soup, 
 sour plums, &c., all offered for sale at the same moment. 
 Perpetual quarrels take place about payment for these 
 things between the soldiers of the three allied nations and 
 the avaricious and unreasonable civilian natives ; mostly, 
 however, between Spaniards and Spaniards. The animals 
 eating green Indian corn almost against every house here 
 and in the churchyard, which contains four tents, from 
 the want of stables and of quarters. Not the least curious 
 or noisy in this confusion, are about fifteen men and 
 women with fresh butter 4s. the pound, who are come 
 from near St. Andero and beyond it a stout race dressed 
 in a curious, peculiar manner, who contrive to bring 
 butter on their heads in baskets for above a fortnight 
 together, and sell it at last in a state that I am very glad 
 to eat it for breakfast for ten days after it arrives. It 
 forms a sort of very mild cream cheese, in fact. 
 
WELLINGTON'S OPINION OF BONAPARTE. 227 
 
 Head- Quarters, Lezaca, August 9th. You ask me if 
 Lord Wellington has recollected - - with regard? He 
 seems to have had a great opinion of him, but scarcely 
 has ever mentioned him to me. In truth, I think Lord 
 Wellington has an active, busy mind, always looking to 
 the future, and is so used to lose a useful man, that as 
 soon as gone he seldom thinks more of him. He would 
 be always, no doubt, ready to serve any one who had 
 been about him, or the friend of a deceased friend, but he 
 seems not to think much about you when once out of the 
 way. He has too much of everything and everybody 
 always in his way, to think much of the absent. He said 
 the other day, that he had great advantages now over 
 every other General. He could do what others dare not 
 attempt ; and he got the confidence of all the three allied 
 powers, so that what he said or ordered was, right or 
 wrong, always thought right. "And it is the same," 
 said he, "with the troops. When I come myself, the 
 soldiers think what they have to do the most important, 
 since I am there, and that all will depend on their exer- 
 tions. Of course, these are increased in proportion, and 
 they will do for me what perhaps no one else can make 
 them do." He said, " he had several of the advantages 
 possessed by Bonaparte, in regard to his freedom of action 
 and power of risking, without being constantly called to 
 account : Bonaparte was quite free from all inquiry, and 
 that he himself was in fact very much so. The other ad- 
 vantages which Bonaparte possessed, and of which he made 
 so much use," Lord Wellington said, " was his full latitude 
 of lying ; that, if so disposed," he said, " he could not do/' 
 
 You ask about my health I think this hole in the 
 mountains unwholesome : the place is so full, and without 
 drainage ; the air heavy and oppressive ; it is like Devon- 
 shire, warm moisture constantly. I long to be on the 
 mountains, to get air and braced up. It has rained nearly 
 all the last twenty -four hours. 
 
228 PRINCE REGENT'S BIRTHDAY. 
 
 August 10th. I have just seen Lord Wellington, 
 about some more than usually important business : he is 
 better, but not well. He has given me an immense 
 bundle of English and Spanish papers to peruse and 
 examine. The enclosed plan may help you a little to 
 understand the Gazette, and my letter ; remember it is 
 only my hasty personal sketch in pen and ink, on no 
 scale, and taken from no regular document. 
 
 llth, Post-day. I worked very hard all yesterday, and 
 could not get through Lord Wellington's papers. I am 
 still at work at the last part of them : a Spanish narrative 
 of all the Spanish operations of a Spanish army for a 
 month, by their General Copons. It consists of sixty- 
 four sides of foolscap in a Spanish hand. There is 
 nothing new. Lord Wellington will give a dinner to- 
 morrow, in honour of the Prince Regent's birthday, to all 
 the heads of departments, to which I am invited. There 
 are reports of the French moving already, but I believe 
 all lies as yet. Do not be too sanguine about Suchet. 
 He may retire, but will hardly be forced out of the 
 country, for there are forty thousand French on that side 
 of Spain. The Spanish Government have given Lord 
 Wellington a handsome royal estate near Granada ; he 
 told me this yesterday. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Lezaca, August 13zA,1813. Here I am, 
 and very busy still, and with no events to communicate. 
 All is now quiet for the present, as at Frenada, though 
 this cannot last long. Having the paper by me, how- 
 ever, I determined to place this letter upon the stocks, 
 against the next post-day. 
 
 Yesterday I dined at Lord Wellington's, with a party 
 of thirty-six, to keep the Prince Regent's birthday. 
 Eight mules had arrived in the morning with prog and 
 wines from Bilboa, and we had therefore a good feast, 
 and some very good claret of Majoribanks and Paxton. 
 The party was very dull, though many grandees were 
 
PROSPECTS OF RENEWAL OP ATTACK. 229 
 
 present Castanos, O'Donnell, the General of the army 
 of the reserve (the best Spaniards I have seen, and now 
 on the hill above us, with something like a Commissariat, 
 &c.), their aides-de-camp, &c., Generals Cole, Anson, 
 Murray, Pakenham, &c. Two bands were in attendance 
 those of the Fusiliers and the 7th. Fuento, the Spanish 
 Commissary, gave us " God save the King," and Lord 
 Wellington's favourite, "Ah Marmont, onde va Mar- 
 mont?" but it was very hot and stupid; every one 
 here, in fact, is fagged, and half done up. Lord Wel- 
 lington could scarcely rise when he sat down, or sit 
 down when he rose, from lumbago, and was in great 
 pain, but is much better; all around him looked pale 
 and worn. I think, however, we shall be up to another 
 brush again soon. 
 
 We are soon about to begin again at St. Sebastian ; 
 but it is to be feared that it will be hard and bloody 
 work, unless some piece of good luck should arise in our 
 favour. 
 
 Later. I have just been to Lord Wellington, with 
 the result of my labours, which have amused him much, 
 and which he thinks I cannot be correct in, as to facts ; 
 or if so, the whole, he -concurs with me, is most extraor- 
 dinary. He has now got the papers and my statement 
 to examine. It is not, in my opinion, the Spanish 
 General who was to blame ; I must not explain more at 
 present; he seemed pleased, and asked me to dinner 
 again to-day. We have a stray paper to the 4th, which 
 has set us all agog; but I have only heard the news 
 concerning Lord Aberdeen, and it does not seem quite 
 certain that there is to be an ambassador from England 
 to the Congress. The French nation, or rather the 
 news through France, is I hear all for peace, and the 
 Ehine and the Pyrenees are to be the boundaries, Jerome 
 King of Holland, and Joseph King of Italy ; this is- 
 only French rumour. 
 
230 EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS. 
 
 I am told that Soult says he will be here the day after 
 tomorrow, the 15th, and has two bridges ready near 
 Irun, to come on our left ; he would only come there, 
 for I think we should be able to do something. We are 
 well up for an attack there ; four hours would put the 
 divisions here on that flank, Spaniards, &c. 
 
 The I4>th. We had last night a little firing, but I 
 believe it was only the Spaniards. The latter and the 
 French fire at each other at every opportunity, and when 
 neighbours, are never at peace. Our sentries and the 
 French, on the contrary, are within one hundred yards 
 of each other, and are relieved regularly without the 
 least molestation on either side. This is the way. Un- 
 less an attack is to be made, what is gained by killing a 
 poor sentry ? Our new brigade is not yet at Passages, 
 although expected for this fortnight. Some reinforce- 
 ments have, however, come up, and the brigade of 
 Guards, which were left behind, have, by easy marches 
 from Oporto, now joined us about fifteen hundred out 
 of the three thousand who came out at that unlucky 
 time last year. The French have also reinforcements, 
 and must in honour do something if the two places hold 
 out. The French gentleman who came over to us near 
 Pamplona fourteen days since, dined at Lord Welling- 
 ton's yesterday, and talked away. He seems clever, and, 
 like every Frenchman, professed to know everything 
 the secret history of everybody and of every event. He 
 calls Bonaparte un tigre, &c. I cannot say that I like 
 him much, and would not trust him; but I am not 
 much afraid of Lord Wellington doing so. Lord Wel- 
 lington told him the following fact, concerning the 
 exchange of prisoners in this country. He said that 
 Massena once agreed to exchange three hussar officers 
 and one hundred and twenty men, rank for rank, and 
 when he had got his own three officers and the men, 
 sent back only twenty soldiers, and the rest countrymen 
 
EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS. 231 
 
 and Portuguese militiamen, and three officers of militia 
 scarcely embodied. Lord Wellington vowed never to 
 trust his honour again, and in every proposal always 
 excepts Massena. Indeed he said he was so little inclined 
 now from experience to trust any of them, that a short 
 time since, when an exchange was proposed, he said, 
 " Yes ; but first name the officers and men you offer, and 
 their regiments, ages, &c., and then I will treat, but I 
 will not have Spanish peasants for French soldiers." To 
 this they sent no answer. 
 
 Lord Wellington also tells them, that until our 
 travellers, civilians, &c., who were detained are released, 
 he can never listen to non-combatant pleas. All must 
 be exchanged; but he is very liberal. He also said 
 Soult once complained that six of our officers had escaped 
 from their guard near Oporto, on that retreat, and had 
 committed a breach of honour ; but that he (Lord Wel- 
 lington) having inquired into it, found they were placed 
 in confinement under a guard, and their parole not 
 relied upon, and that they had got the better of their 
 guard. Lord Wellington, therefore, told the Marshal 
 that the parole being abandoned by the imprisonment, 
 the point of honour was gone ; and that there were two 
 ways of prisoners and their guards separating, and that 
 he believed the guard had run away from their prisoners, 
 not the prisoners from their guard. To this also he had 
 no answer. 
 
 Lord Wellington also talked of Grant's case, who 
 lately got away from Paris. Lord Wellington had 
 advised him not to give his parole in Spain, and had 
 provided persons to rescue him in several places on the 
 march to France. They offered this to Grant in conse- 
 quence, but the offer was from honour declined, as the 
 parole had been given and acted upon. The moment he 
 was in France the French placed him under a guard, 
 and at Bayonne he got away from them and went to 
 
232 DESTRUCTION OF CROPS. 
 
 Paris, remained there nine months, and got to England 
 at last. Lord Wellington yesterday was excessively 
 stiff and sore, but in high spirits. He seems to have a 
 notion that the Continent will make a peace, and leave 
 us and the Spaniards in the lurch, and I believe this 
 prevents any very forward movements here on. his part, 
 for the French would then soon come down upon us 
 with decidedly superior numbers ; and if we had quite 
 passed these mountains a, hasty retreat back through 
 them would not be a very easy or agreeable manoeuvre. 
 
 I rode last night to Bera or Vera, where our out -posts 
 are in the valley. The Trench pickets are in two houses 
 on the hills opposite, a few hundred yards up. Several 
 of the houses about there are destroyed, gutted, and 
 burnt, and most of them deserted. It was only a month 
 ago a pretty little town. Longa had also, since we were 
 here last, burnt two neat farms on the road, and knocked 
 off the parapet of the bridge, and dug a trench across it, 
 for the purpose of annoying the French. We have 
 headed nearly all the green Indian corn in this valley for 
 the horses ; it is cut short off, half way, leaving the fruit 
 below ; and this is said not to do much harm to the corn. 
 But then we cannot eat our cake and have it also. 
 There will be no dry forage for the animals in autumn 
 and winter. The little wheat straw about these valleys 
 is nearly all eaten already, and much of the wheat and 
 Indian corn itself has been either destroyed or taken by 
 the irregularity of the thousand muleteers around us, in 
 spite of their being occasionally flogged when caught in 
 doing so. The inhabitants will, I fear, be half starved 
 in the winter, unless they migrate, which many will, no 
 doubt, and we must be supplied from other parts if we 
 stay near here. Spain in general will, however, have 
 been released from the supply of, nominally, two hundred 
 thousand French; and as we drove them away before 
 harvest time, most of this will be in the market some- 
 
WELLINGTON'S SPANISH ESTATE. 233 
 
 where, except what has been destroyed on our immediate 
 line of march. Much has been of course trodden down, 
 and from the want of forage and corn our horses have 
 been obliged to take the ripe wheat and eat it straw, 
 grain, and all to serve both purposes. This is dangerous 
 food, and if drink is given carelessly, often kills the 
 animal ; but otherwise it answers well. 
 
 We understand here that it was not until three days 
 after the news of the battle of Vittoria arrived that any 
 one durst inform Bonaparte of it. This last battle will 
 very probably be almost entirely concealed from him. 
 As we are now both in statu quo as to place, this may 
 perhaps be managed : though the enemy are about fifteen 
 thousand men minus to what they were before the attack 
 at Maya began. From intercepted letters we find that, 
 in reports even to each other, the French lie considerably, 
 or at least misrepresent, for the good of the service, and 
 this will present a good opportunity, as Bonaparte is so 
 far off. 
 
 In this little town, or rather village, there are about 
 twelve priests at least, walking about in their shovel hats. 
 These hats would astonish the most orthodox bishop's 
 chaplain in England, and our coalheaver's hat is nothing 
 to them. The only fine cloth in the shops here is black, 
 you may guess for whose use. 
 
 The estate which the Spanish Government has given 
 to the Marquis of Wellington is, I understand, a very 
 desirable one ; and the best proof that it is so, is that it 
 was one which the Prince of Peace had given to himself, 
 and doubtless he chose the best he could find. It is no- 
 minally thirty thousand dollars a-year, a castle, I under- 
 stand, and about a league from Granada, in a fine country.* 
 Lord Wellington seems very much pleased with it. He 
 says that he hopes the house is a good one, as he should 
 
 * It is situated in the Val de Soto. 
 
234 GENERAL VILLA ALBA. 
 
 not like to have to build, and that he hears there is 
 hunting, coursing, fishing, and everything near it. There 
 was a fine wood, but I fear the Prince of Peace cut most 
 of that down. General O'Lalor, who is in a bad state of 
 health, is to have the government of Granada, and will 
 superintend this estate for Lord Wellington. The latter 
 had got the papers concerning it before him when I called 
 a few days since, and said, " This relates to the estate 
 they have given me." 
 
 The 15tfA. I have been very ill all night and this 
 morning, but am now rather better, and the doctor tells 
 me I am saved a fever by this bilious attack. We are 
 all most anxious for news from the North, for all must 
 depend in the end upon that, at least in a great measure. 
 Next to General Frost, I think, our General has done 
 the most for the common cause. General Villa Alba, the 
 Spanish Inspector of Cavalry, dined at head-quarters to- 
 day. He is a queer-looking creature, anything but a 
 General in appearance, and much less a cavalry officer. 
 I know, however, nothing of his real character. We 
 now feel the effects of our work through these valleys ; 
 for we cannot ride a few miles without the alternate 
 smells of dead horses, dead mules, and dead men. Bona- 
 parte's birthday has passed over very quietly, except a 
 tremendous triple salvo of all the St. Sebastian's guns and 
 mortars upon our poor fellows in the trenches at daylight. 
 The garrison are amazingly pert, from their success 
 hitherto ; but we have some hopes they will soon want 
 water. Adieu. 
 
 The I6th. Much the same to-day, the attack con- 
 tinuing all night. Cannot think what it is in this 
 country that affects us. The thermometer has never in 
 the shade, in my room, been beyond 72 in this part of 
 Spain. General Sir T. Picton is attacked again with a 
 violent bowel complaint, and is fallen to the rear. He 
 would be a great loss, for he is one of the best here. 
 
REPORTS OF PEACE. 235 
 
 Lord Wellington, the other day, said, " Why, even 
 General Picton did so-and-so the other day," as if sur- 
 prised that he should not have acted quite right. 
 
 Our soldiers are quite unaccountable ; all is going on 
 right, and they are just now quiet and well fed, yet 
 desertion, and even of British, to the enemy, was scarcely 
 ever more frequent. It was not surprising that one hun- 
 dred and forty of the Chasseurs Britanniques went off 
 when we were falling back to Pamplona, and, as they 
 thought, probably to Portugal ; but that the English 
 soldier should desert, is astonishing and unaccountable. 
 Three went off from pickets together the other night, 
 towards the French, and were all caught, and are to be 
 tried. Several must be hung for this. Two new regi- 
 ments have at last arrived. I wish the French would 
 come fairly on now, if at all, but every one talks of a 
 general peace. Adieu. 
 
 The \lth. We have this day a strong French report 
 that peace is signed, and that the Pyrenees are to be the 
 boundary of France on this side. Nothing said about 
 England ; but even at this rate, we must be off if this 
 prove true. The news you told me of the fifty thousand 
 men, under Soult, you will have seen was tolerably cor- 
 rect ; it was intended he should have been here sooner, to 
 prevent the mischief which happened at Yittoria. As 
 soon as the report came that we were threatening to cross 
 the Ebro he was sent off, but he did not allow sufficiently 
 for Lord Wellington's rapid movements, and was a little 
 too late. It is clear, from many circumstances, as Lord 
 Wellington says, that he intended to drive us back to the 
 Ebro this last push, and that his measures were all taken 
 accordingly ; his cavalry, which he brought with "him, 
 and which, as regards the country as far as Pamplona, 
 would have been useless, has suffered much from the 
 roads, want of shoes, &c., and had no employment except 
 that of carrying off the wounded. 
 
236 DISPOSITION OF THE ARMY. 
 
 Our army is now nearly as follows : first and fifth divi- 
 sions, Oyarzun and St. Sebastian, under Graham ; Jeron, 
 with his Spaniards of Gallicia, in their front at Irun ; 
 Longa between them and this place, with his diminished 
 Guerillas ; here the fourth division and the light division 
 in front, and the Spaniards of O'Donnell the reserve next, 
 on the right of the others, in front ; then the seventh 
 division above Echallar, &c. : then the third and sixth in 
 Maya and Eoncesvalles Pass, with Spaniards I believe 
 also, and General Hill's second division behind them in 
 the valley of Bastan, Elisondo, &c. ; six thousand Spa- 
 niards watching Pamplona, and our cavalry about there 
 principally or in the rear of Graham. 
 
 The ISth, still Lezaca. O'Donnell is unwell, from the 
 wound in his leg, from which thirty splinters have been 
 extracted : he is going to the baths. He is the Conde de 
 Bispal, commanding the army of Reserve. Jeron is to 
 take his command now, and give up the Gallicians ; our 
 men, however, I am glad to learn, are in general consi- 
 dered as very healthy : General Cole told me that his 
 division was particularly so, after all their fatigues. The 
 army have Lord Wellington to thank principally, even 
 for this. Last year the mules per company allowed by 
 Government were employed in carrying the heavy iron 
 camp-kettles, and our men had no tents ; though they 
 were allowed them, they could not be carried. This year 
 Lord Wellington had light tin kettles made, one for every 
 six men, for the mess, to be carried by one of the men, 
 each having a small cooking machine of tin besides. This 
 plan sets the mules free and disposable, and thus three 
 tents^have been carried for every company, and allowing 
 for absentees, guards, officers' servants, sentries, &c. ; this 
 now nearly houses or covers all our men, and contributes 
 much to the health of the army. It was entirely an 
 arrangement of his own. The Portuguese are still with- 
 out tents, as are the French and the Spaniards. 
 
UNCOMFORTABLE QUARTERS. 237 
 
 The French, however, are very expert at making wood 
 huts, with fern for the top and for the bedding, tolerably 
 comfortable except in heavy rains. So are now the Por- 
 tuguese indeed, and many of them (as well as our men 
 who happen not to have tent room) join two together, 
 and giving up their blankets for sleeping on, make a good 
 tent of them, which holds two very well, and only con- 
 sists of their two muskets and two blankets ; and now, 
 since we have obtained so much plunder, generally a good 
 sack or piece of carpet at the rough weather side. Orders 
 were given before we marched from Granada, by Lord 
 Wellington, to have all blankets looped and strengthened 
 at the corners, for this purpose, all ready, as an excellent 
 defence from the sun, even better than a tent, for it is 
 cooler, and a very tolerable one from rain. 
 
 I am to dine with General Cole, who is quartered here. 
 My people in this house are up all night, making a noise, 
 and baking for Longa, and all day the children are 
 shaking the dirt from above down upon me. 
 
238 GENERAL COLE. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Reported renewal of Operations against St. Sebastian Effects of the War 
 on Spain and Portugal Wellington's Account of recent Proceedings 
 Courts-martial Prisoners Shot Discussions on War between Wel- 
 lington and a French Deserter The Siege resumed Work of the 
 Heavy Batteries Trial of General O'Halloran Volunteers for the 
 Storming-parties. 
 
 Head -quarters, Lezaca, 
 August 21, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 SEVERAL of our Yittoria sick and wounded now 
 begin to return and join their regiments. Major Free- 
 mantle came back just in time for dinner yesterday, and 
 amused us with an account of all your madness in 
 England about the battle of Vittoria. 
 
 General Cole, with whom I told you I was going to 
 dine, lives very comfortably. To do this, even in his 
 way, he has now travelling with him about ten or twelve 
 goats for milk, a cow, and about thirty- six sheep at least, 
 with a shepherd, who always march, feed on the road 
 side, on the mountains, &c., and encamp with him. 
 When you think of this, that wine and everything is to 
 be carried about, from salt and pepper and tea-cups to 
 saucepans, boilers, dishes, chairs, and tables, on mules, 
 you may guess the trouble and expense of a good estab- 
 lishment here. 
 
 I mentioned to you the iron-works all about this 
 country, and their simple construction ; they make, how- 
 ever, I believe, excellent iron. For this purpose they 
 
PUNISHMENT OP DESERTERS. 239 
 
 mix the ore of this country, which is too brittle, with the 
 ore they fetch from near Bilboa, which is rather too 
 ductile and soft, and of the two form an excellent com- 
 pound, which used to supply much of the southern part 
 of France. 
 
 Our great guns are, I am told, to begin pounding 
 to-day at St. Sebastian again, but I have not heard them 
 yet. The old breach will not do at all ; it is, we are told, 
 mined and filled with little intended explosions. A 
 seventy-four and some frigates are now near. I wish 
 they would let the sailors try the sea side when we 
 storm. I think they would get in somehow at once into 
 the castle. 
 
 August the 23rd. I have now a fresh set of Courts in 
 every division again, as my last are broken up. One 
 ])eputy Judge- Advocate sent me, out of curiosity, a 
 history of his Court-casualties, &c., nine members out of 
 fifteen, and the Judge-Advocate, killed or severely 
 wounded, since the 22nd of May, two prosecutors and 
 three witnesses, all officers. We are trying to clear as 
 we go, and to prevent all arrears, and we hang away to 
 prevent desertion. I am told that the French do the 
 same and still more, but their people will go home to the 
 rear ; this is more natural. We are told that ten men 
 from each company are gone by orders to the rear also 
 some foolishly say to quell riots, for which purpose ten 
 old men would be the most useless possible; but the 
 most plausible account is, to drill new conscripts. Some 
 deserters say they are sent even to Italy for this ; I 
 believe just now that they are not prepared to move, and 
 will be content to remain quiet. We have alternate 
 accounts, of course, of war and peace. To-day two 
 women (one French, the other Spanish,) of the French 
 prisoners from Vittoria, came in here on their way to join 
 the French. Lord Wellington, however, has stopped 
 them, and says he will have no more sent over until the 
 
240 EFFECTS OF THE WAR. 
 
 French release about three hundred mothers and wives* 
 &c., of the Guerillas, who were carried off by them as 
 hostages for the return home of the Guerilla relations, so 
 they cry and think this very sad to be put upon the same 
 footing as such creatures. One of the ladies asked the 
 Adjutant-general whether she had better write to her 
 friends openly, to propose an exchange, or in cipher? 
 Upon which he thought a cipher lady should not remain 
 here, at least long. We now give some flour to Longa's 
 people for bread, and try to make regulars of them. 
 
 It is very terrible that our people, muleteers, soldiers, 
 &c., do more mischief by far than the French, except 
 when the latter do it by way of punishment and revenge ; 
 at ordinary times their discipline is much better than 
 ours. The heads of the Indian corn are now nearly all 
 eaten off about here by the cattle, and cut by the soldiers 
 to roast, as well as the leaves for our animals. The 
 Spaniards, however, in some degree have their revenge ; 
 we bring a quantity of money into the country in spite 
 of our bad pay, and this they fleece us out of in high 
 style. They sell everything like Jews, and are naturally 
 exorbitant, greedy, and avaricious ; this seems the general 
 character. So we go on ! They cheat our men as much 
 as they can, and our men get all they can gratis ; upon 
 the whole, however, if we remain stationary, we benefit 
 the country. 
 
 Lord Wellington yesterday said it was stated in his 
 letters from Lisbon, that Portugal was miserable without 
 us. No money, no markets, nothing doing. I believe 
 he was half joking with the Portuguese agent here ; but 
 he really meant that we were much missed there. The 
 muleteers with us are the worst. Their terms were, a 
 dollar a-day each mule, and one for a man for every three 
 mules, and rations. They have gone on four years, and 
 more ; they are now, I believe, sixteen months in arrears 
 in their pay, having just got one month lately. If paid 
 
KKKECTS OF \YAK ON SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 241 
 
 up they would make fortunes, and have no pretence to 
 behave ill. As it is, they steal, plunder, turn out their 
 mules in the corn, &c., and from one of the most orderly 
 classes in Spain, are become the least so. There are 
 about ten thousand of the mules in this state, and I sup- 
 pose four thousand muleteers. Their pay is almost more 
 than the army ; and when is it to be paid or how ? there 
 lies the rub. 
 
 The people say that we have brought the plague of 
 flies, and I really believe we have increased the swarms 
 by the number of dead carcasses, and various kinds of 
 filth caused by the density of the population at present. 
 We do not bury so regularly as the French, either our 
 offal or dead animals, or anything ; the Spaniards not at 
 all, unless we do it for them. To give you a notion of 
 the flies, they eat up all my wafers, if left open, and spot 
 my letters all over if left one day on the table. 
 
 Nothing can look better than the condition of the 
 
 o 
 
 Portuguese troops. They are cleaner than our men ; or 
 look so, at least. They are better clothed now by far, 
 for they have taken the best care of their clothes ; they 
 are much gayer, and have an air, and a je ne sais quoi, 
 particularly the Cacadores both the officers and private 
 men, quite new in a Portuguese. It is curious to observe 
 the effects of good direction and example, how soon it 
 tells. The French seem to do the same with Italians, 
 and with every one ; or rather have done so, for I hope 
 this may not cease in part at least, 
 
 Head Quarters, Lezaca, %4<th. Having been writing 
 nearly all day yesterday, I took an evening stroll, and 
 then went and sat down on the churchyard parapet wall. 
 In ten minutes who should come there but Lord Wel- 
 lington, alone. After one turn he came and sat on the 
 wall with me, and talked for more than half an hour. 
 Amongst other things I said, I hoped that you in Eng- 
 land would hear Soult's account of the Maya business 
 
 R 
 
242 WELLINGTON'S ACCOUNT OF 
 
 first, as you then would be alarmed, and value the latter 
 account by the Prince of Orange as it deserved. 
 
 He said, " Why, at one time it was rather alarming 1 , 
 certainly, and it was a close-run thing. When I came to 
 the bridge of Sorauren, I saw the French on the hills, on 
 one side, and it was clear that we could make a stand on 
 the other hills in our position on the 28th ; but I found 
 that we could not keep Sorauren, for it was exposed to 
 their fire and not to ours. I determined to take the 
 position, but was obliged to write my orders accordingly 
 at Sorauren, to be sent back instantly, for had they not 
 been dispatched back directly by the way I had come, I 
 must have sent four leagues round in a quarter of an 
 hour later. I stopped, therefore, to write accordingly, 
 people saying to me all the time, ' The French are 
 coming ! The French are coming ! ' I looked pretty 
 sharp after them, however, every now and then, until I 
 had completed my orders, and then set off, and I saw 
 them just near one end of the village as I went out at the 
 other end ; and then we took our ground." 
 
 I then observed that the only time I felt a little uneasy 
 was, when we were stopped at Lanz, and sent across to 
 Lisasso, for all faces seemed very long, and the removal 
 of the wounded was very much pressed. This led him to 
 explain more ; and he said : " Had I been as regularly 
 informed of how matters stood on the 26th and 27th as I 
 was of what had passed on the 25th, that need not have 
 happened ; but General Cole never told me exactly how 
 far he found it necessary to give way, or let me know by 
 what a superior force he was pressed, and that he intended 
 giving way, or my arrangements would have been quite 
 different ; and the French might have been stopped 
 sooner than they were. In truth, I suspected that all 
 Soult's plan was merely by manoauvres to get me out of 
 the hills, and to relieve one or both of the besieged 
 places, as things should turn up and succeed for him ; 
 
RECENT PROCEEDINGS. 243 
 
 and I expected him to turn short round towards St. 
 Sebastian accordingly. I had then no notion that with 
 an army so lately beaten he had serious thoughts, as I 
 am now sure he had, of driving us behind the Ebro. The 
 consequence was that the second division halted a day and 
 a half at Trinita and Berrueta, on the 26th, and till three 
 on the 27th ; and the seventh division only took a short 
 march to St. Estevan, as I was unwilling to lose a bit 
 more of the mountains than was absolutely necessary, 
 from the probable loss of men in recovering such ground. 
 On the night before we marched, or at three in the morn- 
 ing of the 26th, I knew all that had passed on the first 
 attack, and acted accordingly. Had I been as well 
 informed, and had everything been communicated to me 
 as punctually on the next evening, the march of several 
 divisions would have been different. I should and could 
 have pressed them more on the 27th ; there would not 
 have been the risk and apparent alarm as to head- 
 quarters, &c. ; and we should probably have stopped the 
 French sooner. As it is, however, and as I had men 
 who could fight, as the English did when they recovered 
 the hill which had been lost, it has all ended very well." 
 
 We then got upon the expedition on the other side of 
 the Peninsula ; and he explained some of the reasons for 
 his instructions there. He was rather stiff with the 
 lumbago ; but in high spirits. He said that the Spanish 
 Grenerals thought the reason the French beat them was, 
 that they had no good cavalry ; and that whenever they 
 had our cavalry with them, they wanted to fight. This 
 was what he was anxious to prevent, " For," said he, 
 " our cavalry never gained a battle yet. When the 
 infantry have beaten the French, then the cavalry, if 
 they can act, make the whole compete, and do wonders; 
 but they never yet beat the French themselves." 
 
 Talking on this subject another day, Lord Wellington 
 and all the officers present seemed to agree that a cavalry 
 
 R2 
 
244 MORE DESERTIONS. 
 
 regiment did not know what real infantry fire was. 
 They talk of a sharp carbine fire, which kills ten or 
 twenty horses and half as many men ; but they could 
 not exist ten minutes in a fire to which our infantry 
 battalions are at times exposed ; they would be annihi- 
 lated if they did not go threes about very quick indeed. 
 Even in the infantry at times it was said, that in less 
 than half an hour every mounted officer would be dis- 
 mounted, from his own or his horse's wounds, and 
 perhaps not six men in a company out of sixty, would 
 remain. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Lezaca, August 25#A. We are as 
 quiet here as at Frenada. Desertion is terrible. I think, 
 however, Lord Wellington must stop it. We have only 
 as yet tried five out of sixteen sent for trial : they are all 
 sentenced to death, and all shot ! This will, I think, at 
 least have a good effect on our new reinforcements. One 
 of our officers did an odd thing to stop it ; and it 
 answered, or has done so hitherto ; he called his men 
 together and, addressing them, said, "I want no men 
 who wish to go to the French, and if any now will 
 say they wish to go, I promise to send them in with a 
 flag of truce." No one stirred, nor has any one stirred 
 since ; but as to the legality of this plan there may be a 
 query ? 
 
 Our great guns have now just begun pounding again at 
 St. Sebastian ; we are to demolish everything this time ; 
 but still I fear we shall scarcely get in easily at last. 
 
 As to Pamplona, the reports are, that they are now on 
 half-rations, and have enough at that rate to last till the 
 15th of next month. It is provoking how much they 
 have picked up. They have tried to send out another 
 batch of inhabitants, but these have been sent in again, 
 to help eat ; a hard fate to be made a mere tool for starva- 
 tion ! and I conclude they will not have the best com- 
 mons even Panplona can afford. 
 
DISCUSSION WITH A FRENCH DESERTER. 245 
 
 Head- Quarters, Lezaca, August 28#A, 1813. Here we 
 are still quiet, and very busy ; and Courts-martial all at 
 work. In these hills, however, our Provosts are not the 
 most secure ; and common precautions will not do against 
 men who know they are probably to be shot in a day or 
 two. A Court was adjourned till yesterday morning, for 
 a witness for the prisoner, and in the night he was off. 
 Another man under sentence of death, near Maya, and 
 three other deserters just taken as they were going over 
 to the French, were put foolishly under the care of a man 
 and a lad armed to convoy them a little way. They rose 
 on them, took away their arms, and went over with them 
 to the French post. I am sorry to say, however, that we 
 have still enough to hang. 
 
 The French deserter, the talkative Lieutenant-Colonel, 
 is here again, and has one great merit he induces Lord 
 Wellington to talk and discuss his old battles, &c., when 
 this man was on the other side. Thus from the two 
 I pick up a little of the cause of things. Yesterday the 
 conversation turned upon the retreat of the last year. 
 The Frenchman said that all their officers blamed Soult 
 for his conduct after crossing the Tormes ; that he was 
 in fact nearer Eodrigo than our army, and might and 
 ought to have cut us off, if he had pushed on. Lord 
 Wellington observed, " I fully expected to find him on 
 the high road : and I ordered nothing at all that way in 
 consequence on the first day ; afterwards, when I found 
 he was not there, I took to it." The French officer 
 replied, " From the rain and hazy weather, and bad 
 roads, Soult was puzzled and afraid he did not in the 
 least know the English plans. He heard of some troops, 
 and did not know whether they were a rear-guard or the 
 main army, and so on ; but when he found your lordship 
 making a stand collected at St. Munos, he said, ' A h quo 
 favois tort' ' He then tried to pump Lord Wellington, 
 and said, " If he had cut you off, perhaps you would 
 
246 AN ENRAGED BULL. 
 
 have recrossed the Tonnes, and made for the Benevente 
 road? but you would have suffered much." Upon which 
 Lord Wellington observed, " No, I certainly should have 
 done no such thing : that would have been ruin. But ii 
 you must know what I should have done, I should have 
 done that which many thought I ought to have done as 
 it was I should have fought, and trusted to the bravery 
 of my troops to get me out of the scrape." The French- 
 man then said, " No one ought to have blamed you for 
 not doing that, unless it were absolutely necessary, for 
 the French were twenty thousand stronger than you 
 were, and their cavalry was then very numerous, and in 
 the highest order. 
 
 These conversations give a value to the Frenchman 
 which he does not otherwise possess, though a clever 
 man. I found Lord Wellington the day before yester- 
 day busy with all the Spanish staff and General Murray, 
 with a dozen great Spanish drawings and plans of the 
 mountains about them ; they were comparing our several 
 labours together. The Spanish staff draughtsmen have 
 a good character. I should like to have been called in, 
 but I was only waiting an audience at the other end of 
 the room. 
 
 Yesterday, Lord Wellington went off on horseback 
 over the mountains, for Irun; he then went on to St. 
 Sebastian, and was not back here till nearly nine at 
 night. They are pounding away at that fortress from 
 fifty-one pieces of ordnance, mortars and all ; but nothing 
 is done yet. 
 
 The 29#A. No news yet. Still battering away at St. 
 Sebastian. We had a ridiculous event here yesterday : 
 an enraged bull belonging, I believe, to the Commis- 
 sariat broke into the quarters of the Commissary-gene- 
 ral, Sir Eobert Kennedy, and contriving to get to the 
 room of the clerks, put all to flight, one this way, the 
 other that, in the greatest alarm. All were dispersed in 
 
GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL. 247 
 
 an instant. After upsetting a few things, the bull re- 
 treated into the garden, and jumped over the wall, with- 
 out doing any serious mischief. The joke was, that the 
 owner had contrived this, on account of nonpayment of 
 his demand. 
 
 Our fifty-one battering pieces have now been at work 
 three days, and have laid open one end of the entire wall 
 of the town of St. Sebastian, and to-morrow is talked of 
 for the assault. Two days since the garrison made ano- 
 ther sortie, and carried off a few men ; and, upon the 
 whole, I think people are not quite satisfied with the 
 conduct of the fifth division, who are employed. Ever 
 since our retreat and the former sortie, they seem to 
 have had in some measure a sort of panic. We have had 
 a general Court-martial on Major O'Halloran, for neglect 
 on that occasion as field-officer in the trenches ; but he 
 is acquitted on the ground that the orders he gave were 
 correct, but that he was disobeyed. The facts on the 
 trial were these : 
 
 A sortie was expected all the night, and peculiar pre- 
 cautions were taken accordingly ; every fifth man sentry, 
 &c., by order of the General. All was quiet until an 
 hour after daybreak and more ; then a Captain Canvers, 
 of the Portuguese service, who has since shot himself, 
 seems to have suffered the sentries to enter the trenches, 
 and rest on their arms for security, without orders, or 
 rather against orders. At a little after six out came the 
 French, and another Portuguese captain seems to have 
 misunderstood his orders, and did not suffer his sentries 
 to fire instantly, thinking that he had no orders to this 
 effect ; he was made prisoner. In short, the consequence 
 was, that about fifty French were in an instant in the 
 trenches, when half-a-dozen of our people fired and fell back. 
 The Portuguese were mostly in a panic, and they were 
 nearly six hundred out of seven hundred then employed. 
 They did once attempt to get up the bank and form, but 
 
248 PREPARATIONS FOR THE 
 
 the sandy ground gave way, and in they went again. 
 This increased the confusion, and no exertions of our or 
 their officers could rally the men, until they had been 
 quite driven out of the trenches, and pursued to the little 
 village in ruins under the convent. There Major O'Hal- 
 loran rallied them, and, with a fresh English working- 
 party just arrived, drove the Trench back again to the 
 town, but in the meantime many prisoners were made. 
 
 Lord Wellington himself, I think, is not pleased with 
 the fifth division ; and, as some proof of this, has ordered 
 three hundred of the first division, one hundred and fifty 
 of the light, one hundred and fifty of the fourth, and, I 
 believe, one hundred and fifty of the third (of each 
 of which one-third are to be of the Portuguese regi- 
 ments), to march to-day to assist in forming the storming- 
 party to-morrow. This is a cut at the fifth ; and these 
 men are all volunteers, and the orders are to send men 
 who, by their cool courage and good conduct, will be 
 likely to succeed. In a measure the success of this will 
 depend on these qualities. The fifth division ought now 
 to volunteer, trying first alone, I think. 
 
 There was nothing but confusion in the two divisions 
 here last night, (the light and fourth,) from the eagerness 
 of the officers to volunteer, and the difficulty of de- 
 termining who were to be refused and who allowed to go 
 and run their heads into a hole in the wall, full of fire 
 and danger ! Major Napier was here quite in misery, 
 because, though he had volunteered first, Lieutenant- 
 colonel Hunt of the 52nd, his superior officer, insisted on 
 his right to go. The latter said that Napier had been in 
 the breach at Badajoz, and he had a fair claim to go now. 
 So it is among the subalterns ; ten have volunteered 
 where two are to be accepted. Hunt, being Lieutenant- 
 colonel, has nothing but honour to look to ; as to pro- 
 motion, he is past that. The men say that they don't know 
 what they are to do, but they are ready to go anywhere. 
 
STORMING OF ST. SEBASTIAN. 249 
 
 I fear we shall find the French have run a ditch across 
 and a new second wall behind those we have destroyed, 
 and that we may have tough work yet. The shells, 
 however, which are sent every ten minutes into the 
 castle, and shake the dust out of its roof in a fine style, 
 must make the place rather too warm to hold just now ; 
 and I heartily wish it would induce them to give in 
 hefore all the bloodshed begins. They fire now but very 
 little. Lord Wellington and every one is gone over to 
 St. Sebastian to-day ; and having nothing to do, I have 
 made up my mind to be off also. 
 
 August 30th. I was on the point of setting out when 
 I heard that the storming was put off a day; as the 
 French are in motion, and making pretence at least to 
 relieve St. Sebastian, and as the fourth division marched 
 accordingly this morning, and head-quarters may, there- 
 fore, suddenly be off, I determined to be quiet here, 
 especially as I do not feel quite well. Lord Wellington 
 came home at nine o'clock, and was off again before eight 
 this morning. We remain here much in the dark, of 
 course, when he is away. General Murray stays here to 
 protect us with the light division in our front. 
 
250 PIECE OF ILL-LUCK. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Author taken Prisoner Kind Treatment by the French General 
 Life of a Prisoner Release Details of the Author's Captivity 
 Curious Scene at General Pakenham's A Basque Squire. 
 
 Bayonne, September 5, 1813. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 WHEN you told me, some time since, that you 
 expected to hear from me from this place, I never expected 
 to have realized in this way your prediction. But as the 
 French all tell me with a shrug, " c'est le sort de la 
 guerre, Monsieur'' I must submit to as great a piece of 
 ill luck as generally falls to a poor man, " dans le meil- 
 leur des mondes possibles." 
 
 On the evening of the 30th August I was, as I men- 
 tioned to you in my last, stopped from going over to see 
 the storming of St. Sebastian the next morning by the 
 general report that the French were in motion ; that an 
 attack was expected on our line at daylight, to relieve 
 that place if possible, and that therefore head-quarters 
 would probably move. So it turned out; at six we 
 heard that the French had all crossed the Bidassoa, and 
 were moving on. The baggage was all ordered half a 
 league up the mountain Yangi, there to wait orders either 
 to proceed further for security if we were pressed, or to 
 return if we repulsed the attack. At seven, Lord Wel- 
 lington, &c., were off. By nine the town was nearly 
 cleared, and every one in motion. 
 
THE AUTHOR TAKEN PRISONER. 251 
 
 Nothing can be more stupid than thus waiting a whole 
 day standing with the mules and baggage, to hear the 
 result, without a creature to talk to, and knowing 
 nothing that is passing. One of the officers advised me 
 to go up the hill just above Lezaca, to observe a little 
 what was doing near, assuring me that it was quite safe. 
 Just afterwards Major Canning returned from Lord Wel- 
 lington with orders, and said he would show us the way 
 to the hill and then go on. I mounted, and set oufrwith 
 Mr. Henry, having sent off my baggage. Mr. Booth, 
 the principal Commissary of Accounts, Mr. Jesse, his 
 assistant, and Captain Hook, the officer who takes all the 
 quarters for every one at head-quarters, determined to join 
 the party. When we had got a little way Major Can- 
 ning remarked that by going up the first hill we should 
 see sooner what was doing, and could then return to 
 Lezaca, or stay and proceed as was found advisable, and 
 that we should be thus sure of not being cut off from 
 Yangi. This we accordingly did. When half up the 
 hill we observed two battalions resting under arms quietly 
 on the top and having examined them some time with our 
 glasses, thought that they were Spanish ; but not being 
 certain (for they are so alike as scarcely to be known at 
 fifty yards distance), we thought it advisable to keep to 
 our left, towards the rear of some of our own red-coats, 
 whom we saw engaged with the French in a wood further 
 on. We did this, and then waited to see whether those 
 two battalions advanced and fired or not, to enable us to 
 be sure, by their fire, to which party they belonged. As 
 they remained at rest, we could not determine this point ; 
 and as there was much fern and wood, and we were only 
 about a short half mile off, we determined, for fear of a 
 surprise, to go back, and follow up the mountain Major 
 Canning's road, where we saw our own red-coats. We 
 did this, and just before we ascended, ascertained that our 
 people were still there ; we trusted firmly to their not 
 
252 THE AUTHOR TAKEN PRISONER. 
 
 giving ground, as the French were already much advanced, 
 and this road was the common communication of all our 
 army through Lezaca to Oyarsun and San Sebastian. 
 
 About half-way up the hill, or mountain, is a wood, 
 from whence we got a peep at the two battalions. We 
 saw them moving towards the English position, but not 
 firing, and Captain Hook remarked that there were several 
 red-coats amongst them, so they must be friends ; but 
 that, however, about a hundred yards further on we should 
 be able to ascertain, and if it were not so we must return. 
 
 At the end of the hundred yards the woods ceased, 
 and the two roads up the mountain joined, when to our 
 great astonishment, just as we came one way to the place 
 of junction, two French battalions came up the other, and 
 we found ourselves within twenty yards of each other ; 
 Mr. Jesse was still nearer. I heard a cry of qui vive, 
 which put an end to all doubt as to who they were ; and 
 after a sort of short pause and drawback in the head of 
 the French column, thinking, I believe, that they were 
 the head of an allied column, several moved towards us, 
 and two levelled at us. Mr. Jesse, the nearest of us, dis- 
 mounted, and surrendered instantly. The other two 
 jumped off their horses, and, as the side of the mountain 
 was very steep, and no one could well ride after them, 
 they ran down, and the French having incumbrances, 
 I believe they escaped. I now think that was the best 
 plan I could have adopted. At the moment, however, as 
 I was in the road, and nearer to the French than they 
 were, I determined to turn about, and try my horse down 
 the road again the way we came, thinking it a great 
 chance that the only two who levelled, and seemed ready 
 to fire, would hit me. They never fired, but some pur- 
 sued, and one or two officers on horseback. I galloped 
 down, however, nearly a mile, at the risk of my neck. 
 The road then got steeper, and T looked round to see if 
 any one was nearly up behind me. I pulled up a little, 
 
THE AUTHOR PLUNDERED. 
 
 
 
 as I found they had not reached my servant, who was 
 above a hundred yards behind me ; but, on turning 
 round again to proceed, I saw, in the narrow part of the 
 road just before me, where the descent was steep both 
 ways, one up and one down, six Frenchmen ; two in the 
 road, two on each side, all ready with their pieces up to 
 their shoulders. Upon this I pulled up and we had a 
 parley. On my pulling up, and addressing them in 
 Trench, they seemed in doubt, and spoke some bad 
 French. I then looked about me, to see what chance 
 remained, but seeing that they all levelled again, and 
 cried out " prisonnier" the risk was then too great for the 
 remotest chance of escape, so I dismounted, and they 
 instantly took down their pieces, and ran up. In a 
 moment, my two horses, and cloak, pistols, sword, tele- 
 scope, handkerchief, were all gone. 
 
 Having received some money just before, and fearing 
 some theft from my Portuguese servants, I had about 
 fifteen doubloons about me, as being the most secure 
 place. One-half they found instantly, and were so 
 pleased that they scarcely searched more, except to take 
 my knife, comb, &c. I then told them that I was no 
 General, having heard a cry before from the battalion of 
 " voila le General ;" that I was only a civil officer, a non- 
 combatant; but that I had some more money, and if 
 they would then, when they had got everything from me, 
 release me, I would tell them where it was, and give it to 
 them. This I did, thinking as they had got so much 
 booty, they would perhaps wish to keep it secret, not to 
 be called upon to refund any part, and that therefore 
 they would not be sorry to say that I had escaped, and 
 let me go that I might not have to tell the story. 
 
 They promised to do this, so I produced the rest, and 
 at the same time contrived to give my watch a twist up 
 above my waistcoat, that when they felt for it, they found 
 nothing, and by this means I contrived to save that. 
 
254 KIND TREATMENT BY 
 
 
 
 The other speculation did not answer so well, for I be- 
 lieve they still took me for a General. They would not 
 release me, and I was carried into the battalion, and then 
 to General D'Armagnac (I believe), who was behind their 
 attacking troops. They were leading me into the fire of 
 our own people, when an officer ordered them up on one 
 side. I said it would be very hard to get me killed by 
 our own fire, and that they had better let me run across, 
 and shoot at me themselves. Upon the whole they all 
 behaved very civilly, and without any violence. I there 
 met Mr. Jesse. I told our story to General D'Armagnac. 
 He said we were very unlucky, and seemed good-humoured, 
 ordering the captors to give me back two doubloons. 
 After telling his aide-de-camp to take us to General 
 Clausel, who commanded in chief there, and then to the 
 rear, he said he would apply to get us exchanged (as that 
 was now the fashion, and not to release civilians gratis) 
 for two civil officers, friends of his, in England : and then 
 lending me one of his horses to ride back upon, took leave 
 of us. The soldiers told me that he had bought my 
 horse for a trifle, and thus ended the fate of poor Blackey ! 
 The whole was the work of half an hour. Whilst we 
 were in the wood, our people had just given way across 
 this road to superior numbers, and had thus left us ex- 
 posed to this misfortune in a place where every one had 
 passed in safety all the morning, and so again from an 
 hour later all the evening. A little sooner, or a little 
 later, we should not have been caught above a league 
 within our lines of the morning. Such, however, was 
 our fate ! 
 
 We were then taken to General Clausel, and were in- 
 stantly ordered back to his former head-quarters.'; There 
 was then a great outcry for ammunition, which delayed 
 the French some time, and, as they said, saved our last 
 position on this hill. I found that they did not, however, 
 know the country well, and tried to pump me as to what 
 
THE FRENCH GENERAL. 255 
 
 was beyond, both as to men and mountains, &c. I 
 always pleaded ignorance as a civilian. They had con- 
 trived to get four small two-pounder field mountain-pieces 
 up this difficult ascent, and kept them constantly in use, 
 asking me why we, who were so ingenious, did not adopt 
 the same practice ? I said they had taught us the art of 
 war, and I believe they had found their scholars had made 
 very rapid progress, so that if these guns were really 
 worth the labour, I had no doubt we should soon have 
 some, but that such things were not to be found ready- 
 made in the mountains, therefore they must wait a little. 
 I soon gave up my horse to a wounded man, as they 
 abounded on the road, and we descended and crossed the 
 Bidassoa by the ford below the bridge, as I found our 
 light division were still maintaining their ground near 
 the bridge at Bera (or Yera,) and had kept the other side 
 of the valley all the time secure. 
 
 A tremendous storm then began. We took shelter 
 till five o'clock in a hovel, but at last proceeded, the 
 storm continuing, up the mountain of La Ehiine, to the 
 French position, and head-quarters. those of General 
 Clausel. Mons. d'Arnot, an officer belonging to the 
 latter, was extremely kind to us. He said our best pros- 
 pects were not to stay and sleep in the hovel, where we 
 should be starved and crowded by wounded, &c., but to 
 go with him to the General's hut on the top, where, if 
 anything was to be had, we should have it. He also lent 
 me a horse part of the way up again. We passed the 
 French position to the entrenched camp, where amongst 
 a variety of huts of boughs, earth, &c., were three rather 
 better than the rest, consisting of a few feather-edged 
 boards at top, and earth and fern on the sides and bottom. 
 These were for Generals Clausel, Taupin, and D'Armagnac, 
 for the attendants, &c. There were only two places where 
 it had not rained in considerably, and we were wet 
 through, without a change. 
 
25G CLOSE QUARTERS. 
 
 The General's canteens were unpacked, and the aide- 
 de-camp said, "If lie returns, you will have some dinner, 
 if not, we have some bread." That and sour wine was 
 all our fare for the night, and we laid down in our wet 
 clothes on the ground. They first gave us up General 
 Clausel's dry inner chamber, but on a notice coming that 
 he was returning, we were removed to the attendants' 
 hut. There I passed a sleepless night, our party being 
 the two aides-de-camp, a colonel, a major, five of the 
 gens-d'armes, or police corps, Henry, the General's cook, 
 a friend, two or three attendants, and about four wounded 
 men who staggered in, and lay in the middle. The 
 horses were all tied to the boards, out in the storm all 
 night, and making a noise against our heads. The 
 wounded were groaning ; then came an oath from an 
 officer against them as cowards, and asking how that 
 noise made them any better ? At last came a poor crea- 
 ture with a violent colic ; this last filled us as close as we 
 could lie, and constant quarrels ensued between those 
 near the doors, or those who came every minute for 
 shelter from the storm and rain, and to get help for their 
 wounds. The lightning gave us a glimpse of the scene 
 every five minutes. Now and then an observation 
 escaped as to the rain swelling the Bidassoa, &c. 
 
 At three o'clock the firing began again close to us ; 
 at four the drum beat to arms, and at six we got a little 
 cold meat and bread and wine, after the General's break- 
 fast, and about seven we were marched tow r ards St. Jean 
 de Luz with a party of prisoners and deserters. Amongst 
 them were several of the Chasseurs Britanniques, who, 
 with their red jackets, had, by deserting to the enemy, 
 and then advancing with them, contributed to our being 
 surprised and taken. We stopped half an hour in the 
 wood below, and got a little brandy from the post of the 
 gens-d'armes in the rear, and arrived at St. Jean de Luz 
 about one o'clock, three leagues. This was Marshal 
 
PRISONERS MARCHED OFF. 257 
 
 Soult's head-quarters. Thither we went, and merely saw 
 him in a crowd. We were then taken to Count Gfazan, 
 and then to the Commandant of the Police, &c. We 
 were quartered at an inn with some gens-d'armes in 
 the outer room; got some supper at seven at General 
 Gazan's, to whom I mentioned what had passed at Vit- 
 toria ; was allowed to write to head-quarters to let them 
 know where we were, and to ask for money, clothes, &c., 
 if we were not exchanged, and we were allowed to stay 
 till next day to wait for an answer. 
 
 No answer came. It was intended to give us horses 
 to carry us to Bayonne the next evening, but all were 
 engaged in carrying away wounded men, including some 
 troops of cavalry, so we marched on foot about three 
 o'clock, five under a guard. We were delayed by the bad 
 walking of some deserters, and were then again caught 
 the last half league in a most furious thunder-storm, 
 which soaked us through in five minutes. At nine, we 
 reached this place, three long leagues, and were taken to 
 the Nouveau Fort. The Marechal-de-logis gave us abed 
 between us, on the ground, in a room with two midship- 
 men and a sick and wounded officer of the 34th ; and 
 having got some bread and cheese, we went to bed, with 
 a dry shirt which he lent us. I have ever since had 
 rheumatism. We occupy a round tower here, and our 
 soldier-prisoners are in the court below; the Spaniards 
 are above, and some sailors in confinement, as their dress 
 would enable them to escape. The two midshipmen were 
 exchanged the next day. From Mr. Babou, the banker, 
 a most liberal and generous man, we have got money, and 
 therefore now go on well. How officers manage who 
 have no money I cannot guess. Only three of the num- 
 bers the banker has given money to have had their bills 
 protested, and he says that if it is poverty he shall never 
 complain, otherwise he should wish to be paid. If I get 
 
258 LETTER FROM LORD WELLINGTON. 
 
 back I have undertaken to speak to Lord Wellington on 
 the subject. 
 
 13th September, Mont de Marsan. On the 8th I 
 received a most kind letter from Lord Wellington in his 
 own handwriting, as to an old friend, telling me that he 
 authorized me to tell the Duke of Dalmatia he would send 
 back for me any one named by him, to be given in 
 exchange.* I had just before received a notice to set out 
 next day for Verdun. I went with a gens-d'armes instantly 
 to the General of Division, Baron d'Huillers, and to the 
 Commandant-general Sol. To them I told my story, 
 and showed my letter. They advised me to send my 
 letter to the Duke of Dalmatia, and engaged to detain me 
 until the answer came back. I also asked to write to the 
 Duke myself. The other officers, who had already been 
 to Moulins (where General Paget is), wrote also for leave 
 to go to a nearer depot than Verdun, on account of the 
 expense they had been put to ; they were of the 34th 
 
 * Head-quarters, September 4, 1813. 
 DEAR SIB, 
 
 I WAS very much concerned to hear of your misfortune, which, how- 
 ever, I don't doubt will have been alleviated by the Comte Gazan as far as 
 may have been in his power, as soon as he will have known that to your 
 humanity in the first instance he owed the safety of his wife. 
 
 In former wars a person in your situation would have been considered a 
 non-combatant, and would have been immediately released ; but in this 
 war, which, on account of the violence of enmity in which it is conducted, 
 it is to be hoped will be the last for some time at least, everybody taken is 
 considered a prisoner of war, and none are released without exchange. 
 There are several persons now in my power in the same situation with 
 yourself in that respect, that is to say, non-combatants, according to the 
 known and anciently practised rules of war ; among others, there is the 
 Secretary of the Governor of St. Sebastian, and I authorize you to tell the 
 Duke of Dalmatia or the Count Gazan that I will send back any person in 
 exchange for you that they will point out. 
 
 I send you, with this letter, the sum of two hundred dollars, of which I 
 request you to acknowledge the receipt, and that you will let me know 
 whether I can do anything else for you. 
 
 Ever yours, most faithfully, 
 
 WELLINGTON. 
 
 F. Seymour Larpent, Esq. 
 
LETTER FROM COUNT GAZAN. 259 
 
 regiment, and they also were allowed to wait the answer. 
 The other five officers of the 60th were dispatched with 
 Sifeuille de route for Verdun. On the 9th, about seven 
 o'clock, I went to the play with two Dutch officers of the 
 130th regiment, one of whom was with me when at La 
 Khirne in the camp, and had been all along very civil, 
 and had called upon us and volunteered going with us to 
 the theatre. I did this in order to pass the anxious time 
 away till the answer to my letter came. The play I did 
 not much enjoy, as you may suppose, though our two 
 gens-d'armes were very well behaved, and went into a box 
 opposite, leaving us with the officers. 
 
 At nine o'clock came an account that my letter was 
 arrived. I ran home and eagerly opened it. I found it 
 was a very civil answer from Count Gazan, full of good 
 wishes, &c., but stating Marshal Soult had never had 
 any proposal made to him for my exchange by our 
 General, or that it would be done instantly ; again as- 
 suring me that if any such should arrive I should be 
 instantly sent back, and that in the mean time orders 
 should be given that none of us should for the present 
 cross the Garonne. 
 
 The next morning (the 10th) came an order to be at 
 Mont de Marsan in four days, about seventy miles off", 
 the chief town of the department of Landes, and there to 
 wait orders. We also got a letter to give to the com- 
 mandant there, to halt the others there, or to bring them 
 back if they had passed that depot. I prepared a letter 
 to Lord Wellington, encouraged by his letter to me (I 
 had before only written to the Adjutant-general), and 
 stated to him how matters stood, thanking him for his 
 kindness. This I enclosed in one to Count Gazan, in 
 French, and begged him, as a last favour, to forward it 
 by a flag of truce through the lines to Lord Wellington. 
 I then hastily bought a few necessaries, and engaged with 
 the other five officers to be conveyed to this place (Mont 
 
 s 2 
 
2GO LIFE OF A PRISONER. 
 
 de Marsan) in a large coach with, six mules, Henry in 
 the driver's tilt-cart in front. When I went home to 
 pay our gens-d'arme, he was most unreasonable and broke 
 his agreement ; we would not pay him, so he locked us 
 in. I said I had the General's orders to march at one 
 o'clock, and called upon him at his peril to release us, and 
 to go with us to settle the matter. He would not, but 
 released us, and would then take nothing. I then went 
 off to General Sol, and told my story. He sent for the 
 man in a hurry, but as he did not come instantly, asked 
 what we proposed to give. I told him. He said if we 
 were willing to pay that sum (which was according to our 
 agreement), " Very well, leave it here, and you may set 
 out ; had you left it to me I should not have made you 
 pay nearly so much." Accordingly at two o'clock we 
 started, and got, in four hours and a half, over four 
 leagues of the country, or sixteen miles, to a small village 
 on the river side, where we dined and slept. Our route 
 was through Dax, but we had leave, as that was knee- 
 deep in sand, to pass by Orthes. 
 
 Next morning (the llth) at four o'clock, we proceeded 
 to Orthes to breakfast, and got there, six leagues, by 
 eleven o'clock. There we sat down to a dejeuner a la 
 fourchette. We then, at one, started again, and before six 
 got to Hugemont, where we dined again, and slept four 
 leagues further. 
 
 On the 12th, at seven, we set out for this place, through 
 the heavy sand in some places, and over a ruinous 
 bridge ; we did not arrive until twelve. All along the 
 road we found everything in a state of the greatest ac- 
 tivity for the supplies of the army everything in requi- 
 sition. I longed to have some of the Spaniards with me, 
 to teach them what was to be done in this way. The 
 love of coffee is much diminished, and the lower classes 
 are excluded from it by the high price of that and of 
 sugar. Other things are cheap, and we got our dinner, 
 
UFK OF A PRISONER. 261 
 
 beds, and all for five francs a-head each night. Our 
 mules were very fine, and each had a name, which we 
 soon learnt, by the constant dialogues of the old driver 
 and his boy, one of the two latter always running by the 
 mule's side, as there were no reins to the other four in 
 front. 
 
 We met with every attention and civility here, were 
 in time to stop the other five officers, and we are now 
 all in officers' billets, the same as the French officers 
 themselves, and have received for our days of march the 
 same as they do on the march, a captain three francs, a 
 colonel five, a lieutenant two and a half, &c. I am at the 
 house of the principal engineer (from Paris) of some 
 works going on here, Monsieur de Beaudre. Great im- 
 provements are nearly completed in this little depart- 
 mental capital : a new wide stone bridge of easy access, 
 instead of an old narrow Grothic one, and an open space 
 cleared around it ; a new Prefect's palace, with depart- 
 mental offices, &c. A new chapel, new official houses, and 
 much private repairs, are in progress : this is very unlike 
 Spain. I breakfast alone in my billet on my tea, which 
 I have discovered here, as the others have only meat and 
 wine. I dine with the rest and to please them, but 
 against my will at six ; we have a good cheap dinner 
 at four francs each. The poor officers do not know what 
 to do with themselves. I immediately applied to my 
 patron for books, and he gave me the range of several. 
 After a play or two of Eacine's, and a few of the Contes 
 Moraux, I have attacked La Harpe's Cours de Litterature 
 at the Lycee, and am as yet well pleased; I walk as 
 much as my rheumatism permits. Thus goes time ; but 
 I suffer much I feel as if I had been broken on the 
 wheel. 
 
 Poor Henry is more bewildered than ever, but flatters 
 himself that he shall soon learn French. If he could 
 copy the activity around him, he would be wonderfully 
 
262 LIFE OF A PRISONER. 
 
 improved. We are here full of the Moniteurs victories, 
 and the little check the French appear to have sustained 
 latterly under Vandamme, in Bohemia. 
 
 Before I go to bed I get my cup of coffee, a small one 
 indeed, for my ten sous, at the cafe, read the news, and 
 then retire home. This place is very full, from the 
 wounded being in part here ; from the exertions making "as 
 to supplies, for we have two hundred cars here in a day ; 
 from some artillery drivers being here, and from the con- 
 stant passage of everything to and from the army. The 
 Commandant has been particularly obliging. We have a 
 mile round the town to walk in, and are never troubled 
 by any one. 
 
 2Qth September, Mont de Marsan. Alas, poor Sey- 
 mour ! [Hiatus.] 
 
 On the 21st, at Mont de Marsan, arrived my mules, 
 pony, and baggage : no letter. I gave up all prospect 
 of exchange, and was stupidly ill and tranquil. The lady 
 where I was quartered, was very attentive and good- 
 natured, and I had begun my literary course, and had 
 made up my mind to my fate. On the 22nd, however, 
 at nine, came an order for us all to set out at eleven for 
 Bayonne again. We did so, had some little misfortunes, 
 overturns, &c., but got to the Chateau Vieux, at Bayonne, 
 on the 25th September, and had the honour of being con- 
 fined in the same room where Palafox had been for three 
 months, and all the great Spanish prisoners the Duke 
 of Grravina, Prince of Castel Franco, &c. We staid there, 
 seven of us, until the 1st, in anxious suspense the room 
 too noisy for reading, and I too ill for it, so we played 
 whist, and killed time in that way quietly. At five 
 o'clock on the 1st, when at dinner, came an order for 
 Mr. Jesse and myself only to set out at six for St. Jean 
 de Luz, in the dark. We got a coach at six, the only 
 vehicle to be had ; and I packed all my baggage, and 
 mounting Henry and my Portuguese on the mules, we 
 
LIFE OF A PRISONER. 263 
 
 arrived all at eleven at night, at the Police at St. Jean 
 de Luz. We were sent to an inn for the night, then the 
 next morning (the 2nd) taken to Count de Gazan, at ten. 
 I found him very civil, had much conversation with him 
 for an hour, breakfasted with him, and at twelve we were 
 all packed off with an escort for Endaye, to be sent over 
 here. 
 
 The gens-d'armes took us first to Count Eeille, whose 
 quarters were half a league on from St. Jean de Luz. 
 He sent us on to General Maucale, who was half a league 
 further. He gave us a fresh escort, and sent us round 
 the end of the lines, down to the water side at Endaye. 
 All very civil in every way. At Endaye, about four, we 
 were with some danger sent across, mules and all, in a 
 little flat-bottomed boat to Fontarabia to the Spanish out- 
 post. There also much civility, but much delay. At 
 five we got to Irun with a Spanish escort, were taken to 
 General Frere, found him at dinner very civil. I then 
 went to General Stopford ; he was at dinner. No 
 quarters to be had, so I sent my baggage on here, but got 
 some dinner. At eight, came on in the rain here : found 
 General Graham ; very kind. He gave me a bed in his 
 quarters, and some tea. Breakfasted here this morning ; 
 baggage gone to Lezaca ; I am to go there in half an 
 hour. I have grown very thin, and am in very crazy 
 condition, but must get patched up at head-quarters, 
 and go to work again. This last month has been like 
 a dream. I hear there has been much difficulty about 
 my exchange ; but it is now over, I am happy to 
 say, and Lord Wellington has been very .kind. I 
 hope to do something for my fellow prisoners when I 
 see him. 
 
 Count Gazan asked me to get for him the following 
 print or caricature to complete a collection he has. Will 
 you do your best to find it, and send it out if possible. 
 The Count's description : 
 
264 THE AUTHOR'S RELEASE, 
 
 " Une caricature qui a paruil y a douze ou quinze ans 
 a Londres, au sujet d'un voyage que fit dans cette capi- 
 tale Le Grand Eabbin Juif d'Hollande, dans I'intention 
 de reformer la maniere de vivre des Juifs de Londres 
 dans ce temps la." 
 
 [N.B. It was not possible to trace or find this print, 
 though every inquiry was made.] 
 
 Oyarzun, in Spain, at the Head- Quarters of General 
 Graham, October 4>th, 1813. Once more again at liberty, 
 as far as my rheumatic limbs will permit : the will, at 
 least, is free, and I hope soon my arms and legs will be so 
 likewise. 
 
 Lezaca, Head- Quarters, October 1th, 1813. To-day 
 I have a little leisure, as every one is engaged out, and a 
 grand attack is to be made on the French position to 
 drive them quite off that mountain, La Bh.iine. It will 
 be, I fear, tough work : I dare not go and peep again, 
 even if I were well enough, so have taken up this paper. 
 Baggage and all for the present remain here, only ready 
 to load in case of necessity. 
 
 Lord Wellington had much difficulty in procuring my 
 exchange, and has been very kind ; indeed every one 
 here has appeared very much interested in my return, 
 and "my French value." The Commissary-at-War was 
 treated here like a prince, to procure me every favour, 
 when he went back, by his representations. In short, 
 if my pain goes off, I shall not regret my other losses, 
 which amount to about 230Z., but shall feel myself a 
 very fortunate man upon the whole. 
 
 Monsieur Babedac, the banker at Bayonne, is most 
 liberal and kind to all the English officers taken. I hear 
 a hundred have had money from him ; only five bills of 
 110/. in the whole have been sent back unpaid; this, I 
 hope, Lord Wellington will pay, though the banker said, 
 if distress occasioned it, he did not wish it. Nearly all 
 my baggage is now collected safely, through the kind- 
 
SCKNK AT KHKNCIl II KA D-(,)l A ItTKRh'. 
 
 ness of friends. I have been, as you may suppose, much 
 questioned by Lord Wellington, &c., and many now 
 seem to envy me the trip, as it has ended so well. 
 
 T will now fill up my former French letter a little 
 more freely. On the morning following, the scene at 
 the French head-quarters at St. Jean de Luz was very- 
 curious. First came rumbling back from the attack 
 seven brigades, or about forty-two pieces of ordnance, 
 with the ammunition-waggons, about a hundred, look- 
 ing very gloomy, almost all drawn by mules, and gene- 
 rally in good condition. You will here observe how 
 soon the French come about again. Then came the 
 pontoon bridge, and, lastly, perpetual strings of cars, 
 with the wounded ; the poor country people shaking 
 their heads and lamenting all this misery, all wishing 
 for peace, and all saying that it was their Emperor who 
 prevented it, from his unbounded ambition. This was 
 the talk of the officers, and of all. They said the Allies, 
 if successful, would rise in their demands ; that Bona- 
 parte was too proud to yield, and peace would only be 
 further off than ever. This was the conversation, when 
 they heard of the check in the North. 
 
 When the account of the first victory of the 25th 
 came (which by-the-by was the first information received 
 as to the quarrel with Austria), they were all in high 
 spirits, and exclaimed " Ah ! le pauvre beau P&re, il 
 sera chasse" and " Peace from the North will either give 
 us peace here also, or enable us to drive you all back to 
 Portugal with the reinforcements which we shall obtain." 
 Things changed afterwards, and three weeks after the 
 bulletin of the 25th, &c., and only the day before the 
 bad bulletin came out, a Te Deum had been ordered at 
 Bayonne, and a hundred coups de canon for the first 
 victory ! The people almost laughed at this themselves, 
 though very miserable. 
 
 At the inn at St, Jean de Luz, where I was billeted 
 
266 DETAILS OF THE AUTHOR'S CAPTIVITY. 
 
 with a gens-d'arme at the door, we were allowed to dine 
 with the officers, who were all returning starved from the 
 lines to get a belly full. I here met with men of a 
 superior description, Colonels of the Guards, Chief Me- 
 dical Officers, Post-Masters, Commissaries, &c. They 
 were civil, some of them gentleman-like and free in their 
 conversation, much irritated at having been beaten by 
 the Spaniards, which, with a tirade about numbers, they 
 admitted to be the fact. Monsieur D'Arnot, a young 
 man attached to General Clausel, and a young Dutch 
 officer, gay, tall, and handsome, were the most attentive 
 to us, and without any object, which most of the others 
 had in view, to get a wife back, or a lost portmanteau, 
 their letters, &c. 
 
 The people all told us that had we been quite prepared 
 to advance into France at first, Bayonne was open, and 
 without guns, dismantled ; that we might have walked 
 in and gone on to Bordeaux. I believe much of this, 
 but not entirely, and our men were nearly as much 
 harassed as the French. The French troops in the first 
 confusion behaved very ill, and plundered the inhabitants, 
 throwing away their arms, and absolutely flying. Mar- 
 shal Soult's orders on this subject were stronger even 
 than Lord Wellington's were here. The inhabitants 
 generally said that they would remain quiet if the Eng- 
 lish came alone, and would leave the armies to settle it, 
 for all they wanted was peace ; but as they knew how 
 the Portuguese and Spaniards had been treated, and what 
 they might therefore expect in return, they must all fly 
 if the Allies came with us. 
 
 Count Gazan is elderly, and I believe quite sick of his 
 trade ; he said he wanted peace, and to go to his villa at 
 Nice for life after twenty years' war. He gave me an 
 invitation there. In general all the officers and men 
 were attentive and civil; some looked sulky, but most 
 noticed us by touching the cap, which is more than we 
 
DETAILS OF THE AUTHOR'S CAPTIVITY. 267 
 
 do by them here. In a dispute which Captain S 
 had with a stupid old fool, the Commandant de la Place 
 at Bayonne, General Sol, the French officers present 
 seeing that the General was in the wrong (as he after- 
 wards admitted), all bowed to Captain S , and the 
 
 General's own sentinel carried arms to him as he went 
 out. This is flattering. The curiosity is very great 
 about Lord Wellington, as one of the great men of the 
 age. 
 
 From the questions put to me when taken, about the 
 grand position, and on the way to St. Sebastian, I am 
 sure that the French had a very imperfect notion of the 
 exact state of that part of the mountains. My being 
 a civilian was my excuse for giving them no information. 
 Their loss in getting back again would have been greatly 
 increased, had they got on to the next hill. As it was, 
 from the river swelling, and the men not being able 
 to cross the ford at which I passed, but being obliged to 
 go round by Yera bridge, which was under our fire, the 
 loss was very severe. Had I not been put across early I 
 should have had that fire to pass through with them. 
 
 The country all the way to Bordeaux is barren and 
 'unproductive ; mostly sandy heath with vines, and a few 
 meadows near the stream. I saw no corn, only the 
 Indian corn, and that much less luxuriant than here, and 
 with very little head of green for forage. The conse- 
 quence is, the French provisions and forage come from 
 an immense distance, and the supplies are very difficult 
 to procure ; the exertions, however, are in proportion, 
 and very unlike those in Spain of the Spaniards. Every- 
 thing, for two hundred miles and more round, is in 
 requisition, all the corn taken, and only bans given in 
 return ; wine the same ; hay the same ; every merchant's 
 car in the town, and all the country cars with oxen at 
 work for the public. The districts off the roads send in 
 to the depots on the high roads; and from thence the 
 
f>6 DETAILS OF THE AUTJIOR\S CAPTIVITY. 
 
 corn, &c., is forwarded to the army, to the depots at 
 Bayonne, &c. The hay for the staff horses and cavalry 
 comes, as Gazan told me himself, one hundred leagues, 
 that is, nearly three or four hundred miles, from above 
 Toulouse, &c., partly by water, but much by land. The 
 people now feel for the first time what it is to supply 
 their own army in their own country, and the grievance 
 is no small one. 
 
 The army have had a half month's pay; twenty 
 months are due. The prospect of payment of the bons 
 for the supplies is very remote indeed, and yet though 
 they all grumble they act with zeal and spirit, and I still 
 think, with the feelings of Frenchmen, would all unite 
 against invasion. In spite of all this, things in general 
 are still comparatively cheap ; dear to Frenchmen, as 
 they say exorbitant to us reasonable, except colonial 
 produce : bread about 4 sous a pound, or %d. English ; 
 and good meat about 8d. English retailed ; vegetables 
 and fruit very cheap ; wine equally so ; oats and hay 
 tolerably cheap ; even as I fed my animals (three) at the 
 inns for the day for about 12 or 14 livres travelling, 
 three feeds of corn small ones, to each about 6 livres, 
 or, as I generally gave them, 8 livres. Hay about 6 or 7 
 livres and good cheaper when I bought the articles at 
 Mont de Marsan. A good dinner at the inns, with a 
 bottle of light wine, about 5s. each. This sometimes also 
 covered the beds where we slept. Tea only to be had by 
 ounces at a time as medicine ; coffee, very dear ; sugar 
 (brown), from 4s. 6<i. to 6s. ; white sugar, 7s. the pound. 
 
 The consequence has been, in a great measure, to put 
 an end to the great use of coffee : it is now a luxury for 
 the rich, and even they generally breakfast a la fourchette, 
 and drink little of it. Of Syr ope de raisin, I bought a 
 basin-full for about 9d. This is a sort of vinous treacle, 
 and gives a taste to tea as if it were taken from a dirty 
 wine-glass. The better ave sugar was to be had some- 
 
DKTAILS OF THE AUTHOR'S CAPTIVITY. '2(W 
 
 times at Bayonne, but I did not meet with any. On 
 some bad sugar being brought to him one day, a French 
 Lieutenant-Colonel, by way of abuse, called it betterave, 
 and said, it was only from some small sticks being in it, 
 as really he had seen betterave sugar as good as any 
 other: they still, however, give 6s. a-pound for brown 
 island sugar. 
 
 The Chateau-Neuf, at Bayonne, was just like an 
 English sponging-house. With money we were very 
 well off. The man, however, cheated us ; we quarrelled ; 
 I got redress from the General ; and on my return got 
 into the Chateau- Yieux instead, an old English castle, 
 where we were in the same room where Palafox had been ; 
 the Commandant, a gentleman-like man his wife a 
 troublesome skinflint. The Commandant at Mont de 
 Marsan was uncommonly liberal to us all, so were the 
 people there ; equally so, my patron and patrona ; the 
 civil engineer, Baron d'Huilliers, who first commanded 
 at Bayonne, was also civil, but more distant. He is now 
 gone to Bordeaux, and General Thevenot, the late Com- 
 mandant at Vittoria, has succeeded him. Their reports 
 were, that Soult was going to the North to replace 
 Berthier, who was sick, and Suchet was to succeed in 
 command here. Count Grazan, however, did not admit 
 this, but never positively denied it. It was also said, 
 that the Etat Major would remove to Bordeaux for the 
 winter-quarters. Perhaps the events of to-day may 
 hasten this. The firing is brisk all this time. We met 
 three cavalry regiments on the retreat towards Pau and 
 Toulouse for forage ; the horses in fair order, but gene- 
 rally very inferior to ours in size ; the men very fine, 
 which was so much the worse for the animals that had 
 to carry them. At one place, near Lain, the depot of 
 forage was empty. I met a man running hard with 
 orders, the Major's messenger ; he was charged to inform 
 the few neighbouring parishes, that unless they furnished 
 
270 DETAILS OF THE AUTHOR'S CAPTIVITY. 
 
 and provided ready at the depot so many rations of forage 
 for three days for two squadrons of cavalry who were 
 about to pass by twelve next day, all fit to move on 
 immediately, the squadrons would be halted there that 
 day to help themselves in the vicinity. 
 
 Small horses and mules were very cheap, as the forage 
 rations were stopped to the subaltern officers in France, 
 and they all consequently wanted to sell, and many of 
 the country-people from the requisition wanted also to 
 sell. Bayonne was declared in a state of siege for the 
 purposes of police. One order of the police posted up 
 in the Cafe Wagram at Bayonne directed, that no 
 politics were to be discussed under pain of arrest. Out 
 of the town, in the suburbs of St. Esprit, was a mag- 
 nificent hotel, quite in the English style; there our 
 party stopped, but were marched off to the Chateau. 
 The activity exhibited by the French Commandant 
 about Bayonne has been very great ; one hundred and 
 twenty guns have now been mounted, of one sort or 
 another, instead of about three. This number has been 
 collected all round the country, and new works are rising 
 round the place every day. The young conscripts of 
 the usual levy were being drilled ; they were fine young 
 lads of about seventeen or eighteen ; too young for Spain, 
 but who in a short time would make excellent soldiers. 
 At first they appeared dull and a little unhappy ; but in 
 a few days they became gay like the rest. 
 
 The newly-raised thirty thousand for the twenty -four 
 departments for Spain were not yet out, but are to be 
 out this week. I understood they will be better men, 
 being taken from the old lists of those who had pre- 
 viously escaped, some of them twenty-five years old. 
 This grievance is very great, but the conscripts seem 
 to forget it themselves, and the old parents can do 
 nothing. It will tell, however, some time or other, I 
 think ; and I hope soon. My patrona told me that her 
 
DETAILS OP THE AUTHORS CAPTIVITY. 271 
 
 sister's husband had been drawn five years since, got off 
 on payment of two thousand francs, and two francs per 
 day since; he is now married, . has two children, and is 
 still liable to be called upon again. A wish for peace 
 follows the relation of all these stories. 
 
 On the whole I was well treated, and it appears to 
 me that in general the treatment of prisoners by the 
 French is very good. Officers are allowed fifty francs 
 a-month to live upon, and on marching, the same in- 
 demnite as the French ; 5s. a Colonel and Major, 3s. a 
 Captain, and 2s. Qd. a subaltern. Our being able to 
 obtain money makes all the difference almost between 
 our treatment and that of the Spanish officers, whom 
 they dare not trust on their parole, so many having 
 broken it. The worst treatment I experienced was 
 being marched on foot from St. Jean de Luz to Bayonne, 
 with our own deserters, after having been promised a 
 horse, and kept back until we were caught in a thunder- 
 storm, because these fellows could not or would not 
 march. The soldiers are like themselves to the last ; 
 when marched as prisoners, they jumped over the fences 
 to get apples. The French guard stared, but permitted 
 it to be done. 
 
 October 1th, three o'clock. The officers passing from 
 the front tell me that all is going on well that the 
 French have given way almost everywhere, though they 
 still hang to the high rocks on La Rhiine, near where 
 I slept on the 31st. They say that the Spaniards have 
 behaved well, but that the 52nd and second battalion of 
 the 95th have suffered, while forcing the position through 
 which I was marched in that thunder-storm. We have 
 no orders to move here at present. The reports confirm 
 the news that I brought in to Lord Wellington, that 
 Soult has gone, and that Suchet commands. I know 
 nothing accurately now, however, as I must not go and 
 peep again for myself. 
 
272 A FRENCH PLACEMAN. 
 
 To return to France, and my dream there (for such it 
 has appeared), I must give you a notion of a French 
 placeman in a little way, .not like our great sinecurists. 
 My running friend, who carried the message about the 
 forage, accompanied me side-by-side for a league. The 
 people wished him joy of his prosperity ; I asked him 
 why ? He said, " They think that I am making a for- 
 tune, having a place in the hospital; and what do you 
 suppose it is ? I am the hospital-sexton ; I bury all the 
 dead, four or five in the twenty-four hours, and all at 
 night, digging half the night. And for what? for 
 eighteen sous (or ninepence English) a day. This is 
 not the way to make a fortune, you will allow. My 
 companion makes a better thing of it : he is always 
 tipsy, and leaves me to dig, but he always sings as 
 he goes to the grave. The people who know his voice 
 say, ' There goes poor silly John ! ' and give him a 
 sous.'' 
 
 Now for a trait of a gens-d'arme a private in the 
 ranks. We went to the play at Bayonne with a gens- 
 d'arme, and our friend, the Dutch officer. On going 
 down to the coffee-room, my companion, Mr. Jesse, 
 meaning to be generous, but not understanding the 
 method of treating a revolutionary gens-d'arme, told 
 him to get anything he wished to drink as we did. 
 Upon which he flew into a rage, said he had drank 
 with his colonels, majors, captains, and had never been 
 sent out to drink like a servant before. Our Dutchman 
 was obliged to explain to him, in order to pacify him, 
 the difference in our service between officers and pri- 
 vates ; said it was once so in France and in Holland, but 
 that the prejudice was removed there now, though it 
 remained in England. He then desired him to sit 
 down and drink with us. With difficulty he was per- 
 suaded to do so, and we all knocked our glasses together, 
 and so it ended amicably. I did not expect this. The 
 
MORE SUCCESSES. 273 
 
 military retain, however, the only remnant of the 
 equality of the Revolution. 
 
 The two midshipmen in prison with us amused us 
 much. By mistake, they were at first put in prison with 
 their men for two days on bread and water. Afterwards 
 they were lodged in the same room in which I was. We 
 were five in all at first. They slept in the same bed, and 
 were as often alternately with their heads where the feet 
 of the others were as on the pillow. In the open letter 
 they sent to Sir G. Collier, about their exchange, through 
 the French, they suggested the advisability of bringing 
 in two gun-boats close to St. Jean de Luz, in order to 
 prevent communication with St. Sebastian, and further, 
 advised a little bombardment, &c. The sailors, as they 
 were marched, proposed to the midshipmen to upset the 
 heavy gens-d'armes by their great jack-boots ; said they 
 would never be able to right themselves again, and that 
 they, the sailors, might get off. The officers, however, 
 told them that it would not do ; so they were quiet. 
 
 October 8th, 1813, Lezaca. The result of yesterday's 
 operations was, that the French was driven from all the 
 mountainous parts of their position above Endaye, oppo- 
 site Fontarabia, and so along, opposite Irun, to above 
 Bera. I do not know that we have lost above five hun- 
 dred men in this part. The French did not fight well, 
 and were not above twelve or fourteen thousand here. 
 What has passed higher up I know not. It is said that 
 the sixth division, near Maya, have lost men. I believe 
 Lord Wellington very prudently stopped short, in this 
 part, near Orogne, on the road to St. Jean de Luz, not 
 knowing exactly the result near Maya and E-oncesvalles. 
 
 It is thought that the French must be in greater 
 strength there, since they are so weak here. Eeport says, 
 however, that men have been sent northwards. Our sixty 
 pieces of artillery were all carried across the Bidassoa last 
 night, and are established on the main road. We have 
 
 T 
 
274 A BASQUE SQUIRE. 
 
 not lost many officers. About three hundred prisoners 
 were brought in here, with eight officers, about ten o'clock 
 this morning. How lucky it was that my exchange took 
 place before this, or it would have been at least deferred, 
 or I should have been sent back to the rear. 
 
 General Graham has just called on me. He is on his 
 way to England to-morrow ; he had called to see Lord 
 Wellington. He was very civil, and assures me that my 
 new mare is a good purchase ; and so it ought to be for 
 four hundred dollars. Major Stanhope sold her some 
 time since for a hundred guineas, to take it back at the 
 same if he returned. He did so. General Cole gave him 
 a hundred guineas when he was ordered away again; 
 this looks well. 
 
 Evening. The French still cling with three companies 
 to a rock in the midst of La Ehiine mountain, about half 
 a mile from my resting-place, now six weeks ago. The 
 Spaniards cannot drive them out. Little has .been at- 
 tempted or done to-day. 
 
 The day before yesterday, a curious scene occurred at 
 General Pakenham's. A French militia Captain had 
 been taken among the rocks a ci-devant regular officer 
 retired, and now apparently an active, useful man, in 
 organizing the Basque peasantry. He had some re- 
 gulars with him, and peasants without uniform. Lord 
 Wellington had succeeded in frightening him by threat- 
 ening to hang him for invading Spain with peasants. 
 He seemed a country mountain squire, and rather simple, 
 though probably useful. He let fall much against Bona- 
 parte, and told us many truths. He was told that I had 
 just come from beyond Bayonne, and made me confirm it 
 by many facts. He was surprised and puzzled, but be- 
 lieved I had been there as a spy, and never guessed the 
 truth. Another officer, who knew about eight words of 
 Basque, was passed off as a proficient in that dialect. 
 The poor militia officer stared, but swallowed everything 
 
ANGER OF WELLINGTON. 275 
 
 as easily as his dinner. His own account of the chase of 
 him by the Portuguese, the rocks he climbed whilst they 
 fired, given in the most animated style, was very enter- 
 taining. I was almost sorry this unlucky Basque squire 
 was to -leave us next morning for Passages, to learn a 
 little English farming. He confessed that if he had been 
 a single man, and had not left a wife and servants with 
 six of the 6th Light Eegiment boarding in his house, he 
 should in these times have been rather glad than other- 
 wise to get away to England, to avoid the present troubles. 
 What he wished for most, however, was to return on 
 parole, as he could then be at home quietly, with an ex- 
 cuse to enable him to refuse to take any part in what was 
 doing. The arming of the country being what Lord 
 Wellington wished to prevent, he could not, of course, 
 favour this man. 
 
 9th October, five o'clock. The French have given up the 
 rock on La Ehiine in the night, and have to-day been 
 beaten out of two or three redoubts ; but there has been but 
 little else done, and some say we shall now be quiet again 
 until Pamplona falls. To-morrow, head-quarters move 
 to Bera, only half a league. It is a large ruined village. 
 A letter has been intercepted from Pamplona, stating 
 that the 25th of this month will be the very latest they 
 can hold out ; but we have heard this already very often. 
 It draws nearer the truth, certainly, every time. Plunder 
 has begun, and disorder in the French villages, and Lord 
 Wellington is exceedingly angry. He says, that if 
 officers will not obey orders, and take care that those 
 under them do so also, they must go home, for he will 
 not command them here; many of our officers seem to 
 think that they have nothing to do but to fight. 
 
 This place, Lezaca, is grown very unwholesome, like 
 an old poultry-yard, and the deaths of the inhabitants are 
 very numerous. So, I think, there is no reason to regret 
 the change. 
 
 T2 
 
276 PICTURESQUE QUARTERS. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 Picturesque Quarters Spanish Reverses A Strange Adventurer Spanish 
 Jealousy Distribution of the Army A Pleasant Companion News 
 from the North Morale of the French Army The Artillery. 
 
 Head-quarters, Bera or Vera. 
 
 Oct. 15, 1813. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 I HAVE now a quarter with a most rural exterior, 
 and a balcony all along the upper story, hung with vines. 
 The picturesque and the comfortable, however, are not 
 always combined, for the room is dirty, and though small 
 has four windows, with only large wooden shutters, and 
 no fireplace. 
 
 It will be but a cold winter residence, and I fear even 
 less comfortable in fact than my Frenada habitation. 
 The ground-floor is the stable, the centre devoted to me 
 and to the family, the upper story a great drying-room. 
 The style of the house is, however, pretty. 
 
 Several of the best houses are destroyed, nearly all are 
 gutted of furniture, chairs, tables, &c., and many de- 
 prived of doors and shutters, for the French camp. The 
 wounded occupy some of the best houses, and in addition 
 to Lord Wellington's staff, head-quarters, and Marshal 
 Beresford's, who has returned from Lisbon, we have 
 General Cole's staff here, and General Alten's. This 
 place was for two months a sort of neutral ground 
 between the two armies, so you may guess that it is a 
 little deranged. It has been populous, and contained a 
 considerable number of spacious houses, though not 
 
SPANISH REVERSES. 277 
 
 magnificent; yet the room which 'Lord Wellington 
 occupies is, upon the whole, better than almost any he 
 has had since he was in Madrid. It is well proportioned, 
 has clean walls, and is sufficiently capacious to admit 
 comfortably twenty-five or thirty persons to dinner. Of 
 course he has furnished it himself, for there are only 
 bare walls. The largest house in the place, and the best 
 in point of situation, on a pretty knoll above the town, 
 was made what is called a strong house of, and a regiment 
 of Portuguese are now in it. The squire, I fear, has not 
 gained by this arrangement. 
 
 The Spaniards were disturbed early yesterday morning 
 about two miles from this, surprised, and driven from a 
 redoubt, with some loss in prisoners and wounded. I 
 believe, however, that they behaved well afterwards ; 
 but a Spanish regiment gave way. That queer playhouse 
 hero, Downie, who was there as a volunteer, rallied them, 
 and conducted them well, but had his horse wounded. 
 He once more exhibited on the Pyrenees the sword of 
 . Pizarro, which had so narrow an escape when he was 
 made prisoner in the south. You may remember that 
 he threw it back to his friends across a broken bridge, 
 when he was wounded and cut off by the French. He 
 is, I believe, very brave, and seems to take with the 
 Spaniards, though with us he can scarcely speak without 
 exciting a smile, or even more. He was first a Com- 
 missary in the light division. 
 
 The day before this little surprise, the English officers 
 at General Cole's were remarking, that it was only sur- 
 prising that the Spaniards kept the redoubt and their 
 post ; for the officers were never seen there with the men 
 to keep them on the alert, and the men were cooking 
 without arms within twenty yards of the French sentries, 
 quite unconcerned. I hope this little surprise may save 
 us from a greater ; but I expect some night that the 
 French will make a night attack upon the Spaniards, 
 
278 STRANGE ADVENTURE. 
 
 though that is contrary to their usual method, which is 
 generally to march two hours before daylight, and begin 
 the attack at break of day . 
 
 15#A, later. I have just met Downie, and he says Lord 
 Wellington has admitted that the French were too strong 
 for the Spaniards, and that he had given them a fort to 
 defend too much in advance in the French position. 
 The result, however, is that the French have kept the 
 redoubt, and are at work on it already, and have reco- 
 vered every house in the suburbs of Zera, or Sara, of 
 which the Spaniards at one time had nearly one half. 
 Many say that this is properly a part of the French 
 position, and does not signify at all. Lord Wellington 
 seems to have a bad cold to-day. 
 
 Every one appears to have had some adventures the 
 night I was taken prisoner. General Pakenham's horse 
 and Captain Eckersley's fell down from a bank into the 
 river below, and it was so dark that they and two others 
 thought it best to remain there in the trees till daylight, 
 and not stir though it rained. Lord Wellington and all- 
 his staff lost their way, and were five hours exploring 
 two leagues home in the rain and dark, and did not 
 arrive until ten at night, after various perils. It was a 
 tremendous night. Mr. Heaphy, the artist, who is now 
 here, was nearly being involved in my scrape, and it is 
 said he has, in consequence of these risks, added ten 
 guineas to the price of his likenesses, and made them 
 fifty guineas instead of forty guineas. This is too much 
 for a little water-colour whole length ; but he has, I hear, 
 now taken twenty- six, and some excessively like. 
 
 Some of our houses begin to improve much, as many 
 of the inhabitants, who must be somewhat used to these 
 events, are returning now with all their doors and 
 shutters, which they had themselves carried off and con- 
 cealed. Canning's quarter is suddenly by this means 
 transformed into a comfortable sort of residence* - 
 
SPANISH JEALOUSY. 279 
 
 Head- Quarter *, Vera, October \ftth. Here I am still 
 sticking to my post, though in constant pain, and at 
 times bent enough to act the old woman, like Mrs. Sparks. 
 The doctor still says I must, first or last, go to the hot- 
 baths at Sestona, but I fight off as long as possible. 
 Things must mend soon. The ration beef is like shoe- 
 leather; mutton I can scarcely ever get; fowls are 95. 
 each, and are all snapped up before my man can resolve 
 to give that price for them. Pork, ham, sausages, salt- 
 fish and bacon alone abound. 
 
 Every one seems to think that we shall make no other 
 movement until Pamplona falls, which, as usual, is daily 
 expected. The Trench, in the meantime, are in busy 
 preparation, burrowing and throwing up works, like 
 moles, on every rising ground near them. It does not 
 appear to me that they ever really intended to defend 
 this mountain La Ehiine ; they were in some degree 
 surprised, as I told you ; they had a notion that we had 
 sent two divisions to Catalonia. They will now probably 
 fight harder for each acre of ground, unless completely 
 turned by numbers, and a decided flank movement from 
 Eoncesvalles. 
 
 From the reports which are current, the whole of which 
 I dare not mention, it is to be feared that the Spanish 
 Government and Lord Wellington have not gone on well 
 together lately, in spite of outward appearances. The 
 moment any General acts cordially with us, and a mea- 
 sure goes on well, some reason is found for his removal. 
 This ridiculous Spanish jealousy would be endurable if 
 they supported it by exertions of their own, so as to 
 enable us to leave them to themselves ; but we are now 
 feeding and clothing their half-starved men in the front, 
 and they are doing very little in the rear to supply those 
 they have, or to increase their numbers. In short, five 
 years' misery has not yet scourged them into reasonable 
 beings, and turned romance heroes into common-sense 
 
280 IMPROVED HEALTH. 
 
 soldiers and practical politicians. The men, however, 
 seem now to fight well whenever they are well led. 
 
 October 11th, Sunday, Post-day. General Graham has 
 acted wisely in going home just now, his age considered. 
 I told Lord Wellington that the French officers said that 
 he (Lord Wellington) ought to die now, for he never 
 would L have such another year, and fortune would prove 
 fickle. He laughed, but did not seem disposed to 
 acquiesce in this. He is better. 
 
 I have just got four bundles of English hay, about a 
 hundred pounds weight each, which are to last me for 
 ten days. My next forage must be picked up on the 
 hills, or bought in the market in the shape of baskets of 
 coarse river grass. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Vera, October %Ist, 1813, Thursday. 
 The week is already half elapsed, and Sunday, the post- 
 day, draws near, leaving me with nothing to say. I 
 am like the Spanish country people, who without wait- 
 ing to hear a question always begin " nada, nada, 
 nada" or " nothing, nothing, nothing." They generally 
 add to us " Francese roben" and " rompas todas" and 
 as the French told me, said to them " Anglesi rompen" 
 and " roben todas," but always to every one " nada 
 nada." 
 
 I have this last week ridden out for half an hour every 
 day before breakfast, and an hour or two before dinner ; 
 and thus exercise myself and my horses in the meadows 
 about here, which are now of course all open, and when 
 it has dried up a little after the rain, make a good 
 riding-school. 
 
 The only news here just now is, that Marshal Beres- 
 ford is to have a separate command of a corps d'arme'e, 
 not to act separately, but to complete our system, which 
 will be General Hill, right column; General Sir J. 
 Hope, left column, which Graham had ; Marshal Beres- 
 ford the right centre-column ; and Lord Wellington the 
 
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL ELPHINSTONE. 281 
 
 left centre: each consisting of different divisions and 
 bodies of the allies. 
 
 The French to-day are collecting upon the rising 
 ground near La Ehiine, and our people, thinking that 
 this looked like a threat of doing something, are all on 
 the alert, but I hear no firing. This is another anxious 
 moment, for the fall of Pamplona is daily expected, and 
 the garrison threaten to blow it up, which will make 
 some desperate work. 
 
 Lieutenant-colonel Elphinstone arrived here some time 
 since with Marshal Beresford, from Lisbon. He is now 
 in quarters within a hundred yards of me, across a little 
 stream; my nearest neighbour indeed, except Colonel 
 Ellicombe, in that direction. He is here without his 
 horses, and without much baggage, or many comforts ; 
 he is therefore, like myself, buying. His own horses only 
 arrived as far as Ciudad Eodrigo. He has made up his 
 mind to stay till the war is over. 
 
 The French, in addition to a few conscripts, who have 
 joined, have called out all the militia in the neighbour- 
 ing departments. This is a new scene, but I have still 
 great doubts of the policy of entering France at all. 
 The French now suffer severely, and grumble against 
 their own government. Invasion may stir up the strong 
 vanity of a Frenchman, and make him forget his 
 grievances, in order to revenge himself on those who insult 
 his native soil. Five or six subaltern officers have come 
 over here to us ; I believe owing to some Spanish con- 
 nexions generally, or disgust and personal disappoint- 
 ment ; and two inhabitants of the village on this side of 
 St. Jean de Luz, Oragne, came over here to avoid serving 
 in the militia, which is now being assembled. 
 
 12 o'clock, Friday, 22nd. Nothing was done yester- 
 day. It was all a false alarm in the front. The French, 
 however, say that we shall be astonished with some extra- 
 ordinary news in less than three days ! Some say they 
 
282 BONAPARTE AT DRESDEN. 
 
 mean from the North, some from Pamplona. If they 
 are bold enough in the latter to dash out in the night 
 against Don Carlos and his Spaniards, I think they 
 would, with the loss of about one -third of their men, 
 fight their way to Jaca, where they have a garrison, and 
 escape. They would of course come out with provisions 
 only, leave mines prepared to add to the confusion, sally 
 out in all directions, and then push on in a body. Don 
 Carlos with all his vigilance would not, in my opinion, 
 be a match for them. He has sent word to the governor 
 that he holds his head answerable for the safety of the 
 works of the town, and two Frenchmen liable to death 
 for every Spanish inhabitant starved. 
 
 Saturday, 23r<7. As I have dined alone everyday since 
 Sunday last, when I went to Lord Wellington's, I pick 
 up no news. Your July ' Edinburgh Keview' is wonder- 
 fully fallen off; in parts very tame, and more like a poor 
 imitation of the old ' Edinburgh Eeview ;' and yet some 
 of the articles are curious. 
 
 We begin to feel the eifects of this dangerous coast 
 now. Vessels can even now hardly lie in safety, though 
 shut up in the close harbour of Passages, and the last 
 packet was close in on Sunday last, on the same day on 
 which Major Hare fought his way in, in the Landrail, 
 and was not able to land the mail until yesterday. 
 Major Hare brought papers to the 9th, but scarcely any 
 news. He was closely examined by Lord Wellington 
 when he arrived at dinner-time. He had got up his 
 lesson so badly, that he could answer nothing clearly as 
 to dates, but always ended by a reference to the papers. 
 
 It is known that Bonaparte w r as at Dresden up to the 
 5th instant, and that nothing was done. This some call 
 bad, some good news. On the whole, I think the latter. 
 Colonel Grordon states that Bonaparte used our position 
 here, as a strong argument with the Emperor of Austria 
 to join him in force, stating nothing could restore matters 
 
QUEER ARGUMENT. 283 
 
 here but an entire new army of a hundred and fifty 
 thousand men, who had not known the English, and that 
 lie should be invaded unless supported by his father-in- 
 law. This is a queer argument to one who, I suspect, 
 was only hesitating through fear of his son-in-law's 
 strength being too much for the Allies, and would tell 
 the wrong way. He also states, that Lord Wellington's 
 true account of Vittoria did harm in Grermany, being 
 much under the notions they had entertained of it. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Vera, October 24#A, 1813. Post-day. 
 We remain in statu quo. I see the papers have made 
 rather a pretty history of my capture, treating me as an 
 old gentleman (as just now they well may), and that my 
 younger friends got off. In fact, however, the youngest 
 of the party, Jesse, was the first who was taken. There 
 will soon be some dispute here among the artillery and 
 engineers on the subject of rank and brevet rank. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Bera, or Vera, October 31s, 1813. 
 I have been so worried this week with business and other 
 things that I have not been able to write until the very 
 post-day, so this will be short and hasty. The weather 
 has been trying, one day very cold, and I hoped we were 
 to have clear frost, which, in spite of my open room, is, 
 in my opinion, better than wet. The thermometer got 
 down to 36, close to where I was shaving, three morn- 
 ings since ; but it soon turned to wet raw, constant, 
 violent cold wet ; north-west wind, and rain in repeated 
 stormy torrents. In camp our poor soldiers have had 
 their tents torn, and almost washed away ; then we have 
 had hail followed by snow. Colonel Belson has written 
 to me very feelingly, from the mountains, but seems 
 well. 
 
 Another drawback as to writing has been this. Three 
 brigades of artillery were moved along La Khiine moun- 
 tain, three nights since by night. As they went close to 
 the French pickets, to get from our left to Endage, to- 
 
284 NEGOTIATION AT PAMPLONA. 
 
 wards the centre, in our front, they have as yet only 
 reached this vicinity, and have halted here. Amongst 
 them was Colonel Boss's light troops, and Captain Jen- 
 
 kinson, and young ; the latter came to me here, 
 
 very miserable, wet, &c. To save him camp I took him 
 in. Here he has been three days, and with my establish- 
 ment this gives me some trouble. Besides which, one 
 cannot get on well with business with a chum always 
 at hand, in a small room, night and day. He is pretty 
 well, and I conclude will remain at this place until we 
 move at least until the army moves, which every one 
 expects as soon as the French will give us up Pamplona. 
 This is en train I conclude. A proposal came out to Don 
 Carlos some days since, but a most unreasonable one ; 
 namely, to allow them all to go to France, with arms and 
 baggage, and to be on parole for one year not to serve 
 against us. This was refused. They made a great 
 parade of giving our officers white bread and champagne, 
 and Burgundy, &c., at the interview. So much for 
 humbug. They said, " See how forts we are." To 
 which we said, " Let us see how your men are." Every 
 day's delay now is very provoking. I hope they will 
 soon surrender. 
 
 I wish it were possible to get my chum another quar- 
 ter, for I work in general at breakfast, at dinner, and in 
 the evening, and a companion is a great inconvenience, 
 though he is very considerate. Pray tell his family, the 
 Colonel, &c., how he is. Captain Jenkinson would not 
 go into a house, but pitched his tent in the wet, and 
 went to bed dinnerless, at four o'clock, from fatigue. He 
 is, however, well now. The work of getting guns along 
 over a clay-road, up a mountain, in the dark, without 
 being allowed to use lights, is no trifling undertaking. 
 
 The news from the North is very good, especially the 
 accession of the Bavarians to the Allies ; which, from 
 the papers I doubted, but which Colonel Gordon says his 
 
NEWS FROM THE NORTH. 285 
 
 brother mentions as fact; Lord Wellington tells me, 
 also, that Government at home believe it to be correct. 
 The private letters from the Austrian head-quarters 
 which have reached here, do not say much in favour of 
 the Swedish Prince, and seem to think he has much of 
 French humbug in him c'est d voir. It is also said that 
 he saves the Swedes, and is always in the rear, surrounded 
 with guards and twenty sentinels. They speak well of 
 the Russian troops, and very ill of the French lads now 
 opposed to them. You will rejoice to hear that we are 
 to have divine service here to-day in the square with 
 some troops. This will not do for me, standing out bare- 
 headed for an hour in the damp ; I must remain a hea- 
 then a little longer, I fear. Mr. B , the clergyman 
 
 who has lately arrived at head-quarters, seemed to be a 
 pleasant gentleman-like man ; I have, however, only met 
 him twice. 
 
 Two o'clock, Sunday. Still nothing decisive from Pam- 
 plona. To-day's post brings accounts of no communi- 
 cation for two days, but that the garrison desert twenty 
 a-day, and say that the place is almost in a state of mu- 
 tiny against the General. To-day the weather has a 
 little cleared up, but our artillery horses are living upon 
 dried fern and corn no hay, no straw, and very little 
 coarse grass ; every one in a fidget to move from hence. 
 Unless we can so maul this French army as to have them 
 at our mercy, and then go where we please, and stop 
 where we please, out of our own moderation, I think we 
 shall not have any quiet winter-quarters this year. As 
 long as anything like an army remains, the French must 
 be doing something to molest us, unless we molest them ; 
 and then the great nation can never submit to let our 
 allied army quietly take up their winter-quarters in the 
 French territory at least I think not. Several of their 
 conscripts have joined them, and they make a parade of 
 drilling them within sight and hearing of our outposts, 
 
286 MORALE OF THE FRENCH ARMY. 
 
 even in inarching without arms, &c. Their deserters 
 say they have about fifty-five thousand men ; it is sup- 
 posed with their conscripts this is rather under the mark. 
 They are throwing up works in all directions all over the 
 country, and making breast-works, redoubts, &c. A 
 breast-work, half round a hill, appears to be turned up in 
 a few nights. 
 
 It must be allowed that they are industrious at least, 
 but the morale of the old soldiers is shaken very much. 
 It is even said that the young ones fight the best of the 
 two. This agrees with the story that we hear from the 
 North : that before the Austrian ambassador left Paris, a 
 letter from Marshal Soult had arrived, stating, that un- 
 less he had fifty thousand new men, who had never 
 met the British, he would not answer for the South of 
 France. 
 
 I see your papers make Endage a fortified place it is 
 a great heap of ruins ; never strong, only once a fortified 
 village. It was nearly destroyed about the year 1790 by 
 the Spaniards, and has never recovered itself. In return, 
 Fontarabia, once really rather a strongly-fortified town, 
 was soon afterwards blown up by the French, and the 
 works are for the most part still in ruins. The town has 
 not suffered much, for this was only a military operation. 
 Of all the ruins we have made amongst us in Spain, even 
 including Badajoz, and Eodrigo, and Almeida, it is said 
 St. Sebastian is the most complete. It was a large, 
 handsome, and thriving town four months since : one 
 side of one street alone remains entire ! every street is 
 barricaded and blockaded ! Eubbish up to the one pair of 
 stairs windows, and walls half down, make it dangerous 
 in wind to walk anywhere. Beside this, the large 
 wooden balconies, hanging about by a few beams at the 
 two pair of stairs windows, threaten every moment to 
 fall, even where the walls are sound. Some repairs are 
 being carried on, however, in a few buildings; at least 
 
ST. SEBASTIAN. 287 
 
 preparations are being made, by clearing, and the works 
 are in progress towards a state of defence. Most officers 
 think the destruction so great that it can scarcely ever 
 be a good town again that is, as a town ; as a fortified 
 place, with much labour, it may. The French garrison 
 were so disheartened in the castle, that they could not 
 be made to do more, I understand from the engineers, 
 for it was still tenable for some time longer when it sur* 
 rendered. When the town was first taken, and our men 
 were all drunk about the place, committing every dis- 
 order, the Governor was doubting about a sortie to recover 
 it ; thinking, however, that we must have fresh men near 
 at hand, in case of such an accident, kept sober and toge- 
 ther, he gave up the idea. Many say, that if he had 
 done so, such was the disorganized state of our men, that 
 it would have succeeded. His own men were very much 
 weakened and dispirited. 
 
 Most of the light division tents in front here have 
 been declared unserviceable from rents, &c. The men 
 are still returned healthy, to the astonishment of all, 
 even the doctors, who say the consequences of this must 
 soon appear. Wine is dearer, which is a 'good thing, and 
 I believe our men bear this cold wet weather better than 
 heat. 
 
 Tell John his two newspapers of the 20th have been 
 in great request. I believe only Dr. M'Gregor had one 
 besides Lord Wellington. They have been much read, 
 and I have now enclosed one to Colonel Belson, which 
 will probably be the only one in his division. It hap- 
 pened to contain almost all the news of the last week. 
 
 Lieutenant -colonel Elphinstone is still here. I under- 
 stand that he got a queer answer from Lord Wellington 
 when at Lisbon, which brought him here in such a hurry. 
 When he became senior officer of the corps here, he 
 wrote up for instructions from Lisbon, and to ask what 
 Lord Wellington wished him to do, and where he was to 
 
288 THE ARTILLERY. 
 
 go as Chief Engineer in the Peninsula? The answer 
 was, that as Chief Engineer in the Peninsula he would 
 best know where his proper place was. Up lie came by 
 sea in a week, in consequence. 
 
 A man to thrive here must have his wits about him, 
 and not see or feel difficulties, or start them, to go on 
 smoothly. People wonder at Lieutenant-colonel Dickson, 
 Portuguese service, and only (barring brevet rank) a cap- 
 tain of artillery in our service, commanding, as he has 
 done now ever since Frenada, all the artillery of both 
 nations, English and Portuguese. He has four seniors 
 out here, but all young comparatively also, who have 
 
 submitted hitherto. E says it should be a General's 
 
 command to be done properly, with proper officers under 
 him; others say the old artillery officers have rather 
 changed their sex, and are somewhat of old women. 
 
 Lord Wellington seems to favour the latter opinion a 
 little. I conclude that he finds it answer in practice. 
 As an instance of this, it may be stated that in the pur- 
 suit after the battle of Vittoria in the bad roads, Lord 
 Wellington saw a column of French making a stand as 
 if to halt for the night. "Now, Dickson/' said he, "if 
 we had but some artillery up." " They are close by, my 
 Lord." And in ten minutes, from a hill on the right, 
 Lieutenant-colonel Rose's light division guns began bang 
 bang bang ! and away went the French two leagues 
 further off. I fear if there had been a General, that we 
 should have had, instead of this, a report of the bad state 
 of the roads, and the impossibility of moving guns. In 
 fact, this same brigade of guns, with their mounted men, 
 took the last French mortar near Pamplona, and Lord 
 Wellington passed whilst they were putting it to rights 
 to proceed. They had killed two of the horses in it the 
 day before. 
 
IMPROVEMENT OF WEATHER. 289 
 
 OHAPTEE XV. 
 
 Fall of Pamplona Deterioration of the Army Duke of York's Orders 
 Orders of Merit Church Service Capture of French Redoubts March 
 of the Army Incidents of Foreign Service Frequency of Desertion 
 
 Wellington and the Lawyers. 
 
 i 
 
 Head-quarters, Vera, Nov. 5, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 HERE we are still, but rather nearer a move than 
 when I wrote last. Between business and my chum 
 
 , who is still here with me, I could never spare a 
 moment to write. Even now, at three o'clock, I have 
 been five or six hours at work. 
 
 The weather has improved, however, these last two 
 days, and now tends to frost. Anything is better than 
 the incessant wet we have here, up to that part of the 
 army at Eoncesvalles ; perpetual torrents from the north- 
 west, almost night and day, so that the roads have been 
 nearly impassable. At Bonces valles they have had snow 
 in the valley fourteen inches deep. So close as in the 
 valley of Baztan, at Elisondo, it has been as rainy as 
 here. We have now cold, thick, November, London, 
 foggy mornings, until nearly eleven o'clock forenoon, 
 and then a clear fine day, but not yet absolute frost. 
 Thermometer about 36 or 37. Meadows all swampy. 
 On the whole, however, the snow gentlemen have had 
 much the best of it, though a little uneasy as to their 
 supplies just now, from the fear of snow stoppages. 
 
 u 
 
290 FALL OF PAMPLONA. 
 
 Pamplona has at last fallen, as you will have learnt by 
 the last mail, for I believe Lord Wellington kept the 
 packet on purpose back two days. The garrison, four 
 thousand two hundred, it is said, are to embark to-day at 
 Passages if possible, at least as soon as they "can be got 
 ready. Don Carlos made them submit to his terms, as 
 we hear, in toto. They were even compelled to give up 
 the Juramentudas, besides the fortification artillery. Re- 
 port says fifty-seven field guns have been found there^ 
 This shows us the danger we escaped by Lord Welling- 
 ton's presence of mind, and the bravery of our men on 
 the 28th of July last. Had the Trench got a league 
 further, they would have found this fine field train all 
 ready, and a reinforcement of near five thousand men in 
 the garrison. No one can tell how this might have 
 changed matters. We have still eighteen guns here, 
 with the horses living on leaves, fern, and corn, but 
 ready to play upon a new star- work the Trench are every 
 day making more of, on a hill close to La Ehiine, which 
 they still occupy near Sarre. I think these guns will 
 surprise them a little. At present, I conclude, from 
 general report, that we are only waiting for the rains to 
 run down and the roads to dry a little ; and if the 
 weather of these last two days continue, every one says 
 that we shall soon make a push on. 
 
 Our men have had a miserable time of it lately ; and 
 when uncomfortable and idle, I am sorry to say, they 
 always make work for me. We hear of daily losses, 
 plunder, &c., and the Spaniards perform their part well 
 in this respect. General O'Lalor yesterday found his 
 secretary had run away, down towards Madrid, with 
 nearly two thousand dollars, for he trusted him with 
 everything. Last time I dined at head-quarters Lord 
 Wellington got into a long conversation with me for 
 nearly two hours about the poor-laws, and the assize of 
 bread, about the Catholic question, the state of Ireland, 
 
CAPTURE OF ARMY-POST. 291 
 
 &c., just as if he had nothing else upon his mind. In 
 many points we agreed very well, particularly as to what 
 would be necessary to be done in Ireland if anything ; 
 but he thinks nothing should be done at all. He is still 
 alarmed at the separation spirit which he thinks exists 
 there, and the remains of a Jacobin feeling in the lower 
 classes in England. 
 
 6th November. Poor must pass an uncomfort- 
 able time with me here, and yet I suffer much more from 
 having him, and he is little aware how inconvenient he 
 is to me. 
 
 To-day, 6th November, I received three letters from 
 England. I see there is a magnificent order of the Duke 
 of York about parcels to the army, up to a ton weight, 
 being forwarded to officers by the Commissariat. A few 
 parcels would make the Commissary stare a little, when, 
 with nearly twelve thousand mules, we can scarcely be 
 supplied with bread and corn, and not with forage. You 
 seem to know so little about the real state of things here 
 in England, that I think the General, who came half 
 way up from Lisbon to review, and then gave it up, 
 should be employed to explain the difficulties in the 
 duties of office. The Commissary-general says that it 
 will take him an entire new office, which he must write 
 home for, to keep the accounts which this new plan will 
 require. 
 
 Our troops at Eoncesvalles have been terribly off; 
 some of the guns are buried in the snow there ; some 
 Spaniards, as well as English, have perished by the cold, 
 and one picket was obliged to be dug out. I hear that 
 they are now moving away, and that an attack by that 
 pass must be abandoned; but we shall soon know for 
 certain if this dry weather lasts. Our great men were all 
 in the front, peeping to-day into France from the moun- 
 tains which surround this hollow. Our army-post to 
 one division, with the dragoon carrying it, was caught 
 
 u 2 
 
292 ORDER OF MERIT. 
 
 two days since, picked up, probably, as I was ; he had 
 got a little out of his way, somehow. I hope no letters 
 of importance were caught ; but it was provoking. The 
 French, it is said, sent back one letter to General Oswald, 
 opened, and said that the rest were all immaterial; how- 
 ever, they did not return them. The aide-de-camp of the 
 late governor of Pamplona has been here for the last two 
 days, Monsieur Pomade, a gentleman-like man ; he says 
 when the Vittoria army arrived at Pamplona on June 
 the 24th, the garrison was three thousand strong, and 
 the place provisioned for one hundred days complete, but 
 that that army, en passant, gave them a thousand more 
 effective men and five hundred sick. This caused them 
 to give in sooner than they otherwise should. He says 
 that they never expected their present fate, but that they 
 knew nothing, and never had any communication what- 
 ever with France or Soult; that they sent out several 
 times, but never got any one in. This is more than we 
 can say at St. Sebastian, and does Don Carlos some 
 credit. 
 
 The new crosses for the victories are very handsome 
 the medals so so and the former will look strange with 
 a whole row of clasps, which I suppose Lord "Wellington 
 must have now, for he has already two, up to Salamanca, 
 in addition to the cross. I think the thing is either too 
 general, or not enough so a selection of distinguished 
 men, of all ranks, would be better than a general distri- 
 bution to all of certain ranks and situations. It now 
 shows little more than that a man had a certain rank in 
 such a battle, and not that he performed anything more 
 than his neighbours. A selection might have descended 
 with advantage even to the privates. Of course many 
 grumble, and are disappointed that others have more 
 marks and clasps than they have ; that, however, would 
 always be the case. 
 
 Sunday, the 6th. Post-day for ordinary men to- 
 
CHURCH SERVICE. 293 
 
 morrow for Lord Wellington j so I proceed. For the 
 first time these fourteen months I have to-day been to a 
 military church ; I found that the service was in-doors, 
 and ventured, but was much reproached by my doctor. 
 We were in the newly-repaired large public town room, 
 which has just been made water and wind tight, as well 
 as all the rooms round about it, for an hospital, and will 
 soon, it is to be feared, be filled with wounded. So we 
 go on clearing away one set of hobblers, and destroying 
 houses on both sides, then repairing and cleaning for the 
 new set we are about to make ; and then clearing off 
 again, and so on ! This town is just now clear of all the 
 old wounded; and the large room was washed, Dr. 
 M'Gregor told me (though I should not have discovered 
 it), for those soon expected. I believe he wished not a 
 little that we had gone somewhere else to pray, and not 
 made a dirt in his department. The service was short, 
 plainly read, but tolerably well ; the sermon homely and 
 familiar, but good for the troops, I think, and very fair 
 and useful to any one. Lord Wellington was there, 
 with his attendants, a few officers, and our new staff 
 corps. 
 
 On my return home, lo, and behold ! I found 
 
 very alert, waiting for breakfast, as he had orders to 
 march on to the front in half an hour, and in less than 
 that time, before breakfast was over, I saw Lord Wel- 
 lington and his suite all off on horseback to the front, to 
 peep again. It is not likely, however, anything can be 
 done until to-morrow at soonest, and it will be stiff work 
 if the French do their duty as they ought. 
 
 I now suspect that the packet will be kept until the 
 result of what is about to be done is known, unless there 
 is another ship ready. My letter must, however, go 
 to-day ; but I will try and send a line off, if possible, by 
 the same conveyance as the despatches. As I must not 
 go and peep, for fear of being picked up again and car- 
 
294 ILL-TIMED REQUEST. 
 
 ried off further next time, my communications will be 
 dull and uninteresting now. A move was becoming 
 very necessary, for sickness had just commenced, and in 
 the mountains on the right horses were dying fast. If 
 we can but beat them well, we have a chance of some 
 quiet quarter. Merely beating them back, in my opi- 
 nion, will not do for us ; and if the French defend their 
 new works with as much steadiness as they have shown 
 activity in making them, you will have a long Gazette. 
 We all think that their morale is much shaken, and that 
 the old soldiers will not stand now; if so, the young 
 ones will not hold out long, though it was observed that 
 they fought best on late occasions. 
 
 , the last thing before he left, was at me again, 
 about procuring his brother to be made a Captain in the 
 Navy by Lord Wellington's interest, though it might be 
 thought I had sufficiently put him aside the first time, 
 as I have no humbug in these matters. It now became 
 necessary to refuse him in direct terms, assuring him 
 that Lord Wellington had continually said to me, " I 
 never interfere with the Navy, when I can help it, in 
 any way ; I let them have all their rights, that I may 
 keep all mine ; and as I do not wish them to meddle 
 with me, I never meddle with them." I should never 
 have thought of asking Lord Wellington for anything 
 now except upon public grounds, such as repaying the 
 Bayonne banker, &c., as it is not my doctrine that be- 
 cause a man has done you one favour you are, therefore, 
 to ask him to do you another. 
 
 Twelve o'clock. Six more guns are now rumbling by 
 
 through this place to go up the pass. B J s have 
 
 been off some time ; six more will, I hear, be soon up, 
 and these eighteen are all to be collected to play upon 
 the French new work, where they had yesterday got 
 about twelve together. It is feared that we must begin 
 from the ground at too great a distance, thirteen hundred 
 
GOOD NEWS. 295 
 
 yards, but I hope closer quarters will be come to soon, 
 for in my opinion the French succeed best at cannonading 
 and sharp-shooting, and we at the hand-to-hand work. 
 
 Two o'clock. The mail is said to go as usual, so I 
 must close directly, but I have no doubt the packet will 
 be kept, as every one says publicly that the attack is to 
 take place to-morrow morning. General Cole has just 
 told me to go up to the top of La Ehiine, where I must 
 be safe, and must see everything. I shall not go, how- 
 ever, unless I find all the quiet steady ones do the same, 
 for though you may see all, and if knowing, may be 
 down again in time, yet mistakes may be made by the 
 unknowing, and I -shall remain quietly here. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Vera, November 9th, 1813. I have 
 this moment received your packet of the 26th ult., with 
 all the kind enclosures from aunts, cousins, &c. The 
 attack never took place on Monday the 8th, as I told you 
 in my last ; the roads, from the wet, being so bad that I 
 believe the army could not be collected in time. To- 
 morrow, however, is now said to be the day, as the two 
 last days have continued fine and mild, the wind south, 
 and the thermometer up at 52 again. It now looks 
 like rain, but is fine, and holds up as yet, with a wind 
 south and south-west ; whilst all the rain came with a 
 cold north-west wind. It will not do, therefore, to make 
 use of English weather-wisdom .here. 
 
 Your English mail is thought nothing of. A Gazette 
 of the 25th had got here first, and forestalled it; and 
 we have to-day much greater news from the French side, 
 which is believed by every one here, and by the French 
 army as we are told; namely, that Bonaparte is beaten 
 back to the Ehine, with the loss of three divisions cut 
 off by blowing up a bridge too soon, &c. ; one Greneral 
 taken, and one drowned, &c. This puts our party in 
 spirits for to-morrow, and will, I hope, damp the French 
 if believed by them, as the deserters report it to be. 
 
296 PREPARATIONS FOR ATTACK. 
 
 The Portuguese are most anxious to enter France, 
 and are in high spirits ; the grave ones, however, expect 
 a great number of broken heads, unless the French turn 
 tail shamefully. You ask me about Baron de Trengue- 
 leon, and whether I thought of him whilst I was a 
 prisoner. I certainly did at Mont de Marsan, and found 
 that I was within thirty miles of him ; and an emigrant 
 there advised me to apply to go over to see him, but I 
 thought it might do us both harm, and, therefore, never 
 
 said a word upon the subject to any one. Major D 
 
 had serious thoughts of going as my servant with the 
 baggage to look about; but it would have been a 
 dangerous experiment. 
 
 The IQth November. I dined with Lord Wellington 
 last night, and staid there till near ten. He was all 
 gaiety and spirits; and only said on leaving the room, 
 " Eemember ! at four in the morning." Monsieur 
 Pomade, the aide-de-camp to the governor of Pamplona, 
 was there, and I sat next to him and had some con- 
 versation with him. He had been told that operations 
 were going on, and that that was the reason he could 
 not be sent in yet to the French. To show what he 
 expected to be the result, he told me (when I begged him 
 to tell the banker at Bayonne that all his letters had 
 been sent safely) that except from necessity and orders 
 he should avoid Bayonne, as he was not ready yet to be 
 shut up again in another town. 
 
 To-day every one was in motion here two hours before 
 daylight; and part of the cavalry passed through here 
 at five o'clock. I got up, and had all packed ready by 
 daylight, and found that every one was gone to see the 
 glorious attack even the doctors and the two parsons : 
 so I determined to venture up to the top of La Ehiine in 
 the way General Cole recommended. The day was 
 beautiful. I passed the camp of the latter in my way 
 up, and should have heard there of any check. I then 
 
CAPTURE OF FRENCH REDOUBTS. 297 
 
 pursued my way, and staid on the top from about eight 
 until two, hearing and seeing fire and smoke all the way 
 along the hills from St. Jean de Luz to near St. Jean 
 Pied de Port. The whole was visible at once; and I 
 could see the men even with the naked eye, by the glitter 
 of their arms, for a considerable way. The Trench 
 redoubts crowned the tops of all their positions with 
 deep ditches ; and they had full shelter in woods and 
 houses ; but our men slowly beat them on and on, from 
 place to place, forcing their way until all the right of the 
 position seemed ours. Two redoubts on the hill below 
 me I saw abandoned shamefully, when our men got 
 round them. A large star fort on the top took more 
 time. The men from the others tried to make for it, but 
 failed ; though mostly got off on our side. Those in the 
 fort I left surrounded by our men, who ran up in four 
 or five directions to within about fifty yards or less, 
 firing as they ran ; and then bobbed all down for shelter 
 until all were ready. They lay in this way nearly an 
 hour. When satisfied that the men shut up must be 
 prisoners (as I hear they were) I returned home. 
 
 On the ridge of hills all along the right, the rows of 
 huts set on fire added not a little to the scene. By 
 whom they were burnt I know not. The cannon roared 
 away in the mountains. On the hill, amongst others, I 
 met Lord E. Somerset, the Cavalry General, gone up to 
 look out, with Colonel Vivian and Mr. Heaphy. He 
 was there before me, when the fighting was nearer, and 
 declares that he saw one English soldier bayonet two 
 French officers who attacked him when advanced from 
 the others first one and then the other. I hope that 
 our loss has not been severe, considering what the 
 position was. 
 
 I believe we were to have moved to Sarre; but 
 General Giron has taken seventy houses there for his 
 staff; and the rest are full of wounded. From what I 
 
298 MARCH OF THE ARMY. 
 
 have heard, our officers think themselves well out of the 
 scrape. The left of our army towards St. Jean de Luz 
 was refused; that is, the French were not pressed there 
 much, in hopes of forming the right so rapidly as to cut 
 off a good lot on the left. That will not probably be the 
 case, but that they must move off to-night to a new 
 position, and not having such another line of works, the 
 French must stand to-morrow if attacked openly on the 
 hills, or run for it. I have seen no one yet, so only give 
 you my own views, which may be probably very wide of 
 the Gazette. It was a terrible fag for my new mare, 
 and at top cool, and no room to walk about : I have in 
 consequence a new fidget, in her refusing her food. The 
 troops will devour all the forage in front, and I do not 
 know how we shall get on at all. Adieu. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Fe, November 12th, 1813. At 
 seven, yesterday morning, we received orders to march ; 
 all the baggage to assemble at Sarre, and wait there for 
 orders. We did so ; and on our way crossed the first 
 French redoubts and positions, and began to see our 
 wounded and the stripped dead lying about as usual. 
 So starved and weak were many of the animals, and so 
 clayey and deep the roads, that the scene had almost the 
 appearance of a retreat, except that we passed all the 
 wounded and prisoners going to the rear, instead of 
 marching with them. The Spanish oxen were so starved, 
 and thin, and weak, that during the first league I counted 
 probably about eleven lying down to die, whilst every now 
 and then a sergeant with his pike, or a soldier gave them 
 a stab, half out of humanity, and half to see the effect, 
 and from a sort of love of mischief. Then there -were 
 ten or fifteen poor women belonging to the baggage 
 of the division lamenting over their dying donkeys and 
 mules, whilst others were brutally beating some to 
 death, because they would not go farther. In every 
 direction baggage was falling off ; and the whole formed 
 
BEHAVIOUR OF THE SPANIARDS. 299 
 
 a glorious scene of confusion. Near Sarre I was caught 
 in a violent storm, but got to a house for shelter before 
 I was wet, and there stood in the doorway of a deserted 
 house, with three dead bodies on the ground close by 
 me ; one certainly that of an officer, from his clean 
 skin, neatly-shaven beard and whiskers, and from every 
 remnant of his dress having been worth stealing. The 
 other two were Spaniards. 
 
 The Spaniards behaved tolerably in the field, but not 
 like the fourth and the light division. In plundering 
 and mischief, however, they excelled them. I found 
 them, on passing, breaking and plundering one of the 
 best houses in Sarre. Our own people are grown 
 expert hands at this, and Lord Wellington threatens 
 hanging, and, I believe, has hung a few, but in vain. 
 The people in general have fled, and the Spaniards come 
 in to carry off pots, pans, dishes, chairs, tables, &c., to 
 refurnish their own houses. At Sarre, I found the civil 
 departments were to stop there, and the military to come 
 on to this place. My baggage had gone by in part 
 before I knew this ; and besides that, nowhere could a 
 house be found by me. The Spaniards were in posses- 
 sion, and firing, plunder, and confusion, were all around ; 
 I determined, therefore, to come on here, and take my 
 chance. 
 
 You will advise me to keep well in the rear for safety; 
 but the most knowing ones (in which opinion I agree) 
 consider the rear as the most unsafe place of any. All 
 the vagabonds, plunderers, and rascals followers of the 
 army stick to the rear, and look about to do mischief 
 as soon as all the troops are passed. Besides which, it 
 is not clear here that the peasants, who all fly, may not 
 return, and knock a few on the head, though at present 
 they seem terrified and excessively alarmed. I found no 
 quarters for me here ; but at a little village close by, 
 where there were only the Commissary-general and a 
 
300 DANGEROUS QUARTERS. 
 
 few of his department, I took possession of a deserted 
 house, which had been ransacked, and cleaned it out a 
 little in one place. Finding abundance of food left for 
 my horses for two or three nights, I thought myself well 
 off, though I was somewhat alarmed at having posses- 
 sion of the last inhabited house on that road, lest any 
 straggling attack should be made, or the owners should 
 come back in the night. There was, however, no 
 alternative. All the immediately useful part of rny 
 baggage was behind, and never arrived at all, having 
 been turned out of the road by a Spanish division. 
 Unluckily my neighbours were nearly in the same state. 
 Sir Eobert Kennedy had barely enough for his own 
 eating, and went to bed leaving his servants to do the 
 best they could. 
 
 H had nothing, his baggage not having arrived. 
 
 Mr. H n had one half-loaf, and that served us all. 
 
 Mr. M , the storekeeper, had got some mutton for 
 
 Lord Wellington to-day, and he spared us a little bit 
 each ; so I got one mutton chop, which was very lucky. 
 
 Between four and five, Henry went to inquire about 
 marching, and, finding no orders, we remained quiet. 
 About seven or eight, he found my two stray mules, and 
 I got a loaf of bread and some potted butter out of my 
 stock, and made my contribution to the party, which 
 was very acceptable. I have since been down to head- 
 quarters to know what is going on ; but can learn 
 nothing except that w T e are ready now to cross the Nive, 
 and are prepared for that step ; particulars I can hear none, 
 for only the clergyman, the doctors, and a straggling 
 civilian, with the provost guard, are to be seen. 
 
 I returned, therefore, to my deserted, desolate home. 
 In my way I found one of the owners of a house here 
 who had been shot through the thigh by a Portuguese ; 
 I got him to an hospital to be dressed, in the church, 
 where French, English, and all were lying to wait their 
 
ANECDOTE. 301 
 
 turn, with now and then a dead man. As soon as they 
 are dressed, they are packed off to the rear on. mules, &c. 
 So we go on ! 
 
 The famous French bulletin has now been seen. Some 
 say Bonaparte is at Paris, and some think that he will 
 come here. Others have a notion that the people beyond 
 Bayonne are ready to join us, if we proceed on. I fear, 
 however, the runaways will not encourage this much with 
 their exaggerated stories of our conduct in their villages. 
 To-day is a very fine day again, and will, I hope, assist 
 our operations much. It is said that when our officers 
 went up to the men in the star fort, to call upon them to 
 surrender, the Colonel commanding said, like the governor 
 of Pamplona, " Yes, on the terms of parole, not to serve 
 for a year and a day." " No, no," says the Englishman; 
 "prisonnier" " Eh bien, done je ne me rends pas," says 
 the Frenchman. " But you must and shall, or you 
 will all be murdered," says the Englishman, and then 
 turned away. Upon which the Colonel very sulkily 
 returned and consented ; and when his soldiers began to 
 rejoice, and to quiz the re pape, and say, dancing about, 
 that it was time it should all end, he was most indignantly 
 sulky, and has remained so ever since, complaining of 
 being sent off to England as a prisoner. 
 
 I have now under my window a characteristic scene. 
 A short Portuguese lad, bloated out with ration beef, 
 with an old French helmet on, a great red grenadier's 
 feather, and an old French uniform jacket and pantaloons, 
 with a dragoon broadsword, cutting down cabbages and 
 apples in the garden for his brother Portuguese, who 
 has his apron ready to receive them, whilst a dirty, 
 brown, snuff-coloured Spaniard is looking about on the 
 other side with an old French musket trying to shoot 
 something eatable. 
 
 The mixture of the silence of a deserted village with 
 the occasional riotous noise of muleteers and stragglers, 
 
302 INCIDENTS OF SERVICE. 
 
 Portuguese and Spaniards, as well as a few swearing 
 English, is striking ; but to a person not actively 
 engaged in what is going on, by which all minor consi- 
 derations vanish in the dangers and anxiety of the scene, 
 there is a sameness of misery and starvation, of wounds 
 and of death, which, when the novelty of the scene is 
 over, becomes very unpleasant, especially without any 
 rational companion to talk to on what is passing. This 
 appears to be the house of a cure, for there are the 
 remains of many comforts, and of some books, chiefly 
 religious, some crosses, &c. 
 
 I just now met a man who spoke English tolerably, 
 and French well, but would address me in Spanish, to say 
 the people were plundering all the flour at the only mill 
 in the place which was at work, and he requested a 
 guard and wanted the Commandant. I luckily noticed 
 by his feather the Superintendent of the provost guard 
 entering a house opposite, and procured him a guard 
 directly. So that one can be of some use without meddling 
 much. 
 
 I have just now had a Spaniard at my door to inquire 
 how he could get back safe to Spain, as he had wandered 
 here alone, and dared not return, and had nothing to eat. 
 I have sent him off with a small bit of bread and a 
 shilling, and advised him to go and remain near the 
 provost guard, and keep with the first escort of prisoners 
 which sets out for Spain. 
 
 Nearly all the houses about me are empty, and I do 
 not much like my situation, but it is just now like that 
 of a wife for better, for worse ; so I must submit. I 
 do not think we have a hundred men within three miles, 
 and not one soldier within half a mile, only commissaries 
 and young doctors, and a stray shot is fired every three 
 or four minutes. My own muleteers I have just stopped. 
 November I3th. Here I am still in my solitary abode. 
 It has rained all night, and the roads are running water- 
 
EXCESSES OF THE SPANIARDS. 303 
 
 courses, which will, it is to be feared, impede our progress. 
 All, it is said, however, is going on well. I have not 
 seen a creature, or been out ; only sent to the Commissary- 
 general, my neighbour, to ascertain whether we are not 
 to march, lest I should be left behind here. Several of 
 the elderly owners of houses have returned, but mine has 
 not. Lord Wellington has ordered what forage can be 
 regularly used, and collected, to be paid for punctually, 
 and I understand has determined to send back at least a 
 part of the Spaniards, on account of their abominable 
 conduct, Longa's people in particular. I am not surprised 
 at it, but it spoils all our plans. We were admitted 
 quietly into St. Jean de Luz, and the inhabitants 
 remained there. The mayor offered to exert himself to 
 get what he could collected, to supply the troops 
 regularly ; and Sir John Hope flogged the two first men 
 he caught taking some wine this instantly ; so I hope 
 that town will be preserved. 
 
 We can never do well, if we go on driving all the 
 population before us. The few old people left here, and 
 who are coming in, speak only Basconee and a little 
 Gascon, and no French. There is no making them 
 understand anything. 
 
 To-day would have been dreadful in the mountains, so 
 we have at least that reflection to comfort ourselves with. 
 I send enclosed Lord Wellington's letter to me and 
 Count Gazan's. Pray keep the former, as I shall always 
 value it. 
 
 4 o'clock, afternoon, November 13th. It has been 
 raining so incessantly ever * since morning, that I have 
 not stirred from my hole, and have, therefore, seen no 
 one. I understand that all the grandees were to have 
 gone to the front at five this morning, but from the 
 state of the weather, they have all stopped at home 
 not for the fear of a wetting themselves, but most likely 
 from the impossibility of getting through the country, 
 
304 ARRIVAL OF PROVISIONS. 
 
 and across rivers, when in such a state. It is only won- 
 derful how our men got on, as they did up the hills on 
 the 12th. It was as much as I could do with my horse 
 singly on a slippery clay, either so hard that a horse 
 could not stand on it, or so deep that he was up to his 
 knees, between the hard places. We are now, however, 
 nearly out of the Pyrenees, and I hope the roads will 
 mend, but from what I saw of the high road, this is 
 doubtful. 
 
 November Uth. Still here at St. Fe, so the place is 
 called in an excellent old French map. Still rain, and 
 nothing new, except that the French have been well 
 frightened, and mean, we are told, to quit the new 
 position they have taken, with their left on Bayonne, as 
 soon as it is attacked ; that is, as soon I conclude as the 
 roads will permit us to move. The communications here 
 are almost as bad as in Spain, and from hence to St. Jean 
 de Luz almost impassable. The Marquis of "Worcester, 
 I have just heard, goes to-day in an hour. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St, Jean deLuz, November %4<th, 1813. 
 Having a little leisure, I begin my weekly journal. 
 The weather continues beautiful, and I generally get my 
 hour's walk, and my hour's ride daily. A brig from 
 Dartmouth sold off an immense stock of good English 
 moulds yesterday, in the morning, at 2s. 6d. a pound, by 
 order from head-quarters, and about five tons of potatoes, 
 besides quantities of porter, ale, beef, cheese, &c. The 
 scramble of officers on board to see and buy would have 
 astonished you not a little. We have also some good 
 white wine. 
 
 Since our move from the mountains our men are all 
 behaving much better : they were becoming very bad ; 
 and desertion, even from the English to the French, was 
 frequent. The temptation of the old gentleman in the 
 high mountains was too much for the men. It has now 
 almost ceased. I hope, therefore, when we are a little 
 
CLOSE QUARTERS. 305 
 
 quiet, and my arrears are cleared off, that I shall have 
 much less to do. The reports here now are that 
 Bonaparte's aide-de-camp is at Bayonne, and that he 
 himself is expected. If so we may probably have some 
 work to do here again, unless he has been obliged merely 
 to show himself here to convince his army that he is 
 still alive and well. 
 
 We had a little affair yesterday. Some of the light 
 division were ordered to drive in the French pickets in 
 one place where they were too forward, and our men 
 being too zealous, pushed too far. In trying to prevent 
 this, a fine officer of the 43rd was taken, and a lieutenant 
 badly wounded, and some men lost. The only annoyance 
 I suffer at present in my quarters arises from the multi- 
 plicity of inhabitants, namely, three old women, seven 
 children, three dogs, two cats, and a fair allowance of 
 fleas, whom this late fine weather has revived. We have 
 lately had an arrival at Passages of a hundred and fifty 
 oxen from Ireland for the army, and are promised the 
 same supply weekly. This will do something ; but our 
 consumption is, I believe, about a thousand a week. Our 
 forage in this nook of Trance is as bare as in the neigh- 
 bouring parts of Spain ; every field is eaten close down, 
 and all straw of corn and maize consumed. I sent twelve 
 miles for straw yesterday, and the mules have returned 
 to-day empty. I mean now to try bruised furze, to mix 
 with their Indian corn, so as to hold out until some more 
 hay shall reach us from England. 
 
 November 25#A. I have just heard that about two 
 thousand of the inhabitants returned here last night, but 
 Soult would not suffer them to carry much with them. 
 
 November 26#A. There was no time for more yesterday, 
 and to-day I have nothing to add. I have still not 
 heard anything from you later than the 3rd, but we have 
 papers here to the 13th. I cannot understand how this 
 has occurred. Through France we have news still later, 
 
 x 
 
306 A DROLL MALHEUR. 
 
 and have heard of the surrender of Davoust's corps at 
 Hamburg, on terms of not serving for a year and a da}^ 
 It is to be hoped that the terms may be kept. I had a 
 droll malheur again to-day. Eiding my pony into the 
 sea, into about six inches water, to wash his legs, a wave 
 came, the sand gave way, and he sunk up to his middle, 
 so that my legs were up to the calf in sand. I jumped 
 off, and went over his head to run out, fearing that he 
 could not rise. We thus both got safely out. The poor 
 pony much more frightened than I was. 
 
 I conclude that everything goes on well, for Lord 
 Wellington and his gentlemen were out to day with the 
 hounds. He told me that I kept him up reading Courts- 
 martial until twelve o'clock at night or one in the 
 morning ; and this every night. I hope, however, that 
 this will not last long. The Prince of Orange has got a 
 complaint in his eyes, but I believe only a cold, and he 
 seems better. Nearly all our great men except Lord 
 Wellington have been ill. 
 
 Send me some law news, and good, for Lord Wellington 
 expects me to tell him who all the new judges are to be, 
 &c., and is very fond of discussing legal subjects. At 
 first I was generally right in my speculations : but I 
 have now no means of knowing how things are going on 
 unless you keep up my credit ; it must not be, however, 
 by loose reports. 
 
 I have a poor young Commissary, B , under 
 charges, who has, I think, been very ill used by a Spanish 
 alcalde. I fought his battle with Lord Wellington 
 to-day to get him released from arrest. He is very well 
 spoken of, and said to support his two sisters. Can he 
 be a brother of the Miss B 's whom you know ? 
 I detected the Spanish General F in a little bit of a 
 fib on this subject. His excuse for not answering my 
 letter for eight days was, that it had been delayed in the 
 post. I complained, and his receipt for the letter was 
 
DRUM-HEAD CHURCH. 307 
 
 produced the day after it was sent this on the back of 
 the cover. 
 
 Sunday, November 29^. Still no news, and no ac- 
 counts from England. We are all anxiety. I have just 
 returned from church at the drum -head, on the sands by 
 the sea. Two brigades of guards present in their best, 
 and white trousers, &c., and Lord Wellington and his 
 staff here. It was rather cold work. The weather is 
 beginning to change again, I fear, for rain, just as the 
 roads were becoming passable. You have no conception 
 how soon fifteen thousand sharp-footed heavy-laden mules 
 in rain, cut up a road in this country, even when at first 
 tolerably good. We have been amused with Cobbett's 
 attributing all Bonaparte's misfortunes to his being 
 grafted into the old stock. If he can now manage well 
 he may, I think, still get his little king Pepin graft to 
 thrive in France, and beat Mr. Knight and our gar- 
 deners. The true cause of all is, however, that the 
 morale of the people of Europe is changed. It was 
 France, army and people, against mere armies and bad 
 governments, whilst all the people in Europe were in- 
 different at the least. This is now reversed ; and it is 
 now a mere French army against every people and army ; 
 and Frenchmen at least quite indifferent. 
 
308 NEWS FROM FRANCE. 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 News from France Lord Fitzroy Somerset Departure of the Prince of 
 Orange Exchange of Prisoners Proximity of the two Armies Wel- 
 lington's Cooks Warlike Movements French Attack The Guards 
 Deserters More Fighting. 
 
 Head-quarters, St. Jean de Luz, 
 December 2, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 AT last we have got a mail from England. Your 
 papers give us little public news, that is, news to us, for 
 you have no late accounts from the Allies, and French 
 papers we always get sooner this way. Thus we have 
 long known of Bonaparte's arrival at Paris, which you 
 only just now communicate to us. Lord Wellington has, 
 I understand, news of a rising in Holland ; and this has 
 been confirmed by our reports through the French, who, 
 in conversation with Dashwood yesterday, when he went 
 in with a flag-of-truce, and a parcel of women, seemed to 
 admit it. We had had this as a report before the arrival 
 of the packet, and Major Dashwood therefore tried to 
 pump them on the subject. We have also had a report 
 here that Admiral Young had taken the Texel fleet ; but 
 as no news of this sort has reached us from you, we fear 
 from dates that this must be all false. 
 
 This is only a Passages report from some straggling 
 ships, not French news. The deserters who coine in also 
 from Bayonne, and the returned inhabitants, all state 
 that the Italian regiments here have been removed to the 
 rear ; at least all Italian officers have given up their 
 lodgings and and have packed up. I think now that 
 
DEPARTURE OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. 309 
 
 they will scarcely rely much upon the Dutch either, and 
 there were some fine men and several good officers of 
 that nation here. I told you that the only two officers 
 who were disinterested, and most uniformly civil to us 
 whilst we were prisoners, were two Dutchmen of the 
 130th regiment. 
 
 The Burgundy side of France (Switzerland being with 
 us) is certainly as unguarded as this frontier, except by a 
 naturally strong country in places. Strasburg, almost 
 the only strong place except our old friends Huningen 
 and Kehl, is far removed, and the latter may probably be 
 left on one side, but for all this the French Italian army 
 must be well disposed of first. 
 
 If Lord Charles Somerset deserves promotion as well as 
 our Military Secretary here, the grumbling you mention 
 against his appointment must be unfounded. The latter 
 gets through a great amount of business with little assist- 
 ance, and always quite in public, almost in a common 
 coffee or lounging room, in the midst of talking, noise, 
 joking, and confusion. The Prince of Orange left us 
 yesterday. As he used to be one of the above loungers, 
 this put me in mind of him. He has had a complaint in 
 his eyes, and could not embark before yesterday, when he 
 did so with a fair wind. His arrival, however, and all 
 news about him will precede this. The French, yester- 
 day, when told that he was going off for England, said, 
 " Oh they supposed that it was in consequence of what 
 had happened in Holland." In short, the French seem 
 still (as when I was in France and now even more so) 
 willing to listen to all bad news against Bonaparte, and 
 do not make the least of it at all. All exchange of 
 officers here has now, I fear, at last been broken off, and 
 angry letters have passed. How fortunate I was ! I will 
 send in your French Captain Le Fevre's letter concerning 
 his exchange, if an opportunity should offer soon, and it 
 is permitted. 
 
310 DINNER AT THE FRENCH CAFE. 
 
 Friday, December 3rd. I find Lord "Wellington's 
 news about a Dutch insurrection came to him by a tele- 
 graphic note from Mr. Croker, dated the 20th ult. This 
 is a grand point. Next for Italy, and then we shall do ; 
 and after twenty-three years of murder, we have a reason- 
 able chance of being able to give the military word when 
 things go wrong, " As you were." 
 
 The Prince of Orange, from all appearances here, where 
 the sea has been tremendous, must have had a most 
 famous passage ; but I should think a quick one, as the 
 wind has been fair. We have a notion that he has been 
 chased by four French frigates which have escaped from 
 some French port. I yesterday gave a grand dinner at 
 the French cafe here ; the dinner was abundant, and from 
 the paucity of materials the variety was surprising. Ten 
 dishes for the first course, two removes for the soups ; ten 
 for the second course, rotis and sweets together ; ten for 
 dessert ; and we were ten in company, and two ex- 
 cuses dinner for twelve. Some dishes were admirable, 
 particularly all the patisseries. The champaign excellent ; 
 Madeira and sherry very fair ; port and claret very mode- 
 rate. I am now paying the bill, and the tout ensemble is 
 forty dollars. 
 
 I spoke to Lord Wellington this morning about the 
 French Captain's letter you sent to me. He laughed and 
 said, " Yes, when you can, you may send it ; but the 
 whole matter is now at an end, and your companions are 
 all sent to the rear, as Bonaparte has refused to let the 
 exchanges take place, unless three French go for one 
 British, one Spaniard, and one Portuguese. The old 
 squabble in Mackenzie's negotiation, and though very 
 flattering to us as English, very unpleasant to our poor 
 prisoners." 
 
 We have a most tremendous sea here now worse 
 than ever. The waves at high-water break every time 
 almost over an old wall about twenty feet high on the 
 
PROXIMITY OF PICKETS. 3 1 1 
 
 beach, and come over the stone walk ; they roar most 
 furiously, and are beyond anything I have seen. A Pay- 
 master here declares that he saw a brig go down, and dis- 
 appear instantly, about nine or ten o'clock yesterday, 
 near Andaye. We shall be long, I fear, before we hear 
 again from you in England. I do not think that any 
 ships will venture near us now, certainly not to Passages 
 or here. 
 
 Post-day, Sunday, 5th December. The storms have now 
 subsided, and the sea has become calmer ; but the mis- 
 chief already known has been considerable. The vessel 
 which I mentioned was seen to sink got at last into the 
 Bidassoa ; but four transports, it is said, have been lost 
 in Passages harbour, together with several lives. One 
 vessel drove into a house and knocked it down ; most of 
 the shipping there is damaged, and many of the boats 
 have been crushed between them. An English merchant- 
 vessel, it is reported, also went down at the entrance of 
 Bayonne. The air is now colder, almost frosty, with a 
 dry wind ; the mountains all covered with snow ; I only 
 hope this may last. ~No more news from you, and we are 
 here in a very odd state I mean that our armies are. 
 A few years back the British were uneasy, in Spain, when 
 a French army patrolled within thirty miles of them. 
 Now we have all got quietly into quarters are nearly all 
 housed ; and three-fourths of us go to sleep tranquilly 
 every night, while our front is within sixty yards of the 
 French. 
 
 Colonel S - tells me that he went to breakfast with 
 
 Colonel H , the Assistant Adjutant-general of the 
 
 sixth division, at Ustaritz, and there they were in a house 
 with their breakfast-table within about fifty yards of the 
 French sentry, and within about two hundred of the 
 whole French picket, who, by one volley, might have 
 broken all their cups and saucers, if not their heads. 
 
312 QUIET WINTER QUARTERS. 
 
 The other day a Portuguese brigade had a field-day close 
 to the river in the meadows, and all the French came 
 down to look at them, and I have no doubt, from the 
 genera] report, to admire and approve ; whilst, on the 
 other hand, in the meadows on the French side, the 
 French conscripts are brought down to be drilled ; some- 
 times five or six squads are seen at once, and any of the 
 sergeants might be knocked on the head all the time by 
 our sentries ; but this is now all well understood, and we 
 thus quietly bully or bravado each other. 
 
 Another party of inhabitants have come in here 
 women and children ; the men Soult detains. We shall 
 thus add to our female stock, and to the seven hundred 
 Portuguese women and four hundred Spanish, who are 
 already in this place and the environs as suttlers, vivan- 
 deras, washerwomen, &c. In short, here we are in quiet 
 winter-quarters, for a time at least, with head- quarters 
 within seven miles of the French, and yet we are all so at 
 our ease, even in France, that the baggage animals of 
 head-quarters are gone now beyond Tolosa, forty miles 
 and more to the rear, for straw to feed the horses. Lord 
 Wellington told me yesterday there was no forage left 
 here ; and I suppose so large an army never staid so long 
 in these mountains. But yet, if a spring campaign comes, 
 no doubt we shall, somehow or other, find all our animals 
 forthcoming, and in a state for service. 
 
 The Irish oxen sent out for the Commissariat have 
 proved very good, excellent in comparison, and are served 
 out as a bonne bouclie a pound or two with five or six 
 of the country beef. In short, we have occasionally, of 
 late, had the London alderman's cry of more fat. With- 
 out joking, Lord Wellington's table is now very good in 
 every respect ; and I think his aides-de-camp will be ill 
 with excess, who have this daily fare (unless there is a 
 move), especially if the roads remain too bad for exercise. 
 
WELLINGTON'S COOKS. 313 
 
 Lord Wellington has now three cooks, and an English 
 and Spanish chief share the command, and, by dividing 
 the days, vie with each other. 
 
 More rain, more rain ! I am sorry to say. I have just 
 seen Lord Wellington ; he is much annoyed. A poor 
 Commissary under charges has fallen sick. I reported 
 that he was at Passages, too ill to move to be tried, and 
 that I have two certificates of medical men of the neces- 
 sity of his going to England. Lord Wellington told me 
 to tell the Adjutant-general not to let him get away ; and 
 that if he remained too ill to move, we must try him at 
 Passages. It was for violent conduct to another Com- 
 missary. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, December 8th, 1813. 
 A packet is just arrived, and I have letters from you of 
 the 22nd ult. and papers to the same date. Letters and 
 papers are, however, here by the same vessel to the 25th. 
 A most remarkable and astonishing paper ! 
 
 I hope this fine weather will give us some hay from 
 England, for I have now nothing for forage but furze and 
 bran by way of substitute. 
 
 By this packet came a long letter from - - ; they 
 want me to ask for Captain - -'s promotion. It is my 
 determination not to ask favours, even if I supposed it 
 would be of any use. One promising young officer has, 
 I trust, been saved by me, bj/ inducing him to make, and 
 another to accept, an apology, and Lord Wellington to 
 agree to this. He would, otherwise, most probably on 
 trial have been broken. My letter ordering the Court to 
 meet was taken by the French. This gave time, and 
 opened a long correspondence, which has given me much 
 trouble ; this, however, I shall not regret, if it ends well. 
 I must now go and prepare charges against a German 
 doctor for to-morrow, and against two Portuguese for a 
 highway robbery. So adieu. 
 
 Thursday, 9th. All peaceable business has ceased ; 
 
314 NONSENSICAL REPORTS. 
 
 and here I am in an enemy's town quite at ease. All 
 the troops advanced about four this morning, and we 
 have here only a provost guard of about forty men, a few 
 straggling guards, and the muleteers, servants and civi- 
 lians. The French dared not to have remained so in any 
 town in Spain, much less in Portugal. 
 
 I went out to my morning's walk on the beach. I 
 had it to myself nearly, and heard a sharp firing of 
 both guns, and particularly musketry, sounding quite 
 close to me. Our present object is, I believe, merely to 
 move up our right, for we are much pinched in our 
 present position. We are now with our right at Itoasso, 
 Espellette, and Cambo, on the Nive ; our centre at 
 Ustaritz and St. Fe ; and our left by Bidart, Ahetze, and 
 Arbonne, all on the Spanish or south side of the Mve. 
 Our object now is to move up the right, nearly or quite 
 to the Adour, most probably, only making a feint at 
 Biaritz and Anglet, near Bayonne, on the left, unless 
 good fortune puts more in our power. We shall then be 
 more at ease, cover more ground, and open a little 
 country on the right for our cavalry to get quarters and 
 accommodation, at least that part which is still with us 
 in front. This, it is believed, is all that is intended at 
 present. 
 
 Should the report of the French mayor here prove 
 correct, or the deputy mayor rather, for the chief is off, 
 namely, that there is an insurrection at Bordeaux, and 
 that the Allies are within fifty leagues of Paris, it may 
 soon be autre chose ; but at present we are only, as I hear, 
 taking elbow-room for winter-quarters, and putting our- 
 selves in a position to start when advisable. We shall 
 also see how the French are disposed to fight, and judge 
 a little what forces are gone to the rear. How angry it 
 made me to observe the nonsensical reports in England 
 of our being not only in Bayonne, but in Bordeaux, and 
 this given out formally at the playhouse ! To exaggerate 
 
FRENCH ATTACK. 315 
 
 just now is so unnecessary, so unreasonable, and so 
 injurious to those who do so much ! 
 
 Three o'clock.' The firing has continued more or less 
 the whole day, but has now become more distant, and 
 the great guns near Bayonne are heard occasionally. As 
 yet, however, no news, except from a wounded guards- 
 man, just come in, shot in the hand, who says that the 
 Guards are advancing and the French retreating, I 
 conclude into their lines opposite Bayonne. A fleet of 
 twelve sail, or perhaps fifteen, in sight. Hurrah ! for 
 hay and money, we all say ! The army is only paid up 
 to May, and the staff to April. It rained much in the 
 night, which was against our movements, but has nearly 
 held up since, though it has just dropped all day. 
 
 Friday, the 10th. Lord Wellington did not return 
 last night, nor the Adjutant-general and grandees. I 
 hear but little except that we crossed the Mve well on 
 the right, but did not make much progress in the course 
 of the day. On our left we did rather more than I 
 expected, and, it is said, pushed on to within a mile of 
 Bayonne, with some loss ; so we rested last night, and 
 we have had constant showers, very heavy at times, ever 
 since. This is very much against our arrangements. 
 
 Four o'clock. Here I have remained quiet all day, 
 but in a fidget, for from eleven o'clock there has been 
 continual firing in our front ; and, as might be expected, 
 though within six or seven miles of us, we have had all 
 sorts of reports, some rather alarming to me at least, 
 for I believe Lord Wellington is on the other side of the 
 Mve, with our right, and I have not the same confidence 
 in any one else, especially as only a part of our army is 
 on this side the river. The communication is trouble- 
 some, and the French have evidently made a push here 
 to-day in force, whilst our brigades are all separated. 
 The Guards came back here last night to their positions 
 and quarters, and the 5th division to Bidart and its 
 
316 FREXCH ATTACK. 
 
 environs. Some Cacadores were surprised, and some 
 were made prisoners, and the French showed themselves 
 in force in this line, and have pushed us hack to our old 
 ground hefore the troops could be collected again. 
 
 At two o'clock the firing was so loud, and so near in 
 appearance, that I hegan to look to my baggage, espe- 
 cially as an order came from the Guards here to turn out 
 again and advance. I have, however, just seen the 
 Commissary-general, Sir H. Kennedy, and he says there 
 is no danger, for he left the French checked by our 
 works on our old position, and met four brigades on the 
 road advancing to assist. He was, however, a little sur- 
 prised himself at the end of his ride, to see what was 
 going on, for a fire suddenly began across the road where 
 he was looking, near our cavalry, and when he turned 
 about, our guns began across the other way, and he was 
 obliged to get away. One never can be quite secure in 
 these attacks. 
 
 I am told that a note was taken from the French 
 General Grautier to the Duke of Dalmatia, which was 
 sent to tell him that a deserter had come in from us at two 
 o'clock, and told him of the intended attack yesterday, 
 and complaining much of desertion on his side. It is 
 very provoking, that our men should betray us in this 
 manner ; but it seems to have been of no consequence. 
 
 St. Jean de Luz, Head- Quarters, December Ilth, 1813. 
 From report to-day, there were some slight grounds 
 for my uneasiness yesterday. The French made a bold 
 push with nearly four divisions on the high road. We 
 had only one division, or only part of one, at hand ready. 
 Some Portuguese in advance were surprised, and lost 
 prisoners and baggage. The French regained all that 
 they had lost the day before. At about two o'clock they 
 made a push at our position. A Portuguese brigade 
 suffered very much, and it is said dispersed. An English 
 brigade also is reported to have been unlike the rest of 
 
THE GUARDS. 317 
 
 late : that is all I can say. Lord Wellington had heard 
 the firing and received intelligence of the attack; he 
 came across the river Nive instantly, and halted the 
 sixth division on this side, which was going over by 
 former orders to act on the other, on the right. The 
 fourth was ordered up to support the light division. 
 Wellington himself was foremost in trying to rally the 
 Portuguese. Both he and his staff were much exposed, 
 and had not often, I hear, been in a warmer fire. 
 
 The Trench were induced to attack our redoubts and 
 position by their successes and numbers. Our reinforce- 
 ments came up ; they were repulsed, driven back with 
 loss, and the ground which we had already gained and 
 lost once, was nearly all in our possession again last 
 night, at the close of day. They talk of a thousand 
 wounded, probably more, on our part. We have taken 
 some prisoners, and many wounded French ; at one time, 
 however, a whole regiment of Portuguese, and some 
 English also, were nearly being made prisoners. The 
 Guards, or as they are called here, "the gentlemen's 
 sons," were too late, as they had so far to march. They 
 will never learn their trade of being killed properly, if 
 they are thus nursed up in the rear. Their great 
 grievance at present is the order about horses and mules, 
 limiting the numbers to the old regulations, on account 
 of forage, and allowing subaltern officers only their one 
 animal, so that if they ride, they cannot carry anything. 
 If they carry baggage, they must walk ; and then when 
 they come into their quarters, and their real duty 
 towards the men commences, they are unfit for anything. 
 The regulation is therefore severe, and most think that it 
 is unnecessarily so. 
 
 On the other hand, the present establishment of the 
 Guards is absolutely ridiculous. Every subaltern officer 
 has his two or three horses, and his three or four mules, 
 as much as any staff-officer ought to have. He carries 
 
318 GERMAN DESERTERS. 
 
 his bed out to the guard-house, or picket, and has his 
 canteen fit to give a dinner and every luxury, whereas 
 one set of canteens per company would, in my opinion, 
 be a liberal allowance. Their General has given them 
 six weeks to comply with this order, but somehow or 
 other they will contrive, probably, to evade it, or they 
 will be the most miserable animals in existence. Whilst 
 they were in camp, they left one officer with the men in 
 camp, and the rest got into houses, whilst in many 
 instances at that time even the Generals in other divi- 
 sions commanding brigades, were out under canvas (then 
 in the mountains), or at most in huts. Both men and 
 officers are only fit for our old style of expedition, a 
 landing, a short march, and a good fight, and then a 
 lounge home again. The men were yesterday all sore- 
 footed with their march, but at church last Sunday, in 
 their white linen pantaloons, they looked in high order ; 
 and the appearance of the men, the care of their dress, 
 their discipline and general goo.d conduct, is admirable, 
 when in quiet quarters here. 
 
 I met young , an ensign in the Guards, yesterday, 
 
 a son of Lord - . He is a very gentleman-like 
 stripling of nineteen, talks of just remembering Sir John 
 Moore's death, as the beginning of his political know- 
 ledge, and something about General Castanos, and the 
 first Spanish publication of Cevallos, but is quite in a 
 wilderness when you talk of the old state of Europe 
 before the French Eevolution. He now principally talks 
 of the table, and who gives best wines and dinners, and 
 
 found fault with General 's, which I must say 
 
 appeared to me most luxurious, and reminded me of fine 
 dinners in London. 
 
 Ten o clock. Hurrah ! hurrah ! I have just been 
 called out to see three small battalions of deserters pass 
 by with drums beating, and colours flying, with their 
 arms and everything in the highest condition, and 
 
DESERTION. 319 
 
 clothing nearly new. Two battalions of the regiment 
 De Nassau, and one of the regiment De Frankfort, in 
 the whole twelve hundred men. This is a grand conse- 
 quence of our push, and must alarm the French not a 
 little. I should not be surprised now if we advance 
 soon, whatever might have been our former plans. 
 Lord Wellington was out again in the front this morn- 
 ing, up at three and out in the dark. He returns to 
 dinner to-day, and has invited the German Colonels and 
 the Majors, six of them, to dinner, to which he means to 
 return. He has also desired that they may now have 
 their breakfasts, the whole remain in quarters here for 
 the night, and proceed to-morrow for Passages, I pre- 
 sume, though it is several miles off, as the Spaniards 
 occupy all the places between, except Irun, which is 
 voted unwholesome and feverish. Irun will scarcely 
 give a quarter to an English officer, and not to our 
 detachments coming up to join, who have to march 
 through here always ; so I conclude that they would not 
 do more for the Germans who have once served with the 
 French. The only drawback to these good tidings is the 
 thought of the poor wounded, crawling in, on foot, or on 
 cars, and on mules, crying with the pain of the motion. 
 It is now quite fine, and I must take my promenade by 
 the sea ; so, for the present, adieu. 
 
 Later, the \\tli. Major D has found a friend in 
 the Colonel of the regiment which came over, and who 
 has told him how it happened and was managed. An 
 officer from the North had found the way to him (the 
 Colonel) all through France, with an order from his real 
 sovereign to go over to us, and come and join him. He 
 communicated his plan to no one but the Major (one 
 Major). They waited their opportunity, and when it 
 arose last night, he called the officers together, told them 
 his order and his resolution, and proposed it to them, but 
 said he should force no one ; it must be voluntary. All 
 
320 DESERTION. 
 
 agreed and the men were too happy to join in the plan. 
 One officer was sent to give us notice and clear the way, 
 and to prevent any resistance or confusion. He was also 
 to make terms that they were not to be compelled to 
 serve, &c. The officer, however, did not like going back, 
 and before any message was sent, over they all came. On 
 their arrival here to-day, just out of the town, they halted, 
 and put on their best clothes to pass through in parade 
 order, and very well they looked I assure you. They 
 say that there are many Spanish, and two good regiments 
 of cavalry who would probably come over if a pardon 
 were held out to them, and that there are a number of 
 Dutch all ready to do the same thing, but they are prin- 
 cipally officers, and are not in a body. They are tumul- 
 tuous and troublesome, and only wait the proper occasion. 
 
 The Colonel, K , has written to Marshal Soult, 
 
 telling him why he came over ; that he was ordered so to 
 do, and after reminding him that so long as they were 
 Trench, and he with the French, he had done his duty. 
 In return, he requests (rather an impudent request) that 
 the women and the baggage, or at least the baggage 
 soldiers and servants, may be allowed to join the regiments. 
 He also asks that his band, which he says was excellent, 
 as it was his hobby-horse, and which was of course left 
 behind, may be allowed to join the rest. Of this, however, 
 he has no hopes, for his band was always a subject of 
 considerable jealousy to the French before he left them, 
 and he is sure they will keep it now for themselves. 
 
 I also hear that our staff officers were obliged to exert 
 themselves very much in consequence of the dispersion of 
 the Portuguese, and the reluctance of some of our own 
 forces. Colonel Delancey took one colour, and rode on 
 before the regiments to carry them on. General Hope 
 was much exposed, and got two blows ; one on the shin, 
 and one on his side, but of no consequence. Greneral 
 Pakenham had a horse shot under him his best charger. 
 
MORE FIGHTING. 321 
 
 General Kobinson is shot through the body ; a bad wound. 
 Two of General Sir S. Cotton's officers, his aide-de-camps, 
 who were there as amateurs, suffered. One coming home 
 was shot in the thigh. Many others had narrow escapes, 
 and Lord Wellington remained exposed, untouched! 
 This is really wonderful. 
 
 To-day again there was some fighting, but only on our 
 left, a sort of trial of the French strength. We lost, I 
 hear, however, several men, particularly of the 9th. On 
 the whole, with wounded and sick, we shall be much 
 reduced by this week's work, and I still think can scarcely 
 advance safely any further, unless you send men here in- 
 stead of to Holland, or unless we can get a good corps of 
 Spaniards to join us under officers who will keep them in 
 order. O'Donnell, the Conde D'Obisbal, is come up again, 
 and will do, for he will hang his men until he gets order 
 and obedience. Lord Wellington has also got his full 
 powers renewed by the Spaniards, and may now perhaps 
 try them once more, if tempted to advance after what has 
 happened. 
 
 Sunday, 12th December, 3 o'clock. Every one has 
 gone out again, but nothing expected to be done to-day. 
 The French attacked us after sunset last night in force, 
 in hopes, probably, of catching us napping again, and 
 getting more baggage, but it did not succeed. The 
 Germans are kept here to-day. My first letter, up to the 
 llth, I have sealed and sent, and keep this open in case 
 of more news, for which I must hunt, and then come in 
 and finish this, and after dinner divide my prize maps of 
 this canton, and of the whole seat of the northern war 
 French maps of this year ; great prizes. For the present, 
 adieu. 
 
 Five o'clock. More fighting again to-day. The French 
 columns appeared, and we threw some shells amongst 
 them. This brought on a quarrel, and we skirmished 
 sharply for a long time; the Guards were principally 
 
 Y 
 
322 AWKWARD POSITION. 
 
 concerned ; the Adjutant killed, Lieutenant-colonel, and a 
 Captain. I hear of no advantage gained on either side 
 mere fighting. Our entrenching tools are sent for, so 
 I suppose we are going to make ourselves snug to remain 
 quiet. 
 
 Six o'clock. No more news, and no more fighting, but 
 
 I have just heard that Lieutenant-colonel D W 
 
 is shot in the head, and some say killed ; some contradict 
 
 it altogether. I had told Miss W that he was well, 
 
 in a letter just gone to the post. The Paymaster-general 
 and several amateurs got suddenly into fire without in- 
 tending it the other day. It is better now to stay at 
 home, for one fight is much like any other, and I have 
 now seen some of the best which are likely to happen. 
 
FRENCH ATTACK. 323 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 French Attack Plan of Desertion Excesses of the French A Basque 
 Witness Sir John Hope Movements of the Army Sale of Effects 
 Wellington's Simplicity of Character A French Emigr6 Return of 
 Soult to Bayonne. 
 
 Head-quarters, St. Jean de Luz, 
 
 December 14, 1813. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 As every one is still in the front, and I have now 
 but a few letters to write on business, I shall proceed in 
 writing to you, and, if possible, send this by the delayed 
 packet. Yesterday morning, the French were, I believe, 
 to have been attacked again in our front, in order to drive 
 them back into Bayonne. In the morning, however, they 
 were off, and had disappeared from the disputed ground, 
 and only appeared in the Bayonne works. This made us 
 suspect an attack from them on General Hill, who was 
 on our right, with only some Portuguese, and his two 
 divisions on the other side of the Nive. Eeinforcements 
 were ordered accordingly, and all the grandees and ama- 
 teurs went that way. So it turned out ; the French came 
 in large masses and attacked us there, just as we were 
 moving about in our position. 
 
 At first they drove the Portuguese brigade there back 
 from a knoll. They rallied, however, returned, and re- 
 covered it. By that time the rest of the two divisions 
 were up ready, and the French came on in more force. 
 The attack now became general along the line, and the 
 French were beaten back on all sides with very consider- 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 PLAN OF DESERTION. 
 
 able loss, and without the reinforcements, which were not 
 in time. I know no particulars at all, for Lord Wel- 
 lington did not return last night to this place ; but some 
 who did, say that the French were very thick, as they 
 came forward in such masses, and some of their own dis- 
 heartened prisoners talk of four thousand men and more 
 as their loss. These daily desperate attacks, first on their 
 right and then on their left, and the accounts given by 
 the German Nassau officers, make me suspect very much 
 that Soult will after this be off altogether further to the 
 rear after having obeyed his order, by a desperate attempt 
 to drive us back into Spain again. I hear that he wrote 
 to Lord Wellington before these five days' fighting, to say 
 that we must positively quit France, and that, to save 
 bloodshed, he wished Lord Wellington would retire of 
 his own accord. I did not learn this, however, from the 
 very best authority. 
 
 The day before yesterday I met at dinner the Major of 
 the Nassau regiment, a very pleasant gentleman-like man, 
 aide-de-camp to the Prince, and the very officer who 
 brought the secret verbal orders to the Colonel K 
 to take the steps he has done. The Major arrived six 
 weeks ago, but they never found the opportunity until 
 now. Similar orders are gone to another battalion with 
 Marshal Suchet, and to a corps of Nassau cavalry there, 
 and we have sent word to our army on that side to en- 
 deavour to let them know that these three battalions 
 have succeeded. The whole was very near failing even 
 this time : he gave us all the particulars. 
 
 The French towards evening thought things were not 
 going on quite well, and ordered up all the reserves. 
 Amongst the rest were three battalions, and that of 
 Baden, which lately had been kept much in the rear. 
 When they were all retiring towards their quarters again 
 at dusk, General Yillatte (Colonel Downie's old enemy), 
 who commanded the reserve, was obliged to retire to the 
 
PLAN rOF DESERTION. 325 
 
 rear, being wounded. He left orders with a stupid old 
 General who succeeded him in command. The Colonel 
 of the Nassau regiment was directed by the old man to 
 retire along the great road. He represented the numbers 
 going that way and the delay, and proposed a side road. 
 The old man said, " Well, you will do your best." The 
 Colonel then thought all would do, and was about to 
 march off, when up came the 34th regiment, all French, 
 and their commanding officer said, " Monsieur le Colonel, 
 fai mes ordres de vous suivre sur votre route." This was 
 most perplexing. The Colonel then made an imaginary 
 obstacle at the head of the column, and desired the men 
 to file one by one slowly. This tired the patience of the 
 French, who had been out all day. The Colonel then 
 proposed his plan to the officer commanding the Eaden 
 regiment. To which he replied, that he had received no 
 orders from his Sovereign, and, after hesitating a little, 
 
 declined. Colonel K then ordered him to take 
 
 another road, and told the French, as they must divide 
 to get home at all, they had better follow the Baden regi- 
 ment. The French 34th did so; and the others soon 
 began to incline towards the English, firing away, how- 
 ever, but in the air, to deceive any who might be ob- 
 serving them. They soon found themselves near enough 
 to send in the officer first, and the regiment followed in 
 spite of some shots from our people. The astonishment 
 of many, who not being in the secret, found themselves 
 within the English picket, and fancied they were all 
 about to be made prisoners, was very considerable ; and 
 their joy was as great when they were told the true state 
 of things. 
 
 The Major told us that they had seen constant service 
 in Spain, that their Sovereign's contingent for Spain was 
 about two thousand men, but that the French kept it up 
 whenever they could to nearly three thousand, and more 
 at times. He was at Talavera, and the bugle of one of 
 
326 FKENCH IN SPAIN. 
 
 the battalions which sounded as they left, and marched 
 through, was English, and I understand was taken from 
 us at the battle of Talavera, He confessed the horrors 
 committed in Spain was " Nous autres" (as he was con- 
 stantly expressing himself), forgetting that he was no 
 longer French, and then correcting himself, said, "par 
 les Franqais" He said that it was a practice when the 
 orders were issued to plunder and burn places which had 
 been deserted by their inhabitants, to make a great fire 
 near the place so as to make the inhabitants think a battle 
 was about to begin, and lead them to retire to some spot 
 near, out of the way of the fire, but never intending to 
 desert their homes. The troops then voted it a deserted 
 town, and begun first to pillage, then to burn. He de- 
 scribed the French army as being now about fifty-five 
 thousand men, after tins affair, of which, however, only 
 about twenty -two or twenty -three thousands were soldiers, 
 that is veterans ; the rest raw recruits and conscripts, of 
 which Bayonne was full ; and there you might now see, 
 he said, even the blind and the lame compelled to come 
 forward and serve. 
 
 He said they were ill supplied with everything, and 
 had no forage at all; that one great store of biscuit 
 was spoilt in the church at Bayonne ; and that the roads 
 in the rear were so bad that hardly any supplies could 
 arrive but by the river at least not without the 
 greatest difficulty and labour ; that the Dax and Tartas 
 roads were infamous, and the one I went by, Peyrorade 
 and Orthes, very bad. Allowance must be made, I 
 think, in regard to these accounts. 
 
 Soult was enraged with the inhabitants for wishing 
 to return home within our lines, and was much pro- 
 voked at our not having behaved much worse in this 
 country. I have also understood from officers who 
 went with flags-of-truce, that the French are excessively 
 angry with their women for all desiring to come here 
 
RETURN TO CIVIL BUSINESS. 327 
 
 to us. The Mayor of Biaritz, I believe, is denounced, 
 having given us assistance, and ordered to be seized 
 as soon as discovered. The Trench were two or three 
 days since in one attack actually in his garden, but 
 could never get into his house. Of course he had re- 
 moved many of his goods, and was on the alert. He 
 has had a picket always in his house, and been very 
 liberal. Near that house our guns and the French 
 were within three hundred yards of each other, but 
 neither could get at the opponent on account of the 
 formation of the ground. There was a small wood in 
 the neighbourhood, which was a strong point. Lord 
 Wellington, &c., have just returned. I must go and 
 pick up news. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, December 15^/i, 1813, 
 Wednesday. We are now all returned to our civil 
 business again, and I have just been to the Adjutant- 
 general and Lord Wellington, as usual, to congratulate 
 them on their safety, at the same time to make my 
 reports, and receive fresh instructions. 
 
 All the reports confirm the account that the French 
 got a severe beating on our right the day before yester- 
 day, and that our loss was not that day so severe in 
 comparison with the other affair on our left. Our 
 present position is close round the French and Bayonne, 
 in a semicircle from the sea to the Adour. The ad- 
 vanced posts being from the front of Biaritz and Anglet, 
 on the sea on our left, and so through Arcamgues, 
 Arrauntz, on the Nive, the centre, where our boat- 
 bridge is, and then through Monguerre, Petit, and 
 Yieux, to La Home, on the Adour, on our extreme 
 right. Some alarm us by a report that head- quarters 
 are to be moved in consequence to Ustaritz, as being on 
 the Nive, and more central, and near the bridges. We 
 all, however, hope otherwise. Some Spaniards are come 
 on now also, and more cavalry are ordered up. Our 
 
328 SIE JOHN HOPE. 
 
 abode here has quite spoiled us for the wretched places 
 we must crowd into at Ustaritz, down in a muddy hole, 
 with the roads almost impassable around it. 
 
 Unless you have a good map, you will find but few of 
 the places mentioned by me, and yet I have omitted two 
 or three in the circle. 
 
 [The places were all found in old maps by Eobert, 
 a Trench geographer.] 
 
 I must go to work to draw charges, so adieu. 
 
 There is a most eloquent Trench, or, rather, Basque 
 witness here, who has been robbed, and whom I am 
 keeping here to give evidence. He pays me daily visits, 
 and acts over the scene in question, and several others, 
 in very high style. The Basques are as proud as our 
 Welsh of their antiquity, and when asked if they are 
 French say, " Oh, que non Basque" He tried to in- 
 sinuate himself into my favour, by reminding me that 
 this country was once all English, and that the inha- 
 bitants had still the memory of that, and favourable 
 feelings accordingly. 
 
 Sir John Hope was, including his dress, touched in 
 seven places, besides a shot in his horse, and through 
 his large hat. The skin wound, though slight, is 
 the only wound that gives him pain. Lord Wellington 
 blames him for exposing himself; with what face I 
 know not. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, December 16th, 1813. 
 Though you will have heard from me by the detained 
 mail, which went yesterday, you will expect something 
 by the next, so I begin my work in time ; concluding 
 that it will go Sunday as usual again. I have just 
 heard that the packet which went from hence the 22nd, 
 with our letters to the 21st of November, was found 
 deserted at sea, and letters, &c., supposed to be taken, or 
 most likely sunk. I sent you two long letters by that 
 packet, with a plan of my house here, and sketch of it, 
 
A FRENCH ACQUAINTANCE. 329 
 
 and the largest proportion of prize Spanish maps, taken 
 at Vittoria ; begging you to keep them, and those that 
 come after, safely. It was in that letter that I told 
 you of my narrow escape at St. Fe from being shot 
 through the head by a dragoon whilst I was writing. 
 The ball went between my pen and my nose, and 
 where my head had been two seconds before : one cheek 
 was spattered by the door splinters, and the other by 
 the wall plaster where the ball struck. 
 
 We have just got a most alarming report, as far as 
 comfort is concerned, namely, that we are to move to 
 a little dirty village, called Arrauntz, on the Nive, 
 worse almost than Frenada, with the exception of one 
 good house, where roads are impassable almost up to 
 the knees in mud. I believe this was certainly de- 
 termined, but Colonel Campbell told me just now he 
 believed the order was deferred; I hope so most sin- 
 cerely, for we are here rather in a state of civilization 
 and comfort. 
 
 I dined yesterday at head-quarters, and who should 
 I meet but Count de Gazan's ci-devant aide-de-camp, 
 a fine gentleman-like young man, with whom I dined 
 at Count Gazan's house at that time, Lord Wellington's 
 now. He was then very civil to us. We dined yes- 
 terday in his ci-devant apartment. He was about to 
 join Marshal Victor in the north, as his aide-de-camp, 
 when I last saw him; but being promoted to a chef- 
 de-battalion, this induced him to stop and take the 
 command. It answers to our Lieutenant-colonel; and 
 he commanded a battalion against General Hill in the 
 last attack. Finding his men running away too fast, 
 he kept in the rear to encourage them, and give them 
 confidence; stayed there too long, and, in a word, was 
 caught and taken prisoner. He is a tall, stout, good- 
 looking man of twenty-eight, and speaks English well, 
 having been in England some time before for education. 
 
330 POSITION STRENGTHENED. 
 
 I gave him a good breakfast this morning before he 
 set out for Passages, got him a letter to the principal 
 Commissary at Passages, and handed him my father's 
 direction at Somerset House ; desiring him to let him 
 know where he is ultimately quartered in England, and 
 whether my father could serve him in any way in Lon- 
 don. So be prepared for a letter some time hence from 
 my French acquaintance. He is a stanch Frenchman 
 in everything, but I do not like him the worse for that, 
 or for avowing it openly. 
 
 He told me that we were not quite so secure in Hol- 
 land, and that we were not near a peace, but had much 
 yet to do to obtain such a one as we required, for 
 Bonaparte was ambitious and unreasonable, and we were 
 unreasonable also. In some respects I agree, and only 
 hope the Allies will continue moderate. I offered him 
 money, but he said he had lost nothing, and did not 
 require it, and declined any assistance. He said, at the 
 moment he was vexed that our men did not plunder him, 
 as he knew his own people would have done so by us. 
 He seems a shrewd fellow, and was therefore ordered off 
 directly from hence.'* 
 
 Lord Wellington looks thin, but was in high spirits 
 yesterday. We have more artillery and ammunition 
 passing up to-day to the front, and, I hear, they are 
 making works to strengthen our position, and to be 
 prepared against any other desperate attack. This may 
 be only Lord Wellington's usual prudence, as it does 
 not look like a move further in advance. Other cir- 
 cumstances, however, do rather look like a movement 
 forwards, and the strengthening this position may be 
 either for the present security, or for a position to retire 
 to in case of accidents, as we have now two rivers in our 
 rear ; or, which may be most likely, for both. The fact 
 
 * He made no application to Mr. Larpent's family, nor did he call at 
 Somerset House. 
 
LOSS OF THE FRENCH. 331 
 
 is, we have above twelve hundred men digging away, 
 and artillery is going up. 
 
 My French witness here tells me a friend has just 
 arrived from Bayonne, who informs him, that whilst 
 the movements were going on some days since, Marshal 
 Soult told the leading people of Bayonne, that all who 
 intended to move their valuables to the rear should do 
 so by water immediately, if at all, as circumstances 
 might soon make it impossible for them to do so by 
 water, and the road would be entirely required by the 
 military in certain events. This does not look like much 
 confidence. 
 
 Friday, December 17 th, three o'clock, and Sunday, De- 
 cember 19th, Post-day. A report of more work on the 
 right, and we fancy we have heard much firing. Lord 
 Wellington is gone off. If matters have not gone on 
 well, or the horses get tired, we shall have a move yet, I 
 fear very soon ; but hope otherwise most sincerely, that 
 is, if it be a move of head-quarters only. A forward 
 movement of the army will be another matter, as it will 
 prove to me Lord Wellington thinks something is to be 
 done by it. Our cavalry is moving up fast. This looks 
 like a movement. It spreads out by Cambo on our 
 right. I am also assured by a French officer here in our 
 service in the Quarter-Master-general's department, that 
 the French cavalry are fast filing to the rear, and have 
 already passed Mont de Marsan, my former abode ; and 
 that many of the old soldiers are from necessity sent 
 back to Bordeaux to compel some refractory conscripts 
 there to move, for they are a little wilful. He also told 
 me that the loss of the French (desertion included) in the 
 late affairs last week, was, in the whole, about thirteen 
 thousand men. He is, however, a sanguine man ; re- 
 member that. We are also said to have taken two or 
 three boats on the Adour, above Bordeaux. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de, Luz, jive o'clock, Sunday, 
 
332 DEATH OF COLONEL ROOKE. 
 
 December 19 th, 1813. I have just come from the sea- 
 side, where we can now scarcely stand for the wind, and 
 are, on the high walk, quite wet with the spray. A 
 violent gale of some hours has caused this, and I have 
 been watching a vessel off here for a long time which has 
 been in considerable danger, but is at last safe in Sacoa 
 harbour. She was most uneasy at sea, made signals of 
 distress, and the pilot-boats ventured out, and by their 
 help and working hard with the capstan on an anchor 
 carried out, she has at last worked her way in. 
 
 I met yesterday at dinner Colonel Barnard, who was 
 lately shot through the body. Colonel Eooke is dead. 
 I feared it must be so, from what was told me yesterday. 
 He could not eat anything, grew rapidly weaker, and 
 the suppuration formed a mass clear through his body 
 from one orifice of the wound to the other, and not 
 properly round the ball so as to facilitate the extraction 
 of it. Lieutenant-colonel West is well. I saw him 
 to-day : he was not touched. The report of his being 
 killed arose from his having sent a horse to the rear I 
 believe to walk. At the sale of the late Captain Wat- 
 son's effects, I bought a very tolerable saddle, with 
 holsters, about half worn, for eighteen dollars, which is 
 here considered cheap. I bid 155. for a curry-comb and 
 brush, bad, but of English make, and in England worth 
 about 3s. or 4s. it went for a guinea ! I also bid for a 
 Suffolk punch horse as high as two hundred dollars, but 
 Major Daring outbid me, though it was certainly very 
 dear. Captain Watson was of the Guards. 
 
 A party of Bayonne sailors have just arrived here I 
 am told, who have come over to us. Bayonne envies 
 this place now. If we stay, and have money, things will 
 come in here soon from the French, for the geese they 
 bring in sell for four dollars instead of 4s. before we came, 
 and so with other things ; we have also got some good 
 French cattle to eat. 
 
BEHAVIOUR OF THE ARMY. 333 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, December 2lst, 1813. 
 The furious stormy weather continues, with almost 
 continual rain, attended yesterday by a most violent clap 
 of thunder ; such repeated gusts of wind I scarcely ever 
 witnessed. The inhabitants say, that it will last so long 
 as we have the wind from the sea. At the same time 
 it is not at all cold, and I have no fire except when I 
 have been caught in the wet, and am very damp. 
 This happens if you stir for five hundred yards, as 
 the rain comes with a gust in a few seconds. The 
 thermometer in my room, without a fire, has been 
 constantly almost above temperate, and at times above 
 sixty. We are at present all quiet again here, and in- 
 vitations are flying about for Christmas dinners on Satur- 
 day next. 
 
 Marshal Soult is angry with the inhabitants for being 
 friends with us. He is now circulating proclamations 
 on our right, exhorting the people to form Gruerilla corps 
 and to turn brigands. If we continue to behave well, 
 he will not easily persuade them to do this. The 
 Spaniards who demand rations and contributions against 
 orders, and are not so orderly as they might be (the few 
 that are in France, that is), may perhaps provoke them 
 to arms, but I hope not. We now go about the roads 
 here as safely as in Spain ; the only marauders indeed 
 are the followers of our own army and runaway 
 Spaniards and muleteers. Our own army is behaving 
 particularly well, and now give me a little leisure occa- 
 sionally. 
 
 To my great joy to-day, and still more, I suspect, to 
 that of my horses, I have got a good truss of English 
 hay 140 Ibs. weight. This is a treasure. But to 
 balance good and evil, the Commissary has given us no 
 corn during the last three days. So we go on ! Many 
 of the cavalry horses get neither, so we must submit. 
 
 In spite of the rough weather, we yesterday got a 
 
334 WELLINGTON'S SIMPLICITY OF CHARACTER. 
 
 packet and English mail, and I received a letter from you 
 of the 6th and 7th December, and papers from the 4th to 
 the 7th. You confirm our accounts of the loss of the 
 mail of the 21st November, and of two letters of mine to 
 you. I only hope they are sunk, though I recollect 
 nothing particular in them. 
 
 I have no doubt - plays the great man very well, 
 and puts on all the dignity of a Jack in office. He likes 
 the thing, and has a turn for humbug, of which there is 
 so much all over the world in every line, and which 
 is often of such infinite use to those who can adopt it. I 
 think it very tiresome, and only rejoice that it is not the 
 fashion here at head-quarters. From Lord Wellington 
 downwards, there is mighty little. Every one works 
 hard, and does his business. The substance and not the 
 form is attended to ; in dress, and many other respects, I 
 think almost too little so. The maxim, however, of our 
 Chief is, " Let every one do his duty well, and never let 
 me hear of any difficulties about anything ;" and that is 
 all he cares about. I suppose one should fall by degrees 
 into a love of representation, and keeping one's self up 
 in the world, as it is called (by those who have not 
 much else to float them), by habit and practice. I must 
 say, hitherto, I continue to think it far best to be able to 
 do what you please, as you please, and when you please, 
 provided that nothing is ever done which in the least 
 approaches to a shabby or ungentleman-like action so 
 that the opinion of those whose opinion is worth having 
 is secured. The sort of incense which is often obtained 
 from the silly majority through exterior humbug is not 
 worth the price at which it is purchased. My vanity 
 takes a different turn, and I pique myself upon other 
 things. 
 
 I attended another sale yesterday of Colonel Martyn's 
 effects. It was quite ridiculous to observe the price at 
 which some old things sold. Two second-hand night- 
 
FRENCH EMIGRE. 335 
 
 caps, which cost about Is. 6J. each new in England, 
 fetched 13<s. This results partly from distress, partly 
 from fun in the bidders. Old towels 5s. each ; blankets 
 25s. I always feel hurt at seeing all an officer's stock 
 sold in this way, even to his ragged shirts and stockings, 
 tooth-brushes, &c. ; everything ransacked. This was 
 very near being my case, also, when I was taken pri- 
 soner. Mr. Jesse's stock was sold, and he is not a little 
 distressed in consequence. I have received a note from 
 Lieutenant-colonel E to dine with him on Christmas- 
 day, and have accepted, though probably I shall lose 
 a great party at Lord Wellington's by so doing, for he 
 generally asks heads of departments on those days. I 
 own, however, that I prefer his smaller parties, when 
 fewer grandees are there, and Lord Wellington talks 
 more and we drink less. A great party is almost always 
 stupid, unless there is good singing or good speechifying ; 
 and I have now seen all the lions likely to be there. 
 By-the-by, our Spanish lions carry their heads wonder- 
 fully erect now, and are prouder than any peacocks ; or 
 rather, I might say, they are now true Spaniards. 
 
 Yesterday I dined at Lord Wellington's, and had 
 another adventure. I recognised an emigre friend at 
 Mont de Marsan, of whom I had been, during my stay 
 there, very shy, fearful lest a malicious report should get 
 about that I was intriguing with the royalists. I re- 
 minded him of his questions, &c., and of his speaking to 
 me several times, and I now explained myself and con- 
 duct. He was much surprised at seeing me in my red 
 coat, but immediately recollected me, and said I had 
 given him then all the information he wanted. My 
 answers were short, but all true, certainly. He has 
 brought some congratulations to the Comte de Gram- 
 mont from the persons now on his ci-devant estates, and 
 their wishes for old times and old landlords. He had 
 
336 ARRIVAL FROM BAYOXXE. 
 
 got some money here, and is, I suppose, to go to work 
 somehow for the good cause. He is very sanguine ; but 
 though I like and respect the emigres, I always mistrust 
 their view of things. 
 
 A foolish Portuguese, who was sentenced to be shot, 
 escaped three days ago, and was off; but like a fool, he 
 boasted in Spain of his performances, was in consequence 
 retaken, and to-day is to be hung. 
 
 December %6th, Post-day. Another of my French 
 friends came in from Bayonne yesterday the principal 
 banker at Bayonne, who gave me money for my bill ; 
 was so friendly to us all and to me in particular, and for 
 whom I loaded my pockets so quietly with so many 
 letters, above a hundred in number. He has ostensibly 
 come to receive the IIQL still due to him from five of 
 our officers, and which Lord Wellington intended to send 
 him on my representation : but he has also obtained leave 
 from Soult to supply us with claret, &c., and is partly 
 come about that. The French, I conclude, are compelled 
 to try this method of making a little money ; and Mar- 
 shal Soult being, no doubt, ill-paid, will go halves in the 
 profit. I suspect my friend, however, may have farther 
 views also, as he is a Spanish and English merchant as 
 well as banker, and of course a decided enemy to Berlin 
 and burning decrees, and to war in general, which is now 
 nearly synonymous with being an enemy to Bonaparte. 
 Lord Wellington sent him to the Commissary-general 
 to talk matters over. 
 
 We have been all quiet here this week, except a little 
 cavalry skirmish on our right. The French cavalry, I 
 hear, had driven in some of Don Murillo's Spaniards, 
 with Hill, in that quarter, and two squadrons of our 
 18th Hussars were ordered to drive the French back. 
 This they did, as they were ordered, without loss, but as 
 usual would do more, and pushing hastily on fell in with 
 
SPANISH JEALOUSY. 337 
 
 the French infantry support, which is generally near at 
 hand to the cavalry advance, got a volley or two, and 
 lost a captain and several men in consequence. 
 
 Our people will suppose that the French lurk about 
 the country without system or order as they do ; whereas, 
 however cowed and beaten they may be, the system, 
 order, and habitual rules, remain. 
 
 Some more of Don Carlos d'Espagne's troops filed up 
 from Irun yesterday, and turning off about a mile short 
 of this place, went through Ascain towards our right 
 about five thousand in the whole. Several of Murillo's 
 people are put under arrest by Lord Wellington for 
 misconduct. They complain that the men get sick in 
 consequence, to which he replies, " Then behave better, 
 and that will not be the case." 
 
 Some of our artillerymen have by accident burnt one 
 of the best of the few remaining houses at St. Sebastian, 
 worth twenty thousand dollars the Spaniards say, and 
 about to be let for six hundred dollars a-year. This will 
 be quite convincing to the Conciso at Cadiz, and perhaps 
 to the regency, that we burnt the town on purpose, and 
 are now finishing our job. It is unlucky to give this 
 handle to these most unconquerably jealous Spaniards, 
 and already the engineers and few English at St. Se- 
 bastian are most unpopular. The weather is now much 
 improved, and has turned to frost for the first time this 
 month, which improves our roads, our spirits, and our 
 prospects. The sea, however, has been for these last two 
 days tremendous, and washed over the stone bulwark 
 where we walk, and has cut off our supply of corn these 
 three days from Passages. I was yesterday caught there 
 when walking with General Pakenham and General 
 Murray : the Quarter-Master-geiieral ran one way, the 
 Adjutant-general and I another; the former escaped, 
 and so did the latter and I, though the foam and surf 
 burst upright, close to us, above our heads, and then 
 
 z 
 
338 RETURN OF MARSHAL SOTJLT. 
 
 washed our legs midway up ; but the force was broken, 
 and we were not moved, only wetted. The natives and 
 many of our officers think this roaring ocean predicts 
 more bad weather here again, but I hope it only proves 
 a storm some two hundred miles off in the main ocean, 
 as I have always observed there is little connexion here 
 between our land-storms and the state of the sea, which 
 seems to be moved by other causes, of which probably 
 one is the agitation caused by the flood spring-tides. 
 
 Monday. Marshal Soult has returned again to Bay- 
 onne. Lord Wellington, &c., are all out with the 
 hounds. 
 
THE AUTHOR'S GALLANTRY. 339 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Reports from France More Desertion Anecdote of General Stewart- 
 Wellington and his Casualty Returns The Courtesies of War Scarcity 
 of Transports Wellington and the Trial-PapersSir G. Collier. 
 
 Head-quarters, St. Jean de Luz, 
 
 January 1, 1814. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 MANY happy new years to you and all your 
 party ! We are now quite quiet here, and have no news 
 to communicate. We have repeatedly received reports 
 of the arrival of an English mail, but it never comes. 
 This may, however, arise from our having had three of 
 the vessels at once on this side of the water. 
 
 You will be surprised to hear that I had an old French 
 woman, and a young Spanish girl to breakfast with me 
 this morning, on their way through to Bayonne, from 
 Bilboa. I had made arrangements for six mules, and an 
 ox-car to carry their baggage, but they mistook the tide 
 in their directions, and the baggage is only just arrived, 
 so that they cannot go until to-morrow. They are the 
 wife and mother of a Monsieur Dabedrille, at Bayonne, 
 ci-devant principal 'Directeur de I' Octroi de Bilboa, who 
 fled so quickly after the battle of Vittoria, that he left 
 all his baggage and females behind him. He was very 
 civil to Colonel Fitzgerald, who had undertaken to 
 obtain for him the restoration of his wife ; and as the 
 Colonel was not exchanged, I undertook it, got Lord 
 Wellington's leave, and here they are, so far on their 
 
 z 2 
 
340 REPORTS FROM FRANCE. 
 
 way safe. Not having just now much business, I have 
 had time to attend a little to these good ladies, and they 
 are really very pleasant and well-bred, but just now the 
 worse for having been six days on board a Spanish 
 coaster (of Bilboa), to get here. 
 
 We have just now got beautiful weather, clear frosty 
 mornings that is, white frost, the ground just crisp, a 
 little fog early, and a cool breeze from the Pyrenees, 
 from the south-east, and a bright sun during the day. 
 
 The only news we have here is a report of the defeat 
 of Davoust, through the French, and an account which 
 General Wimpfen has just given me of the Austrians 
 having taken possession of Switzerland. The French 
 here are hard at work, drilling conscripts, who arrive in 
 considerable numbers, and turning up the ground as 
 usual in all directions. I suppose we shall also, as usual, 
 wait until they have nearly done their task, and by that 
 time, when the ground is dry, turn them out of their 
 Laborious defences. It is quite extraordinary how all 
 their former position was covered with the effects of 
 their labour. 
 
 The inhabitants continue to come in here to us every 
 day, and now by degrees we get cattle, &c., from them. 
 Desertion from the French has also been common, five 
 or six men a-day, and many French, not Germans, young 
 lads, sick of their work. I now hear that the Swiss have 
 declared against France ; that is one step more gained, 
 if true. An officer, who was prisoner at Bayonne, on the 
 13th, the day of General Hill's affair on the right, states, 
 that the French were most sanguine that morning at 
 Bayonne ; they said that two of our divisions were 
 caught in a trap, and that they would, General and all, 
 be taken prisoners. They were quite in spirits, but 
 towards evening, when the officer inquired where our 
 General was, he could get no one to answer him, or talk 
 on the subject. All were sulky. Eeport says also that 
 
LOSS OF F011AGE. 341 
 
 Soult is gone again, and farther back ; some say that he 
 has been sent for to Paris. 
 
 One of the hay vessels, bringing hay to us, in order to 
 plague us, had got into Bayonne, and the French officers 
 at the outposts taunt us, by saying that they find 
 English hay very good. This is very provoking, for in 
 consequence of this we have now nothing again to give 
 our animals. 
 
 Sunday, Post-day. I understand that there is no 
 packet as yet at Passages, to go with the letters. I 
 have, after three hours' trouble, packed off my party this 
 morning; four great trunks, two old women, and one 
 young one, in an ox-car ; and four more large trunks, 
 and a quantity of bedding, and et ceteras of all kinds, on 
 four mules ; and one lady and a man-servant, on horse- 
 back. My old French woman, now she is safe out of 
 Spain, does nothing but abuse the Spaniards, their lan- 
 guage, their manners, their country, and, above all, their 
 stupidity in society. 
 
 I must now return to the work of drawing charges, 
 which must be done immediately. I hope there is not 
 another task for me now passing my window, for there is 
 an uproar, and seven Spanish prisoners going along 
 bound to the provost guard. 
 
 We have now established a sort of little telegraph of 
 signals to the right and in front, to acquaint Lord Wel- 
 lington immediately should anything be going forward. 
 
 P.S. I don't think you heard a little anecdote of 
 General Stewart, who is brave, and consequently always 
 gets his aide-de-camp, &c., into some bad blows, if he 
 does not get one himself. The people about him on the 
 13th were all touched, and he was nearly alone. An 
 officer of the name of Egerton went up to him, and 
 whilst there a shell burst between them. " A shell ! sir : 
 very animating 1" said Stewart, and then kept Egerton 
 there talking on. 
 
342 CAPTURE OF AN ISLAND. 
 
 Head-Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, January 4zA, 1814. 
 Here we are still without any news from your side of the 
 water, and of course most anxious. On this side we 
 seem, however, to be preparing something for you to 
 talk about ; at least, appearances look like another battle. 
 The day before yesterday (Sunday) all was quiet, and on 
 Monday (yesterday) Lord Wellington ordered out his 
 hounds, and went off early himself. In the middle of 
 the day, however, the signal was made that the French 
 were in motion ; Lord March and Gordon went off to 
 Lord Wellington, and he did not return last night. To- 
 day the troops have all been on the alert, for the French 
 are said to be still moving on our right, and in fact 
 rather on our rear. The Guards were off early from 
 hence to replace the light division, who went to the 
 right, and all seems moving in that direction. No firing 
 has, however, been heard ; and I understand nothing has 
 been done to-day. I went as far as Ghiethary, and up to 
 the church-tower, whence the view is very extensive, but 
 saw nothing in particular. The last report was, that the 
 French still advanced on our right. If they persist in 
 this, it is my opinion that we must have a fight, and a 
 sharp one probably, on that side to-morrow, but as the 
 staff are all out, I know nothing certain. 
 
 Two or three days since we took a little island in the 
 Adour, almost without loss, which will enable us to 
 molest the navigation more effectually than we have 
 hitherto done, though already it is rather impeded, even 
 at night, and almost totally by day. A contest about 
 the island was rather expected, but not this bold move of 
 the French in our rear. If they persist and fail, I think 
 with the two Gaves in their rear, we may, perhaps, make 
 them suffer severely for their enterprise. Marshal Soult's 
 supposed absence looks now rather like a ruse de guerre. 
 
 We have Spaniards on our right, and in the valley of 
 Bastan, who perhaps may now come in again for a little 
 
WELLINGTON AND HIS CASUALTY RETURNS. 343 
 
 fighting; and it is to be hoped they may, for if the 
 French work constantly on the British and Portuguese, 
 and you continue to send men to Holland, we shall by 
 degrees get too weak for our situation. 
 
 Lord Wellington at dinner on Sunday directed some 
 
 jokes at Major D , who makes out the returns, 
 
 because he wanted to make a grand total of wounded, &c., 
 after the late five days' fighting. He laughed, and said 
 that all might go wrong from this innovation, but he was 
 determined he would have no more grand totals until he 
 got another Yittoria without more loss; that the loss 
 was always great enough in all conscience, without dis- 
 playing it in this ostentatious manner, and that he 
 would not have every drummer and every officer, &c., 
 killed or wounded in the five days, all added up in one 
 grand total, but that at least the croakers should have 
 the trouble themselves of adding up all the different losses, 
 and making it out for themselves. 
 
 The weather is just now delightful, and we have had 
 as yet nothing which can properly be called winter. 
 During the last ten days the sea has been quite smooth, 
 and we have not even had a white frost. The people 
 say they think that the first bad season is over now, and 
 we shall not have much more bad weather until near 
 March : I only hope this will prove correct. 
 
 A French carriage and a car were waiting at the 
 French outposts to receive my ladies, and they all got in 
 safe. This was managed by sending in a message the 
 day before. A certain communication with Bayonne is 
 also now open; for yesterday we had an arrival of 
 French watches, rings, trinkets, and silk dresses. We 
 carry on war in a very civilized manner, especially if a 
 little anecdote related to me yesterday be correct. One 
 
 of our officers, it seems, I believe Major Q , was 
 
 riding a troublesome horse close to the French pickets, 
 and partly from the violence of his horse, and partly 
 
344 COURTESIES OF WAR. 
 
 from his own inadvertence, lie got close to a French 
 sentinel. The latter called out several times that he was 
 French, and ordered him off", and at last presented his 
 bayonet. The horse still plunging on, and the officer 
 apparently not understanding the man, the French 
 sentry turned the horse the other way by the bridle, and 
 sent him back without offering any harm to either beast 
 or rider, though he might have killed or taken both. 
 
 This morning we had another instance on our side. 
 A French officer's wife came in from Bayonne to follow 
 her husband, a prisoner in England. We had a boat in 
 from Sacoa to take her upon the beach, to carry her round 
 by sea to Passages, and an order from Lord Wellington 
 waiting for her there, for a passage to England as expe- 
 ditiously as circumstances would permit. 
 
 Wednesday, 5th January. No one came back last 
 night, and St. Jean de Luz is almost deserted ; scarcely a 
 red coat to be seen. The ladies are in some alarm, and 
 only some inquiring doctors and commissaries are to be 
 seen about the streets. I have in the mean time such an 
 accumulation of business for Lord Wellington that I 
 shall be almost fearful of seeing him five Courts-martial, 
 one of about ninety pages, another eighty. He always 
 complains, and yet I think he likes to read these cases, 
 and know himself exactly all that is going on. I have 
 just been out to pick up news, but in vain, and have 
 been driven back by a slight shower. Money has been 
 so short here that I could only tempt them to give me 
 some doubloons immediately by accepting a part of my 
 pay on England in another Treasury Bill. 
 
 Friday, January 7th. Lord Wellington is not yet 
 returned here, and we are, therefore, still deserted ; but 
 nothing has been done. The French have been manoeu- 
 vring for these three days on our right flank, but in vain, 
 as our General was ready for them. Yesterday, however, 
 he was nearly bringing them to blows. A part of their 
 
ST. JEAN DE LUZ. ;5-l .") 
 
 force remained on our side of the Adour, between the 
 Nive and the Bidocque. This was too near our position, 
 and they were to have been driven across, but prudently 
 went away in good time of their own accord, consequently 
 nothing was done, and I think nothing will be done just 
 now. 
 
 The French head-quarters here are at (I believe) 
 Peyrehorade, a town on the Gave, of some little river 
 commerce. In our present suspense we were at last 
 amused yesterday by the arrival of two mails, and I have 
 got letters, papers, &c. 
 
 You kill men for me faster than I do in reality, and 
 that is enough. I am only aware of forty-one having 
 been shot or hung since my arrival in the country ; and 
 that is quite enough too, you will say, almost as many as 
 you hang in all England in a year. You were quite 
 right about the lost letter from me ; it contained a full 
 description of St. Jean de Luz, and of my horrible muddy 
 journey from St. Fe to this civilized place, with a sketch 
 of my house and its vicinity, &c., a ground plot of my 
 quarter, which, if time and room permit, I will repeat. 
 And as you do not congratulate me on my escape from 
 being shot, I suppose that story was there also. 
 
 Later. As Lord Wellington is still away, I continue 
 to scribble to you. This place has been a very flourish- 
 ing town, and of considerable trade, but is much in decay ; 
 this partly before the late wars, from the bar having 
 increased, so that only small vessels can get in now, and 
 the evil still increases. At low water the river only 
 ripples over the bar of sand, scarcely a foot deep, and at 
 times the river is choked up by the sand, so that it 
 cannot make its way out, and floods the town. This 
 happened twice last year, but has not recurred this year, 
 though at times the bed of the river has been quite 
 changed, and the water nearly stopped. 
 
 Sacoa is a very safe harbour ; for small vessels drawing 
 
346 SIBOUR. 
 
 under ten feet, quite safe. They lie there high and dry, 
 according to the tide. The houses of the former mer- 
 chants are rather magnificent, though some are in ruins, 
 and their number, for the size of the town, considerable. 
 It has been called a sort of little Paris for the Basques. 
 Near the sea the water has been, and is, gaining on the 
 town and bay. There are many ruins ; one is part of an 
 old convent, now beyond the sea-wall, and almost in the 
 sea, and some say a whole street has been washed away. 
 The great sea-wall made by Bonaparte, six hundred 
 yards long, was constructed to save the town, and makes 
 a good dry walk. 
 
 Sibour is also a very large village, or small town, of 
 inferior houses, where at present two brigades of Ghiards 
 are, and two other regiments of Lord Aylmer's brigade, 
 besides some staff cavalry, &c. Most of the better 
 houses have French papers from Paris, and it looks very 
 well. The whole wall forms one landscape, like tapestry 
 sea-ports from Yernet or Claude, &c. ; some in colours, 
 some in bistre or an imitation of Indian ink, some Chi- 
 nese, but in better perspective. The brown and black 
 are very pretty. Most of the walls are papered. The 
 lower parts of the houses are all a sort of warehouse 
 (where they are not shops) ; this serves us for stabling, 
 but they are flagged, which having no straw is noisy, and 
 they smell much also. Almost all the men of a better 
 sort went away from St. Jean de Luz ; several women, 
 for the most part old, stayed, and many have since 
 returned ; but no society, or anything of that sort, is as 
 yet set on foot here. The deputy mayor, who stayed, sold 
 all the wine he could appropriate, his own, and all un- 
 claimed, as well as other things, and is, I believe, making 
 money of us very fast. The town is now all a market 
 or fair, and full of Spaniards and Portuguese, as well as 
 French and Bascos, all pillaging poor John Bull, by selling 
 turkeys for 25s. and 30s., and fowls for 12s. and 14s. 
 
SCARCITY OF TRANSPORTS. 347 
 
 The people from Bilboa have been most active. Little 
 has arrived from England or Lisbon as yet, which is 
 extraordinary ; but the danger of the coast is, probably, 
 the cause. During the bad weather ten vessels of ours 
 found their way into Bayonne, one with fifty-two Irish 
 bullocks, by which we lost part of the best beef we ever 
 get, and one with seven hundred trusses of hay, others 
 with biscuit, &c. This is very provoking. The Bayonne 
 mayor showed us the post-list of the whole taken in each 
 ship. How we shall get on with our animals I know 
 not, for they tell me that they hear from England, in the 
 Commissariat, there is but little hay on the sea for us, 
 from want of transport, and there is no straw to be got 
 at all now within thirteen leagues, or about forty miles, 
 from hence. I am, however, advised to send for it ; and 
 if this movement shall come to nothing, will do so to- 
 morrow. 
 
 It is fortunate that we are so near the sea, and have 
 some advantage as to transport in the river Nivelle also, 
 for our transport is much diminished by desertion of the 
 muleteers from want of pay. The army is more nume- 
 rous than when at Frenada and in Portugal, and our 
 transport is now less. Were we to wander into France 
 (as you suppose), away from the coast, we should find it 
 difficult to live at all. The boats of this place are famous, 
 and the men stayed here, or have escaped here, and are 
 all in our pay now, and thus things are brought round 
 from Passages here by sea, and then up to the division 
 by the river as far as Ustaritz, where they are then dis- 
 tributed to the mules of each division. Even with this 
 help the army cannot be supplied with rum, except by 
 buying it very dear on the spot of the suttlers, for nearly 
 all our remaining mules are required for bread and a 
 little corn for the staff. The meat supplies itself in a 
 way that is, about two-thirds only of the flesh which 
 leaves Valencia, &c., in Spain, arriving here, falls under 
 
348 INSUBORDINATION OF MULETEERS. 
 
 the butcher's knife, besides the number which die on the 
 road ; and yet all that can be stopped, when fagged or 
 lame, are distributed at the stations on the way. The 
 suttlers, by the great profit they make, can pay the 
 muleteers as high as two dollars a-day for each mule to 
 carry up their produce, making us pay for it in the end. 
 This evil increases, for our muleteers, who only have one 
 dollar a-day for each mule (and enough in all conscience), 
 are tempted to desert and get into the service of the 
 suttlers, who thus supply the men with rum only at a 
 dear rate, when we cannot do it. The pay of our mule- 
 teers is now over-due twenty-one months for each mule : 
 they have, therefore, their own way, and are under no 
 control at all. Nothing but a sort of esprit de corps, and 
 the fear of losing all claim to the debt, makes them keep 
 with us at all ; and we must submit to their fraud and 
 carelessness, for we have no remedy. 
 
 As an instance of this, it may be mentioned that one 
 brigade of mules, which had twenty-four thousand pounds 
 of barley given to them to bring here, five leagues from 
 Passages, only delivered eighteen thousand, and almost 
 openly admitted that they had taken the rest, which I 
 suppose they had sold to raise money. We could only 
 set off the value against their debt, for fear of losing 
 them without getting others. There was a grand con- 
 sultation the other day, at which Lord Wellington, the 
 Commissary-general and his people, General Alava the 
 Spanish General, and most of the principal Spanish 
 Capistras, or directors of the mules and owners, were 
 present, to settle what could be done. They resolved to 
 make the arrears all a debt, to acknowledge it, and then 
 begin a sort of new score. This is in imitation of the 
 Portuguese ; only they do not pay the debt at all, but 
 wipe off the arrears. One month's pay was also given 
 by bills on the Treasury at a great discount, still this 
 
MILITARY MANOEUVRE. 349 
 
 was something to go on with, and we have not Marshal 
 Beresford's absolute power to control these Spaniards, 
 as he does the Portuguese. Somehow, however, you see 
 we get on. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, Sunday, January 
 9th, post-day again. As to length, at least, you shall 
 have no reason to complain this mail, though I am at 
 work again at business ; for on Friday night all our 
 warriors returned home to their respective quarters, and 
 the Commander-in-Chief to his papers. The latter had 
 so increased upon him in his five days' absence, that he 
 was quite overwhelmed; and when I went in with a 
 great bundle to add to them, he put his hands before his 
 eyes and said, " Put them on that table ; and do not say 
 anything about them now, or let me look at them at all." 
 
 This week's manoeuvring has not this time ended in 
 smoke, but without smoke, as nearly as possible, for our 
 men could not get within a long shot of the French, 
 without following them beyond what our present plans 
 would admit. They remained a short time on our side 
 of the river Arrun, as it is called, in Casini's great map, 
 and Grambouri, in my part of the French National Atlas, 
 a small river which runs by La Bastide and falls into the 
 Adour, near Urt, a place half-way between Bayonne and 
 where the Gaves fall into the Adour. 
 
 We collected on the heights above Bastide, and made 
 the signal by a little mountain gun to advance. The 
 French made use of the same signal to commence their 
 retreat across the river, and scarcely a shot was fired. 
 La Bastide, which is on this side of the river, we never 
 entered : but remaining satisfied with that line, the 
 matter ended there. A change of weather, to rain of no 
 trifling kind, will probably, I think, oblige both parties 
 to be quiet for some little time again, until sun and air 
 return to us without wet, and dry roads enable the troops 
 to move a little in tins difficult country. It is at present 
 
350 SIR GEORGE COLLIER. 
 
 very hard work to get on, even in the best roads, and 
 across the country, which is much intersected with 
 streams and rivers, and has only clayey poached roads, 
 and strong fences of hedge and ditch ; it is almost im- 
 passable. Lord Wellington, I believe, always went back 
 to his brother Marshal, Beresford, at Ustaritz, to which 
 place he sent for some English hay for his horses. The 
 Adjutant-general's department remained mostly at Has- 
 paren, which is, it is said, a very pretty small town in a 
 rich cultivated valley of meadows, where they fell in with 
 a small stock of excellent hay, not quite eaten by our 
 cavalry, who are in that part of the country. 
 
 All the people at head-quarters have come back safe 
 and sound; but with horses a little knocked up, and 
 rather stiff with riding about twelve or even four- 
 teen hours a-day. Most of them, however, look the 
 better for the exercise. The most fagged of all I saw 
 was our naval hero, Sir Gr. Collier, with his lame leg. 
 He had ridden everywhere after Lord Wellington in 
 hopes of seeing a fight, and coming in, I suppose, for 
 another knock on shore, but all in vain. He says, that 
 the French never will stand when he comes, and nothing 
 is ever done. He is about to leave this station. 
 
 And now for a little account of the Spaniards, in order 
 to show you how they plague Lord Wellington. We 
 have undertaken to assist and direct, with our engineers, 
 in putting St. Sebastian into some order, and into a state 
 of defence. The actual working-party are, however, 
 nearly all Spanish. These have nearly all deserted, and 
 little or nothing is going on but quarrels between our 
 people and the Spaniards in authority, who thwart them. 
 At first Lord Wellington thought that we were to blame, 
 
 and seemed angry ; but he told Col. E at last, " If 
 
 they go on so, d them, they may finish the work 
 
 for themselves ; but go over and see about it, and make a 
 report to me." 
 
ITALIAN DESERTION. 351 
 
 Later. Another English mail arrived, and another 
 letter from you of the 27th and 28th, with papers to the 
 27th, &c. The great news which yours contained as to 
 Lord Castlereagh we had heard through the French out- 
 post five days since ; but the report only stated that he 
 had actually landed at Morlaix, on his way to Manheim, 
 to the general Congress, for a peace. This was believed 
 before your account came, as it agreed with the general 
 tenor of the late English news ; at least I thought so, for 
 one. Whether it will end in a peace, however, is very 
 doubtful, especially if Bonaparte finds that in consequence 
 of this negotiation he keeps all quiet in Trance, and the 
 conscription goes on without resistance, and his armies 
 in March next will be formidable If he can once assume 
 an imposing position, it is doubtful in my opinion 
 whether he will come into the terms of the Allies. Mais 
 c'est a voir, and he has much to do to put himself in such 
 a position. 
 
 Many of the French conscripts here join almost with- 
 out any uniforms or necessaries for a soldier, yet every 
 deserter who comes in has everything nearly new, and is 
 better provided for than any of our men, except the few 
 who have just had their new clothing, &c., of which the 
 Guards, who, by the by, returned here last night to their 
 old quarters, form part. Just now the Italians begin to 
 desert the French, and say it is in consequence of their 
 having heard that their division, which was marched to 
 the rear some short time since, was all disarmed and 
 treated as prisoners of war. This may not be fact ; but 
 the effect is that many Italians come over to us. 
 
352 SPANISH LAD. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 Rumours of War The Rival Dinner-Tables" Slender Billy" Bonaparte's 
 Trickery Spanish Violence Wellington with the Hounds French and 
 English Aspects ; the Outsides of the Nations. 
 
 Head-quarters, St. Jean de Luz, 
 
 January 11, 1814. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 FINE weather is now returned, and no doubt 
 before we have been quiet another week, should it last, 
 we shall be stirred up a little by the French. At 
 present, all our usual avocations are proceeding, and all 
 is quiet. 
 
 The only event in my own establishment which has 
 occurred is my taking into my service a Spanish lad, in 
 addition to my other servants, but it will end in my 
 getting rid of an idle Portuguese, who does nothing. I 
 found the lad begging and in misery, by the seaside, and 
 asked his history. He told me he was without father 
 and mother, and came from a village two leagues beyond 
 Madrid ; that he had been under-stable servant to a 
 French Commandant, who had gone wounded from 
 Eayonne to the rear, towards Paris, and had turned 
 Mm off. He therefore came back here, towards Spain. 
 At first I only gave him food, and then, that I might 
 not have to try him, took him to General Alava, who 
 promised to send him to General Frere, to make a drum- 
 mer of him. The next morning he called upon me before 
 he started, and, being prepossessed by his looks, I have 
 
FRIGHTENING THE SUTTLERS. 353 
 
 taken him on trial. He seems active and useful ; and I 
 hope will not return my charity by robbing me, of which 
 there is some risk. 
 
 A party of our suttling merchants here behaved ill the 
 other night, by insulting a sick officer ; the worst among 
 them escaped. One is now in confinement, and I have 
 sent in his charge. They are all in a terrible fright of 
 military law. Most probably he will not be tried if he 
 makes an apology ; but it has answered Lord Welling- 
 ton's intention by convincing these men that there is 
 law here, and that they are followers of the army and 
 liable to that law. 
 
 On the neutral ground, on the great road to Bayonne, 
 between our picquets and the French, in front of Biaritz, 
 there are at present, in one of the houses unoccupied by 
 either party, three young damsels alone. They are 
 rather pretty and interesting, and all say very modest. 
 For a time General Stopford, I believe, out of gallantry, 
 put a safeguard there, but it was considered out of our 
 position, and there was some quizzing. So the damsels 
 are left quiet and alone again. They come daily into our 
 lines, to bring milk, &c., and some flirtation goes on ; but 
 there they are safe. This is creditable to both sides. 
 
 I am told that the people at Hasparem, when the 
 French approached the place last week, and it was thought 
 might occupy it, were manifestly alarmed and dissatisfied, 
 and wished us to stay. This might be from the fear of a 
 conflict there, or from the benefits now derived from us, 
 when the first irruption and mischief are over. Fowls 
 are still, near there, to be had for 2s. each, and turkeys 
 from 7s. to 9s, ; but this will not last, as people here have 
 given, and others now ask, as much as 12s. for fowls, and 
 30s. for turkeys, or even more. General Cole, as we ad- 
 vanced, bought nine geese, at a dollar each ; and this was 
 grand pay, and not from fear. Here they are 25s. each. 
 
 Later, How uncertain everything is with us ! Mar- 
 
 2 A 
 
354 RIVAL DINNER-TABLES. 
 
 shal Beresford's aide-de-camp is just come in to Lord 
 Wellington, and there is some stir on our right again. 
 Lord Wellington and several others are off in that direc- 
 tion, and I am told the former stays out all night ; this 
 looks as if something was suspected. I dine to-day at 
 head-quarters, and am to go as usual, though the chief is 
 away. He asked me yesterday, but I told him that 
 Greneral Hill had asked me three days before, and ex- 
 pected me. " Very well," said he, " but I advise you to 
 come to me, nevertheless, as you will get a much better 
 dinner, for Greneral Hill gives the worst dinners going." 
 To Greneral Hill's, however, I went and though plain 
 fare, compared to Lord Wellington's, whose table is just 
 now very good, and much improved, I got a very good 
 dinner. 
 
 If any dependence could be placed on appearances, I 
 should say nothing important was going on to-day ; for I 
 saw Lord Wellington after he had seen the aide-de-camp, 
 and he read a long letter quietly through, seeming quite 
 at his ease ; but he takes all that arises so coolly that this 
 proves nothing. A sudden change again to rain will, in 
 my opinion, damp the plans of the French, if they had 
 any, as well as give all those gone off to the right a 
 miserable ride, as it seems well set in for the day. Wind 
 and wet seem here to be winter. 
 
 What a change has arisen for our young Prince of 
 Orange who was here ! I only hope he will not be spoilt 
 by success and prosperity. In a little time, after all, it 
 would not surprise me to hear of his looking back to the 
 time he spent here at head -quarters as the pleasantest 
 part of his life. Slender Billy was his nickname with 
 those who were intimate with him, and he knew it ; for 
 one day, at dinner, Lord Fitzroy Somerset, not knowing 
 that he was present, said, " Where is Slender Billy to- 
 day?" Upon which the Prince put his head forward, 
 and called out, " Here I am, Fitzroy ; what do you want ?" 
 
BONAPARTE'S TRICKERY. 355 
 
 January 12th. Lord Wellington and his party came 
 back to dinner yesterday. The cause of the bustle was as 
 follows. We had in our possession a mill which belonged 
 rather to the French position than to ours ; they attacked 
 it, and, after some brisk firing, it was abandoned to them, 
 and then all was quiet again. This news passed Lord 
 Wellington on the road, but missed him, or he would not 
 have gone on as far as he did. Ustaritz is about fifteen 
 good miles from hence, and the road in parts almost up 
 to a horse's belly. Lord Wellington rode there in the 
 rain in two hours and ten minutes, and back in two hours 
 and a half, up and down hills and through the clay : this 
 proves a horse. 
 
 The next piece of news you will, probably, hear first : 
 but if you should not, you have to learn that the cunning 
 Bonaparte has been making a treaty with King Fernando 
 VII. privately about a peace with Spain, and that he has 
 sent it to the Cortes for their approval, and has appointed 
 an ambassador for that purpose to Madrid. The guber- 
 nador, or preceptor and major domo of King Ferdinand, 
 is either at Madrid or on his way thither. Spain, and 
 Madrid in particular, is said to be in much agitation. 
 The Cortes are to meet the 15th of January. This is a 
 very artful plan to create jealousies between us, if not to 
 procure a partial peace. We shall see now of what the 
 Kegency and Cortes are made. They have in professions 
 bullied much, and resolved never to treat at all whilst a 
 Frenchman remained in Spain. How they will act up to 
 their resolution is now to be seen. 
 
 Friday, January Uth. We have now French papers 
 up to the 3rd from Paris, and have got Bonaparte's vale- 
 dictory address, on setting out for the army in France, to 
 fight on old French territory. This, I think, if the Allies 
 persist, must end the business soon, for if he is well 
 beaten, there must certainly be a rising in France ; and 
 if he beats the Allies, we shall in my opinion have a peace, 
 
 2 A 2 " 
 
356 PORTUGUESE FOLLY. 
 
 except that lie seems determined, even now, not to give 
 up Holland, and that we must at all events retain, if pos- 
 sible. The crisis is, however, apparently approaching, 
 and that rapidly. 
 
 We remain here in statu quo. French desertion is di- 
 minishing, and seems for the moment quiet. The only 
 event of interest has been the folly of two Portuguese 
 officers near the Adour. They had had a long parley 
 with the Trench, were, it is said, drinking together, but 
 were somehow persuaded by their French new acquaint- 
 ance to pass over the river for a dance, or wine, or some 
 reason of that sort, under a promise of being allowed to 
 return safe. They went, however, and have never got 
 back.. Lord Wellington has written to Gazan, remind- 
 ing him of his having sent back six French soldiers, who 
 were taken by the Portuguese in the heat of the cam- 
 paign, owing to a similar promise or understanding, not 
 having been known to them as made to the French. 
 Lord Wellington claims the two Portuguese in the same 
 way, as being taken by a breach of faith in the French 
 officers. If this be not acceded to, he then requests that 
 the two officers may be put for some time into close con- 
 finement or arrest, which, he says, they deserve, and 
 might probably meet here if restored. As yet no answer 
 is arrived. 
 
 A French dragoon of the 21st chasseurs, a deserter, 
 came in yesterday, giving a curious account of his reason 
 for deserting. He says he had been fourteen years in 
 the French service, and was now a corporal; that his 
 own captain's nephew had lately joined as a private in 
 his troop, and that he, the corporal, had to place this 
 man on duty ; that he was not tractable or obedient, and 
 that he was obliged to strike him with the flat of his 
 sword ; that the nephew told the uncle, and, when they 
 returned, the captain, as soon as he met the deserter, 
 gave him a severe blow in the face with his fist; and 
 
SPANISH VIOLENCE. 357 
 
 that, in consequence, lie immediately got on his horse, 
 and came off to us. He is a fine-looking soldier; and, 
 though he has sold his horse for a hundred dollars, says, 
 that he now repents much what he was induced to do in 
 the heat of the moment ; but it is now too late the 
 deed is done, and he must persevere. 
 
 I forgot to tell you, in my last, of an act of Spanish 
 violence at Vittoria, which has caused a strong sensation 
 in the English army, especially at Yittoria. The Ho- 
 nourable Captain Gr , of the 94th, was quartered 
 
 there, and had had some intrigue with a girl. He at 
 first took her home to his quarter. Her friends had 
 recourse to the police. The armed police came, and were 
 
 in the house to take the girl : Captain Gr resisted, 
 
 and the police were fairly turned out again by him and 
 his servant. When out of the house, they are said to 
 have formed, .as it were, and then to have fired in through 
 the door in cool blood, and with no particular object as 
 
 to taking Captain Gr . The latter was shot, and 
 
 died almost immediately. Had this happened during 
 the conflict, it might have been correct enough, though 
 rather harsh and unnecessary in an armed police against 
 an individual for comparatively a trifling offence ; but as 
 the story is told, it is quite inexcusable, and seems to 
 have been merely an act of spite and vexation, at having 
 suffered themselves to be repulsed by the captain. It 
 was revenge for having exposed their cowardice. 
 
 The fox-hounds were out yesterday, and killed a fox ; 
 but had not a very good run. Lord Wellington wore 
 the Salisbury hunt-coat, sky-blue and black cape. The 
 Spanish General Frere accompanied him, and as formerly 
 he was a general of cavalry, and the fox soon took to 
 earth, I understand Frere kept up, but all his staff 
 were distanced. 
 
 I feel now quite at ease about my animals, for I have 
 collected straw and hay, and furze enough for about 
 
358 PROJECTED BALL. 
 
 eight days, which is with us looking very forward, as 
 much so as is prudent. My Spanish boy, after being 
 here a day or two, told me he would rather set out and 
 try to find his way to Madrid, so I dismissed him, lest 
 he should take a horse or mule to expedite him on his 
 journey. 
 
 We cannot prevent the Spanish boats from still getting 
 down the Adour to Bayonne, though it is not quite so 
 easy as it was to navigate the river. If all remains 
 quiet, Lord Wellington talks of giving a ball here on 
 the 18th of January, the Queen's birthday, but nothing 
 can be settled long beforehand. The English ladies will 
 be few, and all married women. We have still only four 
 of the legitimate kind. The mayor of the town says 
 that a number of the ladies who frequented the balls 
 before we came, and of whom I found a list in my quarter, 
 are still here, and will be forthcoming if called upon. 
 
 I find my French " seat of war" a most useful acqui- 
 sition, as it now contains the whole war, except our own, 
 and that I have in the map of this department, which is 
 on a superior scale. 
 
 From four to six o'clock our promenade on the wall is 
 quite gay, for all the great men of business, including 
 Lord Wellington himself, generally appear there at that 
 time, and the Guards also, though the exertion of 
 walking, to which we men of business are accustomed to 
 take at a true twopenny postman's long trot, is too great 
 for them ; yet they are formed about in knots and 
 groups, sitting on the wall, or gently lounging on it, and 
 add to the gaiety of the scene. We soon perceive when 
 their turn of duty at the outposts takes them away to the 
 front for a week. 
 
 As a proof of the supine and inactive state of the 
 Spanish government, bread and corn are so cheap and 
 abundant this year in the Castiles, that they are quite 
 without demand, and it even answers to bring Spanish 
 
FRENCH AND ENGLISH ASPECTS. 359 
 
 bread up here to sell, above fifty, and, I believe, a 
 hundred miles ; and yet the Spanish nation, relieved from 
 the French army and our own, cannot supply the few 
 men we have in front with us, in France and on the 
 frontier, with money or anything. To prevent their 
 plundering, we now not only have clothed Don Carlos's 
 soldiers, near Hasparen, but have given them a month's 
 pay, and provided them with rations of biscuits from 
 England. With such a nation, and such a population, 
 the state of the Spanish army, and the supplies, which 
 get, I think, worse instead of better, is most provokingly 
 disgraceful to their government and leading men. 
 
 I have been much struck with the change in the 
 appearance of this town, when French head-quarters 
 were here, and now that it has become the head- 
 quarters of the English. It shows the difference between 
 the two nations. When I was last there, all was gay 
 and glittering, full of chattering officers in their best 
 uniforms, with gold lace and ornaments, and prancing 
 country steeds with housings and trappings of all kinds. 
 The shops were crowded with sky-blue and scarlet caps 
 embroidered with silver and gold, and pantaloons the 
 same, smart cloaks, trinkets, &c. The road was covered 
 with long cars, bringing in supplies drawn by mules 
 gaily ornamented, and with bells, and waggoners with 
 blue frocks, and long smacking whips, whilst the quay 
 was nearly deserted, only a few boats to be seen which 
 had just returned from an unsuccessful attempt to send 
 in shot and shells to St. Sebastian ; the sailors idle, and 
 scarcely the appearance of a port visible. Bread and 
 vegetables were abundant ; other eatables, not so. 
 
 Now we have, on the contrary, a different scene ; not 
 a piece of finery is to be seen, no gay caps, no pantaloons, 
 no ornaments. The officers all in their morning great 
 coats ; Lord Wellington in his plain blue coat, and round 
 hat, or perhaps in his sky-blue Salisbury hunting dress. 
 
360 THE BASQUES. 
 
 The streets, full of Spanish mules, with supplies, and 
 muleteers, &c., all running against you, and splashing 
 you as you walk ; every shop crowded with eatahles 
 wines, sauces, pickles, hams, tongues, hutter, and sardines. 
 The quay is now always a busy scene, covered with some 
 rum casks, and flour casks, and suttler stores ; the sailors 
 all in our pay, at work constantly and making fortunes ; 
 the pilots in full hourly employment, bringing in vessels 
 here or at Sacoa. The latter is full of masts and sails 
 from Passages, Bilboa, Lisbon, or the West of England. 
 The prices are still enormous, and of course the activity 
 is the result. The Trench peasants are always on the 
 road between this place and Bayonne, bringing in poultry, 
 and smuggling out sugar in sacks on their heads. 
 
 The Basques must have been a very happy race 
 twenty years since, for though generally a poor country, 
 there is plenty of their usual food Indian corn, and 
 excellent meadows by the rivers, which are numerous. 
 Fish is easily procured the houses are spacious and com- 
 fortable, and the children seem numerous, well-grown, 
 intelligent, and healthy. The men are tall, straight, and 
 active; the women, stout and useful, and rather good- 
 looking. Nor was any great deficiency of young men 
 observable ; the proportions seemed much the same as in 
 England, though certainly there are not so many tall idle 
 fellows about as in Ireland. The town, however, had 
 evident marks of a tendency to retrograde and decay. 
 
 Later, the 16th. By the last French papers (which 
 we now have to the 8th, and which bring us the good 
 news from Genoa), I find the accounts of Bonaparte 
 setting out to put himself at the head of a hundred and 
 eighty thousand men near Dijon or Macon, is at least 
 premature, for he is still reviewing at Paris. We have 
 stories of disturbances arising out of the conscription, but 
 nothing certain seems known about them. The French, 
 a few days since, surprised a few of our forage mules near 
 
COBBETT'S ADVICE. 361 
 
 Lahoupon ; I believe only eight. Lahoupon is a place 
 which neither party is fixed in, but both patrole through 
 occasionally. 
 
 P.S. Notwithstanding Cobbett says, we men from 
 the Peninsula must never think of marrying English 
 women, we may at least be anxious about our friends ; 
 for we are not, I conclude, worn out for friendship, as 
 well as for love. Tell me all you can, as usual, about 
 every one in your world. 
 
3(53 NEWS FROM THE NORTH. 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 State of Feeling in France Rocket-Practice The Prince Regent's Hobby 
 The Mayor's Ball The Flag-of-Truce. 
 
 Head Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, 
 January 18th, 1814. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 AFTER two or three days' continual rain, we have 
 at last a clear beautiful day ; thermometer in my room 
 at 63. 
 
 In the midst of a terrible storm the day before 
 yesterday a little cockle shell of a sloop arrived in the 
 open bay here, with the Count de Grammont on board 
 and Colonel Abercrombie, with despatches and a paper of 
 the 10th. This told us the principal news. We have 
 thus heard that the Danes are with us ; ideas of peace 
 thrown aside, and the Allies across the Ehine. This is 
 popular news here ; for almost all are against a peace with 
 Bonaparte, partly from public feelings that such a peace 
 would be injurious to England and the world, partly the 
 fact that any peace would not be desirable to our military 
 men, especially to those on the staff, w^hose splendour 
 would be much shorn by it. The civilians and regimental 
 officers, who are not on the eve of a step, are alone 
 inclined to a peace ; to many it will be ruinous. 
 
 We again hear of refractory conscripts, and men 
 refusing to march, in the right of the department de 
 Landes and elsewhere, and I believe it in some degree. 
 But this alone will not do without a more general feeling 
 
STATE OF FEELING IN FRANCE. 303 
 
 and even then scarcely, unless a portion of the army 
 takes a part and declares its views against the common 
 enemy Bonaparte, whom all Europe are now hunting like 
 a mad dog. 
 
 The Count de Grammont has made a most expeditious 
 trip. He had had communications with the persons on 
 his former property here, and I suppose his visit home 
 was connected with this, to know what line to pursue, 
 &c. The feelings of this part of France seem, as yet, to 
 be still the same : all desire peace, and for that purpose 
 are eager to get rid of Bonaparte ; but there is no feeling 
 manifested towards the Bourbons, not hitherto, at least ; 
 and I really believe the military men, and even many 
 civilians, would rather have Bonaparte if they could be 
 sure of a peace with him. He has done much for them, 
 and on a great scale. The Code Napoleon has been a 
 great work, and from what I hear is much liked. Instead 
 of being governed, and oppressed in fact, by the rich, as 
 they were before, they are now governed by the law, and 
 that a good law; and as the mayor here and several 
 others say, well administered, when the state was not 
 concerned. The only defect seemed to be that the 
 magistrates having been latterly ill-paid, a temptation to 
 corruption on their part existed ; and this was a change 
 from anarchy, and therefore the more felt, as then the 
 strongest (I mean in means and territory) was everything 
 and the poor man nothing. In short, the only really 
 great grievance felt at this distance from the court of the 
 tyrant seems to have been the horrid conscription and its 
 tremendous increase of late, and the want of commerce. 
 Nor would the French feel either of these so much as 
 any other nation in Europe. The first she would not 
 feel so much, on account of the natural tendency of the 
 inhabitants to a military life and habits ; the last, from 
 the great internal resources of France in other respects, 
 making loss of commerce of much less importance to her 
 
364 ROCKET PRACTICE. 
 
 than to almost any other power which had been ac- 
 customed to enjoy them. I do not mean less than 
 Austria, which has been so generally shut out from com- 
 merce to any extent, but compared with England, Hol- 
 land, or Sweden. 
 
 Thursday, 20th. Another change again in the weather. 
 Yesterday it was quite a fine, sunny, warm day, till one 
 or two o'clock, like our May, and we were all out, 
 witnessing some experiments made with the rockets, 
 about two miles off, when a storm gathered, and soon 
 the rain and wind came, and has continued to this time. 
 The night has been very boisterous, and one of our 
 Commissariat transports has been on shore in the bay 
 here, stranded, and it is feared that five or six lives are 
 lost : all hands are now at work moving the stores corn 
 and hay. 
 
 All the military men in the vicinity were here with 
 Lord Wellington, including General Frere, the Spanish 
 General. The ground-rockets, intended against cavalry, 
 did not seem to answer very well. They certainly made 
 a most tremendous noise, and were formidable spitfires ; 
 no cavalry could stand if they came near them, but in 
 that seemed the difficulty, for none went within half a 
 mile of the intended object, and the direction seemed 
 extremely uncertain. The ground was very bad, and on 
 a flat, or along a road, where they would ricochet or 
 bound along straight they might do very well, but in the 
 present experiment they went bang into the ground, 
 sometimes within two hundred yards, and sometimes one 
 way and sometimes another. Some of them, instead of 
 going fourteen hundred yards, as intended, were off in a 
 hundred, and some pieces of the shell came back even 
 
 amongst us spectators, one very near Dr. N and me, 
 
 whilst we \vere standing on one side, out of the way as 
 we thought. The fire, however, seemed very strong, as 
 one got into a green hedge, and set it in a blaze directly ; 
 
CAPTURE OF A FRENCH PICQUET. 365 
 
 the furze and heath were on fire, and only put out by the 
 rain. Those which were let off at an elevation supposed 
 for burning towns, &c., were much more successful, and 
 some went very near the spot, compared with others ; 
 that is, I think they would have hit Bayonne, for 
 instance, somewhere or other, and no doubt have set 
 fire to the town ; but the part of the town you could not 
 very well choose, for their power seemed very different, 
 and the wind at times carried them three hundred or 
 four hundred yards away from the direction intended. 
 
 Upon the whole I do not think they were much ad- 
 mired, though in certain cases they might be useful, 
 especially when the enemy are in a mountainous track, 
 like at the battle of Pamplona, and near us. Where 
 guns could not be got up without great difficulty, these 
 rockets could be carried by hand, or on mules, and being 
 let off near, would have tremendous effect even upon 
 
 infantry when in column. General , who is very 
 
 wise and knowing in the secret views and springs of 
 everything (or at least would be thought so), says that 
 all that fuse of the Crown Prince and Sir Charles Stewart, 
 as to the effect of the rockets in the North, was to please 
 the Prince Eegent in England, the great patron of the 
 rockets. 
 
 The stranded ship was, I hear, driven out of the har- 
 bour of Sacoa by the gale. This is quite extraordinary, 
 for the vessels are there quite shut up. The place is, 
 however, too full by far, for no transport likes to move 
 again when once safe there. The packet lost in the har- 
 bour of Passages last week shows you the sort of gales 
 and seas we have here. 
 
 This morning, a French picquet of about thirty men 
 were marched off from hence, prisoners ; they were sur- 
 prised by us two nights ago. We got close, and when 
 challenged, an old Highlander called out " deserter," so 
 the sentinel did not fire, and our men got in among them 
 and carried off the picquet. I am not very glad of this, 
 
366 FALSE ALARM. 
 
 for I fear it will lead the French to try and return the 
 compliment, and make the outpost duty much more dan- 
 gerous and troublesome than it has been. If it only leads 
 to their shooting our next deserter, so much the better. 
 Deserters continue to come in and tell strange stories. 
 They say that Marshal Soult has issued orders, that 
 whenever a foreigner is to be on outpost duty, all his 
 necessaries, knapsack, &c., are to be taken from him, and 
 he is besides to be watched and placed with others. They 
 even say that a German posted on sentry has his shoes 
 taken away from him. This v barring exaggeration, no 
 doubt is nearly true. 
 
 It is reported that last week three hundred young con- 
 scripts belonging to one regiment were employed to carry 
 bread to the brigade, and that when near one of the 
 French sentinels, they were challenged by him, but from 
 not understanding matters, they made no answer, and 
 advanced ; upon which he fired at them, when the whole 
 three hundred threw down their bread and ran into 
 camp, crying, that the enemy were coming. 
 
 But the best story of all, if true, was told by the 
 mayor of Biaretz, who states that he understands three 
 French divisions are under orders to proceed direct to 
 Lyons, whether to meet Schwartzenburg or on account 
 of disturbances does not seem clear, even if the story be 
 true. 
 
 Friday, January %lst. In spite of the wet yesterday, 
 Lord "Wellington having heard of the surprised picquet, 
 set off to the front to inquire about it, or, as he said last 
 night, to know if it was worth while to surprise it again, 
 as it has been renewed by the French ; but he thought 
 not, and was back here to dinner, and in the evening at 
 a ball at the mayoralty. This ball was an attempt to 
 ascertain how far anything of the sort would answer. 
 The mayor was to manage it, and ask all the ladies, and 
 a list of the officers to be asked was given to him, and 
 tickets sent out, and he was to provide the best enter- 
 
THE MAYOR'S BALL. 367 
 
 tainment he could for a dollar-a-head from the gentlemen 
 only, which will be collected accordingly. It went off, 
 however, but ill, and will not in my opinion be renewed. 
 There were about a dozen or fifteen elderly women, 
 French, who have remained here, and who seemed of the 
 better order, but who came in our country town fashion, 
 with the cloak, the woman servant, and the large lan- 
 tern, only many of them brought the maid in with them 
 to sit behind and look on. Then there were about six- 
 teen or eighteen younger ladies, French, but who seemed 
 to be nearly all the tradesmen's families in the place, 
 none of the better sort, but from behind the counter in 
 the morning. They were, however, well dressed, and 
 danced tolerably for French for English very finely. 
 About half a dozen old Frenchmen, some respectable ; 
 and about eight young beaux of the place, who had 
 escaped the conscription, and who had remained here, 
 made up the French party. There were six English 
 ladies altogether, but who, excepting one, declined dan- 
 cing French dances or waltzes, and there was nothing 
 else but one country dance, which went off ill. I have 
 no doubt the French either thought them excessively 
 fine, or that they could not dance. There might be 
 quite as much of the latter as the former. Then to com- 
 plete the assembly, came about two hundred officers, all 
 in their best, and forming a very smart squeeze. What 
 would your fine ladies in London have not given for such 
 a display of gentlemen? All the field officers of six 
 battalions of the Guards, and about fifty other guards' 
 officers, and all the head-quarters' staff, generals, aides- 
 de-camp, were there. 
 
 I think Cobbett would have admitted that, with so 
 many fine young men there, the whole Peninsula squad 
 could not be quite so despicable in the eyes of the 
 English fair. Three sets of cotillions were formed, and 
 some waltzes, but the whole went off but indifferently. 
 
368 THE WRECKED SHIP. 
 
 A Frenchman of about forty or fifty, one of the police of 
 the town, volunteered a hornpipe, which was tolerably 
 good. About 12 or 1 o'clock a long table was opened 
 for the ladies, covered with pastry of different shapes : no 
 meat the wine, claret. At half-past one I came away, 
 leaving the dancers rather beginning to romp. This will 
 not do, because the belles are not good enough to please 
 in a sober way, and if liberties are taken they would be 
 offended, or at least their male relations would be for 
 them. Lord "Wellington was soon off, and whilst there 
 seemed to be principally occupied with little military 
 arrangements. He, however, seemed pleased with the 
 thing, and asked me as I passed, if I thought Gazan ever 
 had a better ball ? I only said, " I am sure there never 
 were so many gentlemen in the mayor's house before." 
 Better dancing, however, there may have been. 
 
 Still rain, without ceasing. I have been skipping with 
 one of my mule ropes, instead of my walk to-day with my 
 umbrella. I got to the wrecked ship yesterday. The 
 best account seems to be that she pulled up the post to 
 which she was fastened in Sacoa harbour, and drifted out ; 
 the captain was on shore ; the missing are three men and 
 a woman, and they are supposed to be lost, and it is be- 
 lieved that the men were in the rigging trying to make 
 things right, when the mast broke. The Guards were 
 set to work as fatigue-parties at low water, and the cargo 
 removed on shore, consisting of hay and biscuit, not much 
 damaged by the wreck. The hay, however, of which one 
 truss fell to my share, was previously almost mouldy 
 with wet, perhaps a little taste of salt may give it a 
 relish, and any how it is as good as coarse straw and 
 furze, and better than nothing, which is my mules' long 
 forage at present. The muleteer is so popular, the 
 Portuguese give him so much drink to make him dance 
 and amuse them, that he is very ill with it, and lying 
 below with a blister and emetic; and the mules there* 
 

 FRENCH TRICKERY. 309 
 
 fore get no grass, as I cannot turn them out ; and straw 
 I cannot afford them. 
 
 Another ingenious trick has just been told me of the 
 French here. They advanced towards Murillo's Spa- 
 niards, the latter fired at them ; they sent in to say 
 they were very much surprised, for they understood they 
 were at peace with the Spaniards now, as a treaty was 
 signed. Murillo sent back for answer, that he knew of 
 no peace, and that, if the Cortes or Eegency had signed 
 such a peace, still he should continue to do as the English 
 did, and fire at the French until orders came to him to 
 the contrary, and that regularly through the Duke of 
 Ciudad Eodrigo. This is all as it should be, but the 
 trick is a curious one. 
 
 Saturday, %%nd. The weather is now more like winter 
 than it has yet been. At St. Jean de Luz we have a 
 raw, cold air, no sun, a damp fog. La Rhune and all 
 the hills round are covered with snow ; nothing but a 
 little sleet has fallen here. 
 
 Sunday, Post-day. -A fine day, but really like winter ; 
 the coldest we have had, and a north-east wind, which 
 will, I think, before it arrived here, have frozen you all 
 up stiff in England and in Holland. We were all 
 yesterday surprised by the news that the French picquets 
 were all withdrawn near Bayonne on our front on this 
 side, and that we might proceed close in to the works 
 round Bayonne. What this exactly means we none of 
 us know ; Lord Wellington, however, was over imme- 
 diately, to have a peep into the town on that side. 
 Careless about himself, he got so close, that I understand 
 there were some French in a house within about forty 
 yards of him ; nor did he move until he thought a French 
 frigate lying in the harbour seemed to be making pre- 
 parations to fire at the party. I mentioned to you it 
 was on the 10th of December, in front here, that he got 
 quite in the midst of the broken Portuguese, where there 
 
 2 B 
 
370 WELLINGTON'S CARELESSNESS. 
 
 were cross fires on all sides, and was fearful on moving 
 off quickly back, even though he wanted to go and order 
 up fresh troops, lest the bad example might increase the 
 disorder, and throw the men in greater confusion ; so he 
 went leisurely back, until out of sight, and then cantered 
 off to the unbroken part of the column. 
 
 We have more reports of insurrections in France, and 
 the French have been circulating the story, that the 
 preliminaries of peace (a general peace) are already signed, 
 and have sent the report in here. I suspect that it is all 
 a trick, for all shifts and schemes are now resorted to ; 
 amongst others, Bonaparte has sent back Palafox to 
 Spain. it is concluded, to intrigue, for he is well known 
 now, and the Cortes have, I am told, refused to receive 
 him or take any notice of him. The promotion of 
 O'Donaghue as Lieutenant-general, and his quitting the 
 situation of War Minister in consequence, is considered 
 a sort of triumph on our part, for he was suspected of 
 being inimical to Lord Wellington and the British 
 interests. Of his successor, Moreno, I know nothing, 
 except that he has generally been of the War Council, 
 and in civil-military employments, and has not seen much 
 service. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, January %6th t 1814. 
 I have now another letter to thank you for, of the date of 
 the llth instant, and papers to the same period, for 
 which my best thanks are also due. These arrived by 
 the sloop of war, with Colonel Bunbury, and are particu- 
 larly acceptable, for (except Lord Wellington), no one has 
 letters by the packet, or papers later than the 5th. 
 Colonel Bunbury brought one of the 13th for Lord 
 Wellington. In some degree, however, all your papers 
 now lose their interest, for we have a sort of information 
 through Paris very much quicker, and though not very 
 much to be depended upon, and not very full or accurate, 
 yet it gives us, making all due allowances, a tolerable 
 
UNPLEASANT WEATHER. 371 
 
 insight into what is passing. We have thus now papers 
 of the 17th from Paris, from which it appears the Allies 
 have been at Besangon, Dijon, and even Langres, whilst 
 your accounts only carry them to the frontiers of Swit- 
 zerland. 
 
 The deficiency of my Spanish maps does not signify, 
 for I merely sent them home as a sort of memorial of 
 Yittoria. All I had were only about the tenth part of 
 Lopez, and nearly one-half of what I had are gone to the 
 bottom in the little Catherine, in which I sent two 
 parcels. 
 
 General Gr was always famous here for hospitality 
 
 and very large parties. The only objection to them was 
 the too great crowd at dinner. From what I saw, how- 
 ever, I liked him extremely. There was a wide distance 
 between him and Lord Wellington in material points for 
 a Commander-in-Chief, though I believe he was more po- 
 pular with those under him, and particularly with his staff. 
 You need n ever apologize for forwarding a letter by 
 any officer sent out express in a ship of war, and direct to 
 head- quarters, for that is the best of all conveyances when 
 available. They are sure to use the greatest expedition, 
 and to have the best sailing-vessel. An officer coming 
 out with convoy in a transport to join his regiment is 
 quite une autre chose, and to be as much avoided. 
 
 We have for the last three days had a touch of your 
 late weather, and have had snow on the ground to the 
 sea's edge every night fresh, and remaining all day on 
 the ground. It is still not very cold in reality, and 
 indeed less so than could be wished, for if colder, we 
 should feel it less. This seems paradoxical, but the truth 
 is, that the ground here is not hard, and the snow, when 
 trodden upon in the streets, melts, and forms a most 
 chilling mud, and there is a cold evaporation going on 
 worse than a hard frost. It is here every day like the 
 first beginning of a cold thaw. 
 
 2 B 2 
 
372 FLAG-OF-TRUCE. 
 
 Yesterday one of my deputies, passing through here, 
 dined with me. He is a very gentleman-like, quiet, and 
 most diligent character, and I only hope my mention 
 of him, in particular to General Pakenham, the Adjutant- 
 general, coupled with that of Colonel Royals, whose 
 Adjutant he has been, may do him some service. He 
 has been down at Coimbra, and elsewhere. His name is 
 Arden, and he is a lieutenant in the 61st. He was last 
 from St. Andero, and told me a curious story about a 
 late flag-of- truce there. 
 
 Much of our clothing was, you may have heard, carried 
 to Santona, near there, as a prize. Many of our men 
 were, consequently, in absolute tatters. Lord Wellington 
 proposed to Soult to buy it at a valuation, and let the 
 Governor of Santona have the money to pay his garrison. 
 Soult agreed, and gave an order, with a pass. Mr. Drake, 
 the Commissary, was ordered to go into Santona, in con- 
 sequence, with a flag to treat. Instead of one trumpeter, 
 five persons improperly went with him. The French 
 officer on the post came out, told him he did not under- 
 stand a flag-of-truce with five persons, and the Spaniards 
 drawn up so near, that he might suspect treachery, and 
 must do his duty, though Soult' s orders and pass might 
 be all regular. In short, said he, "I return in, and in 
 one minute I fire a gun at you ; so make the best of 
 your way off." Though the party offered to be taken in 
 as prisoners, the Frenchman went in ; so off they ran, 
 and just as they turned the corner of a house, a twenty- 
 four pounder was after them. The Governor was angry 
 with the officer. A new flag with one person advanced : 
 Drake was admitted, but was blinded for nearly a league ; 
 and yet the person near him and another, let in after- 
 wards, were permitted to see all. When the mission was 
 understood, and the party discovered to be civilians, the 
 Governor was very polite. He gave them good wine, 
 but bad bread and meat, which the power of fancy made 
 
FLAG-OF-TRUCE. 373 
 
 Brake think was horseflesh. He then said that the 
 shoes, gaiters, pantaloons, and some of the caps, his men 
 then wore, so that as to those the mission was too late ; 
 but the jackets they were welcome to purchase, with some 
 other things, and a bargain was soon made. The Go- 
 vernor then said, " I know your road home is infamous 
 to St. Andero you shall return in our privateer row- 
 barge." This they did in a very short time, and the 
 finale was a formal complaint from the Spanish autho- 
 rities at St. Andero, against Drake, for having dared to 
 let a French row-boat enter St. Andero without their 
 leave and their pass. When in the town all the children, 
 &c., crowded round Drake and his party to see an En- 
 glishman. This made the Governor very angry, and he 
 had them dispersed, asking them " what there was to 
 look at in an Englishman?" at which they shouted under 
 his nose " Viva los Ingleses ! Viva ! Viva ! " I wish 
 the higher class of Spaniards were as staunch as the 
 peasantry and rabble. 
 
 Saturday. Our regular mail has not yet arrived ; so 
 your papers up to the llth have been in most constant 
 request ; for, though there was one here up to the 13th, 
 there was no regular set to the llth. The snow has 
 ended in torrents of cold rain again ; the roads, almost 
 more impassable, if that be possible, than they were before, 
 of course impede all movement, even if intended. No- 
 thing but a rising or commotions, would tempt us out, 
 and that must be without cannon in a great measure, and 
 dependant for provisions principally on the country, as 
 our transport diminishes daily in the army, from the 
 death of mules, or desertion of muleteers. 
 
 The life of the subaltern officers just now is very 
 arduous and unpleasant ; winter quarters they certainly 
 have, but that is all ; four or five in a room, comforts 
 very few, a great deal of duty with forage parties, and 
 going to Passages for corn, bread, &c., and always in the 
 
374 A FRENCH FAMILY. 
 
 wet, and up to the knees in mud. Matters, however, 
 must, in my opinion, end soon. 
 
 We have French papers to the 20th, and by them find 
 the Allies at Langres, Dijon, and Lyons ; we are told 
 that they are well received. Upon this it must very 
 much turn at last. The news from the French camp and 
 from Bayonne is of peace. Our mayor has had a letter 
 from his confidential friend at Bayonne. The basis was 
 at last agreed upon on both sides, and a congress to take 
 place at Basle. This may be fabricated, for the purpose 
 of keeping the country and army here quiet until the 
 event be really so. The French must now or never get 
 rid of Bonaparte, if they wish it. It is not very flattering 
 to the Bourbons, that even the repeated sufferings and 
 disasters the nation has endured from Bonaparte scarcely 
 seem to be able to rouse up the least attachment to 
 them ; and that even the last necessity seems hardly to 
 make the people willing to run any risks for the old 
 royal family. Yet I am almost sure the feeling would 
 rapidly spread, from the sort of despair now prevailing as 
 to la pauvre France, if a good beginning could be but 
 once made. 
 
 You must remember the article of capitulation as to 
 the Commissaire de Guerre and his family, the brother's 
 wife, and two daughters, &c., at St. Sebastian. They 
 have never yet returned to France, and are now here. 
 The exchange of the Com-missaire could never be ar- 
 ranged ; and the ladies, though offered to return without 
 him, would not do so, expecting that he would every day 
 be able to accompany them. Lord Wellington let them 
 remain at Passages, until the matter was finally settled ; 
 and there they have been all the time in the same house 
 
 with one of our Commissaries, Mr. M . And now, 
 
 when they were all to go back, the latter has declared 
 himself the admirer professed of the youngest girl, and 
 they are after all halted here at St. Jean de Luz until he 
 
IGNORANCE OF THE SPANIARDS. 375 
 
 can marry her, and then the rest of the party pass into 
 the French lines. I met them at dinner yesterday ; 
 they are a pleasant family. The girl pleasing and rather 
 pretty, and in the English style ; the mother a clever 
 woman ; the other girl not pretty, but odd, and, I think, 
 clever. 
 
 Our new Admiral is arrived, having left England on 
 the 21st. All our mails are thus forestalled, as we have 
 still only mail papers and letters to the 5th. We are 
 told that there is no news in particular, but that all 
 is warlike. Our story here is, however, of a still later 
 date, and may possibly still be true. The only other 
 news we have is from Catalonia; and that, it is to 
 be feared, is bad. You will, however, get it before you 
 have this, I conclude, from the Gazette. General Donkin 
 told me his letters stated that we had made an attack on 
 Moulins del Eey on the Lobregat, near Barcelona ; that 
 the Spaniards were to cross the river and turn the 
 French : that they were too slow and too late, and so the 
 whole plan failed ; but that we suffered but little, and 
 that the loss was nearly all Spanish, who lost two colonels 
 killed. I do not believe that all Spain would drive 
 Suchet or his army out, except by time, and wear and 
 tear never by force. The Government, however, have 
 behaved well, I believe, as to the late French attempts 
 through Ferdinand, and through our English hero 
 Palafox. 
 
 I am sorry not to be able still to admire the latter. 
 It is mortifying to strike out the name of one of the few 
 Spanish heroes which this five years' war has produced. 
 I am now, however, satisfied that the Spanish insurrec- 
 tion, and all its good consequences, was owing to the 
 thorough ignorance and want of calculation, and of 
 information and judgment of the Spaniards. If they 
 had had more common sense, and knowledge of the true 
 state of things, even their zeal and patriotism (which I 
 
376 LOSS OF A SLOOP OF WAR. 
 
 admit were considerable) would never have induced them 
 to adopt a course so devoid of all prospect of a favourable 
 result, and which every thinking, impartial, able man 
 must have pronounced a desperate mad scheme. We owe 
 it principally, I am sure, to their excessive pride and 
 ignorance, their good opinion, yet want of knowledge of 
 themselves. And this accounts for the most able men at 
 first all going the wrong way. 
 
 Sunday, 3Qth, Post-day. Nothing but wind and rain, 
 wind and rain for ever, and no more news. Some of the 
 deserters say that the French head-quarters are removed 
 to my old place, Mont de Marsan ; but I should think 
 that this can scarcely be yet. The new Admiral dined 
 at head-quarters yesterday, but I understand, has brought 
 little news. One ship under his orders, it is feared, has 
 been lost already, as we have a report of a sloop of war, 
 The Holly, lost at Passages, and several of the crew with 
 it. This is certainly a terrible coast. There is now a 
 vessel riding in the bay here, very uneasy, and cannot 
 enter ; and one was as nearly as possible lost yesterday 
 morning close to Sacoa ; the surf broke over her. The 
 exertions of the French pilots were astonishing. 
 
 Sunday, later, 5 o'clock, 30#A. We have two French 
 officers come out here from England to seek a better fate 
 by a little intrigo, I suppose. One is a Basque of this 
 country on half-pay from our service, and the ' other, 
 a Monsieur La Fitte, I believe a clever man, and a La 
 Vendee hero. 
 
ARMY SUPPLIES. 377 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Army Supplies Offending Villages Symptoms of Work Arrival of the 
 Duke D'Angoul^me The Bridge across the Adour Wellington and his 
 Chief Engineer His Activity. 
 
 Head-quarters, St. Jean de Luz, 
 February 2, 1814. 
 
 MY DEAR M 
 
 HERE we remain absolutely tied by the leg by the 
 horrible state of the roads, and weather, and without 
 any regular news from England. Nothing but reports 
 on the side of France which would encourage us to pro- 
 ceed ; and, on the sea-side, of heavy gales, and lost 
 vessels. I am just now driven in by a furious hailstorm, 
 and yet the weather is mild, and has been till this mo- 
 ment pleasant enough. We have two ships in the little 
 bay here ; one full of hay, which has been four days 
 nearly within three hundred yards of the shore, and in 
 hourly danger of drifting on the beach yet we have not 
 been able, in spite of our distress, to get out a truss ; and 
 the other a brig transport, empty, and driven in here by 
 stress of weather. A frigate was also off here all yester- 
 day, apparently labouring much, and fearful of the coast. 
 We certainly have undertaken a bold thing in wintering 
 in such a place, but it was a choice of difficulties. 
 
 If we had money we should do well, but that is as 
 scarce as anything else. Plenty of supplies would come 
 in from the right from the French, had we cash to give 
 in return. As it is, in consequence of the little ready 
 money we gave at first, a great quantity of cattle, food, 
 
378 OFFENDING VILLAGES. 
 
 &c., has been obtained, but now we are reduced to Trea- 
 sury Bills, and that cannot last, and the loss is very great. 
 Even the muleteers get a past payment now in those 
 bills, and the consequence is that a person may buy them 
 with dollars at the rate of 7s. 4>d., and, I believe, 7s. 6d. 
 a dollar. The army is also six months, and the staff 
 seven months in arrear of their pay. 
 
 We have, however, I believe, plenty of bread and bis- 
 cuit, and meal for a month with the army and corn at 
 Passages in abundance. The short transport from thence 
 is almost too much for us, and the supply is by no means 
 general to the animals, whilst long forage is quite a rarity. 
 The destruction in the oxen is frightful in the rear. Our 
 great depot is as far back as Palencia, and even there, in 
 store, the cattle die very fast, and the moment they march 
 they fall away to nothing and die by fifties. Our Com- 
 missary-general almost despairs of getting more up, 
 although he has made depots of bran and straw, &c., on 
 the road, to try and obviate the total want of food. It is 
 now in contemplation to ship cattle from St. Andero, 
 where there is a store ; but then we have rather a scarcity 
 of naval transports also. Cattle would come in as fast as 
 we wished from twenty leagues to our right, could we but 
 pay for it. As it is, I am almost inclined to think that 
 we shall, as a choice of evils, be obliged, in spite of the 
 roads, to move towards our right in quest of food. 
 
 Two of the villages in that direction have justly in- 
 curred Lord Wellington's displeasure by plundering and 
 seizing our forage parties, of which we have lately lost 
 several. One or two were taken by the peasants of those 
 two villages, and Lord Wellington has issued a procla- 
 mation addressed to them and that country, reminding 
 them that he told them to remain at home, and be quiet, 
 and to take no part, and that if they did so he would 
 protect them ; but that he would not have this treachery 
 in return. If they did not like this proposal, well and 
 
LOSS OF CATTLE. 379 
 
 good, then let them quit their foyers and leave their vil- 
 lages, and take the consequence, and he should be pre- 
 pared to meet them as enemies ; but they must make 
 this election. The cure of one of these villages was car- 
 ried off as a hostage for their good behaviour in future. 
 We have strong reports of commotions and internal 
 dissatisfactions in France, and that Bonaparte is reduced 
 to concentrate his army round Paris. If this be true 
 Lord Wellington must be half mad about the roads. I 
 find he is gone out to-day to look about him. Two nine- 
 pounders have just drawn up opposite my windows with 
 eight horses each, and the men have left their guns under 
 the charge of the Provost guard. I suppose they are on 
 the march. I must inquire what this means. 
 
 February 3rd. The artillery is said to mean nothing ; 
 but still I think if we get fine weather for a week we 
 shall have a start. In confirmation of what I have 
 written above, as to the loss of cattle, I will give you two 
 instances : three hundred and sixty head of convalescent 
 bullocks, which had been left at Vittoria to get into order, 
 were marched for the army ; sixty only have arrived thus 
 far, all the rest have been left at stations between, or been 
 given to the different alcaldes, and receipts taken for them 
 a new mode lately adopted. Five hundred of another 
 lot of fresh bullocks, collected at Palencia, were marched 
 all this way, three hundred only have reached Yittoria, 
 and all the bad road and scarcity of food is yet to come. 
 This is really quite alarming. 
 
 February 3rd, later. I find the guns mean nothing; 
 they are only going on to the front to replace two now 
 there, which are to come back to refit. Still, however, if 
 we could but get fine weather, I think we should make a 
 stir. Bets were going on as to a peace, or our being at 
 Bayonne and across the Adour in six weeks ; and symp- 
 toms of a move shortly are perceptible. The rain, how- 
 ever, continues. Colonel Bunbury made one attempt to 
 
380 MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 
 
 go to the right of our army the day before yesterday, but 
 only got half way, and is unwell in consequence. He is 
 to leave this either in Lord Wellington's carriage, or to 
 go round by water to Passages. The sea is, however, 
 quiet, and now only torments our anxious curiosity by 
 throwing up parts of wrecks and bodies. A ship-cable, 
 with the Gr.B., was found at Bidart, and three men and a 
 woman. Some say that the latter had silk stockings on. 
 One body cast up here was half eaten, and I saw a back- 
 bone only yesterday. The bodies of the mules float in 
 and out every tide. 
 
 As a proof of the state of forage here, and of the 
 manner in which we are imposed upon, five shillings were 
 yesterday demanded for a sack of chopped furze from the 
 surrounding hills, and thus sold in the market. Straw 
 fetches two shillings for a small handful, of which a horse 
 would eat two or three in a day. 
 
 I have just seen a Spanish Captain who was taken 
 prisoner little more than three months since. He has ' 
 been to Macon on the Saone since, where the Allies now 
 are, about six hundred miles from this, having been first 
 plundered of his great coat and pantaloons. He was 
 about thirty-five days getting there on foot all the way, 
 staid there forty days, and then was about thirty-six days 
 more returning here, also on foot, having been exchanged. 
 He says the notion is that we have the Duke d'An- 
 gouleme here, and that very many wish it to be so. This 
 is like my finding many persuaded that we had the Duke 
 cle Berri with our army when I was a prisoner. I sus- 
 pect, however, we shall in part verify this notion now, as 
 I just hear one of the best quarters in the town is to be 
 cleared immediately for an unknown great man, now at 
 Passages, and just arrived from England. At first they 
 even talked of moving the Adjutant-general, Pakenham, 
 to make room for him. This mystery will, however, 
 soon be cleared up. Bain, which is never pleasant, was 
 

 ATITUVAL OP THE DUKE D*ANGOULEME. 381 
 
 never so disagreeable as now. The fate of France may 
 depend upon it. 
 
 The owner of my house is a well-bred woman, who 
 lives in a great house opposite. She lives in one corner 
 of it, whilst General Wimpfen and his staff, and Colonel 
 M , his wife, and three children, occupy all the best 
 part. She has, she told me, thirteen houses round here, 
 five are burnt, and two coming down, and yet she seems 
 resigned and satisfied that we have really behaved very 
 well ; that it is the fate of war, and owing to the ill 
 fortune of having property in a frontier country near 
 armies, and is quite inevitable. She only exclaims, " Oh 
 la pauvre France I" This is a novel language to the 
 French of late. 
 
 4th, Friday. Still rain, rain, rain, all night. All yes- 
 terday, all the night before, and still continuing. Oh ! 
 that we had your frost instead ; all things would have 
 been very different. 
 
 The great man just arrived, and now here, turns 
 out to be the Duke d'Angouleme, and Count Damas is 
 come out with him, but till the plot thickens the Duke is 
 incog. 
 
 Our pontoons from the Bidassoa are now passing over 
 the St. Jean de Luz bridge. This looks like something, 
 and we have to-day at last a dry day, or at least a half 
 day, for I must not be too sure yet. The wind is getting 
 round to the north a little, or north-east, and if that re- 
 mains it will do, especially as it is full moon ; though I 
 have not much more faith in the moon, in respect of 
 weather than Lord Wellington has, who says it is non- 
 sense. In addition to all your news, we have French 
 news of a battle at St. Dizier, near Chalons, and that the 
 Allies have been beaten. It is to be feared that it is not 
 all to go so smoothly as hitherto, unless a rising takes 
 place. 
 
 All odd strangers who come to head-quarters here have 
 
382 MORE DESERTION. 
 
 been long called tigers. Of course we now have " The 
 Boyal Tiger." This is a head-quarters' joke for you. 
 
 We have had for some time here a Madame de , 
 
 the wife of the Commandant of , come to make 
 
 arrangements beforehand, and here she certainly has been 
 making many little arrangements not much to the ad- 
 vantage of her husband, and not quite consistent with 
 conjugal fidelity. When the Commandant arrived yes- 
 terday at last, she immediately began to blame him for 
 his unnecessary delay, and insinuated that another lady 
 was the cause. This is very hard upon a poor old man, 
 but I suppose the lady thought it right to take the 
 initiative. 
 
 The publication of the Leipsig letters, which George 
 mentions, of Murray's, will be very curious, but I think 
 it is not right to let these be published. Similar letters 
 were taken in Spain more than once, and police reports. 
 The old letters which were too late (those I mean from 
 you) were from the Secretary of State's office, not from 
 the Judge-Advocate's office. They were probably mis- 
 laid at the former. 
 
 Sunday, Post-day. A bright sun and a smiling sky, 
 with a smooth bay covered with ships, quite a Vernet. 
 I have just returned from the church service on the 
 beach, in a square of about two thousand five hundred 
 guards, and all the staff here present. As I returned I 
 picked up your letter of the 26th, and papers at the post- 
 office. I have just got some business come in, for deser- 
 tion has commenced again now that we are quiet and 
 idle. A corporal and twelve men all went off together 
 a few nights since, all foreigners, and I believe French. 
 Our people at home are very careless in selecting soldiers 
 to enlist into our corps from the prisons. What can be 
 better for a Frenchman in a prison-ship than to receive 
 4Z., new clothes, arms, &c., and then to be sent into his 
 own country, and put in a situation to join his comrades, 
 
" MOTHER GOOSE." 383 
 
 with only the difficulty of watching a good occasion. In 
 yesterday's return, however, nine men have deserted, 
 mostly English. Your English news is all good as far as 
 it goes, and if this weather will but hold a little, you will 
 hear of more glory and more broken heads here. In ad- 
 dition to the pontoons which have passed up, scaling- 
 ladders have gone through here. If we could but cross 
 the mouth of the Adour below Bayonne, and get at the 
 citadel at once by scaling and storm, there would be 
 something like a blow, and the town would be at our 
 mercy immediately. 
 
 We have some gentlemen here, but very few, who 
 begin to find the work too warm for them. I have been 
 saved two cases of this sort, very awkward ones, by re- 
 signations, and have been consulted on two others by 
 General Cole, very suspicious ones, but not so clear as the 
 other two who are let off thus, to save the reputation of 
 the regiments. An officer should think a little before he 
 engages in service, such as we have had here the last few 
 years. 
 
 More business, so I must put an end to this quickly. 
 I have not seen the Eoyal Tiger, but am to dine at head- 
 quarters to-day, and hope he may be there. The French 
 ladies are staunch Bonapartists. They say we shall have 
 another Quiberon business, and that the Allies are coming 
 into Prance the same old road as twenty years since, and 
 will return by it. 
 
 I have been so pressed to change my old mare, which 
 
 was in high condition, that, to oblige Major D of 
 
 the Guards, I have done so, and taken "Mother Goose" 
 (a pet name of General Hulse's formerly) in exchange, 
 and fifteen guineas to boot. Mother Goose is a very 
 good mare, but never would stand fire. She is not so 
 large or showy as my old lady, but I like her much. She 
 was valued at eighty-five guineas, and has always sold for 
 that. I put mine at a hundred guineas. I gave more 
 
384 CONVERSATION WITH THE DUKE D'ANGOULEME. 
 
 four hundred dollars ; as dollars cannot be bad under 7s., 
 and the exchange is still higher on the muleteer Treasury 
 bills. These, however, I should not think it right to 
 deal in. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, Thursday, February 
 10th, 1814. Thus far the week has passed without my 
 having commenced my usual Journal to you ; for I have 
 had a return of business, and also several gentlemen to 
 swear, and certificates and affidavits to make out, to 
 enable friends to take out administration in England to 
 deceased officers' estates. We have also again had two 
 fine days, and I have been able to get a ride or two in 
 consequence. On Sunday, at head-quarters, I met the 
 Royal Tiger at dinner the Duke d'Angouleme and 
 Monsieur Damas. 
 
 Before dinner I got into conversation with the Duke, 
 without knowing who he was, for they were both dressed 
 alike in a fancy uniform, very like our navy Captain's 
 undress, a plain blue coat, with two gold epaulettes. He 
 seemed much pleased with his prospects, and very san- 
 guine as to the result. The day was fine ; he was sure 
 the weather would last a month. I said that the natives 
 told me we should have rain, and no settled weather 
 until March was half over. He was sure I had been 
 misinformed ; the fact was, however, that it rained half 
 that very night and the whole of the next day. Every day 
 he expected to proceed to France, and saw all difficulties 
 vanish. " Les paumes conscripts de Bayonne fondaient 
 comme la neige ; Us etoient presque tous a I'hopital," and 
 so on. 
 
 Th at we shall make a dash soon, unless peace prevents 
 it, I fully believe from all I see and hear, and an embargo 
 which has been laid on all small vessels in the river here 
 confirms this. We have also to-day an order for twelve 
 days' hay at Passages, for which we are to send to the 
 ships ourselves, as Government have just now sent us out 
 
THE DUKE D'ANGOULEME. 385 
 
 a good lot of English hay, and if we march it must be all 
 left behind, for we have no means of carrying it with us. 
 At least the animals will thus all start with a belly full, 
 which is something, and to many a novelty. 
 
 I do not think much of the little Duke ; his figure and 
 manners are by no means imposing, and his talents ap- 
 pear not very great. He seems affable and good-tempered, 
 and though not seemingly a being to make a kingdom for 
 himself, he may do very well to govern one when well 
 established. Lord Wellington was in his manner droll 
 towards them. As they went out, we drew up on each 
 side, and Lord Wellington put them first ; they bowed 
 and scraped right and left so oddly, and so actively, 
 that he followed with a face much nearer a grin than 
 a smile. 
 
 They were at church on Sunday, but I cannot learn 
 with any effect ; hitherto we cannot judge, for this small 
 corner dare not speak out their minds, if they were in his 
 favour. We hear of a strong disposition at Bordeaux and 
 in Brittany. I have as yet seen only apathy and indif- 
 ference, but I still expect a burst if the war should last. 
 
 I must now go to Lord Wellington about a poor old 
 Doctor, who has been charged with having a soldier 
 servant. I expect a jobation for what I shall state in his 
 favour, for this is a very heinous offence in the eyes of 
 Lord Wellington. 
 
 Same day, later. Lord Wellington, as I supposed, 
 insisted on the Doctor's being tried, but was good- 
 humoured, though just going out with the hounds, when 
 in general he does not like interruption. This particular 
 Doctor had a right to a servant of his own regiment, but 
 he had one of another. I suggested that he had never 
 joined his own regiment since he was appointed, and 
 could not, therefore, have one of that corps. " Then he 
 should have gone without," was the answer, and as for 
 the Doctor's good character, that went for nothing. Lord 
 
 2 c 
 
386 ANECDOTE OF COLONEL DICKSON. 
 
 Wellington never attends to individual hardships, but to 
 the general good, and as many abuses go on at depots in 
 the rear, every time he discovers an instance he is inex- 
 orable in trying to punish, especially when he finds it out 
 himself, as he did this in another trial of the same poor 
 Doctor, by some of the evidence. The Doctor, foolish 
 man, desired it might be put on the minutes that he 
 would ask such a witness no question, as he had been his 
 servant at the time, and was so still. 
 
 I have just heard an anecdote which shows strongly 
 the Spanish character, and also why Lord Wellington 
 likes Colonel Dickson as his chief artillery officer. On 
 the 9th of November last the order was given for the 
 troops to march to the attack at four the next morning. 
 This was when we were at Vera. Every one had known 
 for weeks that this was to take place the earliest moment 
 it was possible ; and that the fall of Pamplona and better 
 weather were the only reasons of the army being in such 
 a position as we then were, perched up on the sides of all 
 the mountains so late in the year, with the prospect of 
 snow daily. At nine that night General Frere, the 
 Spanish General, who is considered to be one of their best, 
 sent word that the Spanish army under his command was 
 without any ammunition, and could not get any up in 
 time. At ten o'clock Dickson was sent for, just as he 
 was going to bed. Instead of saying nothing could be 
 done, or making any difficulties, he proposed giving the 
 Spaniards immediately the reserve ammunition of the 
 nearest English division, and said that he would send out 
 orders instantly, and undertake to get the English reserve 
 replaced in time, and this was done. 
 
 Poor E got a very loud discourse all the way 
 
 home from church last Sunday. The oxen of the pontoon 
 train were all dying, and in cross roads were useless, for 
 they could not move singly except with difficulty, much 
 less draw a pontoon of two tons weight. It had been 
 
THE PONTOON H01JSK.-. 387 
 
 reported in consequence that three troops of artillery 
 must be dismounted to draw the pontoon. Lord Wel- 
 lington was vexed excessively. " Where are the pontoon 
 horses?" "None were ever sent out from England; 
 never had anything but oxen, and five hundred have died 
 since we left Frenada." This answer still did not satisfy 
 him. He must, notwithstanding, have known it from 
 the returns which he sees, but still he seemed, though he 
 
 could not tell why, to think poor E blameable. The 
 
 latter said that he had no orders to send to England for 
 horses, and no one seemed to think they would be neces- 
 sary, and he had never had them. 
 
 Friday, \\th. I went last night to our third ball, in 
 hopes of seeing the Duke d'Angouleme there, and to ob- 
 serve how he was received. He did not attend. All our 
 other great men were there Lord Wellington and all 
 the French, as yet very few in numbers. The owner of 
 General Cole's quarters near Ustaritz, I believe named 
 Larrique, was there. He had come over to pay his re- 
 spects to the Bourbons. He was always royally disposed, 
 and had been once imprisoned for this inclination. I am 
 told several others have been to the Duke to pay their 
 respects merely, but this is all they dared do as yet. 
 They assure him the landholders and peasantry further 
 on only wait our advance, and the absence of the French 
 army, to rise and declare for the Bourbons. If they do 
 not take this line soon, and that decidedly, peace may 
 make it too late, and frustrate all these petty plans of 
 counter-revolution .in the bud. The Duke seems quite 
 ignorant of the people here, and of the country, and those 
 Basques I have talked to do not seem to know much 
 more of him. The few squires left may, however, give 
 the tone to the rest. 
 
 I hear that we have quite ruined Bayonne market by 
 our higher prices, &c., and things are not only dear there, 
 but not to be had, for no one will there give the price we 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 VARIOUS REPORTS. 
 
 do for such luxuries, as poultry, vegetables, &c., certainly 
 are ; and therefore they are brought here. 
 
 Saturday, I%th. The news now is, that Soult and 
 about three thousand infantry, and one thousand eight 
 hundred cavalry, are gone off to the rear, and it seems to 
 be believed ; for it has come through so many channels 
 to us. Another report is, that seven of the thirty tyrants 
 (senators) have gone over to the Allies, to pay their re- 
 spects to the Bourbons ; this is not in such credit as the 
 other story. In short, we have what the military men 
 call "shaves" (I suppose barbers' stories) every day and 
 every hour. The best fact I can tell you is, that we have 
 had three days' fine weather now together, and this last is 
 absolutely warm, I only fear too warm to last ; thermo- 
 meter in my room, window open, and no fire, 58 in the 
 sun. I rode a league out and back yesterday almost 
 without a splash. The mule roads across the country, 
 though improved, are, however, still very bad; three 
 more such days will, nevertheless, do wonders, and about 
 that time I hope we shall be ready. 
 
 All the carpenters, &c., are ordered from the Guards to 
 the front. The Eocket Brigade also went up last night ; 
 and ships are ordered round from Passages. Dr. Mac- 
 gregor, who was there yesterday, tells me that he thinks 
 it will be three days before they will have procured ropes 
 and all they require with them. This smiling sun 
 makes every one cheerful, though it prognosticates many 
 broken heads. 
 
 The only thing, it appears to me, the Guards look blue 
 about, is the prospect of an aquatic expedition. Our 
 sick, though nothing compared to last year, have increased 
 this last month. To show you how much depends on 
 seasoning them, two regiments, the 84th, and, I think, 
 the 62nd, who came out two months since, and have 
 scarcely had any work, but arrived after all the bad 
 quarters in the mountains, and have not marched forty 
 
INCREASE OF SICK. 389 
 
 miles and been generally housed, are absolutely unfit for 
 the field. One has four hundred and more sick out of 
 six hundred. They are obliged, in consequence, to be 
 sent in a body, as regiments, to Vera, one of the hospital 
 stations. They are, I believe, two battalions, and mostly 
 young lads or elderly men, neither of which class of sol- 
 diers can stand this work at all. Some of our old regi- 
 ments have scarcely a man in the hospital, except the 
 wounded, and it is astonishing how well some of the 
 Portuguese regiments stand it, who are more exposed 
 than our men. The last month's rest, and the new 
 clothes, which most regiments have now received, will 
 revive the army amazingly ; some who are still without 
 their clothes are, to be sure, absolutely in rags, or like 
 the king of the beggars. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, Sunday the I3th, 
 Post-day, 5 o'clock. Our " shave" of to-day is a Congress. 
 Yesterday the Allies were at Paris. I am sorry to say 
 the sea has risen, and the wind changed, and the weather 
 threatens again. All are hard at work, however, at the 
 bridges, &c. It will be a ticklish thing to cross at the 
 mouth of the Adour. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, February 15^A, 1814. 
 The plot now thickens a little. Lord Wellington was 
 off at three in the morning yesterday for Hasparran, for 
 two or three days, to superintend a movement which is 
 to take place: first, on our right, to* drive the French 
 divisions of General Foy and Harispe across the Gave 
 d'Oleron, and prevent their molesting our right flank, 
 whilst the passage of the Adour is attempted on the left. 
 The accounts this morning are, that the troops assembled 
 for this purpose yesterday, but that no affair has hitherto 
 taken place. General Pakenham was yesterday at Pas- 
 sages to see to the shipping there, and clear out the 
 hospital; and to-day he has gone over to the right, to 
 report to Lord Wellington and to assist there. All is in 
 
390 BAR AT THE 
 
 motion : two bridges are preparing, one, as I supposed, 
 below Bayonne, and another above ; the former will be 
 accompanied by an aquatic expedition. 
 
 With regard to this grand bridge, a most provoking 
 occurrence has taken place. An embargo was laid on 
 about twenty-four vessels in the St. Jean de Luz river 
 to form this bridge, and to assist in the conveyance of 
 troops, &c. Old Ocean, however, did not approve ; and 
 as he is not under Lord Wellington's orders, and seems, 
 like the Spaniards, to like to thwart Lord Wellington a 
 little, he (Old Ocean) threw up the day before yesterday 
 such a mound of shingle at the mouth of the river, that 
 he has most effectually embargoed the whole shipping, 
 and made a dry bank, a hundred feet wide, quite firm 
 across the entrance, which all yesterday was used as a 
 road backwards and forwards from Sibour to this place. 
 From the present state of the tides there was no prospect 
 of an opening in the natural way for a week and more, 
 until the springs ; so to-day a fatigue party of the Guards 
 are at work digging and shovelling. 
 
 In my early walk this morning I found them at it, 
 with a young engineer officer, doing it, it struck me, 
 very ill. I could not help meddling ; however, I had no 
 weight, until an old Frenchman came, sent by the mayor, 
 to whom I advised them to apply; and then, as the 
 young engineer did not understand French, I acted as 
 interpreter. The old man's plan and mine agreed, and 
 so I carried my point. It is hoped we shall be able to 
 dig a way through by this evening, and to-morrow to let 
 the shipping out. It has never happened before since 
 we have been here, though very often the river is nearly 
 dry. 
 
 One brig of war has arrived and the Gleaner ketch, 
 and Lieutenant Douglas is on shore here superintending 
 the fastening together of a quantity of masts, &c., to 
 form a boom, I believe, across the Adour I suppose to 
 
MOUTH OP THE ADOUR. 391 
 
 prevent anything floating down from destroying the 
 bridge. I heard yesterday, what one can scarcely believe, 
 that the naval officer asked leave to survey the mouth of 
 the Adour, but that Lord Wellington told him to go to 
 the engineers, and they would give him plans and sound- 
 ings, &c. : that he went to E - accordingly, and found 
 he had none at all ; and Toffini's coast stops short at 
 Passages ! 
 
 It is surely very odd, now that we have been in front 
 of Bayonne for three months, that no plans should have 
 been sent out, without being asked for, from England. 
 I since have heard from E - that he did write, and 
 has nothing in consequence but a little printed plan of 
 Bayonne, and no soundings, &c. I trust still that Lord 
 Wellington will poke out his way across. Our outposts' 
 reports to-day are that the Cossacks are close to Paris, 
 and Fontainebleau pillaged by them. I am sorry for 
 that, as that palace escaped the Eevolution almost en- 
 tirely. The truth of the whole story may well be ques- 
 tioned. 
 
 February \ih. No news from the right ; no one re- 
 turned yet; the reports are, that the French do not 
 stand, but retire before us. In the mean time things 
 are going on well here. The weather is fine again, the 
 sea quiet, the river has quite cleared his course, and to- 
 day the navigation is open. The fort at the mouth of 
 the Adour sent a few shots against the Lyra brig when 
 cruising yesterday to inspect ; but no harm done. Every 
 one is busy. 
 
 Poor - - does not seem to draw well with Lord 
 Wellington. The latter received him so queerly at the 
 
 last interview, that says he shall do all he can to 
 
 execute what he is ordered, and be quiet. Lord Wel- 
 lington never consulted him, and has never even told 
 him exactly where the grand bridge which he is pre- 
 paring is to be ; and the consequence is, the width of 
 
392 THE ADOUR. 
 
 the river has not been precisely ascertained at the place 
 intended, where the engineers have instruments which 
 would do it in a minute, if they were ordered. Without 
 orders they cannot, as it would require a guard of three 
 hundred or four hundred men to go near enough, and 
 
 that can only be with orders. But then, were I , I 
 
 should ask for the guard and do it, propose it first, or 
 try and get it quietly from the Adjutant-general without 
 troubling Lord Wellington, and let him find the thing 
 
 done. seems to be too much of the English official 
 
 school ; has too much regard to forms and regular orders. 
 All this entre nous. Elphinstone of the Engineers tells 
 me he wrote for a plan of Bayonne four months since, 
 and has only received a very miserable one, of scarcely 
 any use. 
 
 The grand bridge is to be formed of the largest vessels 
 now in the harbour about fifty of them. Pontoons 
 would never do. They are to be about 25 feet or 27 feet 
 apart, and cable bridges between to communicate with 
 planks, each vessel carrying its own materials to plank, 
 &c. This is a grand plan, but rather arduous. I hope 
 it may answer, as it will be an event in military matters, 
 crossing a great river at the mouth below the fortified 
 town, and that in the hands of the enemy on both sides 
 of the river. 
 
 February 17 th, Thursday. Still fine weather, and no 
 one returned, and no news from Lord Wellington. I 
 had a report here through the emigres, and son Altesse 
 Royale, as he is now called, that the Allies are within a 
 league of Paris. " Quelle mauvaises nouvelles ! its mont 
 dit." Their alarm at the reported Congress at Chatillon 
 sur Seine, and Lord Castlereagh, has to-day of course a 
 little subsided in consequence. A peace with Bonaparte 
 would ruin them for ever. If Paris now declares itself, 
 on the other hand it will spread, and the whole business, 
 in my opinion, be at an end in their favour. If not, it 
 
PARTIAL SUCCESSES. 
 
 is clear that their party is very small, and their interests 
 forgotten. 
 
 The 18th, Friday. Still Lord Wellington not re- 
 turned ; but we had some news of what has been done 
 on the right. The French retired skirmishing, but 
 would never stand to let us charge. They were obliged 
 to remain longer than they wished to cover some guns 
 which they carried off; and also, the evening before last, 
 they intended to take up their ground for the night in a 
 position which Lord Wellington thought it would suit 
 him to drive them from. By doing this late in the day 
 they were obliged to resist more than they probably 
 otherwise would, if they had expected it, and been pre- 
 pared for the retreat. We have taken about ten or 
 twelve officers prisoners, and about two hundred men. 
 Some say that we might have had as many thousands, 
 could we have been two hours sooner. These things are 
 always, however, said. Supposing that we had been two 
 hours sooner, the French would have been just where 
 they were; and it is forgotten that if we had moved 
 sooner, they might probably just have done the same 
 thing. We have ourselves sustained some loss, and that 
 in a greater proportion of officers than men. I am told, 
 about a hundred and twenty men. General Pringle is 
 shot in the breast, an awkward place, but they hope 
 not badly, considering the situation. General Byng's 
 aide-de-camp, Captain Clitherow, is killed, and, I believe, 
 Lieutenant Moore, of the Artillery. Aides-de-camp and 
 Brigade-Majors have suffered much of late ; Lord Wel- 
 lington's are uncommonly fortunate. I have heard also 
 that Lieutenant-colonel Bruce is wounded, a Bevan 
 (Major or Colonel in the Portuguese service), and some 
 subalterns of the two brigades of General Byng and 
 General Pringle, the only two engaged. 
 
 By the last accounts Lord Wellington's head-quarters 
 were at Garris, near St. Palais, and the French are driven 
 
394 WELLINGTON'S ACTIVITY. 
 
 across the Bidouge, a river that runs into the Adour 
 below the Gaves, and near Grammont's place, Guiche, of 
 which he is duke. The French have only picquets on 
 our side the first Gave the Gave d'Oleron, when they 
 are driven across. I think Lord Wellington will return 
 here to-morrow to inspect the grand bridge and the ope- 
 rations on this side, which are the most ticklish. El- 
 phinstone would have his bridge ready to-morrow night 
 if the materials get round in time from Passages, and 
 provided one vessel is got out from our river here, for 
 one could not be moved over the bar yesterday, from its 
 having the guns on board, which are to be dropped into 
 the Adour, to assist in moving the vessels of the bridge. 
 By taking out the guns this difficulty may be got over, 
 but the wind is not fair from Passages. This is the 
 worst part of the business, for though the elements alone 
 may be to blame, still Lord Wellington, if his plans are 
 thwarted, will be in a rage with - . He banishes the 
 terms difficulty, impossibility, and responsibility from his 
 vocabulary. 
 
 The moment he has done on the right, he wants to be 
 ready here, as he knows that so long as he remains there, 
 the attention of the French is drawn that way, and the 
 same when he shall return here. We have now no 
 troops here. The guards have moved into Bidart, and 
 we have now permanently occupied Biaritz in front of 
 Bayonne ; General Vandeleur sleeps there, and all his 
 horses are unsaddled. The light division have crossed 
 the Nive. The fifth moved a little more to their right, 
 to occupy part of the ground of the light near Arbonne 
 and Arauntz, towards Ustaritz ; and the third division, 
 under General Picton, have gone up to St. Jean Pied de 
 Port, but hitherto without opposition. The Adjutant- 
 general, when he went himself over to the hospital sta- 
 tions of Fontarabia and Passages, routed out about four- 
 teen hundred convalescents, and malingerers, and they 
 
RECRUITING PARTY' ESTABLISHED. 395 
 
 passed through here for their regiments yesterday, for 
 every man is wanted now. Unluckily, no reinforcements 
 have arrived from England ; why we cannot say, for the 
 wind is fair, and the papers say they sailed a month 
 since, and the regiments have had notice of their in- 
 tended arrival. The artillery also expect five hundred 
 horses, which would now be an inestimable treasure, as 
 many are going and getting weak. There are also about 
 six thousand Portuguese ready to join in Portugal, but 
 who remain for want of transport, as I am told : this is 
 unlucky, as they were well-seasoned recruits. 
 
 It is curious that even latterly, ever since we left the 
 mountains, almost all our advanced troops the advanced 
 line have been Portuguese ; they not only stop our de- 
 serters, but go off very much less themselves. From the 
 terrible loss of oxen, we are all now, officers and all in 
 this neighbourhood, living upon salt rations, sea-beef 
 and pork. Luckily for me, however, we can now buy a 
 little fresh meat. I am very much vexed with myself 
 for not having desired you to send me out a good map 
 of France, for I have only the department on this side 
 the Adour, and the whole seat of the war is now France. 
 I should like to have got the abridged or reduced Casini, 
 which is used here, and liked, a map about five or six 
 feet by four or five, and Stockdale's vicinity of Bayonne, 
 taken from Casini's large one. These two would have 
 been a treasure, now that we are likely to move ; and I 
 conclude Stockdale will go on publishing some more of 
 Casini to follow us up. 
 
 We have begun to establish a recruiting-party at head- 
 quarters, to select out of the French deserters good sub- 
 jects for the Chasseurs Britanniques, &c. I hope it will 
 answer, but I have my doubts. In the mean time, I 
 shall have to play the part of a magistrate, and swear 
 them all in. The news from Bayonne to-day is, that a 
 courier arrived yesterday express from Paris in sixty 
 
396 EXPECTED ENTRANCE OP THE SPANIARDS. 
 
 hours ; of course lie brought something very important. 
 The story in Bayonne is, that the negotiation and Con- 
 gress is broken up already, and this is now considered 
 most excellent news here, excepting by a few soldiers of 
 fortune, and real lovers of their trade, who think it would 
 flourish much better after a peace with Bonaparte than 
 with the Bourbons. What a contrast between the Moni- 
 teur a year and a half since about Moscow, &c., and the 
 late ones about the works round Paris, and the room left 
 eighteen inches for the pietons only to pass, &c., and 
 the immense zeal and activity: Deja on voit les embrassures 
 pour quatres canons. You will have seen all this, how- 
 ever, and have been as much amused, no doubt, as we 
 have been. 
 
 I have just seen Major D , who is returned from 
 
 the right. He says that we have been well received in 
 general, and found a tolerable supply of everything in 
 the new country we have been in. If the inhabitants 
 will but stay, they will find a good market for everything ; 
 instead of losing the produce for nothing ; and stragglers, 
 single plunderers, dare not commit depredations on the 
 houses in that case. The people here are in despair at 
 the expected entrance of the Spaniards. We have now 
 shops in abundance, and a good market, and can, with 
 plenty of money, procure most things ; and now we are 
 on the point of being off. 
 
 18^/i February, later. I have just been with Elphin- 
 stone, and seen all his drawings and plans for the grand 
 bridge. They seem very good, and the whole will be 
 ready by Sunday morning, provided the naval gentleman 
 can carry his vessels in ; but he thinks that will not do 
 on account of the tides before Wednesday. Six or seven 
 small boats are to be carried from here on carriages ; 
 these are to be launched, and are to tow across the first 
 party on rafts, which are made by some platforms placed 
 on the pontoons. This first party I would rather not 
 
BRIDGE ACROSS THE ADOUR. 397 
 
 accompany. To show you how little Lord Wellington 
 listens to objections, and how he rather likes to cut up 
 the routine work, I may mention that Elphinstone told 
 him the quantity of plank necessary would take time, and 
 make a delay. " No," says he, " there are all your plat- 
 forms of your batteries which have been sent out in case 
 of a siege. Cut them all up/ ' " Then when we proceed 
 with the siege what is to be done ?" quoth Elphinstone. 
 " Oh, work your guns in the sand until you can make 
 new ones out of the pine-wood near Bayonne." So all 
 the English battering platforms have been cut up accord- 
 ingly- 
 
 At Elphinstone's I met the Admiral, who came round 
 to-day to assist, and some small vessels have arrived with 
 him. We have now Sacoa choked full, and quite a flotilla 
 in the open bay, with a wind right on shore into the bay. 
 I only hope it will not take to blowing hard in this direc- 
 tion whilst our operations are going on. The battering 
 train and siege apparatus have also arrived at Passages 
 from St. Andero. This has been done quite snug ; even 
 Elphinstone did not know of their coming until here they 
 were. 
 
 Letters have come in from the right ; all has gone on 
 well there. The French are driven quite across the Gave 
 de Mauleon or Soiron, as it is called in my map, a little 
 river which is the left branch of the Gave d'Oleron, and 
 runs into the Gave d'Oleron below Oleron town. The 
 Adjutant-general writes, that the French have given up 
 all that at present was wanted in that direction. Adieu ! 
 
 Saturday the 1 $th. To-day we have a French bulletin 
 sent in to us of a victory over the forces of the Allies, the 
 Eussian army destroyed, and the French in pursuit 
 baggage, cannon, all taken. This is awkward when we 
 expected daily to hear of the Allies in Paris, and it will 
 have a bad effect on the cause in France, even if it is only 
 a slight check to the allied armies. The French here 
 
398 WELLINGTON'S ACTIVITY. 
 
 have their proclamations printed, and fleurs-de-lis are 
 being made. Lord Wellington says that they must wait 
 until he is more advanced before they begin to circulate 
 them. He is expected back to-day. The weather has 
 been very cold again, and sleet or snow has just begun to 
 fall. I have also to-day to acknowledge a letter from you 
 of the 8th, and papers from the 2nd to the 8th inclusive. 
 
 I am just interrupted by a noise at the Provost guard 
 opposite, and the arrival of about a hundred and eighty 
 French prisoners escorted by a party of the 57th regiment, 
 who might with great advantage change clothes with the 
 French. The latter are in general very well clothed, and 
 very fine young men, a few older soldiers amongst them 
 in particular. The young conscripts look rather pale and 
 sickly. Our 57th men are absolutely in ragsand tatters, 
 here and there five or six inches of bare thigh or arm are 
 visible through the patches ; some have had only linen 
 pantaloons all winter through. They all get their new 
 clothing to-morrow at Sacoa ; the whole regiment comes 
 down here for that purpose, and then nearly the whole 
 will have had their clothing this year, all but one or two 
 regiments. 
 
 Later, 4 o clock. Lord Wellington is just returned 
 from the right, and so eager is he when anything is in 
 hand, that I saw him going round by the Admiral's and 
 Colonel Elphinstone's before he went home on horseback, 
 after a tolerably long ride too. The Admiral he carried 
 off with him. 
 
 20th February, Post-day. The first thing I saw this 
 morning in my walk on the wall was Lord Wellington 
 looking at the sea at half-past seven. The wind was 
 strong, right into the bay, and not a ship could stir. He 
 soon saw the Admiral come out also to look, and carried 
 him off home. I saw Lord Wellington about some 
 Courts-martial just now, and expected to be rather snub- 
 bed ; but he was in high good humour, and I was, of 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A MOVE. :V.) ( J 
 
 course, as short as possible. The moment is, however, 
 ticklish. Had the gale this morning increased, none of 
 the ships in the bay, in my opinion, could have stood it. 
 It was right into the bay against them, and they were 
 anchored within two hundred, three hundred, or four 
 hundred yards of the shore. The slip of an anchor or 
 breaking of a cable would have been destruction, and we 
 have now a wreck on each side of the bay, which is 
 ominous and terrific to strangers and new-comers. 
 
 Later. Lord Wellington is already beginning to 
 provide against the failure of his bridge plan from winds 
 and tides, and I understand will not wait above a day or 
 two on this account. Arrangements are in consequence 
 being formed to make the main movement still by the 
 right altogether, and to come round on Bayonne in case 
 the bridge scheme will not very speedily answer. 
 
400 MOVEMENTS OF THE ARMY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 Movements of the Army Narrow Escape of Wellington Anecdote of 
 Wellington at Rodrigo Novel Scaling Ladders Sir Alexander Dickson 
 Wellington's Vanity Operations resumed Spanish Officers The 
 Passage of the Adour The Road to Bayonne- Death of (Japtain Pitta. 
 
 Head-quarters, St. Jean de Luz, 
 
 Tuesday, February 22, 1814. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 As the movements going on give me now a little 
 more leisure, and it is impossible to say how soon my 
 opportunities of writing may be arrested by a march, I 
 begin my weekly despatch early this week. Lord Wel- 
 lington, when he returned from driving the French across 
 the Gave, found his expedition here could not leave port 
 owing to bad wind and tide, though all was ready. He 
 therefore instantly set about new arrangements, so as to 
 be independent in a great measure of the result of this 
 grand bridge. 
 
 All the divisions of the army consequently moved 
 towards the right yesterday, except the Guards and the 
 rest of the first division, which remain in our front backed 
 by a corps of Spaniards at Guethany and Bidart, in 
 advance of St. Jean de Luz, through which place, how- 
 ever, they did not march. To superintend this move- 
 ment Lord Wellington was off again yesterday for Garris, 
 near to St. Palais, with most of the head-quarters' staff, 
 Adjutant-general Pakenham remaining here on account 
 of a slight illness. 
 
 The last move left us in front of the Gave, the French 
 
THE ARMY. 401 
 
 still strong in Sauveterre and on a ridge of hills and 
 strong ground running between the two Graves d'Oleron 
 and Pau. The plan is now, it is concluded, to drive them 
 across both Gaves, and then make good our way round to 
 the other side of the Adour and the citadel of Bayonne. 
 In the meantime, as the plan here is still expected to take 
 effect to-morrow morning early, we are all alive ; the little 
 bay full of shipping and small ships of war, which cruise 
 backward and forwards, or anchor there, with carpenters, 
 sappers, soldiers, &c., on board, and all the flotilla ready 
 in Sacoa, and the Admiral superintending. 
 
 Head-quarters are come home delighted with the 
 country on the Gaves, and with their reception. The 
 people in many instances come in numbers to meet our 
 troops instead of offering resistance. The prisoners also 
 many of them say they are ready to serve son Altesse 
 Roy ale, but this is rather too soon to begin, it is thought, 
 for this may be only to escape and return to their old 
 army. 
 
 One young man, who was of the country, ran into his 
 father's house as they were marching by, and all the 
 family were found around him. He was separated and 
 marched off; but the story has been told at head-quarters, 
 and General Pakenham has sent for the man back (who 
 was on his way to Passages), and means to send him 
 home to his friends. 
 
 I was talking to General Pakenham yesterday about 
 forming a French royalist corps out of the prisoners and 
 deserters. It must be done very cautiously of course at 
 first, but it would in my opinion have a good effect and 
 soon increase. At present the idea that all deserters 
 must be sent away from their own country to England 
 deters many from deserting, who would otherwise be 
 willing. This object would also do away with the dis- 
 graceful ideas naturally attached to desertion in a soldier's 
 mind. 
 
 2D 
 
402 NARROW ESCAPE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 Beports say that Lord Wellington had a narrow escape 
 with his staff, whilst reconnoitring on the right in the 
 late move. He is said to have been going up a hill when 
 a French cavalry regiment was coming up on the other 
 side. The engineer officer was going round and saw the 
 regiment ; upon which he galloped back to give informa- 
 tion, but before he could reach Lord Wellington they 
 were just close to the top of the hill, and Colonel Gordon, 
 who was in the advance, saw some of the French videttes 
 close. He gave the alarm, but they all had a gallop for 
 it, pursued by some of the dragoons. 
 
 Though the English horses were most of them well 
 tired, they were soon out of reach of the French, and all 
 escaped. Lord Wellington relies almost too confidently 
 on the fleetness and excellence of his animals, when we 
 consider what the loss would be if he were caught ; he is, 
 however, now rather more cautious. 
 
 A few days since I heard an anecdote about the siege 
 of Eodrigo, which shows the man. Scarcely any one 
 knew what was to be done ; the great preparations were 
 all made in Almeida, and most supposed, as I believe the 
 French did, that everything which arrived was for the 
 purpose of defence there, not of attack elsewhere. On a 
 sudden the army was in front of Eodrigo. A new 
 advanced work was discovered, which had to be taken 
 before any progress could be made in the siege. To save 
 men and time, an instant attack was resolved upon. 
 Scaling-ladders were necessary; the engineers were 
 applied to ; they had none with them, for they were 
 quite ignorant of the plans an inconvenience which has 
 often arisen in different departments from Lord Welling- 
 ton's great secrecy, though the general result, assisted 
 by his genius, has been so good. The scaling could 
 not take place without ladders ; Lord Wellington was 
 informed of this. " Well/' says he, " you have brought 
 up your ammunition and stores, never mind the waggons, 
 
NOVEL SCALING LADDERS. 103 
 
 cut them all up directly, they will make excellent ladders 
 there you see, each side piece is already cut." This 
 was done, and by the help of these novel ladders, the 
 work was scaled forthwith. 
 
 At Badajoz, he found so little to be had in the regular 
 way for a siege, from want of transport, and so many 
 difficulties in consequence from the regular bred artillery 
 generals, that he became principal engineer himself, 
 making use of Colonel Dickson, the acting man, as his 
 instrument. These sieges procured Dickson his majority 
 and lieutenant-colonelcy ; and though only a Captain in 
 the Eoyal Eegiment of Artillery, he now conducts the 
 whole of that department here, because he makes no 
 difficulties. 
 
 In one instance Lord Wellington is not like Frederick 
 the Great. He is remarkably neat, and most particular 
 in his dress, considering his situation. He is well made, 
 knows it, and is willing to set off to the best what 
 nature has bestowed. In short, like every great man 
 present or past, almost without exception, he is vain. 
 He cuts the skirts of his own coats shorter, to make 
 them look smarter: and only a short time since, on 
 going to him on business, I found him discussing the 
 cut of his half-boots, and suggesting alterations to his 
 servant. The vanity of great men shows itself in 
 different ways, but in my opinion always exists in some 
 shape or other. 
 
 February %%nd, 5 o'clock. The flotilla has just got out 
 of Sacoa Bay preparatory to the operations to-morrow. 
 A beautiful sight ! Six or seven ships of war, and fifty 
 other vessels everyone alive ! Forty form the bridge. 
 I hope it may succeed, but many doubt it. 
 
 P.S. Lord "Wellington is moving on the Gaves with 
 seven divisions. The cable bridge is in the boats, and the 
 engineers on board. The affair is to begin by driving in 
 the picquets, when five hundred men are then to be sent 
 
 2D 2 
 
404 OPERATIONS RESUMED. 
 
 over on the rafts, the guns of the French battery spiked, 
 the French corvette burnt, and then the bridge is to be 
 thrown across ! 
 
 February Uth, 1814. I rose at half-past four, to go 
 over and see the crossing of the Adour yesterday, and 
 the formation of the bridge. At daylight I discovered 
 that the whole flotilla had been dispersed by the gale of 
 the night before, and no part was near the mouth of the 
 Adour. Several officers returned in consequence, declaring 
 that nothing could be done. Thinking otherwise myself, 
 and that this movement would somehow take place, being 
 connected with Lord "Wellington's movement on our 
 right on the Gaves, I went on, and found all the 
 Spaniards on the road in front of Bayonne, but doing 
 nothing. All was quiet for a very long time. About 
 twelve o'clock, however, they were ordered to move on 
 and make a feint, and an attack was made by our great 
 guns and rockets at the same time, on the French armed 
 corvette and gun-boats, to destroy the latter, and at the 
 same time to draw off the attention of the French from 
 the mouth of the river below Anglet, where we intended 
 to cross on the rafts. 
 
 The Spaniards were not much opposed, and went on 
 boldly enough, as far as was intended, and had a few 
 wounded. The sharp-shooting, however, was very slack. 
 The fifth division at the same time, made a show on 
 their side, between the Nive and the Adour, but not 
 with any serious intention. I then went into an empty 
 house with Dr. Macgregor and some others, to make a 
 fire and get some breakfast, which they had brought 
 with them ; and adding our several stocks together, we 
 fared very well. We then made our way through 
 Anglet, and across the sands, and through a pine -wood, 
 to the river's mouth. A brigade of Guards, another of 
 the King's German Legion, the Light Battalion (most 
 excellent men), and a Eocket Brigade, were there all 
 
OPERATIONS RESUMED. 405 
 
 ready to pass, but from the immense difficulties which 
 had heen met with in the transport of the boats and 
 pontoons over land, only two of the light companies 
 were over about one o'clock, when I arrived, and a tem- 
 porary suspension of the passage of men had been ordered 
 by General Hope. 
 
 The order, however, had just come again to pass over 
 as fast as possible, and before I left the spot (about three 
 o'clock) three rafts, formed each upon three pontoons, and 
 carrying each about fifty or fifty-five men, were at work 
 ferrying across on a cable, and the six small boats were 
 also plying, so that about five hundred men were then 
 nearly over, and they were going at the rate of two 
 hundred, or two hundred and fifty per hour. I left the 
 rocket men, each with one rocket ready in his hand, and 
 three on his back in a case, with three poles on his 
 shoulder, just going to cross. 
 
 Elphinstone had been quite in despair ; the pontoon 
 car sunk so much in the sand, that at last thirty horses 
 would not move them, and for the last five hundred yards 
 they were conveyed on the shoulders of the guardsmen ; 
 twenty-six men to a pontoon. At length all his diffi- 
 culties were thus overcome, and the non-arrival of the 
 bridge, of which we could see nothing, was not his fault, 
 but that of the weather. 
 
 I helped the engineering again a little, by joining the 
 party who were endeavouring to find the best place to 
 which to fix cables against high-water as I discovered 
 the last tide-mark in the sands, and thus found a landing- 
 place and post, clearly above high-water mark; for the 
 springs were past, and of course every succeeding tide 
 would rise to a less height. We then proceeded along 
 the river towards our battery on the bank, which was 
 firing at the corvette, &c. When we had gone a little 
 way through the pine-wood, we found all the roads 
 almost stopped by trees cut down by the French, and the 
 
406 EFFECTS OF ROCKETS. 
 
 road we took near the bank, which was clear, carried us 
 opposite a smaller French corvette and three gun-boats, 
 which had just placed themselves in the river. At first 
 we thought them a part of our intended bridge, but soon 
 found it otherwise, and that we should be fired at, for 
 our small party on the other side the river had not 
 advanced, and all the opposite bank and village, as well 
 as the boats, were still in possession of the French. We 
 therefore turned, and at last made our way through to 
 the battery. There we learnt that the guns and rockets 
 had sunk one gun-boat, and frightened away the rest 
 and the corvette, which had all been hauled up close to 
 the bridge under Bayonne, where we saw them. 
 
 I could not understand that the rockets had done 
 more than cause some alarm, though twelve had been 
 fired at once at the shipping, and from no great distance. 
 Only one, or at most two, had fairly struck, and nothing 
 had been burnt. The heavy guns had struck the corvette, 
 but could not do much damage before she was off, and 
 just at first the corvette and battery on the French side 
 seem to have had the best of it. Count Damas, who 
 was there with the Duke d'Angouleme, looking on, told 
 me that the artillery had knocked off the colours of the 
 corvette whilst he was there, and that one of the light 
 Germans had jumped into the water, had fetched out the 
 colours, and had presented them to the commanding 
 artillery officer. Others say that these colours were on 
 the gun-boat. The French were so alarmed at the 
 rockets, that the vessel, when struck, was abandoned. 
 
 Close to our guns we found the other brigade of 
 Guards, &c., making an immense fire with the fir-trees, 
 which had been cut down on all sides, for the day, 
 though fine, was very cold. Dr. Macgregor, one or two 
 others, as well as myself, went up a little sand-hill near, 
 just to look round, when a twenty -four pound shot from 
 Bayonne came close to us point blank. The horses 
 
NARROW ESCAPE. 407 
 
 turned right round, and the Doctor losing his hat, I 
 thought at first that he had been struck. Of course we 
 soon beat a retreat, and found we were in a spot where 
 this was the usual reception, and a position of which the 
 French were jealous. 
 
 Just as I came away, a little before five, I saw a 
 column of Trench, apparently about seven hundred, 
 going very quickly through the wood on the opposite 
 bank from the citadel towards our men, who had passed 
 to attack them. I knew that we had nearly a battalion 
 across, about seven hundred men, and did not feel much 
 alarm with regard to the event. I pitied the men more 
 for the cold night they were likely to pass on the bare 
 sands, without baggage, &c. This morning I have heard 
 an attack was made just afterwards, but that some of the 
 rocket skirmishers were put in advance with the other 
 skirmishers on our side, and the French were so alarmed 
 that, though much superior, they would not advance, 
 and our men beat them off. 
 
 The flotilla was this morning collected near the mouth 
 of the Adour, and, I suppose, before this the bridge is 
 begun. At any rate we could have passed across as 
 many men as we wished before this. No one has 
 returned to-day to this moment, and as I had business, 
 and one of my horses was a little sore in the back, I 
 staid at home. My grey pony started before six yester- 
 day morning, and I was not at home till past seven at 
 night, having ridden above thirty miles. 
 
 Some of the Spanish regiments were very fine men, 
 and well equipped in every respect, much better than 
 some of our poor fellows; but the officers looked very 
 bad indeed ; and when the men advanced, they were 
 led on by their officers with cloaks on, folded over their 
 mouths, looking as miserable as possible. 
 
 The men also, like the French, always march with 
 their great coats on over everything, so that our good 
 
408 SPANISH NEGLIGENCE. 
 
 new clothes were all concealed by their own old thread- 
 bare overcoats. On the other hand, none of our men 
 had their coats on, cold as it was, and everyone was 
 alive and in activity. I stood next to Don Carlos 
 d'Espagne, and heard him receive his directions and 
 information as to what parts we occupied and what the 
 French, &c. General Hope (though not well, and too 
 soon, I believe) came on to take the command, of which 
 the division were very glad. 
 
 I fear the Spaniards, though better than they were, 
 and though only the best were in advance, will soon 
 begin to do mischief. As I returned here I saw all 
 their stragglers about the houses near the road, and 
 telling every one that in Spain Francesi roban e rompen 
 todos todos. They soon soil our new clothing, and go 
 about with dirty and scowling discontented faces, like 
 some of our good countrymen in Ireland. The industry 
 of the French on the sand-banks had been very great in 
 the cultivation of the vine. The south-east side of the 
 very bank on which the sea beat on the north-west, a 
 pure white sand, was divided with square reed enclosures, 
 and covered with vines. The Anglet wine (which, as a 
 very light wine, is in repute), I believe, is there pro- 
 duced. Many of the inhabitants at Anglet and the 
 neighbourhood, remained, and, in general, seemed glad 
 the movement was over. One old woman, in a house 
 that was near the river's mouth, said she was most 
 happy to see us, as she had been for the last two months 
 in complete misery, not being allowed to speak to any 
 strangers by the French, nor even allowed to go to 
 Bayonne to buy a few sous-worth of snuff. I suppose 
 they feared the spread of information, for this was close 
 to the spot intended for our bridge, of which I under- 
 stand, and have no doubt, they had a very clear know- 
 ledge. Two persons of the better class have come in 
 here by sea from Bordeaux, round by Passages, to pay 
 
PASSAGE OF THE ADOUR. 409 
 
 their respects, and give information to son Altesse Royale. 
 Colonel La Fitte told me that they were as anxious there 
 for Lord Wellington as the Jews were for the Messiah, 
 so sanguine are the emigres. 
 
 February 26th. All accounts now agree that the 
 French have from ten thousand to above eleven thou- 
 sand in the town and citadel, three thousand in the latter, 
 the rest in the town and lines. Another show was made 
 against our people the morning after they crossed, but no 
 attack. Considering that the French had eleven thou- 
 sand men, that it was eight or nine hours before we had 
 above five or six hundred men across, this passage of the 
 Adour and our establishment on the right bank is most 
 disgraceful to their troops, or to their General, and pro- 
 portionally creditable to ours. In the evening of the 
 24th our flotilla crossed the bar and got into the Adour 
 over a most tremendous surf. SeveraJ. accidents ensued 
 in consequence, and many lives were lost ; some say as 
 many as forty in the whole, of all nations. I believe 
 about fifteen English sailors were lost. None but the 
 English sailors would have dared to enter at such a time. 
 Five boats were upset, most of them very near it, and one 
 brig, with stores, aground, as well as one small ship of 
 war, a gun-vessel I believe. Some of the flotilla never 
 got in at all. The place fixed for the bridge was not so 
 wide as was expected and prepared for, so sufficient boats 
 are ready, and last night all but about three were moored 
 in their berths ready, and, in my opinion, the bridge 
 would be passable to-day. 
 
 The loss of the French in the gun-boats and corvettes 
 was greater than we supposed, for the inhabitants inform 
 us that a Captain of cannoniers was killed, and several men, 
 and the Captain of the corvette lost his arm. The 
 rockets also did mischief on shore : one man who is now 
 in here, had both legs carried off by a rocket. I have 
 been since told, the French lay down on their faces, and 
 
410 ALARM IN BAYONNE. 
 
 then ran away from them. An order has been issued in 
 Bayonne for all persons who have not and cannot procure 
 six months' provisions to quit the town, and numbers 
 were coming this way along the road yesterday. I went 
 out that way on purpose to meet them, and talk to them. 
 They all agreed in the number of men, about eleven 
 thousand, but said that a great part were conscripts and 
 weakly. 
 
 This I concluded to be the case, as all those unequal 
 to an active campaign would be naturally left in the walls 
 for quiet garrison duty. The alarm had been terrible 
 in the town, where an attack was expected two days 
 since. Every householder was ordered to have an 
 immense tub filled with water, ready at his door, &c. 
 Count Eeille has gone to the rear, some said ill, and 
 Thouvenot commanded again, and most said that Marshal 
 Soult was gone tj Paris, some to Mount Marsan, and 
 that Count Gazan commanded. A Frenchman, who 
 came yesterday, told Monsieur d' Arcangues, an inhabitant 
 here, that he had just passed through La Vendee, and 
 that that country was in arms again ; that he had himself 
 seen several armed parties, amounting some of them to 
 seven or eight hundred men. This will at least stop the 
 conscription a little. 
 
 I communicated this good news to son Altesse Royale, 
 and at the same time made him a little cadeau, by 
 begging that he would permit me to send him King 
 Joseph's saddle-cloth, which I had picked up at Vittoria, 
 but had never used, as being rather too splendid (blue 
 with a very broad gold border). He was very civil, and 
 in return lent me a paper of the llth, which he had 
 just got out with his baggage from England, a second 
 edition of the Courier, containing in the corner a notice 
 of the arrival of the message through Prance from Lord 
 Castlereagh, a piece of news which alarmed him not a 
 little, though our French accounts still say that the 
 
110 AD TO BAYONNE. 411 
 
 negotiations are broken off, and the Allies close to 
 Paris. 
 
 General Harispe had raised about three thousand or 
 three thousand eight hundred of his countrymen, the 
 Basques, a fine race of people, but since our late move 
 most of them have run home, and his corps, the maire 
 here told me yesterday, is reduced to about five hundred. 
 Our officers remain delighted with their reception on the 
 right. They all say that every one talks with horror of 
 making war in an enemy's country ; but they can declare 
 from experience that they never wish again to make war 
 in a friendly one, if this is to be the manner of making 
 war in an enemy's. Nothing has been done on the 
 right of any consequence yet, merely preparations in 
 case this bridge had failed; if so, I think we should 
 now have Lord Wellington back here directly from 
 Grarris, where he has been, and the move will at last take 
 place. 
 
 I have just got my mules back from Passages, with 
 six days' hay, and am now ready, though my Gruardsman 
 tailor has carried half my new clothes with him across 
 the Adour, and I never expect to see them more, and 
 have a Frenchman at work. Considering your lost box 
 and all contingencies, my last suit will probably stand 
 me in about 35/. sterling ! 
 
 The ride along the high road to Bayonne yesterday 
 was interesting. The refugees from the town, several 
 of them very pretty Basques, were all coming this way, 
 laden with the little baggage they could carry off; our 
 artillery all moving up the contrary way ; as well as the 
 Spanish troops; and hundreds of Basques, men and 
 women, with great loads on their heads (like our Welsh 
 fruit- women going to Covent-Grarden), only their baskets 
 were full of bread, biscuits, &c., and all in requisition for 
 the Spaniards. The bat animals and baggage parties of 
 the Spaniards are not a little amusing, and their led 
 
412 WRECK OF A SUTTLING BRIG. 
 
 chargers with their tails buckled up, and in swaddling 
 clothes, with dirty magnificent housings, dancing about 
 half-starved, with their heads in the air. Every fifty 
 yards a dead bullock or horse, but chiefly the former, 
 and every two hundred, an ox dying, and a Spanish 
 muleteer or straggler waiting until the bullock driver 
 abandoned him, to turn him up, and cut his heart out, 
 before he was dead, but when in a state too weak to 
 resist. The heart alone seemed to be worth the trouble, 
 as nothing else could be cut off from the bones, and bone 
 and all did not pay the cutting up and carriage. 
 
 The destruction and present price of cattle are tre- 
 mendous, and I hear we have been obliged to give the 
 Spaniards some of our best Irish cattle, as we had no 
 other at hand. The only meat they seemed to have 
 with them was a number of ox cars with sides of Spanish 
 baon ; this, and sardines, seemed to form their supply. 
 The men, however, are very fine men, and in my opinion, 
 were they well commanded, would make excellent troops. 
 Nevertheless, I was by no means sorry to find that we 
 had still an English brigade of about twelve or fifteen 
 hundred men (Lord Aylmer's) between us and the eleven 
 thousand Trench at Bayonne, for I am sure five thousand 
 French would force their way through the fifteen thou- 
 sand Spaniards if they chose to try, though we should 
 in the end prevent their return. At any rate we should 
 have early notice, and alarm from the runaways. The 
 French beat our men at that, for we cannot catch them, 
 and the Spaniards would not be easily caught by the 
 French. 
 
 "We had a most anxious scene here two nights since. 
 Just as our vessels got into the Adour, a suttling brig, 
 Dutch-built, and very strong, to save pilotage fees, tried 
 to get into this river without the pilot boats. The boats 
 towing missed the mouth, were both swamped, and the 
 men in most imminent danger, as well as the vessel, 
 
WRECK AT THE MOUTH OF THE ADOUR. 413 
 
 which was driven in without guidance, aground for an 
 hour, but saved, and at last all lives were saved, or at 
 least all but one. When the boat was filled, another 
 wave drove it against the ship, and three caught hold of 
 the ship -chains and got in; the fourth was knocked 
 about in the water between the ship, the boat, and the 
 wall, but at last got his chin on the sinking boat, came 
 up the harbour so, was hauled in and saved. In my 
 morning walk on the sea wall, I found another ship on 
 shore, a large brig with a valuable cargo, a private specu- 
 lation. This will be the third wreck, but considering 
 how many vessels have been here, and how they have 
 been all exposed, and half of them absolutely at the 
 mercy of any north or north-west squalls, we have been 
 most fortunate. 
 
 Later. In my ride to-day I met about thirty or forty 
 wounded men of the Buffs and 39th, second division ; 
 but this is the consequence of the last move, I believe, as 
 they told me they were wounded at or near Cambo. We 
 have reports of an affair, but here nothing is yet known. 
 We are becoming, instead of bemg like head-quarters, 
 the centre of all good information, a mere hospital station 
 in the rear, and famous as usual for ill-founded reports, 
 which the medical men probably invent from ennui on 
 these occasions. A large brig has arrived from Bordeaux 
 with wine, but, in my opinion, almost too late for the 
 speculation. 
 
 Sunday, 27th February, Post-day. In my walk this 
 morning I saw another boat swamped, trying to get out 
 of the river over the bar. It was actually worked by 
 the surf into this position, with the stern stuck into the 
 sand of the bar, and fairly went over, with the five men. 
 For some time all five were visible, two swimming, and 
 three clinging to the keel of the wreck, which was 
 bottom uppermost. Another boat, which had intended 
 to follow this one out, was fortunately close at hand, just 
 
414 DEATH OF CAPTAIN PITTS. 
 
 out of the reach of the surf, and by this means the two 
 swimmers were saved by giving them a rope's end, 
 and also one of the three from the wreck, as it floated 
 inwards. There was a struggle between the three, when 
 a wave came, and two appeared no more. The relations 
 of the two men witnessed their loss, as well as myself, 
 for we were standing on the edge of the wall within ten 
 yards of the men, but unable to help them. The distress 
 you may conceive. We become in some degree har- 
 dened by seeing death so continually, and in so many 
 forms, as we do here. 
 
 I have also this morning met with five English seamen, 
 part of the crew of one of our provision ships, which 
 were lost some months since on this coast. The master 
 and four men, being from St. Andero, and the French 
 having heard of the fever there at that time, they were 
 put under quarantine on the coast, about forty miles on 
 the other side of Bayonne. Afterwards they escaped, 
 and lived among the inhabitants, who, they say, treated 
 them well, as the master had money. At last, hearing 
 from the French that we had crossed the Adour, they 
 made through the woods this way, and fell in with our 
 cavalry about three leagues on the other side of Bayonne, 
 General Vandeleur being on that side of the Adour, with 
 two regiments. They mention that they saw on the 
 road going to Dax a number of the wounded French from 
 Bayonne, and also troops retiring that way, they were 
 told, to the amount of fifteen thousand, but the number 
 must have been considerably exaggerated. 
 
 The servant of Captain Pitts, of the Engineers, came 
 in yesterday with an account of his master's death. 
 Captain Pitts was one of General Cole's staff, and a most 
 spirited, zealous, skilful, and promising young man. He 
 was killed on the right a few days since, when our men 
 had driven the French over the Gave d'Oleron. He 
 went down to reconnoitre, and take a sketch of the 
 
GENERAL PICTON WOUNDED. 415 
 
 banks, and make observations with a view to the forma- 
 tion of a bridge. His servant says that he had finished, 
 and was looking round just before he came off, when a 
 ball struck him on the head. General Cole's staff have 
 been very unfortunate this last year, and indeed the loss 
 of officers in his whole division has been very con- 
 siderable. I used to think that it sometimes affected 
 his spirits, though it never induced him to endeavour to 
 diminish it/ for he always was and would be foremost in 
 danger. 
 
 Count Damas has just informed me, that Lord Wel- 
 lington has now crossed both the Graves, and is near 
 Orthes ; but we have no authentic news from him. All 
 accounts agree that General Picton was wounded in the 
 affair on crossing the Gave ; but, it is said, not badly. 
 
 I picked up this morning a Spanish paper, and on 
 making it out, found that it was a letter from a Spanish 
 officer in camp, near Bayonne, telling some friend in the 
 rear that Murillo and Mina had beat the French across 
 the Gave, and were in pursuit along with two English 
 divisions, having taken forty guns, &c., and adding that 
 the inhabitants were muy malos, but that we treated 
 them as well as Spaniards, and that they, the Spaniards, 
 were ordered to do the same, but that we should see, &c. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, February 28th, 1814 
 
 Lieut. -Colonel C has now returned here, and we 
 
 have at length some authentic accounts of what has 
 passed. Lord Wellington was at Orthes, where he left 
 him, intending to stay there a short time to arrange com- 
 munications with General Hope's column, &c. Our men 
 forded the Gave de Pau, and drove the enemy from Orthes. 
 As they made some stand in that town, it was a little 
 rompe'd, as we call it. General Picton was not wounded, 
 and our loss has been inconsiderable upon the whole. 
 
 Colonel C returned by my old road through Peyre- 
 
 horade, Eamons, and across the Adour, at Port de Lanne, 
 
416 PROGRESS OP THE ALLIES. 
 
 and so to Bayonne, and then across the new bridge here. 
 He found the first division driving the French from the 
 heights above the citadel of Bayonne, close into the town 
 last night. This was done, but with some loss and much 
 firing. Those hills are important, for in some measure 
 they command the citadel. To-morrow we march to join 
 head-quarters. I believe we shall not pass the new bridge, 
 as a Spanish army crosses that way, and will occupy it 
 all day, and the road also ; in addition to which, we have 
 hitherto only cavalry patroles along that road, and the 
 French have halted a force at Dax, or Acks, or Ax (in 
 the different maps). I understand that we are to go by 
 Ustaritz, Hasparran, Grarris, Sauveterre, and Orthes. 
 This is a roundabout bad road, but will be a new country 
 to me. The weather most luckily continues fine hitherto. 
 Our accounts from the interior are, that Toulouse and 
 Bordeaux are both ready to hoist the white flag, and only 
 wait for our sanction and declaration. This point of 
 etiquette may spoil all. I think we should declare our 
 readiness to support them the moment they declare pub- 
 licly their readiness to take that part. This is a critical 
 moment. Many are alarmed at Schwartzenburg's not 
 having made more progress; he seems to have hung 
 back, for his army was stronger than Blucher's, and was 
 forwarded six weeks since, and yet we only hear of Blucher 
 being near Paris. I must now prepare to "romper de 
 march" as Jack Portugoose calls it. So adieu. 
 
INCLEMENT WEATHER. 417 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Passage of the RiverStart for Orthes Effect of the Battle Feelings of 
 the French Wellington wounded St. Sever Church and School 
 Aire Wellington on the Conduct of the Allies Indurating effects of 
 War. 
 
 Head-quarters, St. Sever, 
 March 5th, 1814. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 HERE I am with head-quarters, and within two 
 leagues of my old quarter, Mont de Marsan. We have 
 had a most unpleasant, and, for the baggage animals, a 
 most laborious journey, from the terrible state of the 
 weather hail-storms, rain-storms, with violent south- 
 westerly winds almost all the time. By warm clothing 
 and good living I have escaped with only one day's return 
 of rheumatism, which has now gone off, and I feel in very 
 tolerable repair. 
 
 On the 1st of March we left St. Jean de Luz, and 
 passed the grand bridge below Bayonne, in sight of, and 
 I really believe within gunshot of the walls. We all 
 filed over in safety, and then along the sea-wall for half 
 a mile, with water on both sides, to Boucaut. I was 
 surprised that the animals were not more alarmed. 
 
 The bridge answered perfectly ; it consisted of thirty- 
 six two-masted vessels, with anchors across all the way 
 at the head and stern of each ; a strong beam across the 
 centre of each, between the masts, to which the cables 
 were fastened, to form the road, so that each formed a 
 separate bridge, and the destruction of one cable only 
 
418 START FOR ORTHES. 
 
 affected one space. The boards were then fixed on these 
 cables, and were interlaced all the way by small cords, 
 through notches in the boards ; and thus we went safely 
 along between the masts, in a road about twelve or 
 fourteen feet wide, differing, however, from a common 
 bridge, for the arches between the boats (from the 
 stretching of the cables) formed concaves instead of 
 convex arches, some of them descending nearly to the 
 water's edge. It answered, however, perfectly, and will 
 continue to do so, unless the Spaniards suffer the French 
 to come and destroy it. Of this I have my doubts. The 
 crews were living in their vessels at the head and stern, 
 cooking away and going on as usual. Five or six gun- 
 boats were moored about it, then came the boom and 
 boats ready to tow ashore any fireship. 
 
 At Boucaut we found Sir John Hope and his staff, so 
 we were ordered to the next village on the road. Our 
 managing Quarter-Master clumsily went to a bad village 
 of a dozen houses, out of the road, when there was a very 
 good one on the right road, only a few miles further on. 
 Several of us had no houses, and were told we must find 
 them for ourselves. After waiting for some time until 
 my baggage came, I determined to go on the right road 
 until I found a quarter vacant, trusting with full con- 
 fidence to the good disposition of the inhabitants, which 
 is most excellent towards the English. After looking 
 into five, I found a vacant one a mile and a-half off, no 
 officer within half a mile, and no English troops within 
 two miles, and none at all towards the interior of France 
 on that road. The people expected some one, and a bed 
 was ready, and a hearty welcome I received. 
 
 In my way I went round by the picquet, within about 
 eight hundred yards of Bayonne citadel, where my tailor 
 was on fatigue-duty in the works, and I thus recovered 
 my clothes. As I was just going to bed at eight o'clock, 
 a violent cannonading and sharp musketry commenced 
 
FRENCH ROYALISTS. 419 
 
 sounding close by us. I did not think it prudent to go 
 to bed until it ceased, for we were within about a mile 
 and a-half of a garrison of eleven thousand men; but 
 suspecting what was the case, that it was only our people 
 driving the French out of a field-work on the hill, and 
 hemming them in closer to the citadel, I was little 
 alarmed. 
 
 My host and his family were great royalists in their 
 professions, as they had for the last six months been more 
 than usually oppressed by the French. He had a house 
 and ten acres of land ; the house probably worth about 
 101. a-year in England. The rent of his land was one- 
 half the produce of corn and maize ; the taxes on his 
 house had been already that year sixty francs, and his 
 contributions fifteen bushels of maize and, I think, ten of 
 corn. He said that no one could live if this continued, 
 and that all the young men were carried off. He had 
 one quarter to pay still, but expecting us every day, he 
 put it off from time to time, though much threatened, 
 and now thought himself safe. 
 
 From thence we started early for Peyrehorade, rather 
 a large place, nearly as large as Kingston-upon-Thames. 
 It was a market-day, and the people of the country 
 crowded in as usual. They all stared at us, most saluted 
 us ; all were civil, and we got our quarters with much 
 more facility, and met with ten times the civility we had 
 ever done in Spain. I never witnessed a single quarrel, 
 though the town was crowded as it is during an election 
 with you, and we had only about twenty dragoons to 
 protect all the twelve hundred animals and baggage of 
 head-quarters. 
 
 My host was particularly civil, and gave nie a very 
 good apartment and an excellent dinner some roast beef 
 a I'Anglaise, a duck, and a fowl. The whole family dined 
 with us, wife, mother, and two daughters. The eldest 
 
 2E2 
 
420 ORTHES. 
 
 son, who had been intended for an attorney, had been 
 taken as a conscript, and was wounded at Leipsic since 
 that time they had not heard of him. I comforted them 
 by suggesting that he must have been left at Mayence. 
 The next son was sixteen, and at school at St. Sever ; 
 next year it became his turn to take his chance as a con- 
 script. You may well conceive that we were considered 
 as welcome guests ; independently of the expectation of 
 having coffee and sugar cheap for grandmamma, and 
 English linens, muslins, &c., for the two ugly misses. 
 
 On the 3rd of March we started again for Orthes, the 
 scene of the famous battle, of which you will have heard 
 before you receive this letter, and of which we received 
 several imperfect accounts as we went along. The recep- 
 tion all along the road, and at Orthes, was the same as at 
 
 Peyrehorade. Dr. M - and Major Gr just stopped 
 
 in the stable of a chateau for shelter, when the owner 
 came out and took them in, and gave them cold turkey 
 and champaigiie. At Orthes I got an excellent quarter 
 at the house of the Juge de Paix, who was very hospit- 
 able as usual ; and as the weather was so excessively bad, 
 and my Portuguese almost dead with their walk of twenty 
 miles in the rain and mud, I stopped the night there, not- 
 withstanding the head-quarters were regularly eight miles 
 further at Sault. I knew the latter was a miserable place, 
 which was another inducement with me to remain. 
 
 At Orthes I found about two thousand wounded, one 
 thousand English, and the others French and Portuguese ; 
 the latter had behaved well, as usual. I found the Ad- 
 jutant-general, Pakenham, confined to his bed, ill at the 
 inn, but, at nine at night, and this morning, very much 
 better. The hospitals are all established, and in full 
 activity. Lord March was shot in the chest, but the 
 surgeon hoped he would do well, and thought so ; he 
 could not, however, find the ball, but had reason to think 
 
EFFECTS OF THE BATTLE. 421 
 
 it had not passed the lungs. Colonel Brook's brother 
 (a schoolfellow of George's) was shot through the lungs, 
 and there is little hope of him. 
 
 The affair at Orthes was quite unexpected ; as they 
 had suffered our army to pass all the rivers, no one ex- 
 pected this desperate stand, for such I am told it was, 
 the French having seldom fought better. They stood 
 some time after they had [ceased to fire, and it is there- 
 fore concluded that they had had no ammunition left ; 
 and even after our cavalry (who behaved well) was in the 
 midst of them cutting away. At last they gave way, 
 and then fled quickly. Their loss no one knows, as the 
 wounded got off to the villages round ; but all say that 
 their army is actually reduced above eight thousand men, 
 as the conscripts are all running home as fast as they can. 
 Above twenty had come back to Peyrehorade ; and one 
 gentlemanlike young man I met at my quarter there was 
 a convalescent conscript, and such he said he should now 
 always remain, unless affairs took another turn again. 
 
 Our state here is most curious ; all riding about 
 singly, entering any house we please, and well received 
 everywhere, the baggage straggling all over the country ; 
 every one declaring that one man had caused all their 
 misery for the last three years. The Bourbons are al- 
 most forgotten ; and few, even of the better sort of people, 
 know who the Duke d'Angouleme is. All want peace, 
 and, therefore, wish him well. The French people are 
 just now humbled to a most astonishing degree I could 
 scarcely have believed it possible. 
 
 I went about talking to the people, and explaining a 
 little who our " royal tiger " is, and why he came as he 
 did. At Flagenan I found the maire and townspeople 
 waiting to pay their respects to him in form. This was 
 bolder than at most places ; and I was sorry to mortify 
 them by telling them he had already passed. At Pey- 
 rehorade, when the French army went by, every place 
 
422 LORD WELLINGTON WOUNDED. 
 
 was shut up ; when we came, every place and all the 
 shops were opened. 
 
 Their horror of the Spaniards is, however, very great. 
 Still the people would take no active part ; they remained 
 quiet, hoping for peace. At Orthes Marshal Soult or- 
 dered the inhabitants to arm and assist ; and the action 
 was so close, on a formidable position on the hills above 
 the town, that several balls fell into the houses ; but 
 instead, the inhabitants all shut themselves up, and there 
 waited the event. He vowed vengeance, and declared 
 that the town should be pillaged in consequence. Of 
 course they wished us success, as you may well conceive. 
 
 In many places the French have done much injury to 
 the inhabitants as they went off, burning mills, bridges, 
 forage, and the suburbs of Navarens, on military ac- 
 counts, but plundering also very considerably on private 
 accounts. The people now fear that we are too weak, 
 and begin to tremble. 
 
 It is a trying time for them. The schoolmaster here 
 has rubbed out his College Imperials. This may be his 
 ruin if matters change again. At Mont de Marsan, as I 
 expected, we have found immense stores. This place, 
 St. Sever, is larger than Orthes or Peyrehorade, and is 
 said to have had much emigree and ancienne noblesse. 
 The reception, however, as to quarters, has not been 
 quite so good as hitherto, more from alarm, probably 
 than anything else. 
 
 Lord Wellington and General Alava were close toge- 
 ther when struck, and both on the hip, but on different 
 sides, and neither seriously injured, as the surgeon told 
 me who dressed them Lord "Wellington's was a bad 
 bruise, and the skin was broken. I fear that his riding 
 so much since has made it rather of more consequence ; 
 but hope the two days' halt here will put him in the 
 right way again, as all our prospects here would vanish 
 with that man. 
 
MISHAPS OP THE MARCH. 423 
 
 From this vicinity the French took the road tq 
 Toulouse, and, you will observe, made another stand 
 near Aire. The Portuguese, I am sorry to say, ran at 
 that place ; and we were at first repulsed, but General 
 Barnes's brigade came up, and set all to rights, by 
 driving the French on again, and taking some prisoners. 
 Our way here has been in some degree difficult and 
 dangerous, from the flooded rivers and broken-down 
 bridges, which have been hitherto only slightly repaired, 
 so as to be just passable. At the Adour, it is reported 
 that we have here actually been delayed two days. At 
 Port de Lanne, we passed it on two large rafts, and 
 two ferry-boats, with some risk : my boat was nearly 
 over, from two spirited horses being on board ; and 
 my little mule, with his panniers on, jumped into 
 the water. This put my linen and sugar, &c., in a 
 pretty mess, as you may suppose, and drowned the 
 live fowls on his back. At Peyrehorade I also lost 
 a mule, and was obliged, consequently, to overload the 
 rest. 
 
 At this place I last night recovered my mule, and 
 lost nothing on the road, except the drowned fowls, 
 which can now be replaced here. The history of all 
 the mishaps on a march is curious. I dined at the 
 ferry-house, and did not go away till all my own nine 
 animals were clear over. Some persons have never 
 heard of their baggage since, and are now here with- 
 out it : it will turn up soon, no doubt, at least in great 
 part. 
 
 My old host at Mont de Marsan has sent to inquire 
 after me. One feels now quite strange in an enemy's 
 country, meeting deserters around on the road, gens- 
 d'armes, the same conscripts going home, and a stout 
 peasantry with great Irish bludgeons, all very civil 
 and friendly; and Lord Wellington, by proclamation, 
 ordering the maires to form an armed police, and 
 
424 PROSPECTS OF THE ROYAL CAUSE. 
 
 protect their own districts themselves from stragglers, 
 muleteers, &c. 
 
 I always expected that Soult would retire towards 
 Toulouse, to fall back on Suchet, and either hang on 
 our flank, if we should go on to Bordeaux, or draw us 
 from the sea and our supplies if we follow him up. We 
 can push on to Bordeaux and the river, in my opinion, 
 and then sweep on before us towards Toulouse. Time 
 will show Lord Wellington's plans, which no one can do 
 more than guess at. In the end I was right as to his 
 crossing the Gaves in force. 
 
 I have just met with the Baron de Barthe. He tells 
 me that all prospers with the royal cause, and that the 
 French provinces of Poitou, Gruienne, Brittany, &c., 
 are all in open insurrection, and the white flag flying. 
 P 's account of the state of France on his side coin- 
 cides, as you must observe, almost precisely with mine, 
 as far as I have yet seen. The people are all at market 
 here to-day, just as if nothing were the matter, and we 
 were not here. Hitherto there is only hatred in many 
 of the lower classes and a few of the higher to Bonaparte ; 
 but no effort for the Bourbons, and much alarm in the 
 purchasers of national property. The andenne noblesse 
 is beginning to talk and to stir a little, and the nouveaux 
 riches are by some laughed at. Public opinion begins 
 to dare to Vent itself, and the minds of the people at 
 large are, I think, veering fast. Many think us too 
 weak at present. It is said that we move to-morrow 
 to Aire, on the Toulouse road ; but nothing is fixed. I 
 went to inquire after Lord Wellington to-day ; he was 
 busy writing, and said he was better, and looked well 
 enough. The Duke d'Angouleme has sent to Mont de 
 Marsan as his agent a professeur, who was despised there, 
 and this has given offence. The truth is that he does 
 not know where as yet to find men of weight and talent. 
 St. Sever, March 6th, 1814. The mail is to be dis- 
 
DISARMING OF THE ITALIANS. 425 
 
 patched to-day, so I add a few lines, as we halt here 
 again to-day, and probably to-morrow, owing to the 
 flooded state of the river, and the enemy having destroyed 
 the bridges in their retreat to Auch, where we are told 
 they now are. Marshal Soult, it is said, finding that the 
 Italians also are now beginning to desert since Murat's 
 new alliances, has ordered all Italian soldiers to be dis- 
 armed. Another story current, but not so much to be 
 relied on, is, that Bonaparte has been badly wounded, 
 and desired General Macdonald to put him out of his 
 misery ; and that the latter took him at his word, and 
 shot him. 
 
 The Duke d'Angouleme was at high mass again to-day, 
 at which some hundreds of the new levy attended, my 
 hosts tell me, known by their short cropped heads. Our 
 situation here is so different from what it was in Spain, 
 that it is quite droll. I have a general invitation from 
 my host whilst I stay. To-day I go to Lord Wel- 
 lington's. 
 
 Later on the 7th. We stay to-day, as the bridges are 
 not repaired and the floods have not quite subsided. I 
 walked down to the bridge with Lord Wellington yes- 
 terday, and observed him limp a little, and he said he 
 was in rather more pain than usual, but that it was 
 nothing. At dinner yesterday, he said he was laughing 
 at General Alava having had a knock, and telling him 
 it was all nonsense, and that he was not hurt, when he 
 received this blow, and a worse one, in the same place 
 himself. Alava said it was to punish him for laughing 
 at him. At dinner we had the new Swedish tiger, the 
 Prince's aide-de-camp, who had been here a few days, 
 covered with gold. His pantaloons are most magnifique. 
 He seemed a good-tempered man, but I did not think 
 very much of him. 
 
 Two of the Bordeaux people were also there, who are 
 to return to-day, and General Frere's aide-de-camp from 
 
426 GENERAL DESIRE FOR PEACE. 
 
 Peyrehorade, as he is marching up that way by Orthes. 
 The people in office at Pan sent to say that they were 
 ready to declare for the King, and Count Damas boldly 
 enough went over there to see the state of things. He 
 has come back safe, and reports them ready, but that 
 they cannot take any public step until we are in force 
 there. Amongst other opinions and feelings here, we, 
 the English, have our partisans. Many say they should 
 like an English Government, and Lord Wellington told 
 me, laughing, he believed we had almost as many friends 
 and partisans as the Bourbons. Peace certainly is by 
 far the most popular project of all. I am excessively 
 hurried with business to-day, and must prepare to see 
 Lord Wellington. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Aire, March 11 1 h, 1814. By a sudden 
 order we moved from St. Sever to this place yesterday, 
 so far on our road to Toulouse, and the scene of the battle 
 a few days since, when the Algarve brigade (all Portu- 
 guese) took to their heels, and the English brigade of 
 General Barnes behaved so well. 
 
 We are now playing a bolder game than usual. The 
 French, as I suspected, took the Toulouse road from St. 
 Sever, and have a column in our front on the road to 
 Auch, I believe, and another near or towards Tarbes. 
 This leaves Bordeaux open. To take advantage of this, 
 we have also divided two divisions under Marshal Beres- 
 ford ; the seventh and the fourth are gone to Bordeaux, 
 and must be by this time close to the town, which is 
 said to be ripe to join us, and declare for the King. The 
 Duke d' Angouleme is gone that way. 
 
 In front here we have Sir Eowland Hill's corps, the 
 second and sixth divisions, and also the third and light 
 divisions ; and General Frere's Spanish army of twelve 
 thousand men, to be fed by us, is on its road up, and 
 to be, it is understood, at St. Sever to-day ; and to sup- 
 port this main movement against Soult, who is said to be 
 
FEELINGS OP THE PEOPLE. 427 
 
 near Auch. In the meantime, General Hope remains 
 with the first division, including all the Guards and 
 German Legion (the choice men and in high order, and 
 undiminished by service nearly), together with the fifth 
 division and General Don Carlos d'Espagne's Spanish 
 brigade, and, it is believed, also Lord Aylmer's British 
 one, to blockade and take Bayonne. It is most un- 
 fortunate that so large a force should be required for 
 that object ; but we dare not trust, I conclude, the 
 bridge and our communications to the Spaniards' keep- 
 
 ing. 
 
 Great preparations are making against Bayonne, and 
 the garrison have been driven in very close to the citadel ; 
 but no steps have been hitherto taken for the actual siege 
 by regular approaches or batteries. Our army is thus 
 very much divided just now, and the communications 
 would be difficult, except that the country is with us. 
 All the French posting establishment has remained, and 
 nearly everything goes on as usual. The people quietly 
 suffer us to take our own measures, and offer no oppo- 
 sition, though not openly declaring or helping us. It 
 is remarkable that we go about as if in England, and 
 yet no mischief has been done either to officers, men, or 
 baggage. If the country people had been like the 
 Spaniards, and against us, what we are now doing would 
 have been out of the question. Half our army, by strag- 
 gling about, would have been knocked on the head. We 
 have, fortunately, just now plenty of money, and pay 
 for everything ; and the English are in the highest 
 repute. 
 
 In general, also, we have behaved well. There are, 
 however, many instances to the contrary; and many 
 more, I am sorry to say, amongst the Portuguese. When 
 the Spaniards come, I am afraid things will be much 
 worse. The mischief done by, and injury arising from, 
 the passing through a country of the very best disciplined 
 
428 ST. SEVER ITS CHURCH 
 
 army is considerable. The people feel that, and are 
 ready in general to submit to much, especially as the 
 French army has been so much worse than ours, and 
 does not pay for anything, whilst, on the other hand, we 
 enable many to make almost little fortunes against quiet 
 times ; and Lord Wellington begins upon a plan, which 
 I hope he will have funds to continue, of paying for all 
 damage done when fairly stated. Some most exaggerated 
 and unreasonable demands have been made to him in con- 
 sequence. Guineas are already spread all over this 
 province, and pass most readily. 
 
 I am at an apothecary's here, who was, I am sorry to 
 say, robbed by our men just after the attack. Lord Hill 
 offered to send him the money, nearly 15. and a watch; 
 but he declined taking it. 
 
 Lord Wellington has a cold, but rode here yesterday in 
 his white cloak, in a terribly cold day, with the snow 
 directly in his face ; for we have now got another little 
 winter here, which is unusual. 
 
 At the latter place there was a large church which was 
 built by the English. In general, it is exactly in the 
 style we call Saxon, or Old English, circular arches and 
 Saxon ornaments. I suspect, however, it must have been 
 built just as the Gothic style was coming into fashion, as 
 the side aisle arches and part of the body of the church 
 were Pointed or Gothic ; and this did not appear to have 
 been, like some of ours, a subsequent alteration. A 
 handsome small old Corinthian facade was inserted 
 within the large Saxon heavy arch, which formed the 
 original entrance of the front of the church. In the 
 town was a very good school, called Le College Imperial. 
 About ninety-two boys were then in the school, who all 
 remained, and were very civil to our officers whenever 
 we went there. The boys seemed to wish us well ; and 
 they do not usually conceal their real opinions. The 
 establishment was in an old Benedictine abbey, and was 
 
AND SCHOOL. 429 
 
 exceedingly good. The lower cloisters and the great 
 church, gutted at the Eevolution, formed excellent play- 
 places ; and all the great corridors above were half en- 
 closed by small wooden rooms for the boys, each having 
 one to himself about eight feet by five, holding his bed, 
 his chair, table, and box ; and, by being all open at the 
 top to the gallery, they were airy and yet retired and 
 private. The expense of this school is about 400 francs, 
 or 20Z. a-year. For this, Latin, writing, French, geo- 
 graphy, music, dancing, and a little mathematics were 
 taught. Some boys could read Livy, Tacitus, and 
 Cicero. The dinner and other arrangements are cleanly 
 and good. Napoleon gave them the building. The 
 funds were all private, no foundation, lands, or allowances 
 from Government. 
 
 The road from St. Sever here was through a rich flat 
 bottom near the Adour, with a high bank all the way on 
 the south side, with several chateaux. We crossed the 
 Adour to come here at Sever, over our newly-made 
 bridge; came along the great road on the north bank, 
 and recrossed again at a ferry at this place, this for the 
 fourth time since we left St. Jean de Luz. The country 
 seems well cultivated, and not unlike parts of the Bath 
 road, in Berkshire a flat corn country, with wooded, 
 rising grounds and villas at some distance, which formed 
 the valley. We passed Grenade, rather a large village, 
 about eight miles from St. Sever, and a large chateau 
 about six miles off, belonging to the Marquis de St. 
 Maurice, the chateau deriving its name from him. We 
 also passed a small village, about four miles further on, 
 called Cageres ; and four miles more brought us here. 
 The bridge at Barcelonne is about a mile and a half 
 higher up, over the Adour, and has not been destroyed 
 by the French ; they only broke one arch of wood, which 
 we have repaired. We were to have crossed there to 
 get hither, but I came almost the first, found a ferry 
 
430 APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 just re-established, and came over ; most followed the 
 same way. 
 
 Aire is not so large a town as St. Sever or Orthes ; it 
 is about the size of Epsom. It is close to the river, is 
 old and dirty, and half deserted. Several good houses 
 gutted, or, at least, without furniture ; and the ruins of a 
 very large modern-built bishop's palace, destroyed during 
 the Ee volution, when this place suffered much. At 
 Upper Aire, which stands well on a hill half a mile 
 above this, is a celebrated school or college, or rather two 
 united. It was first formed about sixty or eighty years 
 since, a handsome building erected for the purpose, and 
 well contrived in plan much like that at St. Sever. It 
 was in great repute before the Revolution, but was then 
 destroyed, and almost completely gutted. Within the 
 last ten years, the professors and clergy have by degrees, 
 by charities, charity sermons, and great exertions, nearly 
 restored the whole again without Government assistance ; 
 and, before this late attack, above two hundred boys 
 were there. In one building there are above a hundred 
 boys, all destined for the church ; in another, above a 
 hundred for lay employments. An old church built by 
 the English, but much altered, and in a much later 
 style than that at St. Sever, stands between the schools, 
 is used by them as a church, and unites the two esta- 
 blishments. The whole has a good broad play -terrace on 
 the brow of the hill above the river. Education here is 
 cheaper than at St. Sever, though there are no Govern- 
 ment funds at either. The yearly cost is about three 
 hundred or three hundred and fifty francs. I rather 
 think clothing was, however, included in the estimate at 
 St. Sever, and that would make the two much alike. The 
 studies are the same. It puts me in mind of Maynooth 
 College, near Dublin, and seemed what our colleges were 
 three or four centuries ago. 
 
 My patron or host at St. Sever is a sort of small land- 
 
FRENCH PHILOSOPHY. 431 
 
 holder and noble, with his house in town and villa two 
 miles off, which dated, as he took care to tell me, 130 
 years, as the builder's mark and his ancestor's name 
 proved, and therefore, " C'est clair, mais ce nest rien 
 pour moi, cest lien vrai maintenant, que ma famille est 
 superieure a celle de M. le Maire de noire ville" &c. M. le 
 Maire had made most of his money by dabbling with 
 national property during the Revolution, and succeeded 
 better than many others here. "But," continued my 
 host, "as I have always been considered one of the 
 noblesse, I have suffered accordingly ; mais riimporte I 
 am grown a philosopher. I never can see such times as 
 Eobespierre's again ; so I see English, Spanish, Por- 
 tuguese, and all with indifference, and remain quiet. At 
 the same time I am now English (he always said nous 
 autres, which often puzzled me), and I wish the cause 
 well, and would contribute much to its success/' He 
 seemed surprised that this contribution of maize for our 
 horses was all paid for instantly, and that in gold, and at 
 a fair good price, even though M. le Maire, who managed 
 it (no one knew for what), detained eleven sous out of 
 every eighty from all to whom he made payments. 
 M. La Borde de Menos was my host's name. He was 
 very civil, and I dined with his family his wife, two 
 daughters, and a son whenever I was not engaged, 
 which happened only twice, at Lord Wellington's. He 
 also gave my men wine, &c. ; in short, I believe he 
 rejoiced much at the change he had experienced in 
 having me instead of a whole company of officers, n^n 
 and all, which he had one day when we first came. 
 
 In return for his treatment, I bought toys for the lad ; 
 gave some tea to Madame in case of sickness, and a pretty 
 cadeau to Mademoiselle. In a word, we parted excellent 
 friends. The many stories he told me of what had 
 passed in Eobespierre's time were curious. M. La Borde 
 
432 WELLINGTON'S OPINION OF THE ALLIES. 
 
 was obliged to act with, the Eepresentant, and attend all 
 meetings, to be only pillaged and abused by every one, 
 and to bow and say, " Thank you all," with his hat in 
 his hand ; and this was to prevent their having an excuse 
 for guillotining him, as thirty of the principal people 
 were put to death in the small town of St, Sever, The 
 living alone and staying away was of itself a heinous 
 offence, and every requisition of a cart for a day's use was 
 called for sous peine de mort. That was the form of all 
 demands. A ball was given by the Eepresentant. 
 Every one was obliged to go or be suspected. Madame 
 went. She had a valuable gold watch-chain; but not 
 daring to show it, she went with a cut steel one. The 
 Eepresentant said, " Mais ou est done votre chaine d'or ? 
 Le publique en a besom" She was obliged to swear it 
 had been stolen, and to hide it ever afterwards. The 
 Eepresentant seemed incredulous, and the risk of this 
 fraud was great, but it answered. Monsieur was not so 
 lucky ; he had a valuable ring, and attended one of the 
 meetings with it on. The Eepresentant said, " Tu 
 
 F Noble, donnez moi ta lague, ce nest pas pour des 
 
 gens comme toi ; le publique en a besom" He took it off 
 and gave it up, and some months after saw it on the 
 finger of one of the Eepresentant 's relations. 
 
 I have now a will to draw up in case of accident, 
 
 for Sir N. P , bart., to secure 10,000/. to each of his 
 
 younger children. He is here with his regiment; so 
 adieu. 
 
 Jjord Wellington abuses the Allies for having been 
 beaten when they had the game in their hands ; and 
 says, one ran his head against the Mariie, and the other 
 against the Seine, and the whole was ill-managed. We 
 have the further news of a French column having made 
 its way from Lyons to near Geneva again ; but a report 
 still later, that the Allies, under Blucher, got into Bona- 
 
AN INTRIGUING GENTLEMAN. 433 
 
 parte's rear. These checks are, even if they end in 
 nothing, of the greatest use to him. They deter people 
 from declaring their opinions; may make every dif- 
 ference in that way here and at Bordeaux ; and I should 
 not be surprised if they encouraged Marshal Soult to 
 make another stand near here, on this side the Garonne, 
 which I do not think he would otherwise have done. 
 
 I am told that he is in a position at present from 
 Tarbes to Plaisance, on a ridge of hills, and that the 
 
 country is full of positions. My news is from M. D , 
 
 the husband of my young Spanish Bilboa lady, who came 
 to me to-day. They have left Bayonne from fear, and 
 are waiting the events of the war at Pau, whence he 
 came over here and like a true placeman, thinking 
 matters were about to change, he insinuated to me that 
 he should like an appointment under the new order of 
 things under the direction of the Bourbons or the 
 English. 
 
 He also wanted a passport for his little wife's brother 
 to go back to Bilboa, from General Alava. This I have 
 obtained for him ; but on condition that the civil autho- 
 rities are written to, and the brother examined on his 
 
 arrival, as to his conduct, &c. M. D was Colonel 
 
 F 's friend and not mine ; and to confess the truth, I 
 
 had no great opinion of him, but thought he was only 
 
 attentive to Colonel F to serve his own purposes, 
 
 and seemed to be rather an intriguing gentleman. It is, 
 however, quite my principle that every one should be 
 allowed to go home, and go about his business ; and I am 
 sure that Spain will profit by the residence of any one 
 who has lived at all with the French, and acquired some 
 notions of what mankind are capable of, and of human 
 exertion. 
 
 In my walks to-day, I met a poor gentleman who told 
 me we had taken all his forage, and that his oxen were 
 
 2F 
 
434 INDURATING EFFECTS OF WAR. 
 
 starving, and that he must sell them ; he was going to a 
 contractor for that purpose. I advised him to go to our 
 Commissary Haines, to whom I took him, for I thought 
 each would gain by a bargain direct. His oxen are to 
 be inspected to-morrow. During our conversation, he 
 told me that he was the brother-in-law of Dulau, the 
 French bookseller in Soho Square, and that the latter had 
 no nearer relation, but that he could never hear of him, 
 or write to him. I undertook to send his letter. If such 
 a letter is enclosed to you, therefore, you will know all 
 about it, and my poor man may get a legacy or some- 
 thing by it, from the great Mr. Dulau, for such he 
 must be. 
 
 Saturday, March 12th. We remain here to-day, and 
 shall do so probably for a few days, unless the French 
 move off. We seem to be moving up. A brigade of 
 artillery and some troops were yesterday taking the 
 direction to Pau, to secure that town, I conclude, as we 
 have now only artillery there, and also, perhaps, to turn 
 the left of the French position at Tarbes. Lord Wel- 
 lington is better ; his hounds go out to-day, and I should 
 not be surprised at his being out with them. As a proof 
 how savage war makes every one, even an English sol- 
 dier, I may tell you that poor H 5 s body was stript 
 
 by the English soldiers of his own division, to which he 
 was acting as Adjutant-general, and almost before his 
 body was cold. I believe two or three men have been 
 flogged for this. By degrees we all get hardened to any- 
 thing. 
 
 I find the same sort of custom here as to letting land, 
 as is to be found near Bayonne. The landlord puts a 
 peasant into a little farm, furnishes it, pays the taxes, and 
 finds the necessary cattle, beasts, and horses, for the cul- 
 tivation of the land ; in return, he receives the full haJf 
 of the clear produce as rent, but in kind, and very little 
 
PRICE OP PROVISIONS. 
 
 money is seen. Before we came, bread was three sous 
 the pound, which would be about sixpence three-farthings 
 the quartern loaf. A goose has been five francs of late, 
 but that is dear. Fowls are now only half-a-crown or 
 three shillings each, and very good even to the English. 
 If we remain long in a place, we soon cause the prices 
 to rise. 
 
 2*2 
 
436 MARSHAL BERESFORD AT BORDEAUX. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIY. 
 
 Reports from the Seat of War The Duke d'Angouleme - The German 
 Cavalry Misconduct of the Spaniards Attacks on our Grazing Parties 
 Movement of Head-Quarters Death of Colonel Sturgeon Visit to 
 the Hospital New Quarters Skirmishes Wellington and the Mayor. 
 
 Head-quarters, Aire, 
 
 March 16, 1814. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 HERE we remain still, and probably shall do so 
 for a few days, for the French Marshal not only keeps 
 his position near Conchez, across our road to Tarbes and 
 Toulouse, but does not seem disposed to go beyond 
 demonstrations, and cannot muster courage to attack us, 
 and we, I believe, are not quite prepared to attack him. 
 The glorious reception Marshal Beresford met with at 
 Bordeaux, and the spirited and decided conduct of the 
 maire, &c., there, you will have heard by the last mail, 
 for the news came after my letter, but before Lord "Wel- 
 lington's bag was dispatched. We have all sorts of 
 reports from the vicinity of Paris, about the battle at 
 Meaux, of a large French corps having gone over to Ber- 
 nadotte. There are reports from Bordeaux, but all 
 uncertain ; I think, however, that the maire must have 
 had some good intelligence to induce him to take the line 
 he has done, which must be his ruin, and that of all his 
 friends, if we make peace at last with Bonaparte. 
 
 The Duke d'Angouleme, at first, it is said, declined a 
 burgher guard, and preferred an English one. This will 
 
THE DUKE D'ANGOULEME. 437 
 
 not do : he must show confidence and spirit, and rely 
 upon his French friends, and give no offence by par- 
 tialities for the English. This was bad advice in some 
 one about him, for I understand he personally has always 
 wished to take a decided line, and risk his personal safety 
 for the cause. 
 
 We hear the Eoyalist party are beginning a la lanterne 
 again, but I hope this is not true. The inhabitants of 
 Bordeaux must arm and protect themselves. We shall 
 leave but a small force there. The river and their own 
 people must be their chief reliance. Lord Wellington 
 has sent for the fourth division from Marshal Beresford 
 to help here. Canning went off at four o'clock on the 
 14th, with these orders (as I understand) ; he was sent 
 from Gartin by Lord Wellington, eleven miles from this 
 in front, and was here in an hour. Whilst he was dress- 
 ing and getting a fresh horse, I got him his money from 
 the Paymaster, and he was off, remounted for Eoquefort, 
 twenty miles ; and thence he was was to post the other 
 seventy miles all night to Bordeaux. He was heard of 
 at Langon, about three or four in the morning, so that by 
 nine o'clock on the 15th he would be in Bordeaux ; and 
 as the fourth division, which was at Langon, would 
 march that day, in about two days more they will be 
 here. All our 18 -pounders and some other reinforce- 
 ments will arrive, and then Soult must be off, or I hope 
 get another beating. 
 
 The heavy German Cavalry (for by its name they wish 
 to be known, for it carries credit with it), went through 
 here two days since in admirable order, the horses in par- 
 ticular, but the latter are altogether too slight for the 
 men, who are all large, bony, heavy men, of a certain age, 
 and experienced heroes. It will not be easy by a royal 
 order, and light jacket and caps, to transform these gen- 
 tlemen into light Germans, nor do the corps like it at all. 
 Ponsonby's heavy brigade is also close by, fresh from 
 
438 ATTACKS ON GRAZING PARTIES. 
 
 Spain, like the Germans, and in the same excellent con- 
 dition. Nearly ten thousand Spaniards, very fine-looking 
 men, and in good discipline, are also two miles from this, 
 at or near Barcelona. Hitherto they have behaved in 
 general much better than was expected on the march; 
 but we feed them, as they have no transport. If they 
 will but fight a little in return, and take their share of 
 loss, we should do famously. 
 
 Murillo's Spaniards, I am sorry to say, have begun 
 very ill in our front. The day before yesterday, Soult 
 made an advance against them; when they were ordered 
 to fall back a little to a rivulet, and there defend them- 
 selves. Once with their backs turned, however, away 
 they went, and never stopped until the Buffs were 
 ordered up to stop the French, who, the moment they 
 saw the red coats coming on, were off home again very 
 quickly, but not quite so rapidly as the Spaniards had run 
 from them. 
 
 The Portuguese cavalry had a little affair, and behaved 
 well. The 14th Dragoons had also an affair the day 
 before yesterday. Half a squadron under Captain 
 Babington were ordered by Colonel Harvey to drive off 
 a French half squadron, and then halt until he came up. 
 They upset the French, saw another whole squadron 
 beyond, were tempted to go on by their first success, and 
 succeeded in a great measure again, but Captain Babing- 
 ton was taken. The wounded French dragoons of the 
 5th regiment, brought in here prisoners, are all very fine 
 men, and the whole regiment are said to be the same sort 
 of men. They came in much cut about the head and 
 hands. 
 
 The forage animals of head-quarters were yesterday 
 very nearly getting into a terrible scrape about two 
 hundred and fifty animals, and two of mine in the num- 
 ber. They foolishly went in front of our picquets, or 
 nearly so, though regularly under commissariat directions. 
 
ATTACKS ON GRAZING PARTIES. 439 
 
 Whilst they were loading at a farm, one peasant slipped 
 away, and it is concluded told some French dragoons 
 near what was going on, whilst the other in the house 
 gave some of the party wine. There were four artillery- 
 men unarmed in the house, and about six Portuguese, 
 one of whom was mine, when a French officer of cavalry, 
 with his sword drawn, came to the window, told them 
 all to come out, and that they were prisoners. When 
 they came out, seeing that he was alone and his party 
 three or four hundred yards off, they mounted their 
 mules, and nearly all got off, with the loss of, it is said, 
 only one man and two or three mules. Some fellows 
 galloped all the way here without their loads or cords, 
 and at first spread an alarm that all were taken. They 
 arrived home in the course of the day, and my Portu- 
 guese brought home a load of good hay and two de- 
 serted ropes in triumph. It is thought that the party 
 should have brought off the officer prisoner, but most are 
 satisfied with having got their own property back again. 
 He cut one of the artillerymen on the finger, who put 
 up his arm to save himself. 
 
 Another party of muleteers with stores from Mont 
 de Marsan to Bordeaux, with supplies for the seventh 
 division, to which they belonged, were attacked three 
 days since on their road near Eoquefort, quite in our 
 rear and on our communications, by some French par- 
 tizans, a sort of guerillas called La Bande. These now, 
 it is said, are employed by Soult : they were formerly a 
 set of douaniers, or smuggler catchers. Several mules 
 were killed and wounded, and, I believe, some muleteers 
 killed, and some of the money taken. It is to be feared 
 that the Spanish muleteers will begin to be alarmed at 
 this. We have cavalry, however, on the road, and they 
 will now be more on the look out in future. 
 
 This place is now much crowded. Three new Gre- 
 nerals came in yesterday and to-day, Sir Stapleton 
 
440 MOVEMENT OF THE FRENCH. 
 
 Cotton to-day, with, about a hundred animals belonging 
 to himself and his staff. I was turned out of my stable 
 in consequence, though but a very bad one, and my 
 animals are now in a back kitchen turned into a stable. 
 At Barcelona the Spaniards turned out the cavalry with 
 much less ceremony. It is said that a company, with a 
 
 Captain at their head, gallantly charged Captain S 's 
 
 horses and batmen (General C 's aide-de-camp), and 
 were very successful. One little blood-horse kicked 
 about, broke loose, and made a good defence, without 
 injuring himself ; but another horse, not so quick in his 
 retreat, received two slight bayonet wounds, and a slight 
 cut with a sabre, and the Spaniards carried the day, be- 
 having like heroes ! 
 
 Our people are all moved in consequence, and I hope 
 that these valorosos and blood-thirsty gentlemen will 
 soon be allowed to contend with a more glorious enemy, 
 and will behave with equal spirit when the opportunity 
 shall arrive. 
 
 The Swedish (Bernadotte's) aide-de-camp is, it seems, 
 to campaign with us; he is buying horses, &c., and 
 preparing for the field. He is a great talker, and, I 
 understand, of this country. From his conversation 
 he seems to have served against us under Massena in 
 Portugal, but how he is what he is I do not exactly 
 understand. 
 
 The weather is still very cold. Lord Wellington 
 would not even condescend to-day to go and look at 
 the French. He only sent Colonel Gordon to go on to 
 Grartin, and report. 
 
 Head -Quarters, 17th March, Aire. About three 
 o'clock yesterday we learnt c that the French were off, 
 and filed through Conchez, apparently on the way to 
 Tarbes. I think they will not venture to go too near 
 the mountains, but must make for Toulouse. If not, 
 our fourth division, which, it is said, will be here to- 
 
SCENE AT BORDEAUX. 441 
 
 night, will make us strong enough, I hope, to push a 
 column through Audi straight to Toulouse, while the 
 rest follow Soult, and we should then be at Toulouse 
 first. I conclude he will turn that way from Tarbes. 
 General Hill moved a little after the French yesterday 
 to keep them in sight. The rest of the army will, in 
 my opinion, get in motion to-day or to-morrow, and 
 head-quarters move on very soon afterwards. About 
 fifty prisoners were sent in here last night, mostly 
 dragoons. 
 
 We are all alive again with regard to the Allies, and 
 the stories from Bordeaux are most animating. In 
 addition to this, we move after Soult to-morrow. Head- 
 quarters to be at Viella, nearly three leagues in advance, 
 towards Auch. I fear we shall, as part of head-quarters, 
 see neither Toulouse t nor Bordeaux ; for if my general- 
 ship correspond with Lord Wellington's, Soult will in 
 my opinion cross the Garonne, and our right will go 
 to Toulouse, and we, as part of head-quarters, shall pass 
 the river by some bridge to be laid down below near 
 Agen, more towards the centre of our movements. 
 The scene at Bordeaux I much regret to have lost. We 
 already hear of disturbances at Toulouse, and even 
 reports of Louis XVIII. being proclaimed at Paris. 
 From the want of a popular Bourbon cry at Bordeaux, 
 I hear they have set up " Henri IV.," and " Gode sav de 
 King." The weather to-day is delightful : I only hope 
 it will last. We are told that Suchet has offered to 
 withdraw all his garrisons from Spain into France, and 
 give up the towns in their present state ; this has been 
 referred, it is said, to Lord Wellington, and by him 
 refused, as only releasing so many men for present use, 
 who must sooner or later, if we persevere, be prisoners. 
 This is quite right no doubt for the common cause. 
 
 Viella, 18th. I have just time to add a few lines 
 at this place, which is about nine jniles from Aire, on 
 
442 TIRESOME MARCH. 
 
 the road to Tarbes, and our head-quarters to-day. It 
 is a small scattered village, so much so that I am at a 
 farm at least two miles or more from the main village, 
 and nearly by myself at the last house in the commune. 
 I have, however, a doctor and a commissary within a 
 quarter of a mile, and as we are fortunately well re- 
 ceived, and welcomed everywhere, it does not signify. I 
 feel quite at ease. 
 
 We had a tiresome march here, for the third division, 
 the sixth, and the heavy Germans with the baggage 
 of all three, the whole of the pontoon train, the artillery 
 of the two divisions, head-quarter's baggage, and eight 
 thousand Spaniards all went the same road, over our 
 newly-made bridge across the Leis, a small stream which 
 falls into the Adour, near Barcelonne. The French, in 
 destroying this bridge, had not blown up or burnt the 
 main centre pier, so that about twenty-five elm trees, 
 about twenty-five feet long, and bundles of fascines, 
 about twelve feet long, placed crosswise, and then 
 covered with dirt, in two days' time made us a famous 
 bridge. 
 
 Some time hence, when the fascines get rotten, some 
 luckless car or horseman will no doubt go through into 
 the water, which is deep, and about twenty feet below. 
 The high roads are excellent, and the country, though 
 not a rich soil, very pretty and loveable. Almost every 
 drain under the road, or a small arch for streams to pass 
 under, had been broken down ; some left so from neglect 
 of late, some I believe just made on purpose to delay us : 
 faggots, and a little mould, with a few small trees at 
 bottom, soon made a passage, but created delays. 
 
 I9th, 7 o'clock. To-day we move to Maubourguet, 
 nearly in the Tarbes road. This looks as if Soult was 
 making for Tarbes, and not Toulouse. I can scarcely 
 believe this. If he places his rear on the mountains, 
 he gives up Toulouse, and the richest country ; and if 
 
A FRENCH FARMER. 443 
 
 beaten when up there, will, in my opinion, escape with 
 difficulty. He may expect some reinforcements from 
 Suchet that way, but still must go to Toulouse. 
 
 We, however, have now a chance of seeing the latter, 
 whereas I thought we should have crossed nearer Agen, 
 lower down the river. 
 
 My patron here is very friendly. The French plun- 
 dered him terribly, and all his neighbours. They call 
 them brigands, and dread them more than our army. 
 My man let five Portuguese dragoons through his pre- 
 mises, and, he says, saved them. He is of a class of 
 men that existed in former days in England ; the owner 
 and cultivator of eighty acres of land, partly corn, 
 partly wood, partly vineyards, and partly meadow thus 
 he has all within himself. He has a wife and four 
 children, two women servants, two pair of oxen, of which 
 he has been obliged to sell one pair to pay the French 
 contributions. He has two labourers, both deserters, 
 for keeping whom he knows he is liable to a fine of 
 from five hundred to three thousand francs, and to be 
 confined five years, but he can get no other servants, and 
 of course these are faithful. 
 
 His land, he says, is worth about 50s. an acre. It 
 requires much labour, but when left alone he says is 
 good enough to make them very happy. In spite of 
 all that he has suffered, and his earnest desire for peace, 
 he is certainly no friend to the Bourbons. He curses 
 Bonaparte for his ambition, has a tolerably just notion 
 of all his losses in the North, and in Spain, from the 
 soldiers ; but still, would rather, in my opinion, have 
 Bonaparte and peace than the Bourbons. I can never 
 get him to say a word, good or bad, as to the latter. 
 At the same time, like all the rest of the French, he 
 would just now submit to anything for peace. All have 
 the highest respect for Lord Wellington, which they say 
 they learn from the French army, high and low. 
 
444 GALLANTRY OF GERMAN CAVALRY. 
 
 Maubourguet, 5 o'clock. We left Yiella at nine, and 
 after a tiresome ride through baggage the whole way, 
 arrived here about four o'clock, though it is only about 
 fifteen miles. The bridges were all broken down, and 
 nearly every gutter across the road, but this only caused 
 delays, and was quite ineffectual. The troops and 
 artillery waggons all found some way round or through. 
 When about twelve miles on our road, we found the 
 last three miles quite choked with all the baggage of 
 head-quarters and the troops. At first I conceived the 
 delay arose in a broken bridge being repaired, and was 
 patient; but a sharp firing and cannonade soon com- 
 menced in front . of Maubourguet, near Yic, and then, 
 guessing that it was an intentional halt, I made my 
 way through it here, and found every one in front, 
 and a sharp firing about four miles in advance, near 
 Yic Bigorre. 
 
 I met also a party of the fine German cavalry wounded 
 going to the rear ; they had had an affair the day before 
 yesterday in advance of Madiran, half way between that 
 place and this, and with two squadrons instantly upset 
 four squadrons of French chasseurs, took many horses, 
 and cut up many men, but the French ran too fast to 
 leave any prisoners. This tempted the Germans to 
 attack yesterday a very superior force, it is said three 
 times their number -three French regiments ; and I 
 hear they suffered much. 
 
 In the first affair they had about four killed and 
 eighteen wounded. We were at first without orders 
 as to staying here and unpacking, but a report soon 
 reached us that the French would not stand, and were 
 off. So we all unpacked quietly before the firing ceased, 
 and prepared for dinner in this town, where five hundred 
 French cavalry had passed the night, and had only 
 departed about eight in the morning, with the curses 
 of the inhabitants. Our Portuguese were principally 
 
CONFIDENCE OF THE ARMY. 445 
 
 engaged, it is said, yesterday, and without much loss. 
 The sixth division entered Vic last night. 
 
 Maubourguet, 7 o'clock, %Qth, Sunday. No orders last 
 night. Lord Wellington very kte home; but I have 
 just learned that we are to move to-day to Tarbes, 
 taking it for granted that the French will be out to 
 make room for us. This is very strange, and so is the 
 confidence of our men. When we halted yesterday 
 the batmen were saying, when within three miles of 
 this place, the head-quarters, "We must only wait a 
 little till the troops have cleared our quarters for us and 
 made room." 
 
 I now cannot understand Soult's plans. He seems 
 to be making for the mountains, and to have suffered 
 us in some measure to cut him off from Toulouse. 
 Colonel Canning arrived last night from Bordeaux with 
 an account of a grand defeat of Bonaparte, and that he 
 had fallen back on Orleans. This I expected if he were 
 not killed, as I concluded he would try and unite with 
 the Lyons army and Soult's, and make one more stand 
 in the heart of the kingdom. If this be true, Lord 
 Wellington must be careful as to passing the Garonne ; 
 Soult's junction, nevertheless, will at any rate be doubt- 
 ful. Our men are in the highest spirits, and driving all 
 before them ; weather fine. 
 
 Tournay, March 21 st. At nine left Maubourguet; 
 about four miles further I stopped at Yic Bigorre, to see 
 poor Colonel Sturgeon's body. He was a very clever 
 man and officer, and particularly skilful as a bridge 
 engineer, and in all languages. He went too close to 
 the skirmishers, to reconnoitre, and was shot in the 
 head just under the eye. I also went over the hospital, 
 to assist Dr. M'Gregor in giving directions to the French 
 as to arrangements, to talk to and satisfy some wounded 
 French officers, and to get bedding, straw, and help from 
 the maire by requisition instantly. We had about two 
 
446 TARBES. 
 
 hundred wounded there of all nations, many Portuguese, 
 one of whom was undergoing the operation of amputa- 
 tion of his leg and thigh, very high up, and seemed in 
 great agony. The French surgeon thought that Dr. 
 M'Gregor was finding fault, and stopped, and turned 
 to us to explain. I understand he was doing it in 
 a clumsy way, but Dr. M'Gregor begged me to praise 
 him highly, or he would be alarmed and do it still 
 worse. Close to Vic, by the road-side, were about a 
 dozen bodies of men killed by cannon-shot, and terribly 
 mauled. 
 
 Having loaded a mule with oats from a French store 
 at Yic, I proceeded towards Tournay. The road was 
 crammed, and some sharp skirmishing going on about 
 three miles beyond the town, which had commenced 
 on the Yic side. The French only left the town about 
 nine o'clock, and tried to blow up the bridge, but were 
 stopped by two or three gun-shots. They stood their 
 ground tolerably, on a very strong ridge of hills, until 
 night, and remained en bivouac on them last night. At 
 three this morning they were off; and here we are after 
 them again, about nine miles on the road to Toulouse, 
 at this place, Tournay, which was last night Marshal 
 Soult's head-quarters. 
 
 Tarbes is a good town and contains a number of good 
 houses. From the houses being large, and having yards 
 and gardens, and from there being one or two large open 
 spaces or squares, it covers a good deal of ground, but 
 does not count, I understand, above ten or eleven thou- 
 sand inhabitants. The people received us in general very 
 well, but were quite passive, taking no part in any way. 
 They had been kept quite in ignorance of all that was 
 going on in the north, and at Bordeaux in particular 
 at least a great part of them. I explained, and 
 harangued all I could in order to set them right. My 
 own patron was, it struck me, a strong Bonapartist, 
 
APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 447 
 
 and I took some pains to plague him a little accord- 
 ingly. We have had no sort of interruption to-day, 
 except from the multitudes passing, which form a con- 
 tinued stream, from five in the morning, along a wide 
 road, until about four or five in the day. The fine 
 weather has unfortunately turned to rain, but I hope will 
 return to us again. 
 
 You will see by the map that Soult has taken to the 
 Toulouse road at last. He is at Mont St. Jean to-day, 
 it is said ; and that, as usual, when inclined to run, the 
 French beat our people in marching, and we cannot cut 
 him off. He has run some risks by going this round- 
 about road; and had we been strong enough to have 
 pushed along the Auch road also, we should have puzzled 
 him a little. We shall now, most probably, drive him 
 gradually to the Graronne. It is likely, in my opinion, 
 that he will make another stand. I have been turned 
 out of my stable, and had much trouble with the maire, 
 so have only time to seal up. 
 
 P.S. The country, from Maubourguet to Yic, Tarbes, 
 and part of the way here, was all a flat, of rich country, 
 like the country between Bridgewater and across into 
 Somersetshire; except that half the meadows at least 
 were vineyards and orchards in one, and interlaced very 
 prettily ; the fruit-trees kept small, about ten feet high, 
 and the vines trained off at about six, and all intertwined 
 and furled together with withy-bands. This was famous 
 cover, as no musquet-ball could pass far through the 
 trees ; a few common shot had destroyed the quincunx 
 regularity in many places. The water meadows were 
 very beautiful, and the system seemed to be understood 
 and well managed ; the streams beautifully clear. The 
 background of this large flat was all the way to the 
 Haute Pyrenees covered with snow ; but the higher Pic 
 du Midi was never visible, always in the clouds ; the 
 
448 NEW QUARTERS. 
 
 lower one was. The Alps are far superior, as far as I 
 can judge. Adieu. 
 
 Nine o'clock at night, Isle en Dodon, March 24tfA, 
 1814. Our post and movements are now so uncertain 
 and sudden, that I know not when or how to write to 
 you, and fear that my last was sent too late, and may 
 probably be sent with this, by which means all the zest 
 of late news from the army will be lost. I have just 
 heard, by accident, that a mail will go to-night, and have 
 only time to scribble a few hasty lines immediately after 
 dinner. My last finished at Tournay ; thence we pro- 
 ceeded the next day to Galan, a poor village, and rather 
 a wild mountain road, the short cut to Toulouse. Our 
 second division and cavalry followed the enemy along the 
 high road by Lannernezon, Mont St. Jean, and St. Gau- 
 dens. One corps of their army went also through Galan. 
 The maire of the latter was a fine old man of eighty-two, 
 and a good friend. 
 
 I was at a miserable half-furnished house, and my 
 baggage being stopped by the Spanish troops, it did 
 not arrive until seven o'clock ; luckily it came in time 
 for me to dress, in order to dine with Lord Wellington, 
 a mile off, in the rain. The maire had been an hour in 
 the room with Lord Wellington before he found him 
 out, talking by the fire in his quarter, until at last Lord 
 Wellington, having let him go on some time, asked him 
 to dinner. This staggered him, and led to an explana- 
 tion. The maire said, that the night before he had had 
 Generals Clausel and Harispe, and that they only ordered 
 a dinner to be prepared, and did not ask him to eat part 
 of his own, or thank him, or take the least notice of him. 
 He could not, therefore, believe that Lord Wellington 
 was the enemy's General, after having been so treated, as 
 he said, " like a dog," by his friends. 
 
 My own patron was a half-starved apothecary without 
 
ISLE EN DODON. 449 
 
 medicines or drugs. He offered to dress a fowl for me, 
 but was very willing instead to sell me one for twice its 
 value, for dinner the next day. 
 
 23rd. We moved again to Boulognes, about sixteen 
 miles, rather a long march, and in part bad road, though 
 in general the roads all over this part of France are very- 
 much superior to ours in England ; compared with our 
 best roads, they are very superior to any in the distant 
 counties, and to many of our main and best roads, even 
 in the neighbourhood of London. The light, third, 
 fourth, and sixth divisions of cavalry, and about eight 
 thousand Spaniards, all move with this column, and we 
 reach of course by mid-day, when all is in motion, with 
 the artillery and baggage, about ten miles. The second 
 division and cavalry follow the French. At St. Gaudens 
 the 13th Dragoons came up with the French rear cavalry, 
 formed just outside the town, charged, broke them, drove 
 them pell-mell through the town 011 their reverse beyond 
 it. There they re-formed ; the 13th charged again; then 
 the French ran, with the 13th after them, for two miles. 
 The result is said to be a hundred and twenty prisoners 
 and horses, besides killed. 
 
 From Boulognes we to-day marched to this place 
 Isle en Dodon. The majority of the people here seem 
 to be friends of Bonaparte, and the assistant maire in 
 particular, with whom I had much conversation ; for he 
 gave Doctor Hume and me a joint billet at the empty 
 house where he gave out the billets, and no stable 
 at all. As I was obliged to have him in the room 
 so long, I determined to work him a little for treating 
 us so ill. 
 
 The maire of Boulognes ran away at first. At night 
 he came back and went to Lord Wellington, who showed 
 him his proclamations and regulations, &c. The maire 
 said he had taken the oath to Bonaparte, and would not 
 act. " Very well," said Lord Wellington, " then the 
 
 2 G 
 
450 MARCH TO SAM AT AN. 
 
 people must choose another ; but now you have taken 
 your line, I must take mine, and send you over the Ga- 
 ronne into the French lines." He gave orders accord- 
 ingly, to Colonel S . The maire ran away, and could 
 not be found. Colonel S - took up the father, to 
 march him off until the son appeared. This brought 
 him out ; he remonstrated with Lord Wellington, said he 
 was one of the first men of the country, and should be 
 ruined by this. Lord Wellington said, " He should have 
 thought of that sooner, and he must go ;" and to this 
 place he came to-day a prisoner. 
 
 We have just received orders to march to Samatan to- 
 morrow. All here have a notion that Suchet's forces 
 join Soult near here ; that is, have done so, or are to do 
 so ; but we are a little in the dark, and the ignorance of 
 the French about everything is astonishing : they seem 
 quite stupified. But Bonaparte has many friends still, 
 and the reports in the French papers, though upon the 
 whole good, are not decisive. The armistice seems to 
 have gone off from the arrangements about Italy. We 
 are living, like the rest of the armies and the French, 
 by requisitions; but we hitherto pay in money, which 
 others do not. We consume everything, however, like 
 locusts. 
 
 Lord Wellington popped between Colonel G and 
 
 me as we were discussing the allied battles this morning, 
 and suddenly took a part, to my great astonishment, in 
 our conversation. 
 
 On leaving Tarbes a party of civilians went round by 
 Bagnieres to see the baths, the rooms, &c., a sort of Spa, 
 about twelve miles round, and where no troops had been ; 
 not an Englishman there, but they were told they would 
 be well received, and so they were indeed. The maire 
 addressed them ; the people were in crowds, so that it 
 required force to enable them to pass. The National 
 Guard turned out and presented arms to them : it was 
 
THE SCHOOLMASTER'S POEM. 451 
 
 like Lord "Wellington's entry into Zamora, they say, such 
 an outcry ! such a display ! A ball was proposed, but as 
 there was a French garrison about six miles off, and no 
 allied troops near, the party declined staying, and went 
 off highly pleased with their excursion. This is very 
 odd, for on the road we go, all is stupefaction and indif- 
 ference. I should have enjoyed this, but am obliged 
 to be very prudent now, after my late escape. Adieu 
 again. 
 
 The schoolmaster, or pretre, at Boulognes had written 
 a long poem entitled " Mon JReve" a prophecy nearly of 
 everything which has taken place, and containing 
 much in honour of Lord Wellington. He said he had 
 long had it concealed, and volunteered spouting it 
 out to us, to his own great satisfaction, and it really 
 was not bad. 
 
452 NEWS FROM TOULOrSE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXV. 
 
 Difficulties of the March Failure of the Bridge of Boats The Garonne 
 Excesses of Murillo's Corps Bad News Exchange of Prisoners 
 Arrival before Toulouse A Prisoner of War Anecdote of Wellington. 
 
 Head-quarters, Samatan, 
 
 March 25, 1814. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 AT eight this morning, we left L'Isle en Dodon 
 for this place, about eight miles nearer to Toulouse, from 
 which we (the head-quarters) are now only distant about 
 twenty-six miles. Our troops at St. Lys, and St. Toy, 
 and that vicinity, are within eleven miles ; our right is 
 still a little more in the rear on the St. Gaudens' road, 
 near Martres, under General Hill. 
 
 I have just met with a corn-factor who left Toulouse 
 this morning. He says that Marshal Soult arrived 
 there with about eight thousand men last night. The 
 same number were expected to-day, and a force of twelve 
 thousand men from Suchet's army was expected to join, 
 or rather, the twelve thousand men were to be principally 
 a reinforcement of conscripts, collected by the Imperial 
 Commissioner Caifarelli. A small bridge, called St. 
 Antoine, near St. Martin, about a mile from Toulouse, 
 was destroyed on the road from Isle Jourdain to Tou- 
 louse, and some works were being formed, and an ap- 
 pearance of defence was being made near to St. Martin, 
 at a place where three roads branch off, a mile from 
 Toulouse, and called La Pate d'Ore. The narrator, 
 
NEWS FROM TOULOUSE. 453 
 
 though no judge, thought the works could not be 
 completed in time, and that if we pressed on we 
 should pass them without much difficulty. The bridge, 
 he said also, was mined ; it is a very noble bridge, 
 but it was reported that there was a ford passable so 
 near, that it was thought the mine would not be made 
 use of. 
 
 The news from Paris had ceased for some days, and 
 this gave rise to many stories of Paris having been taken, 
 &c. I am lodged here with some very civil good people, 
 and who, in my opinion, really wish us well, and are 
 very different from the maire adjoint at the last place, 
 who seemed a good Bonapartist, as are many of the 
 people at I/Isle en Dodon. About six miles from that 
 place, and ten from this, we passed through a very good 
 old-fashioned town, larger than this, called Lombez, where 
 the people, in spite of having had a division of troops 
 quartered in their houses and in the church, seemed to 
 wish us very well. 
 
 The country in this neighbourhood is a wide flat near 
 the river, with a gently rising boundary of hill and good 
 corn land, the soil heavy, and the roads very deep in con- 
 sequence. I always expected my horses' shoes to be 
 sucked off every ten minutes by the strong clay. 
 
 The maire of Boulognes continues his route with us, 
 looking very forlorn, and with three staff corps men 
 round him, our gens-d'armes. He began to repent to- 
 day, and offered to act as maire, but Lord Wellington 
 said it was too late. He then wrote to his wife, saying, 
 " He was a martyr to his principles/' &c., when his offer 
 had been refused. So much for the principles of this 
 good friend of Napoleon ! Had his offer been accepted, 
 he would have gone on as maire. His friend Bonaparte 
 was, however, I really and truly think, never greater than 
 he has been in his adversity during the last three months. 
 The manner in which he has fought against all his diffi- 
 
454 BOLDNESS OF BONAPARTE. 
 
 culties is very astonishing, and it would not surprise 
 me now if lie succeeded in fighting himself into a 
 tolerable peace. His boldness in finding fault with 
 his generals, &c., and having them disgraced and tried 
 at this moment, is very striking. In short, I am 
 almost inclined to believe that his own spirit, the 
 bad conduct of the Cossacks, and the wavering policy of 
 some of our Allies, will enable him to keep his place 
 amongst the list of sovereigns, though never to triumph 
 over them all, as he intended, and very nearly managed 
 to do. 
 
 There are several good chateaux near here I am told : 
 
 one of these is occupied by Major M , in our service, 
 
 who was a prisoner of war, and thought it the best way 
 to pass his captivity in double chains, or rather to cast 
 off one chain by taking another, and by marrying an 
 heiress, enjoy himself whilst here. I understand that 
 he has served as maire of the place ; G eneral Pakenham 
 and Colonel Campbell know him. 
 
 The army is now almost entirely fed on the country, 
 and the rations paid for in bills or ready money. Our 
 transports, such as they were, are quite outrun by our 
 continual marches and distance from the depots. We do 
 not even resort to our grand prize-magazine at Mont de 
 Mar san. We are also boldly isolated in the country, 
 with scarcely five hundred men the whole way between 
 this and Bayonne ; and between this and Tarbes I be- 
 lieve none at all. Were not the general disposition of 
 the people so good, at least so submissive, the stragglers 
 and parties joining the army would be all destroyed; as 
 it is, we have had few accidents. An affair is expected 
 in a day or two near Toulouse, but this is doubtful. In 
 the meantime King Ferdinand must be in Spain, as he 
 long since passed through Toulouse on his way there. 
 
 9 o'clock at night. Later accounts from the front say 
 that the French are leaving Toulouse, but I think they 
 
HALT OF THE ARMT. 455 
 
 will make a show of resistance at least. Lord Wel- 
 lington said at dinner to-day he feared that they would 
 blow up the bridge, but that he had his pontoons with 
 him, and by showing the enemy that he could pass 
 either above or below the bridge, he would try to save it. 
 To-morrow will determine much, as head-quarters move 
 four leagues to St. Lys, within about three leagues of 
 Toulouse, and the troops are to move down into the 
 plain in which the town stands. This is hard work for 
 the men and baggage-animals, as the roads are exces- 
 sively deep, and it is said will be worse to-morrow than 
 to-day. We pass through St. Toy. We cannot learn 
 where Marshal Suchet is ; Lord Wellington does not 
 know. He received despatches by a courier from Cata- 
 lonia after dinner to-day, dated the 16th of March. It 
 was not known there for certain that he had quitted 
 Catalonia; several here say positively that he is gone 
 towards Lyons. The post goes to-morrow early. You 
 probably get two or three of my letters together, for we 
 have now no regular post-day, and I am often quartered 
 at a distance. I do not know when the mail leaves head- 
 quarters, and by wishing to send you the last news, I 
 may miss the post altogether. 
 
 Head- Quarters, St. Lys, March 27th, 1814. To-day, 
 Sunday, we make a halt here, which most of the army 
 is very much in need of. This is in order to enable 
 Lord Wellington to make arrangements and reconnoitre, 
 &c. Four divisions are in our front, and General Hill on 
 our right. Nothing has been done to-day but the driv- 
 ing in of some French picquets on this side of a little 
 stream about two leagues from hence, and half-way to 
 Toulouse, and we are now placed on that stream. There 
 seemed to be but little firing. I saw it from the top of 
 the tower of the church here, but it was soon over. 
 From the same place the view all around was very ex- 
 tensive and magnificent ; Toulouse was plainly visible, 
 
4. "56 DIFFICULTIES OF THE MARCH. 
 
 and much, of the country beyond, together with a number 
 of villages, chateaux, &c., in the large plain through which 
 the Garonne takes its circular course from the Pyrenees. 
 The snowy summits of the latter closed the prospect with 
 their heads in the clouds. 
 
 Having had some trouble to mount to this gallery 
 round the church, by means of the bells and their scaf- 
 folding, for there was no ladder, I was up there for two 
 hours with my glass, in a tolerably clear and fine day. 
 Of the importance of the latter you have no idea. Yes- 
 terday was entirely rainy, and our road was, perhaps, as 
 bad as any we have ever passed with artillery, and that is 
 saying much. The troops were splashed up to their 
 caps, and hundreds were walking barefoot in the clay up 
 to the calves of their legs for about five miles, whilst the 
 best of the road was that like to Hounslow in the worst 
 season after a thaw. Lord Wellington said, the French, 
 after consultation, had determined that this road was not 
 passable for their artillery, but by means of lighter car- 
 riages and better horses, five brigades of our guns have 
 got over this difficulty. 
 
 To give you a notion of it, I may mention that Lord 
 Wellington's barouche was three hours stuck fast in it 
 at one place ; one hind wheel up to the axle, the other 
 in the air. No one was in it except General Alava, who 
 was unwell. I left them endeavouring to move it by 
 means of four artillery horses, in addition to his own six 
 mules, but in vain ; six oxen in addition at last got it 
 clear. Lord Wellington is gone to-day round by Plai- 
 sance to the right, to General Hill on the St. Gaudens' 
 road, as that division is now approaching near us. I am 
 always afraid of some accident in these parties in an 
 enemy's country, for there is generally no escort only a 
 few officers and two or three orderlies at the most. 
 
 In a Toulouse paper of the 22nd, which I saw yes- 
 terday, I was amused with observing, among other ar- 
 
FAILURE OF THE BRIDGE OF BOATS. 457 
 
 tides" Bourdeaux, 12th March. By accounts from 
 this place troops without number are pouring through 
 to join the grand army under the Duke of Dalmatia. 
 The disposition of the people is excellent." Then again, 
 " March 15th. The prefect is taking measures for a 
 number of improvements in the different communes." 
 These lies and frauds are curious. We also notice, 
 that in publishing Soult's proclamations in the Paris 
 papers, in which he calls Lord Wellington the com- 
 mander of brigands, the introductory part relating to 
 the battle of Orthes is omitted altogether. It does not 
 appear that any battle has taken place at all. We hope 
 the silence as to Schwartzenburg means as much, and 
 that the truth will be a set-off to any check given to St. 
 Priest. 
 
 Bonaparte's movements to Eheims and Chalons we 
 cannot here comprehend. Many of the people here 
 talk such bad French that I am often taken for a 
 Frenchman, and my patron here told me that I need 
 not be afraid to own it, for he was a Eoyalist, and always 
 had been so. His simplicity yesterday provoked me 
 excessively. I gave him some of my old silver spoons 
 to take care of. Thinking all soldiers and followers of 
 an army virtuous and honest, he left the spoons, with a 
 loaf, in his kitchen, and left his door open, to let every one 
 in who chose. On my return, his loaf and my spoons were 
 gone. This vexed me excessively, but redress was in vain. 
 
 Seisses, *2Sth March. At daybreak this morning head- 
 quarters moved to this place, most of us, in my opinion, 
 fully expecting to be in Toulouse before night. We 
 arrived here, within a league of the Garonne, by eight 
 o'clock, when, to our great mortification, the part of the 
 second division which had left this village at ten last 
 night was just returning here again after daylight, owing 
 to the bridge of boats having been too short, and the 
 troops therefore unable to pass the river. . 
 
458 NEIGHBOURHOOD OF TOULOUSE. 
 
 This is most vexatious, for the immediate passage of 
 the Garonne without a halt, and triumphant entry into 
 Toulouse would have been an exploit worthy of our 
 General. With five more pontoons the whole would 
 have been effected, and, most probably, with little loss. 
 In front of Toulouse the enemy had been left quiet, and 
 pressed but little ; the grand movement was to have been 
 on the right to the banks of the river near Portet. Just 
 below where the Arrige and the Garonne unite, a league 
 above Toulouse, the bridge was to have been laid in the 
 night, and half the army over or ready to pass by day- 
 light. The width of the river was supposed to be about 
 one hundred and forty yards, or four hundred and fifty 
 feet, the stream strong ; for this we were prepared. The 
 boats were in the river, the cables, I believe, fixed, and 
 every precaution taken for secresy, when the discovery 
 was made that five more pontoons would be necessary, 
 as the river was twenty yards, or about eighty feet wider. 
 The boats were all withdrawn, and the troops all in 
 their way to head- quarters again before dajdight ; but 
 it was a grand coup manque. Apparently there must 
 have been great inadvertence somewhere, though it may 
 have been that no measurement was allowed, or even 
 close observations, for fear of exciting suspicion. 
 
 I think it will be a triumph to E , though I am 
 
 sure he will not feel it as such. He told Lord Wel- 
 lington at St. Jean de Luz that, in consequence of some 
 order of his, the pontoon train would be rendered imper- 
 fect, and that if the army met with a wide river it would 
 be stopped. Thus it has happened, and Lord Wel- 
 lington, though in general so much a gainer by his 
 decision and resources in getting rid of difficulties, has 
 for once suffered for not attending to the counsel of his 
 more steady and regularly -bred scientific advisers. 
 
 As the troops were not yet ordered out of the town, 
 and were in possession of the houses, we remained for 
 
EXCESSES OF MURILLO's CORPS. 459 
 
 some hours with our baggage standing loaded, until our 
 billets were settled. Most part of this time I spent in 
 surveying the immense plain covered with farms, villas, 
 villages, towns, and chateaux, in the neighbourhood of 
 Toulouse, as well as the town itself. The number of 
 apparently splendid mansions was considerable, some 
 belonging to merchants of Toulouse ; some to the old 
 nobles who had not emigrated; some to the nouveaux 
 riches of the Eevolution and Bonaparte. The latter were 
 much abused, the fournisseurs of the army, the inten- 
 dents or tax-gatherers, &c. I believe there was much 
 fraud in the management of the collection of contribu- 
 tions ; and of late, particularly, much more was collected 
 under the pretence of the necessities of the army, and to 
 provision Bayonne, than ever reached its destination; 
 and being but ill paid regularly, the managers took the 
 liberty of paying themselves well irregularly. 
 
 Murillo's corps has plundered again of late, and was 
 guilty of some excesses last night. One man was caught 
 in the fact, stealing wine, and brought forward. Lord 
 Wellington had him shot in the most impressive manner 
 this morning, before all the corps, after a solemn admo- 
 nition, and much parade. The man, it is said, appeared 
 absolutely dead from fear before a musquet was fired. 
 He was unluckily one of the least culpable, for he had 
 only taken away a bottle of wine by force ; but he was 
 caught in the fact, and suffered for the sake of example 
 as the least guilty in reality often do, from the most 
 guilty being also the most knowing. 
 
 Lord Wellington has not yet returned ; he must now 
 exert his wits, to cure this mishap, which will not, in my 
 opinion, put him in the best of humours. 
 
 The Pyrenees were to-day perfectly clear, and very 
 striking. An immense snowy barrier almost entirely 
 white, with scarcely any bare rock visible. They are 
 not by any means so picturesque as the Alps. They 
 
460 ESCAPE OF PRISONERS OF WAR. 
 
 form a large mass, without much variety of form and 
 character ; and have not that contrast of pointed, craggy, 
 fancifully-shaped rocks, rounded lower hills covered 
 with verdure, and fine forest scenery, which is seen in 
 Switzerland. 
 
 Two of the medical officers and one of the 42nd of the 
 sixth division, taken at Hagenau, have escaped and come 
 into us, but plundered of everything. The French 
 marched them seven or eight leagues a-day, nearly thirty 
 miles ; and the one I spoke to had been concealed four 
 days after his escape with scarcely anything to eat, until 
 he had an opportunity of joining our corps under General 
 Hill. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Seisses, March 3lst, 1814. Our dis- 
 appointment in crossing the river on the 28th has kept us 
 here ever since : and the halt has given me employment, 
 which has prevented my writing to you. As soon as we 
 become quiet, I am set to work in order to prevent all 
 arrears, and to let punishment follow the offence as fast 
 as possible. 
 
 Our General has spent his mornings in riding all over 
 the country to reconnoitre; and he dispatches all his 
 other multitude of business at odd hours and times. 
 The new plan was at last resolved upon, and last night 
 the execution of it commenced. The divisions on this 
 side Toulouse are pushed in close to the suburbs of St. 
 Cyprien, near which the French have been for some days 
 most busily at work, fortifying themselves to defend the 
 bridge. Finding the river so wide below the junction 
 with the Arrige at Portet, General Hill (with great dif- 
 ficulty owing to the rapidity of the Garonne, caused by 
 the last two days' continual rain) succeeded at last, in 
 pursuance of his orders, in fixing his pontoons across that 
 river above the junction with the Arrige ; and having 
 been nearly all night at work, began to cross about four 
 o'clock this morning, and has sent word that he is over. 
 
EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS. 461 
 
 A ridge of high land forms a sort of tongue between the 
 two rivers. This he is to take post upon immediately, 
 and march off a corps as rapidly as possible, about three 
 leagues, to a bridge over the Arrige, which he is to sur- 
 prise and preserve if possible, and defend, thus fixing 
 himself securely between the two rivers, preparatory to 
 further movements of the rest of the army. The Spa- 
 niards under Murillo crossed with General Hill. 
 General Frere's Spaniards move into the ground which 
 General Hill leaves. 
 
 I was upon the church-tower early this morning, and 
 saw the Spanish column moving all along the plain, 
 headed by some of our heavy dragoons ; the fog on the 
 river prevented my seeing more. On descending, I 
 found Lord Wellington and all his suite, just about to 
 be off, when the arrival of an English mail to the 16th, 
 stopped him. By this we have your very bad news from 
 Holland, and many private letters accounting for the 
 failure. All here are open-mouthed at the reported con- 
 sequences ; namely, that the reinforcements intended for 
 Lord Wellington are going to Holland. This is worse 
 than the defeat. Very little was ever expected here 
 from that army from various causes ; it was always con- 
 sidered as so many men quite thrown away, as regards 
 the main cause. I thought them, latterly, worse than 
 inefficient, after they had once given the Dutch an oppor- 
 tunity of arming, by clearing their country, for they 
 have the effect of preventing exertion on the part of the 
 Dutch. The moment they had cleared Holland they 
 should, in my opinion, have been sent to us, and thus by 
 a sense of pressing danger, ought to have roused the 
 sleepy heavy Dutchmen to do something for themselves 
 when once well in the scrape, getting only arms and 
 artillery and stores from England. 
 
 By the exchange of prisoners, the officers so much 
 wanted by the French, whom Lord Wellington has taken 
 
462 BLUNDERS OP THE DUKE D'ANGOTJLEME. 
 
 here, will get back again by these losses in Holland, 
 another way in which that army has done more harm 
 than good. It would have been better to leave our 
 people prisoners than to release French regular officers at 
 this moment, for their value in the newly-raised corps is 
 immense, and considerably beyond that of ours to 
 England. Besides the numbers in the town would have 
 hastened its surrender, or compelled the governor to send 
 them out without exchange. 
 
 This is, however, reasoning upon general principles, 
 and not upon personal feelings as to the officers taken : 
 I do think, however, that this exchange was permitting 
 humanity to have more weight than policy. There seem 
 to have been much blundering and confusion in the ex- 
 ecution of our attack, and from what I can hear the plan 
 was allowed to fail just when the difficulties were nearly 
 all over. It is always to be regretted when our people 
 are ordered to run their heads against stone walls and 
 heavy guns, and that even here, for I think the French 
 seem to understand that work best, and we lose more in 
 one of these affairs than we do in gaining a great battle 
 in the fair field, where the French cannot be brought now 
 to stand against us. On this ground, I feel a little 
 anxious, even as to Toulouse, supposing the French to 
 remain firm, which is doubtful, and still more as to 
 Bayonne. 
 
 Mr. C and a commissariat officer arrived here 
 
 yesterday from Bordeaux : the accounts they bring are 
 bad enough. The National Gruard are disarmed; no 
 arming of any consequence going on; no efficient 
 English naval force has arrived ; and the people, though 
 they shout for the King at the opera, &c., are all in a 
 terrible fright lest the French should return, since we 
 have so small a force there ; and, according to report, 
 many repent of what they have done. 
 
 The Duke d'Angouleme does not appear to me to be 
 
FEELING OF THE COUNTRY. 463 
 
 made of stuff to gain a kingdom, though he would have 
 kept one and been popular, from his amiable qualities. 
 He has committed many blunders, I am told, and the 
 white cockade gentry, like the emigres of old, amuse 
 themselves with inventing lies concerning Bonaparte 
 and his armies, which the maire of Bordeaux publishes 
 in a bulletin, which Bonaparte's bulletins, lying as they 
 are, effectually and satisfactorily contradict the next day. 
 
 The maire is becoming daily more unpopular. We 
 have an account of Augereau having been defeated 
 which I hope rests upon better foundations ; as well as 
 private accounts from Paris of the great reduction of 
 Bonaparte's forces by his various rapid marches, con- 
 tinual fighting, and desertion. Almost the only town in 
 this country, excepting Bordeaux, which has been active 
 in the Eoyal cause is Bagnieres, which has proclaimed 
 the king; no troops of either army have passed that 
 way. 
 
 The rest of the population in our rear are in general 
 quietly waiting the event, and are now with a very few 
 exceptions only on our side, because they think they see 
 an end to the war quicker that way. But I am sure, 
 from personal observation, that let Bonaparte be suc- 
 cessful a little, and Lord Wellington be compelled to 
 retreat, and let them only see the same prospect of peace 
 by Bonaparte's means, and three-fourths of the popula- 
 tion would all be against us again. 
 
 The sulky maires, and other public functionaries, now 
 all submission, would then become active enemies, and 
 all the pensionnaires and douaniers and national land- 
 holders who are now really frightened to death, would be 
 roused into activity. This is a picture, however, which 
 I hope never to see realized ; and if Toulouse and Lyons 
 can be induced to enter into a common cause with Bor- 
 deaux, the events will, it is to be hoped, be far different. 
 Had I the Duke d'Angouleme's stake to play for, I 
 
464 FEELING OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 should somehow have raised a force before this at Bor- 
 deaux, and should certainly have been over here post to 
 enter Toulouse, and have paraded through Pau, Tarbes, 
 &c., in the way, and tried to do something. 
 
 The only great hit he has hitherto made is to get the 
 new prefect of the department des Landes to publish and 
 circulate his proclamations, and sign them : this cer- 
 tainly is a beginning, and it is said that some have 
 found their way into Toulouse. The maire of Gralan, 
 who was really in my opinion a Koyalist, pointing to his 
 head, asked me, speaking of the Duke d'Angouleme, 
 whether " il y voit quelque chose Id?" of which he seemed 
 to have doubts. The lower, and older population in the 
 villages certainly, though knowing nothing of the Bour- 
 bons, have a sort of vague wish for old times again, and 
 therefore were friendly. The middling classes are not 
 by any means so favourably disposed. 
 
 You have no conception of my obligation to you for 
 sending the newspapers so regularly, and getting them 
 forwarded in Lord Wellington's bag. On the march in 
 our present state, by this means I have my letters and 
 papers sometimes almost a week before any one else ; for 
 the public bag has been lately obliged to come up, for 
 want of transport, in a bullock-car, with one weak soldier 
 of the guides as a guard. When we are stationary I 
 sometimes suffer by this plan, for single papers are got 
 a-day or two later than my letter, but now I am a great 
 gainer, and my newspapers are in the greatest request. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Seisses, April 1st, 1814. Here we are 
 still in front of " the great big town where the French 
 are," as the Irishmen call Toulouse. The French 
 yesterday moved about four divisions out of Toulouse 
 after General Hill's movement, and in the evening went 
 back again into the town. This I believe made Lord 
 Wellington suspect that Soult intended to try an attack 
 upon the columns of the British who remained in front 
 
DISAPPOINTED EXPECTATIONS. 465 
 
 of the town on this side, and he would have wished, in 
 my opinion, for nothing better, as we had a rising 
 ground commanding the roads where they must make 
 their debouches, and cannon ready placed to give them a 
 warm reception instantly. In consequence of this ex- 
 pectation, Lord Wellington and his staff were off early to 
 the front; about eleven o'clock, finding all quiet, they 
 returned, and we remained in statu quo for the day. 
 
 I never expected that anything would be done if it 
 depended on the French, for their game seems to be 
 merely to endeavour to keep us on this side of the river, 
 and to leave us to get over the difficulties as we can, and 
 not to run any hazards by molesting us, or giving us 
 even a fair chance by an attack on their posts. It is said 
 that after all it is found that General Hill's road would 
 lead us so much round, and that the roads round that 
 way to Toulouse would be so bad, that the plan men- 
 tioned in my letter under date of the 31st is abandoned; 
 that in consequence General Hill will be ordered to 
 return across the river to-night, and that the pontoons 
 will be taken up afterwards, and an attempt made to 
 place them lower down the river at last, and below 
 Toulouse, which, if it succeeds, will place us at once upon 
 the main good road to Bordeaux. Time will show 
 whether this information of mine is correct. If this plan 
 be practicable, it will be far better than the other. In 
 truth the Garonne is a formidable barrier just now, when 
 there are no fords. 
 
 The disappointment of not having Graham's army 
 here is very great, much worse so if the reinforcements 
 intended for us should go that way. So much did Lord 
 Dalhousie with his weak divisions at Bordeaux expect 
 General Graham's army, that I am told he has twice sent 
 to the coast in expectation of their arrival, together with 
 a naval expedition, on a report of some distant sails 
 being seen. This last Gazette is a woeful contrast ! 
 
 2n 
 
466 THE MAIRE OF ST. SEVER. 
 
 The importance of that ten thousand men at Bordeaux 
 is immense, and all agree that the country northwards 
 would be ready to come forward and join us if we were 
 stronger and dared advance. The weak state of our 
 force at Bordeaux alarms them all, and keeps everything 
 back ; a naval force to co-operate and to assist against 
 the castle of Blaye, was also expected to be ready the 
 moment the news of our arrival at Bordeaux was 
 received, as it must have been such a probable event. 
 As it is Lord Dalhousie was about to make some attempt, 
 I understand, to take a position across the Garonne, 
 between the Dordogne and the Garonne. 
 
 I have just been told another piece of news unpleasant 
 if it be true. It is said that the Duke d'Angouleme's 
 new Prefet des Landes ordered the maire of St. Sever to 
 proclaim Louis XVIII., and that the old maire, a prudent 
 sly fellow, who has made much money in the Eevolution, 
 declined to do so unless by Lord Wellington's orders, 
 and wrote to Lord Wellington to know if he was obliged 
 to do what he was desired. It is said that Lord Wel- 
 lington replied " No," and suspended the new prefet for 
 giving the order. This is a most awkward state of 
 things; each town, each maire, is allowed thus to take 
 this strong step if they please, but there is to be no in- 
 fluence used, so that all prudent people naturally enough 
 will remain quiet and do nothing, and the desperately 
 zealous alone will act; yet so long as the conferences 
 remain in existence, this cannot be otherwise. 
 
 Some more Spaniards are ordered up whom we are to 
 feed also ; how far they will come I know not. The siege 
 of Bayonne is, it is understood, at last determined upon 
 in earnest ; as yet only preparation of fascines, &c., have 
 been made. I am told now, that the horses of the bri- 
 gades of artillery of General Hope's column, are sent 
 down to Eenteria to bring up the heavy battery train and 
 siege stores. The Guards begin to talk of more " bloody 
 
PASSAGE OF THK C. \KONNE. 107 
 
 work/' but I sincerely hope not another Bergen-op-Zoom ! 
 That left column once released, would set us quite at ease 
 here. Just now, our necessarily-divided army cannot be 
 s6 efficient as from its numbers compared with the French 
 it might be presumed to be. 
 
 For fear of being too late for the post, I shall now seal 
 up my three letters in one packet and send it off. 
 
 In appearance, the size of Toulouse is very consider- 
 able, particularly its length. It seems much larger than 
 Bristol ; whether really so or not we have not just now 
 conveniently the means of ascertaining. 
 
 All who come from Bordeaux are in ecstacies with the 
 place and the life there. It seems everything a bachelor 
 officer with a little money could wish for everything to 
 be had, and everything (except maps now) very cheap. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Grenade, April 5#A, 1814. In pursu- 
 ance of the change of plans as to the passage of this 
 formidable river, the Garonne, in the face of thirty thou- 
 sand men, under the command of Marshal Soult, we very 
 suddenly moved on Sunday morning, the 3rd, to Colo- 
 miers, a poor dirty village on the high road from Auch 
 to Toulouse. The pontoons had been previously moved 
 in the night from the neighbourhood of Carbonne, where 
 they had been previously fixed, and where General Hill 
 had passed over to the vicinity of Grenade. On the night 
 of the 4th, about eight or nine o'clock, the whole army, 
 excepting General Hill's columns, were put in motion 
 towards Grenade, the pontoons were launched in the 
 river, the bridge successfully formed during the night, 
 and about ten thousand men passed over without resist- 
 ance by daybreak. It rained furiously almost all the 
 night, and a failure was in consequence much appre- 
 hended by many, from the increased rapidity and breadth 
 of the current of the river. Hitherto all has gone on 
 well. General Hill's corps remained in front of the 
 suburbs and bridge of St. Cyprien near Toulouse. 
 
468 DIFFICULT 110 ADS. 
 
 Lord Wellington and his staff were all off about two 
 or three o'clock in the morning, or rather night, for the 
 river side near the bridge, and passed over early in the 
 morning. Lord Wellington reconnoitred yesterday on 
 the right bank to within about five or six miles of 
 Toulouse, and did not return here until after dark. Civil 
 departments and baggage were ordered to move across 
 the country to Corn Barieu, a poor dirty place on the 
 cross-road to Grenade, at daylight, and there to remain 
 loaded till further orders. It was only four miles of bad 
 road, and we were there about half-past six. I conclude 
 we were kept at that point so that we might be secure, 
 and away from the high road out of Toulouse, in case of 
 accidents, and at the same time ready to go into Toulouse, 
 in case the French should abandon the town and bridge 
 on hearing of our passage of the river; whilst, on the 
 other hand, if they remained fast, we were ready to come 
 on here. 
 
 The poor mules remained loaded until near two o'clock 
 before they were ordered on, and afterwards fell in with 
 such columns of baggage, cavalry, and troops, particularly 
 Spaniards, all converging to the bridge, that they did not 
 arrive here until about seven or eight o'clock at night, 
 having had to pass a deep cross country, by a clayey un- 
 formed road, in places sinking up to the middle, for the 
 night's rain and quantity of animals passing had quite 
 
 cut it up. I left the printing-press and Mr. S 's 
 
 carriage fast in the mud, and many a load upset ; at last 
 I believe all arrived safe. 
 
 Whilst we were waiting in suspense, as I dare not 
 again go much to the front, Dr. M'Gregor and several 
 other civilians and I passed our time pleasantly enough. 
 There was a chateau on a hill close to us, which com- 
 manded all the country, and particularly Toulouse. To 
 that we bent our steps, and finding a young lad, son of 
 the owner, in the house, we got our horses into the stable, 
 
APPEARANCE OF COUNTRY. 469 
 
 bought corn for them, and from the Doctor's canteen 
 made a good breakfast, and then posted ourselves with 
 our glasses to see what was going on. Had there been 
 any fight we should have commanded the whole scene 
 beautifully. As it was, we only traced our columns of 
 baggage, Spaniards, and cavalry across the country, in 
 two lines of about six or seven miles' length, all moving 
 gradually to the bridge. We also saw some large fires in 
 Toulouse, but have not yet learnt whether they were 
 anything in particular. About half-past one we set out ' 
 again, and fought our way through mud and clay and 
 baggage and Spaniards for about ten miles ; and I am 
 now again in a civilized home, but with rather a forward 
 tradesman, who gave me a roast fowl for supper, but took 
 his place and had his full share with me. It is odd 
 enough that a man of his description, in a large good 
 house, stables, and three or four horses, should boast, as 
 he does, that he can talk French, and that his daughter 
 of eight years old has learnt to talk French, and can 
 speak and understand it a little when she chooses. Their 
 patois I can scarcely make out, certainly, not so well as 
 Spanish or Portuguese. 
 
 The country is all very rich and populous, and covered 
 with villages and chateaux. The former are generally 
 in evident decay ; the latter are large and showy on the 
 outside, but for the most part old, dirty, out of repair, 
 and nearly unfurnished inside, with none of the comforts 
 even of a cit's villa, and still less of a great man's house 
 in England. At the same time one cannot but feel how 
 much of what we in England think necessaries are mere 
 superfluity. One cause of their present appearance in 
 part may be, that the owners generally live from seven to 
 ten months in the year in the great towns, Toulouse in 
 particular, and only spend September and October in their 
 chateaux to see to the harvests, so that they, somewhat 
 like the Portuguese lords, when they do come, bring 
 
470 STORY OF A CI-DEVANT 
 
 nearly all their furniture and comforts with them. By 
 this means, luckily, we have not done these chateaux 
 much damage. The young man whom we found in the 
 chateau near Corn Barieu, had been sent out just before 
 we arrived, to see what was going on, and to protect the 
 place. He had not been able to hold any communication 
 with his friends in Toulouse since, and I dare say, as I 
 told him, they were in a terrible fright, and thought the 
 Spaniards had roasted and eaten him up. 
 
 It unfortunately rained again all last night. This has 
 swelled the river, and alarmed us a little, for there are at 
 times such floods here that our bridge would not stand 
 them, and we are now half on each side. This was also 
 very unlucky for the troops, many of whom must have 
 bivouacked without their tents and baggage. I have 
 hitherto heard of no ill consequences, and it is thought 
 that the French must either come out and fight us imme- 
 diately, or be off and leave us at our ease for a short time 
 to try and refit and get shoes for our poor barefooted 
 soldiers. In the meantime we are here with no other 
 orders than to be ready packed to march at ten o'clock, 
 but not loaded. It is now half-past ten, and I have been 
 quietly writing this, and four letters on business, since 
 breakfast. 
 
 When last at Seysses I met at Lord Wellington's 
 
 Major M , of the 53rd, the ci-devant prisoner and 
 
 French squire, whom I mentioned before in my letters. 
 He was at Toulouse when we came by his former house, 
 and he took the opportunity of our pontoon bridge at 
 Carbonne to come over to us, for to go out he was com- 
 pelled. 
 
 I do not quite understand his own story, so as to make 
 his conduct correct. IJe was always on a sort of parole 
 in Languedoc and Grascony. On our coming near Tou- 
 louse he was told that he must retire towards Montpelier. 
 He asked delay on the plea of health, got a day, and was 
 
PRISONER OF WAR. 471 
 
 then ordered to move post by Carcassonne. He went two 
 stages, then turned to the right, came over to us, and now 
 rides about, a strange figure, in a new handsome 53rd 
 uniform, and a great French cocked hat, with his English 
 loop and button. He is, moreover, a round broken- 
 backed country-squire volunteer sort of gentleman, on a 
 high white tumble-down French nag. He was of course 
 full of information and conversation, but I rather doubted 
 the accuracy of the former. 
 
 He told us that Bonaparte was making for Metz, giving 
 up Paris ; and that he intended to relieve his garrisons in 
 that direction even as far as Wesel, and then to try and 
 bring the war to the frontier again. This would be 
 giving up nearly all France, and putting himself between 
 the Crown Prince at Liege and the Allies near Paris; 
 whereas, if compelled to leave Paris, his line, in my 
 opinion, must be to fall back towards Lyons, and to en- 
 deavour to unite in that direction with Augereau, and 
 even with Soult, who will very likely fall back that way 
 also. If Bonaparte were to go to Metz, Lord Wellington 
 said he thought then the Allies, on entering Paris, would 
 probably let the King he proclaimed, and that he should 
 not then despair of seeing Bonaparte a grand Guerilla 
 chief on a large scale, fighting about for his existence, 
 which he had never expected to happen in his life-time. 
 
 Major M also said, that Soult J s plan was, if obliged 
 
 to give up Toulouse, to go towards the Black Mountains, 
 and retreat by way of Carcassonne, making his stand 
 there in a country where our superior cavalry could not 
 act. If he does this, I think half his men will desert, 
 and the remainder be in jeopardy, unless Suchet brings 
 him more assistance than is thought possible. Suchet is 
 said to be withdrawing everything, and to be mustering 
 all he can. Oh that we had your English reinforcements, 
 and General Graham's army ! for our own real English 
 army dwindles away very fast in this active service, and 
 
472 ATTEMPT TO RAISE GUERILLA CORPS 
 
 ten thousand men may make all the difference in regard 
 to the event. The 53rd regiment and the eighteen- 
 pounders are, I hear, hutted at Tarbes, to try to reduce a 
 small garrison at Lourdes. The Householders are also 
 arrived, I believe, as far as Tarbes. 
 
 On the 23rd of March, Caffarelli sent his orders to all 
 the communes round Toulouse, for a considerable distance 
 (about fifty communes), to send men to work at the forti- 
 fications in front of Toulouse. The numbers to be sent 
 by requisition were very considerable ; but we have rather 
 disturbed the march of the larger half. He also called 
 upon all the inhabitants to arm, and to make the town a 
 second Saragoza. 
 
 Major M says he was told that there was not the 
 
 same motive. I understand they have been obliged to 
 arm by compulsion, but it is supposed will do nothing. 
 Some old French officers also came to Soult to offer to 
 
 raise Guerillas corps in our rear. Major M said that 
 
 their offers were to be accepted; but, except a few for 
 plunder, I do not think, as yet, they will find many fol- 
 lowers. Lord Wellington makes the maires responsible 
 for any disturbances in the rear, and threatens garrisons, 
 as on the French plan, garnissaires, in case of a breach of 
 order. To execute this duty the maires are allowed to 
 arm guards in their communes. All the communes 
 around here were to have garnissaires, in case the work- 
 men did not arrive that is, soldiers to keep in their 
 houses gratis. 
 
 One o'clock, same day. Here we are still ; and I hope 
 shall not move to-day, unless to go into Toulouse, for 
 there is a report that the French are moving off now, and 
 that we have taken two cars of money. This I will not 
 vouch for. What is more certain is, that our pontoon 
 bridge is on its legs again by land, and moving towards 
 Toulouse, to be laid down nearer the town, to make our 
 communications shorter between the two parts of our 
 
AT TOULOUSE. 473 
 
 army, on the right and left bank. This, it is to be 
 feared, may draw head-quarters into some little dirty vil- 
 lage near the bridge ; and I should like to enjoy the 
 tolerable clean brick room which I have to myself, and a 
 little stable with some hay for my horses, for one day, if 
 it suits our plans. 
 
 At first I was surprised at Major M *s boldness, 
 
 and, as it appeared to me, folly, in going about in his 
 uniform, in a way to do no good to anybody, and possible 
 harm to himself. I have now heard that he has been 
 divorced from his lady, and of course by the French 
 law from his chdteau and terre also, and that now he has 
 nothing whatever to lose. He may as well make a merit 
 of his love of England and the Bourbons. His daughter, 
 about sixteen, is married, and the property goes with her. 
 A party of five dragoons took yesterday a messenger 
 from Montauban to Soult. It was known by eleven 
 o'clock at Montauban that we had cut off the communica- 
 tions on the main road. The messenger was sent round 
 a bye-road but was caught. His despatches were, it is 
 reported, principally complaints that the people would 
 not arm for the fight, and were not very material. I 
 pitied the man. He was a respectable man of business 
 in Montauban ; but being told that unless he became a 
 civic soldier he must be a regular, he put on his sword 
 " by compulsion," was sent to carry these letters, and 
 thus fell into our hands. He says that it will be his ruin 
 to send him to England as a prisoner ; and I hope, 
 though he is threatened with this, that Lord Wellington 
 will soon release him. This is to be hoped, for I believe 
 his story to be true, for the Prefet of Montauban is re- 
 ported to be a most furious Bonapartist, and that he 
 compels the people to take up arms in the cause, and 
 even threatens their lives if they do not. All here pro- 
 fess great friendship for us, and I believe, at present, are 
 sincere. 
 
474 ACCIDENT TO THE PONTOON BRIDGE. 
 
 Six o'clock. About two o'clock I saw Lord Welling- 
 ton come in, and the real news was, that all was quiet on 
 both sides the river, but that the floods had carried away 
 or sunk one pontoon, and that the bridge was impassable. 
 It was just on the point of being moved higher when 
 this happened. Just now, it is not safe to place it any- 
 where. We have only three divisions and three brigades 
 of artillery across, and two or three, it is believed, of ca- 
 valry. The Spaniards are not over, as I supposed, but 
 were to have gone over this morning. Unless Soult is 
 an arrant coward, he must now attack these men, and it is 
 to be feared that we shall have sharp work. A position, 
 however, may be taken near the river, so as to enable our 
 artillery on this side to assist. The river has fallen above 
 a foot since morning, as it has hitherto been fine to-day, 
 but I am sorry to say it has now begun to rain again, 
 and it looks very much like another bad night. Eain 
 upon the present river would be tremendous. A quarter 
 of an hour after Lord Wellington came home from Tou- 
 louse, I met him going off again to cross the river ; it is 
 to be concluded, therefore, that something important had 
 happened. 
 
 6th of April, 9 o'clock at night. Head- Quarters at 
 Grenade. My principal occupation to-day, when not 
 engaged by business, has been to watch the river. It 
 continued to fall many hours after the last rain had 
 ceased, and began to rise at ten to-day, about fifteen 
 hours after the last rain commenced, and five after it 
 ceased ; at this rate it will continue to rise until six or 
 eight to-night, and then fall again ; and if the weather 
 relent a little, to-morrow, probably, our bridge will be 
 restored. 
 
 Marshal Soult has left our three divisions quite quiet 
 on the other side. If he knows their numbers this is 
 playing the game of a coward. At present he seems to 
 think of nothing but fortifying Toulouse with ditches 
 
ANECDOTE OP WELLINGTON. 475 
 
 and works, and his men are hard at work. This makes 
 the delay very unfortunate for us. It has, indeed, been 
 so on every account, for we have to-'day received accounts 
 which appear to be believed, that twelve hundred French 
 cavalry, cuirassiers, from Suchet's army, joined yesterday ; 
 and that he is endeavouring to gain time ; and the ele- 
 ments seem to favour his obtaining it. 
 
 The only two events here to-day have been, first, the 
 arrival of the pontoon which was lost and floated away. 
 Lieutenant Eeid, of the Engineers, galloped to Verdan, 
 two leagues down the river, offered a reward of cent francs, 
 or five pounds, to any inhabitants who would get boats 
 and stop the pontoon and bring it ashore : the deserter 
 was thus secured, and to-day brought back in triumph by 
 a party of soldiers. The other arrival astonished us all. 
 A troop of the Eoyal Horse Guards Blue arrived with 
 drawn swords and a Captain's guard escorting a carriage. 
 Some said that it was the Duke d'Angouleme, some one 
 great person, some another. One officer asked the Cap- 
 tain if it was Bang Ferdinand ? This was a hoax. At 
 last it was discovered to be a maire of a small commune 
 near Tarbes, and his wife. The maire is supposed to 
 have been endeavouring to favour a guerilla system, and 
 exciting the people to arm. He was in consequence or- 
 dered to be sent to head-quarters. The Blues were in 
 high condition ; and Lord Wellington, when he was told 
 of the French cuirassiers, said, " Well, then, we must 
 have the Householders for these gentlemen, and see what 
 they can make of them." 
 
 I must tell you two little anecdotes about the pontoon 
 bridge. The French were very jealous of any attempt of 
 the kind, and had cavalry videttes, &c., all along their 
 banks of the river. The engineer wished to measure the 
 breadth of the river at the spot intended ; and for this 
 purpose got into conversation with the French vidette a 
 long time, but had no opportunity. At last he pretended 
 
476 ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY THE BRIDGE. 
 
 that the calls of nature were imperative. The French- 
 man, out of decency, withdrew. The engineer popped 
 out his sextant, took the angle, &c., and was off. 
 
 Lord Wellington himself, with two other officers went 
 to the spot also to reconnoitre with his own eyes. Con- 
 cealing his General's hat with an oil-skin, he got into 
 conversation with the French vidette, dismounted, got 
 down to the water- side, looked all about him, saw all he 
 wished, and came away. This was, in my opinion, risk- 
 ing too much ; but no French soldier would have any 
 idea of the commander of the Allied Forces going about 
 thus with two attendants. Lord Wellington was yes- 
 terday over alone on foot, and went on upon a horse of 
 General Cole's, as horses could not pass. Even General 
 
 P was a little uneasy, and sent about eight o'clock 
 
 to know if he had come back safe. He returned about 
 seven o'clock, when it was dusk. To-day he has a great 
 dinner in honour of Badajos. 
 
 7th April, Grenade. We have at last a fine clear day, 
 and warm. The river is falling rapidly. By this even* 
 ing probably our bridge may be re-established, and to- 
 morrow I conclude that we shall pass more troops and 
 advance against Toulouse and the French marshal, who 
 is digging and working away as usual. The French 
 made several attempts to destroy our bridge before the 
 floods did the business for them. They sent us down all 
 their dead horses, several trees, &c., and a large old boat, 
 which struck a pontoon, and went down itself instead of 
 the pontoon. They sent down also a sort of armed log 
 stuck round with swords, and rolling round and round in 
 the stream as it went along, like a great fish, in hopes 
 that the swords would strike and cut the cable which 
 holds the boats. 
 
 Major M has just told me that he has had news 
 
 from the interior of another defeat of Bonaparte at Arcis- 
 sur Aube, and of his having lost one hundred guns, &c,, 
 
NEWS FROM PARIS. 477 
 
 and being then manoeuvring in the rear of the Allies. 
 This seems probable. He has also an account of the de- 
 partments in the west of France having all sent in to the 
 Duke d' Angouleme at Bordeaux for orders ; this is also 
 probable, and that the Eoyalists gain ground fast. His 
 accounts add in the postscript, " The Allies entered 
 Paris April 1st." This ought to be, I think, from former 
 accounts, and I hope it is so. The last Moniteur we have 
 of the 30th talks of Bonaparte's return to Paris to cover 
 the city. How he could then get there seems the diffi- 
 culty. Lord Wellington also had yesterday a private 
 letter from the interior, in which it is said, " un evenement 
 bien imprevu est arrive a Paris" and no comment. He 
 guesses it to be the flight of the Empress. You see 
 what confused accounts we get of all late events ! 
 
 7th (6 o'clock.*) In addition to the above we have now 
 news that the Bourbons have been proclaimed at Paris, 
 and that in the name of the Emperor of Austria the 
 house of Napoleon has been declared to cease to reign. 
 I must now seal up, for Lord Wellington has written his 
 English letters to-day, Thursday, although Saturday is 
 the usual day. In addition to this, I think, from many 
 symptoms, that we shall move to-morrow. 
 
 P.S. The maire brought in with such a magnificent 
 escort, is now quietly walking about here with his wife 
 and no guard. The bridge is to be fixed nearly in the 
 same place again to-night. 
 
478 BRIDGE RE-ESTABLISHED. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI. 
 
 Uncertain Intelligence Capture of Toulouse Wellington at the Theatre 
 The K Liberator " Ball at the Prefecture The Feelings of the French 
 Soult and Suchet Ball at the Capitole. 
 
 Head-quarters, Grenade, 
 April 10, 1814, 1 o'clock. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 HERE we are still, away from all tliat is going on, 
 but expecting every moment an order to enter Toulouse. 
 The day before yesterday the bridge was re-established 
 (the 8th), and by one o'clock the Spaniards had all passed 
 over. The order then came for a brigade of Portuguese 
 artillery to do the same. They were passing when I 
 went there, soon after one o'clock ; and just as a gun was 
 quitting the last boat to ascend the bank, down went the 
 boat; the gun, however, run off safe, but two of the 
 Portuguese pontoon-train sailors got a ducking, which 
 was all the mischief except a delay of about two hours to 
 fish up the pontoon, drag it on shore, turn it upside 
 down, to clear out the water, and then launch it again, 
 and refit the board. 
 
 By four o'clock I left the remainder of the guns going 
 over. The head-quarters of Lord Wellington remained 
 at St. Jouy that night, and last night Lord "Wellington 
 has only pushed the troops on a little, to reconnoitre, and 
 in the evening the 18th Hussars, under Colonel Vivian, 
 had a brilliant affair. They charged the French cavalry 
 on the high-road, broke them, sabred several, and took 
 
BRILLIANT AFFATH. 479 
 
 about seventy prisoners, with the loss of a few officers 
 wounded, and, it is believed, only about six or eight men. 
 Unluckily, Colonel Vivian received a ball in the arm, 
 which, it is feared, will render amputation necessary. 
 Yesterday (the 9th), the bridge was taken up very early, 
 and ordered to be immediately fixed about four miles 
 nearer the town of Toulouse, at a little place called 
 Assaic. The light divisions were close to that point, on 
 this side of the river, as a security in case of any attack 
 on the second division, near St. Cyprien and the bridge 
 of Toulouse. They were ordered to cross the river as 
 soon as our pontoons were ready, and a movement was 
 intended, and ordered yesterday. 
 
 From some difficulties, or bad management, the bridge 
 of boats was not ready until nearly three o'clock, when it 
 was thought too late. Lord Wellington was more vexed, 
 and in a greater state of anger, than he usually is when 
 things go wrong, even without any good cause. He said 
 that his whole plans for the day were frustrated and 
 nothing could be done ; and the light divisions were 
 counter-ordered to remain where they were on this side 
 the river, and head-quarters remained at St. Jouy. 
 
 The French, it appeared, while still keeping a force to 
 defend the bridge of Toulouse, had before this taken a 
 strong position on the hills beyond the town, and had 
 made there some strong works, upon which they were 
 constantly busy. The last two days and nights their 
 main body rested on the hills, bivouacking in this 
 position, and in an uncomfortable state, hourly expecting 
 an attack. This morning about seven it commenced: 
 the firing was heavy for about two hours, until nine, and 
 has continued partially since. As I dare not cross the 
 river and go to the front, I went with my glass to the 
 highest look-out here, and saw the French redoubt very 
 plainly, firing away briskly : since that all has been 
 silent here, arid free from smoke. The stories of the 
 
480 UNCERTAIN INTELLIGENCE. 
 
 people here are that, with the loss of six thousand men, we 
 have taken the redoubt and thirty-six pieces of ordnance. 
 
 The former, from the direction of the fire, it is certain, 
 is a lie, and perhaps the latter. As, however, we have 
 now some sort of official news that the Allies are in Paris, 
 and the Imperial Court at Orleans, and as there is no 
 account of Bonaparte, the French here will probably not 
 fight much ; and if beaten, it is certain that many, nay 
 thousands, will run home, and the army be much dimi- 
 nished. I suspect that Bonaparte will try to unite his 
 corps and all the remains of corps near Paris, and Au- 
 gereau's from Lyons, and Marshal Soult's and Suchet's 
 from Provence, towards Montpelier ; but it is to be 
 hoped that even regiments, and perhaps Marshals, will 
 begin to desert, when it is found that Paris is taken, and 
 the royal party proclaimed and gaining ground. 
 
 We certainly are in a very odd state just now in 
 France. Our military chest, Paymaster, Doctors, Com- 
 missaries, &c., and nearly all our money, are in this place, 
 which is altogether without troops ; only about a dozen 
 staff corps men, and about ten of the paymaster's ordinary 
 marching guard. The whole army is nearly four leagues 
 in front, and our only protection is the good- will of the 
 people, and the river. Yet we are told that there are 
 French troops at Montauban, about four leagues off, and 
 nothing between us except the river. All feel, notwith- 
 standing, quite secure, and have no anxiety but to enter 
 Toulouse. 
 
 In the mean time Lord Dalhousie with a part of the 
 seventh division has crossed, not only the Gironde, but 
 the Dordogne, and we are told, is to take Fort Blaze 
 by storm: I suppose his whole force is not above three 
 thousand five hundred men. Bayonne has not yet been 
 seriously attacked, nor do we hear of any very great 
 distress in the town, which is surprising, considering the 
 length of the blockade. 
 
BATTLE OP TOULOUSE. 481 
 
 In the attack to-day, it is said that the third and 
 sixth divisions were to form the right of the attack on 
 the river, the fourth the centre, and the light and large 
 body of Spaniards to make the flank movement on the 
 left, to get on the hills and turn the French position, 
 whilst the cavalry advance also in that direction, to be 
 ready to take advantage of the enemy's retreat. 
 
 Five o'clock, same day. No one returned, and no 
 news : and yet no firing heard, and no orders. I fear 
 that the resistance has been greater than was expected, 
 and begin to be fidgety and uneasy. The reports are 
 now, that eight thousand English wounded, and fighting 
 in the streets now going on. If such complete ignorance 
 of the truth exists within ten miles of what is passing, 
 you may judge how false reports circulate : we receive 
 contradictory rumours every hour. All we know for 
 certain is, that two hours ago Lord Wellington's bag- 
 gage remained at St. Jouy without orders; I despair, 
 therefore, of seeing Toulouse to-day. 
 
 Grenade, April \\th, 8 o'clock, morning. The firing 
 continued all day yesterday, and until past eight at 
 night, and began again at four this morning, and has 
 continued to this time, but has now lessened. Several 
 of our civilians returned home here last night. I under- 
 stand our loss is very considerable. We drove the enemy 
 from all the heights, but with difficulty. The Spaniards 
 failed in the attack of a redoubt, were put to the rout 
 completely, and, it is reported, would have lost their guns, 
 which the French were within two or three hundred 
 yards of, had not the Portuguese stepped in to their 
 support, and enabled them to rally again. 
 
 This is really too bad my friend says the ground was 
 covered with dead Spaniards, and that he saw but few 
 French ; this is generally the result of alarm and flight. 
 The redoubt was taken, but not by the Spaniards, it is 
 said ; the fire close to Lord Wellington was most severe. 
 
482 "DESPERATE DEFENCE OF THE FRENCH. 
 
 Near the town the French fought very hard in the 
 houses, particularly at some houses near the lock of the 
 canal close to the river. We each occupied some of the 
 houses, and fired continually; the French houses were 
 loop-holed, and they had the best. We were obliged to 
 bring guns, &c. ; and, unfortunately, the most successful 
 shell fell into one of our own houses, and burnt out our 
 own people. Among the killed, &c., I hear, is Colonel 
 Coghlan of the 61st, an excellent officer, Lieutenant- 
 colonel Forbes, Captain Gordon, 10th Hussars. Colonel 
 Fitzclarence is wounded in the thigh : he charged with 
 his troops two French squadrons, he says, up a hill, beat 
 them, but on the top was received by infantry : the first 
 shot carried away part of his sword, the second hit him 
 on the thigh, and they fell back. We were close to the 
 town and to the bridge last night on all sides, and had 
 moved our bridge up within two miles of the town. The 
 French have barricaded the houses and streets, fixed 
 swivels on the tops, lined the roofs with men, &c., and 
 seem determined to defend the town with desperation. 
 An officer deserted yesterday, and says he will serve no 
 longer under a man who acts like a madman, as Soult 
 now does, in defending a town like Toulouse in such a 
 manner. It is madness. 
 
 Four Spanish officers came in here yesterday, who had 
 escaped from Italy through Switzerland, and had walked 
 here. They seemed in great distress. We had no Com- 
 missary here : I therefore gave them eight pounds of 
 bread and a dozen eggs, got them a quarter for the night, 
 and advised them to stay here until this mornimg, and 
 then proceed to head-quarters. One had served in 
 Colonel Boche's corps in Catalonia, and spoke English 
 tolerably. Our delay here, and in taking the town, has 
 alarmed the people very much. All who have relations 
 and friends in Toulouse are terribly frightened. The 
 officer who deserted says that many will do the same as 
 
SPANISH PLUNDERERS. 483 
 
 soon as the business is over, and occasions arise. Captain 
 
 0. K , the French-English officer from Toulouse, 
 
 who came over to the Duke d'Angouleme at St. Jean de 
 Luz, arrived here yesterday from Bordeaux. He says, 
 that things are going on well, especially since the news 
 from Paris ; that the Duke has now eighteen hundred 
 men formed; and that French officers come in every 
 day with fleur-de-lys embroidered on their Napoleon 
 
 uniforms, and thus tender their services. 0. K was 
 
 here on his road to Aurillac, to Auvergne, &c., where, he 
 says, a party is formed and ready to rise. He must take 
 care of his head, for he goes about talking very im- 
 prudently. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Toulouse, April 13th, 1814, Section 3, 
 No. 676. To give you any notion of what we have all 
 felt from the changes which the last thirty-six hours have 
 produced, you must go back to my first sheet, and you 
 will feel more as I did, by reading in succession what has 
 occurred than by anything I can now write. I was 
 about to destroy the first sheet, as much of it is now not 
 worth the trouble of reading ; but thought it would give 
 you a better idea of the feelings, from day to day, of the 
 army. 
 
 An order came for civil departments to march, to cross 
 the pontoons, and to proceed on the high road to Tou- 
 louse to a church only three miles from the town, and 
 there halt and wait for orders. We were off in ecstasies, 
 expecting all to dine in Toulouse, and that the French 
 were off, and our men after them. Judge of our vexa. 
 tion, when, on arriving at the church, we were all turned 
 back off the road, to a miserable village of about ten 
 houses, called St. Albains ; and were there to find 
 quarters for the night, in places just quitted by the plun- 
 dering Spaniards, and left nearly in the state in which 
 the French left the houses in Spain as they passed. 
 
 When we arrived, we found many of the Spaniards 
 
 2i 2 
 
484 DISTRESSING SCENE. 
 
 still in possession, and four of us disarmed and seized 
 three of them in the act of plundering. The people were 
 screaming in every direction, the houses abandoned, and 
 the inhabitants just beginning to return to witness the 
 mischief done. Everything had been ransacked all the 
 closets, &c., broken open ; the rags and remnants on the 
 floor, mixed with hundreds of egg-shells, and the fea- 
 thers of the plundered fowls, &c. Much linen was 
 carried off, the sheets and heavy articles in the yard ; the 
 tables were covered with broken dishes, bottles, bones, 
 and twine ; and the cellars with the wine-casks running. 
 In about two hours we got possession of the quarters, 
 and got the inhabitants in to clean them, and by five 
 o'clock had divided the places among us. My whole 
 baggage lost its road, and did not arrive at all five mules 
 and a horse loaded. 
 
 You may conceive the disappointment and the vexation 
 we experienced. Dr. M'Gregor said that our loss was 
 terrible ! He was just returned from collecting all the 
 wounded in villages, and, by Lord Wellington's desire, 
 was hurrying every one possible instantly to the rear. 
 They were passing all night in cars. The Spaniards 
 were moaning and crying most desperately, and were to 
 reach Fenoullet that night, Sole Jourdain the next, and 
 then to be sent on further if necessary. The accommo- 
 dations were very bad. The accounts from the town 
 were that the French were continuing to barricade every 
 house and loophole, and arming to defend themselves to 
 the last. 
 
 The army was said to be now much weakened; the 
 Spaniards could not be depended upon ; the reinforce- 
 ments were not come up from England, and a story was 
 going about and believed by many who ought to have 
 known better, that we were out of ammunition, and 
 could not use our artillery. You may conceive that I 
 went (without my baggage and comforts), with this news, 
 
ENTRY INTO TOULOUSE. 485 
 
 sorrowfully to bed, ordering my servant to be off at five 
 in the morning in search of my stragglers. 
 
 On the 12th, at 6 o'clock, I was up and wandering 
 about alone, listening to an occasional heavy gun, seeing 
 wounded men pass, and waiting for the return of my 
 man. About eight I saw Henry returning alone, and 
 was expecting more bad news, when he told me that the 
 French were off, that we were to march for Toulouse 
 directly, and that my baggage was all safe at a house a 
 league off on the road; and that, therefore, he had 
 ordered them to pack and be off with the rest. Think 
 of our sensations on hearing of this welcome change ! 
 The last twenty-four hours had been among the most 
 critical of the war, and now all was safe and right again. 
 
 I found out the clergyman, Mr. B , got a razor and 
 
 a cup of tea, whilst my horse was getting ready, and 
 was then off, to go round by head-quarters and to enter 
 Toulouse with Lord Wellington. About eleven I arrived 
 at the fortified entrance, and found, instead of the 
 enemy behind the new works, the maire of the town, 
 almost all the officers of the garde urbaine, a considerable 
 number of national guard officers, deserters, &c., and 
 about two hundred smart but awkward men of the city 
 guard, and a band of music, all with the white cockade, 
 and a great crowd of citizens besides, all waiting with 
 anxiety to receive Lord Wellington, and carry him in 
 form to the mayoralty. Unluckily, from some misma- 
 nagement and mistake, he went in at another entrance, 
 and passed on, almost unknown. Hearing this, I went 
 to the mayoralty with General Packington's aide-de- 
 camp, and found it was so ; and, therefore, we went back 
 to inform the mayor officially, and to beg he would 
 return to the maison commune. He did so, though an 
 immense crowd entered the mayoralty in form, and an 
 introduction then took place, and Lord Wellington showed 
 
486 ENTRY INTO TOULOUSE. 
 
 himself at the window, amidst the shouts and waving 
 handkerchiefs and hats of every one. 
 
 The procession then went with Lord Wellington to 
 his quarters, the Prefet's palace, amidst the applause of 
 the inhabitants all the way. Nothing could be more 
 gratifying than his reception, and that, indeed, of all the 
 English ; the most respectable inhabitants, many of them, 
 not only anxiously showing us the way to our billets, but 
 offering their homes without any billets, or receiving us 
 with a sincere welcome as soon as the paper was delivered. 
 Lord Wellington announced a ball in the evening at the 
 Prefecture, and left Marshal Beresford with three divi- 
 sions and cavalry to follow Marshal Soult for the day. 
 
 We thought nothing could make us happier, when at 
 five o'clock in came Colonel Ponsonby from Bordeaux 
 with the Paris news, which you know. He told us that 
 the official accounts would arrive in an hour or two. 
 Ponsonby came through Montauban : the French officer 
 commanding there taking his word, and letting him pass. 
 I had been, at Colonel Campbell's request, examining 
 General St. Hilaire and his servant. St. Hilaire was 
 found, under suspicious circumstances, in the town, and 
 was just put under arrest, and Campbell luckily asked me 
 to dine with Lord Wellington, which I should have been 
 very sorry to have missed. 
 
 Just as we were sitting down to dinner, about forty of 
 us, General Frere, and several Spaniards, General Picton, 
 and Baron Alten, the principal French, &c., in came 
 Cooke with the despatches. The whole was out directly, 
 champagne went round, and after dinner Lord Wellington 
 gave " Louis XVIII. /' which was very cordially received 
 with three times three, and white cockades were ordered 
 for us to wear at the theatre in the evening. In the 
 interim, however, General Alava got up, and with great 
 warmth gave Lord Wellington's health, as the Liber ador 
 del'Espagna ! Every one jumped up, and there was a 
 
WELLINGTON AT THE THEATRE. IS? 
 
 sort of general exclamation from all the foreigners 
 French, Spanish, Portuguese, Germans, and all El 
 Liberador d'Espagna ! Liberador de Portugal ! Le 
 Liber ateur de la France ! Le Liber ateur de V Europe J 
 And this was followed, not by a regular three times 
 three, but a cheering all in confusion for nearly ten 
 minutes ! Lord Wellington bowed, confused, and imme- 
 diately called for coffee. He must have been not a little 
 gratified with what had passed. 
 
 We then all went to the play. The public were quite 
 in the dark as to what had just arrived, but Lord Wel- 
 lington was received in the stage-box (where he sat, 
 supported by Generals Picton, Frere, and Alava, &c., and 
 also the maire) with no little applause, I assure you. At 
 the door the people would scarcely take the money from 
 us ; and in the opposite stage-box the French left the box 
 themselves, and made room for us. We had the white 
 cockades on the breast. The English officers in the house 
 stared, and did not know what to make of it. Some 
 thought it a foolish, giddy trick. In about ten minutes 
 Lord Wellington turned his hat outwards to the front of 
 the box : it was seen, and a shout ensued immediately. 
 The play was " Richard, oh mon JRoi" which was fixed 
 upon really before the news came. The "Henri IV." 
 was played, and then the new French constitution was 
 read aloud from one of the boxes. The people most 
 anxious, and in general pleased ; in some things not. I 
 think most of it very good, if the French can enjoy any- 
 thing so like our own constitution, for such it is, under 
 other names ; but this is doubtful. The article worst 
 received was that leaving all the sales of emigrant lands 
 to stand good ; and it does appear to me that, when, by 
 means of paper, an estate had been bought for the price 
 of a team of horses, an equitable arrangement would have 
 been better, to be settled by Government Commissioners. 
 This was followed by " God save the King," which was 
 received with great applause, 
 
488 LOSSES IN THE BATTLE. 
 
 When the play was over, we adjourned to the ball at 
 Lord Wellington's. The only drawback was our meet- 
 ing on the way the cars of the wounded in the streets, 
 now moving to the excellent hospitals here. This on 
 consideration was also a satisfaction, for many lives will 
 be saved by the wounded being brought here, instead of 
 being sent to rear. You will now guess what we felt, 
 and what a species of trance we were in. 
 
 Here we are halted, whilst the news is sent on to 
 Soult, with whom Marshal Beresford could not come up. 
 The arrival of the news was at the moment we should 
 have selected, except for the loss of life. For Lord Wel- 
 lington's character, however, even that was good, and 
 eight hours sooner it would have been said that the late 
 battle was no victory on our part, and that we should 
 never have entered Toulouse, nor would the real sen- 
 timents of the town have been known. 
 
 On inquiry, I find that the French loss has been 
 great. General Taupin, one of my friends on La Ehiine, 
 killed; General D'Armagnac, who took me, wounded; 
 Harispe wounded, and here a prisoner ; two other 
 Generals wounded, &c. Our loss fell principally, you will 
 see, on the sixth division, and the Scotch Brigade in par- 
 ticular, and on the Spaniards. With regard to the latter, 
 it is said that, upon the whole, the men for a long time 
 behaved well, and that if General Frere had been as 
 skilful as brave, and the officers better, they probably 
 would have succeeded in their object, which certainly 
 happened to be the most arduous duty of the day. They 
 arrived on a sort of smooth glacis below the French 
 works, under a fire admitted to be more severe than 
 almost any since Albuera. Decision and skill and 
 rapidity were then required. The men were kept too 
 long in this fire they broke and then ran like sheep. 
 One French regiment, it is said, drove more than four 
 thousand of them, and in such a manner that they almost 
 upset a Cay adore Portuguese regiment by main force. 
 
CONVERSATION OF THE OFFICERS. IS!) 
 
 Three companies of the latter stood firm, beat back the 
 Spaniards with their firelocks, laughed at them, enjoyed 
 it, and completely checked the French. The redoubt was 
 afterwards taken by our men, with great loss, as you will 
 see. General Frere was in despair ; he exerted himself to 
 the utmost to rally his men ; at last, by his exertions, 
 assisted by Lord Wellington in person, one or two 
 Spanish companies were formed, and became steady. 
 Upon this the rest soon followed, and formed up also. 
 The Spaniards had then a less arduous post assigned 
 them ; all went on well again, and I believe they behaved 
 fairly enough. Their loss is considerable. 
 
 This morning the whole conversation of the officers 
 turns upon half-pay and starvation. "With some, want of 
 preferment ; with others, promotion ; and with those 
 who have promotion, a determination to enjoy themselves 
 now that all is over, and their dangers and sufferings 
 past. As to my own prospects, they are so completely in 
 the air, that my being never much of an architect for 
 building in that element, I go quietly on with my work, 
 and trust to the future. 
 
 I shall defer any account of this place, &c., for fear of 
 being too late for the despatches, and now say adieu. 
 
 Pray forward the enclosed two letters, which are from 
 Madame de Baudre, my hostess at Mont de Marsan, who 
 desired me to take care of them, and enclosed them in a 
 letter of great professions of kindness for me, only 
 exceeded by the most romantic ones for the Bourbons, 
 and stating the great losses her family and connexions 
 have lately sustained. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Toulouse, April 1 5th, 1814. Here we 
 are quietly waiting the result of the communication of 
 the late news to Marshal Soult, &c. Cooke has come 
 back from his head-quarters. The Marshal hesitates a 
 little at present. He objects that he has no authentic 
 documents from Bonaparte or the authorities whom he 
 
490 BALL AT THE PREFECTURE. 
 
 represents, and seems to have some doubts of the extent 
 of the late news or pretends to have. In short, as yet 
 he takes no decided line, but it is said has applied for an 
 armistice, probably wishing to gain time, to consult 
 Suchet, &c., and learn more of the state of things. 
 
 Colonel Gordon was sent to him yesterday by Lord 
 Wellington with a flag-of-truce ; and it is understood 
 that a positive answer and determination was required, 
 and the armistice refused. Lord Wellington and all the 
 officers yesterday attended Colonel Coghlan's funeral in 
 the morning, at the Temple, and went from thence in 
 procession to the Protestant burial-ground out of the 
 town. 
 
 In the evening Lord Wellington gave another more 
 magnificent ball at the Prefecture. It was too crowded 
 to dance much, or well, but went off with great glee and 
 general satisfaction. The ladies were very prettily 
 dressed, in general, with the exception of a few of the 
 high ugly bonnets, and there were several very pleasing- 
 looking girls, and good dancers ; but I do not think that 
 in general the women are handsome here. I met with 
 one very good-humoured chatty lady, about eighteen 
 probably, who said she had only left her " Maman," with 
 whom she had always lived near Carcassonne, one month, 
 and that, in that time she had witnessed many strange 
 things : the ravages of the French army, the passage of 
 our army over the Graronne, a great battle (which was all 
 visible quite plainly from the churches here, and even 
 from the houses), the preparations for a siege, the retreat 
 of the French, our triumphal entry, the change of the 
 national government, and her own marriage. 
 
 Captain Tovey, of the 20th, taken at Orthes, has 
 escaped, and came in here yesterday. He would not give 
 his parole, and made several attempts to be off. In con- 
 sequence he was hardly treated, but is now safe. He 
 met with every assistance from the French inhabitants ; 
 
THE CAPITOLIUM. 491 
 
 and at the last house he was in, the owner made him 
 leave his peasant's dress, and equipped him in a new suit, 
 boots and all, French cut, to pass our lines, and go to 
 head-quarters in. The villages through which he passed 
 were proclaiming the King ; and he was told that 
 Soult's house, near Carcassonne, had been destroyed by 
 the mob. 
 
 The French here discover the same volatile character 
 as ever. Vive le Roil is shouted as vigorously as Vive 
 rEmpereur! was, I am told, a few years since, when 
 Bonaparte made his then really popular entry, and gave 
 his fetes here, of which the most fulsome proces verbal 
 still exists, signed by a maire-adjoint of the same name as 
 the one who now signs the King's proclamation, and I 
 believe he is the same man Lameluc. 
 
 The inhabitants are all at work as usual, and very 
 active. Fleurs-de-lys are now upon the skirts of the coats 
 instead of eagles, and last night on the theatre drop- 
 scene. The busts of Bonaparte are smashed. The Capi- 
 tolium ornaments are all undergoing a change. All the 
 N.'s and B.'s, &c., are effaced ; and the workmen are now 
 busily employed working round the cornice of the great 
 staircase at the Capitol, changing all the alternate orna- 
 ments of a handsome cornice, every other one having 
 been a bee. The English are everything, and in general 
 estimation. To return the compliment of our wearing 
 their white cockade on our black one, they now wear a 
 black one on their white. The Spaniards are considered 
 much as the Cossacks. The Capitolium is a very fine 
 building, and as the splendid velvet and gold canopy, and 
 the throne of Bonaparte at one end, had no decided 
 emblems except that of authority generally, it has, after 
 some doubts, been allowed to remain, and is not de- 
 stroyed. We are to have a grand ball there, it is said, 
 given on Sunday, by the inhabitants, if approved of, and 
 we stay. 
 
492 ANECDOTE OF SOULT's ARMY. 
 
 The theatre is about the size of the Haymarket The- 
 atre ; in width rather larger, but much deeper, and 
 something in the improved shape of Co vent Garden. 
 The actors are tolerable. It is, however, inferior to the 
 Bordeaux Theatre, and certainly to that of Lyons. 
 
 The stone bridge over the Garonne, of seven arches, is 
 very solid and substantial, wide, and upon the whole a 
 splendid work, but not very graceful in its architecture. 
 It is like Kew bridge in general shape, but in much 
 heavier and substantial proportions. 
 
 Several improvements have been some time since com- 
 menced in the city, but most of them are now at a stand, 
 and have been so for some time. The cathedral of St. 
 Etienne is an unfinished Gothic building, the great aisle 
 being wanting to the new building. Instead of this, a 
 large sort of Westminster Hall, of more ancient date, 
 joins the cathedral on one side. This was originally 
 intended to be pulled down or altered. 
 
 There is some good tapestry and fine painted glass, 
 which have escaped here, as in several other churches, 
 the revolutionary destruction. 
 
 The streets here are like the old parts of Paris, in 
 general narrow, with a gutter in the middle ; and the 
 houses very good, but high shops below, and three stories 
 of good rooms above. Several handsome hotels, with 
 their great gates and small gardens. I am in a dirty 
 place, but tolerably well off. The people are civil ; I 
 have good stabling, and one comfortable room, now it is 
 cleaned. 
 
 C - gives rather a strange account of our Allies, 
 but seems to think from their numbers, and the general 
 feeling, that the business has at last been well-blundered 
 through. There is a good story told of an incident 
 which happened at the interview with Soult the other 
 day. The substance of the news somehow got wind, and 
 the army, whilst the Marshal was closeted with C , 
 
RIDE OVER TIIK BATTLE-FIELD. 493 
 
 gave a loud shout. The aide-de-camp went to inquire 
 the cause, and returned saying, " Ce nest quun likvre, 
 Monseigneitr" You ought to know that nothing causes 
 a louder shout amongst troops than a hare crossing them. 
 General M - said the aide-de-camp should have been 
 asked whether it was a Leipzig hare ? If Soult does not 
 declare himself, his army will, I think, desert him. I 
 have now only just received a letter from you, of the 
 22nd March, and papers. 
 
 The French works at the entrance of the town, by the 
 bridge (tete de pont), were very strong, and cost much in 
 labour and materials, for no use. They were formed by 
 close piles of timber like the caissons for the foundation 
 of a bridge, filled up with earth, and the tops lined by 
 barrels of earth, with a ditch and guns, &c., placed, and 
 the walls of the buildings round all loop-holed. 
 
 I rode all over the positions of the battle yesterday, on 
 the hills, and examined all the forts and the monuments 
 of Trench industry and British courage. They were 
 most formidable places to approach, for the hills formed 
 a regular smooth glacis from the works at the top to the 
 valley below, and half way down were long low heaps of 
 sod, or turf, made up to protect the advanced sharp- 
 shooters, who were lyng safe on the ground, protected 
 behind them, though the barrier was not above two feet 
 high. A church and a house loop-holed, formed the sort 
 of citadel to two of the forts or redoubts for musquetry, 
 with the guns around the outside. The ditches were not 
 so deep, nor the works so complete as those near Yera, 
 where the French had more time, nor were the roads or 
 mountains so difficult to ascend ; but there was less 
 shelter to approach, from the greater smoothness of the 
 ground. Almost the only chance of safety was following 
 some hollow roads, and a ride or two on the hills. 
 
 IQtk (4 o'clock). I have just heard that the mail goes 
 in half an hour. There is, therefore, little time to add to 
 
494 MARSHAL SOULT'S SUBMISSION. 
 
 tliis. Colonel G is come back : Soult very civil, but 
 
 high and proud in his manner, not yet satisfied, and so 
 circumstanced, does not yet join the royal cause; the 
 consequence is, I hear, that the troops move to-morrow 
 morning, and I fear we shall do the same then or soon 
 after. This is very provoking, for the general result 
 seems clear, and all bloodshed now useless. I suspect 
 the truth of the hare story, as it is said that Soult's army 
 is still ignorant of what has happened, at least, nearly so. 
 Pains are now being taken to circulate the proclamations, 
 news, &c., in all directions round him, that the troops 
 may learn the real state of things. I have to-day 
 received the parcel from you, letter to 29th, and news- 
 papers. Many thanks. 
 
 The museum here contains but a bad second-rate set 
 of pictures. About a hundred have been carried away 
 during the month of March, no one knows where ; but I 
 presume they were the best of those which were por- 
 table from their size. 
 
 There has been some difference of opinion, and confu- 
 sion, we hear, at Montauban about royalty. Bayonne, it 
 is to be feared, will abide by Soult, and do nothing yet. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Toulouse, April 18th, 1814, 5 o'clock. 
 The troops moved as I told yoii yesterday, and the order 
 was actually out for head-quarters to move to-day, when 
 Count Gazan came in yesterday, about mid-day, to an- 
 nounce Marshal Soult's submission, I believe, to the new 
 order of things, and to arrange cantonments, &c., for the 
 two armies. He was closeted with General Murray a 
 long time, and arrangements were made. He returned 
 this morning to have the articles ratified, and to-night 
 Lord G. Lennox has orders to be in readiness to go to 
 England through Paris with the news. This last fact 
 you will, perhaps, have heard, and probably before you 
 get this. 
 
 We had yesterday a grand Te Deum, a most strange 
 
BAD NEWS FROM BAYONNE. 495 
 
 noisy military and religious ceremony attended with all 
 the drums and military band ; Trench civic soldiers, with 
 their hats on, hallooing, shouting, singing, organs, &c., 
 an immense crowd, and great cordiality. Unluckily, 
 Gazan passed the door as the crowd was coming out ; he 
 was hooted, and saluted with " A bas Soult I" &c. This 
 was a pity, but these changeable gentlemen are all in 
 extremes. The troops are all going into cantonments 
 immediately, and we shall for some time, I conclude, be 
 quiet. 
 
 The bad news from Bayonne is very unlucky. General 
 Hope is, I hear, not dangerously wounded ; and his aide- 
 de-camp is gone to Bayonne to comfort him in his con- 
 finement, which I trust will now be soon over. The 
 affair seems to have been a surprise in a great measure, 
 and the chief loss was in regaining the church, &c., of St. 
 Etienne, which had been easily lost at first. Lord Dal- 
 housie, on the other hand, seems to have gone on well 
 alone, across the Dordogne. 
 
 The arsenal is here on a very large scale, and would 
 have been a very great acquisition, were the war to have 
 gone on. The French carried away almost everything 
 but materials, of which there is abundance of wheel 
 carriages, &c., and all the forges, &c., in order. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Toulouse, April 23rd, 1814. Our life 
 has now fallen into the old routine way again, and not 
 only without daily events and little incidents to excite 
 the mind, as has hitherto been the case, but also with 
 the additional flatness and indifference, which cannot but 
 be felt so immediately after a succession of such occur- 
 rences as have taken place within the last month. You 
 will now have only the tittle-tattle of a country town (a 
 French town certainly, and therefore somewhat novel) 
 with which you must be satisfied. "When Count Gazan 
 came over here, to settle the terms of the armistice and 
 line of demarcation, &c., with Generals Murray and 
 
496 
 
 ARMISTICE SETTLED. 
 
 Wimpfen, he was so much engaged that I could not see 
 him, as I wished to do, and he went very suddenly back 
 again. The terms you will see in the papers. 
 
 When all the Spanish garrisons are collected in France, 
 this southern French army will again be respectable. 
 Our troops are all moving into their cantonments along 
 the Graronne on the left bank, except a few on this right 
 bank, within the department of the Haute Garonne, 
 which remains nearly all ours for the present. We have 
 had a variety of strangers the two Sir Charles Stewarts 
 the first place. The Lisbon minister only stopped here 
 one day on his way to Holland ; the other Sir Charles, 
 from Paris, came, as it is whispered here, to signify a 
 wish on the part of the Allies that Lord Wellington 
 would be the English commissioner at the general Con- 
 gress. If so, and this seems very probable, I think he 
 does well to refuse, for he cannot stand higher than he 
 does. Were he to go, the other diplomatists would be 
 surprised at his method of getting through business. 
 We should certainly have a general peace many weeks 
 sooner, if not months, than we are likely to have other- 
 wise. 
 
 I was walking with C in Lord Wellington's 
 
 garden about eight o'clock in the morning, three days 
 since, when we saw a queer-looking figure approach, of 
 whom we could make out nothing from the complete 
 mixture of undress and magnificence a pair of not clean 
 overalls on, a common short pelisse, and a foraging cap, 
 but the whole breast covered with stars and little crosses, 
 and swords and orders of all sorts. 
 
 I was not a little surprised at being introduced to Sir 
 Charles Stewart. He had arrived at two in the morning 
 and had gone to bed, without sending word to Lord 
 Wellington, depending upon finding him at home at 
 eight o'clock, when to his mortification .he found that 
 Lord Wellington had been since five in the morning out 
 
SIR CHARLES STEWART. 497 
 
 hunting ; and when Sir Charles asked where he could go 
 to meet him, the best information he could get was, that 
 it was in a forest somewhere about eighteen miles dis- 
 tant, but no one knew exactly where, for the only persons 
 who knew, about four in number, were out with him. 
 Patience, therefore, was his only remedy ; and instead of 
 being off again in two hours as he said he had intended, 
 he was obliged to stay long enough to give us a few 
 anecdotes from the Allies. Two of Marshal Suchet' s 
 aides-de-camp, and two or three French colonels from his 
 army and that of Soult, have also been here. 
 
 With one of Suchet's aides-de-camp I had much con- 
 versation. He is a gentleman-like young man. He told 
 me that Suchet was at Perpignan when he heard of 
 Soult's affair here ; but that he then thought it prudent 
 to hasten to Narbonne, and there he was when the news 
 from Paris arrived. Had the war gone on, therefore, we 
 should evidently have had a dance, as I expected, to the 
 Mediterranean, on the road to Montpelier, after these 
 united marshals, and should have required your utmost 
 exertions and reinforcements from England ; as it is, all 
 is well. Suchet's aide-de-camp said that he found very 
 different feelings towards Soult in this country from what 
 there were towards his master in the districts where he 
 had commanded, and that he feared Soult had conducted 
 himself very badly. The two marshals are, I understand, 
 very jealous of each other. I asked him if Suchet had 
 the least notion or expectation previously of what has 
 happened. He said, " No : who could expect such a 
 change in the minds of every one, and such a revolution 
 in seven days' time ?" Then he laughed, and said, " At 
 present we were a la mode ," and as I met him at the 
 grand ball at the Capitole here again, he said, " There, 
 you have nothing to do now but to make the most of 
 your advantages, and amuse yourselves : all the beauties 
 have now declared for you." 
 
 2 K 
 
498 BALL AT THE CAPITOLE. 
 
 I rather pitied him, when at that meeting a number of 
 pert apprentices, with immense white cockades on, and 
 some still with Napoleon buttons and smart civic 
 uniforms, were continually coming up to him, and reach- 
 ing about up to his chin, asking him, pertly, " Oh ! are 
 you Soult's aide-de-camp, or Suchet's? Well, how do 
 you like what is going on ?" fellows, that a month ago 
 would have almost cleaned his shoes had they been asked. 
 Some of them even thought he was English, and in bad 
 patois French, complimented him on the progress he had 
 made in the French language. His military pride was 
 much put to the trial, and he could hardly smother his 
 feelings. He then asked me to show him his new King, 
 of whom there was an old picture hung up, as he said it 
 was now time to make acquaintance with his new sove- 
 reign, as well as with this new state of society. 
 
 The grand ball given by the town at the Capitole on 
 Thursday went off well, except that it was just such a 
 crowd as an Easter Monday ball at the Mansion House. 
 The rooms were very handsome, and the five hundred 
 English, Spanish, and Portuguese officers added not a 
 little to the effect of the scene. Nearly the whole were 
 generals, aide-de-camps, staff-officers, or at least field- 
 officers, and every order and ornament of every nation was 
 worn. Lord Wellington was most splendid. The amuse- 
 ment commenced by leading him into the Salle de Trone 
 ci-devant Bonaparte, where, over the vacant chair in the 
 centre, was the picture of King Louis XVIII., and on 
 each side that of the Duke d' Angouleme, and one of Lord 
 Wellington himself the latter a hasty caricature likeness 
 taken by a painter here at the play from memory. He 
 was then entertained with a short concert, principally 
 consisting of La Chasse d'Henri IV., and " God save the 
 King," sung by the public singers from a gallery, amidst 
 the clouds goddesses and cupids painted above them. 
 
 I had got Mr. K< , the famous English officer 
 
FEELINGS OF THE FRENCH. 499 
 
 singer, to go with me to the leader of the band, and to 
 give him the catch-club harmony of " Grod save the King," 
 and we wrote them down full instructions, and all the 
 words for the song, solo, trio, chorus, &c., the words spelt 
 also according to the French pronunciation, while the 
 musician caught by the ear and scribbled down all the 
 
 parts, one by one, from K 's singing. It was an 
 
 interesting scene. They had a rehearsal, and Mr. K 
 
 gave the prima donna a few private lessons, and the 
 whole in consequence went off really surprisingly well. 
 The supper-tables were filled by about four sets succes- 
 sively, the English having the preference, sentinels 
 letting us in, and keeping out the Trench until the last. 
 This went on until there was not even bread and water 
 remaining. 
 
 The press, now, is at work here, printing Cevallo's 
 old history of the conduct of the French in Spain, and a 
 variety of things, which to the natives are news. There 
 seems to be a disposition to buy the books and read ; 
 nothing, however, will make the French what Cobbett 
 calls us, "a thinking people." They seem to be as 
 frivolous as ever. The next thing wished for here, and 
 at Bordeaux, is to get rid of this new constitution, and 
 have the Bourbons as before ; at least the party is strong 
 for this line, and, unless something decisive is done soon, 
 and the old military dispersed about, and gens-d'armes, 
 I think they will even yet have a squabble about several 
 things among themselves, which makes me wish that we 
 should be off as soon as possible, and have nothing to do 
 with them. As soon as all the foreign garrisons are 
 withdrawn, and the line of the French empire settled, the 
 faster we withdraw from within it the better. I always 
 expected the royal cause would gain ground as it has, when 
 once fairly tried. It was the only source of peace, and 
 that was what all wanted, on any terms. Of course 
 the acceptance of the Bourbons made it all easy ; but I 
 
 2 K 2 
 
500 ANTICIPATED DEPARTURE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 believe all the southern departments would gladly have 
 been English, to secure peace, and get sugar, sell their 
 wines, and get rid of conscriptions and acquisitions. 
 
 Lord Wellington gives another grand ball at the 
 ci-devant Prefecture, now Palais Eoyale, on Monday next. 
 On Tuesday, he resigns his place there to the Duke 
 d'Angouleme, and as there is an old adage about two 
 kings of Brentford, I suspect he will soon afterwards take 
 a trip somewhere else, at least for a time. I doubt, 
 however, his leaving the armies altogether, while they 
 remain in force, and the French marshals likewise. 
 
 Bordeaux must be very proud of the example they 
 have given to France. They must take especial care to 
 conceal their subsequent alarms, and half-repentance of 
 what they have done. 
 
PROTESTANT SERVICE 501 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Toulouse Its Churches Protestant Service Libraries Reception of the 
 Duke d'AngoulSme The French Generals Popularity of Wellington. 
 
 Head-quarters, Toulouse, 
 
 April 27, 1814. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 THOUGH I have nothing now to amuse you with, 
 but the result of my morning walks and inquiries in this 
 town, I shall proceed as usual, more with a wish to 
 preserve my own crude observations, than hoping to 
 interest you much by the perusal. 
 
 My last was finished on Saturday. On Sunday, about 
 half-past eleven, I attended the service at the Protestant 
 chapel, established under the sanction and patronage of 
 Bonaparte, as a sort of church- wardenish gold-lettered 
 record informed me. The service began with a prayer by 
 the clerk ; he then gave out a psalm, more noisy than 
 musical, and without the accompaniment of the organ. I 
 was astonished that such a small congregation could 
 make so much noise and discord. One greasy-headed, 
 methodistical-looking man, near me, continued in an 
 unceasing roar, bearing much more resemblance to a 
 well-known noise with which our mules so frequently 
 indulge us, than any known harmony. A short prayer, 
 and a long chapter from the New Testament, with the 
 Commentary, as printed in the book, was then delivered 
 from the pulpit or reading-desk (for there was but one) 
 
502 PROTESTANT SERVICE. 
 
 by a clergyman, who then entered. Another psalm 
 ensued. The organ then played to introduce a young 
 preacher, who took the reader's place, and gave us a 
 prayer and the Ten Commandments, and another psalm, 
 partly to the organ ; but before half a stave was finished, 
 the organist found that his notes and the vocal ones were 
 so different, that he ceased playing, and though he made 
 two or three attempts at a single note afterwards, he 
 found it would not do, and gave it up. 
 
 The young preacher then read a text from the Bible, 
 and gave us a very good extempore discourse about half- 
 an-hour long. The subject was the vanity of this world, 
 and the danger of temptation and evil communication. 
 The language and delivery were clear and distinct ; there 
 was no rant, but much propriety of manner. A psalm 
 followed, and the organ was not so much distanced; 
 then the Lord's Prayer and Belief, and a prayer for all 
 descriptions of persons and denominations, like that of 
 our own Church praying for dignitaries, &c. And then 
 another psalm, at last, in tolerable harmony, but very 
 noisy. A blessing concluded the whole. 
 
 At first there were only about forty-five persons; 
 some half-dozen old gentlemen were in the seats near 
 the altar. These had backs. About twenty-five women 
 were in the right-hand seats ; and about fifteen men in 
 the left. The side-seats were chairs placed in rows, and 
 all fastened to each other. In the course of the service, 
 the numbers increased to about sixty or seventy. The 
 congregation appeared to be nearly all of the middling 
 class of tradesmen ; only about three of our poor men 
 took their allotted seats, quite at the back. As no one 
 ever knelt down, there was no occasion for either room 
 or cushions for that purpose. The men sat with their 
 hats occasionally on and off, and legs crossed, at their 
 ease, in the style of the House of Commons ; but were 
 attentive to the sermon. The three poor men all fell 
 
CHURCH OF ST. SATUHNIN. 503 
 
 asleep, snoring so loud that a sort of beadle was obliged 
 to awaken them. I was not much surprised on the 
 whole, comparing this scene with that in the Kornan 
 Catholic churches, that the proselytes amongst the 
 highest and lowest classes were not not numerous. This 
 service suits neither. It is most adapted to an inde- 
 pendent tradesman, who thinks a little for himself, and 
 can see the errors of the Catholics, and likes the economy 
 of the chapel. It might be accident, but I saw scarcely 
 any white cockades, only one or two of the elder, and 
 I suppose richer, members of the community wear them 
 in their hats. 
 
 On Monday I looked into nearly all the churches, 
 present and ci-devant, of Toulouse. The cathedral of St. 
 Etienne I have already mentioned. The next in size and 
 consequence is St. Saturnin, or more commonly called St. 
 Surnin. This is a curious building, in the dark heavy 
 Saxon style (reminding one of the early attempts at 
 Grecian revival, and the introduction of the Gothic), 
 all circular except the angular main pillars of the centre 
 of the cross, which were heavy octagons ; the roof cir- 
 cular, and upper windows double circles. Except the 
 pillars, nearly the whole is made of the flat tile or brick, 
 which is curious. It was built in the present form about 
 the year 1160 to 1190. There are monuments of the 
 Earls of Toulouse, &c., of founders, and in a dark vaulted 
 chapel under the grand altar are relics innumerable of 
 the thorns in the crown placed on the head of Christ ; 
 the heads of Barnabas, of Simon, and of Jude; parts 
 of their bodies also ; parts of Peter ; besides bishops, &c.; 
 the body and figure of Thomas Aquinas ; and an English 
 saint, a king, whose name I could not make out. We 
 heard much of the riches with which all these relics were 
 formerly surrounded. It is said that the revolutionists 
 carried off four hundredweight of gold, besides silver. All 
 the most valuable part, however, as the good Catholics 
 
504 CHURCH OF THE JACOBINS. 
 
 are bound to think, were fortunately spared, and still 
 remain in excellent preservation, and tolerably fine with 
 gilding. 
 
 The general effect of the building is gloomy and super- 
 stitious, and a strange unpleasant smell, which some say 
 proceeds from large vaults underneath, which are filled 
 with bodies which do not corrupt, makes one glad to 
 get out of the building as soon as curiosity is satisfied. 
 They do not bury their dead in the church now, and the 
 vaults I mentioned are walled up. In the remaining 
 churches now in use there is little worthy of notice, but 
 there are two very large ci-divant convent churches. 
 That of the Jacobins is worthy of notice ; one long 
 building only, like King's College Chapel (not a cross), 
 and with one lofty row of circular pillars all down the 
 centre. This forms as it were two equal main aisles, and 
 no side aisles. On the sides are rows of chapels and 
 a large cloister. Almost the whole is in. brick, except 
 the centre pillars. It is now regularly fitted up as 
 cavalry barrack stables; and they are excellent, easily 
 containing in the whole, I should think, about seven 
 hundred horses. There is an octagon building adjoining, 
 with a slender pillar, fitted up the same. Near this is 
 another large, long, similar building, formerly a chapel, 
 but without the centre pillars, and the scale of course 
 somewhat smaller. This is the forage store for the 
 cavalry barrack. We have them now both in use, as the 
 French had. I must now go in my best to meet the 
 Duke d'Angouleme. 
 
 Friday, the 26th. About two o'clock on Wednesday 
 the most interesting scene commenced since that of the 
 first day of our entrance, and a more splendid one still. 
 Lord Wellington, surrounded by about three hundred 
 horsemen, composed of general officers, aides-de-camp, 
 and staff officers of all descriptions, and of the four 
 nations, Spanish, English, French and Portuguese, went 
 
RECEPTION OF THE DUKE D^ANGOULEME. 505 
 
 out to meet the Duke d'Angouleme, all in their best 
 uniforms, on their best chargers, and covered with white 
 cockades. The only French general of the opposing 
 army who came in time for this was Clausel, and he was 
 for some time side by side with Lord Wellington. When 
 we had gone about six miles, and arrived at a sort of 
 triumphal arch on a hill, the Duke appeared, escorted by 
 a guard of our heavy dragoons and a double French 
 guard of honour from Bordeaux and Toulouse. We 
 drew up on each side, after the interview with Lord 
 Wellington, to let them pass, and then all joined in the 
 procession to the town. 
 
 The sides of the road were crowded with carriages and 
 people, and the enthusiasm of the lower classes, and of 
 the women in particular, was excessive. The Duke and 
 Lord Wellington, after being joined by more guards of 
 honour and more suite, as we approached the town, 
 entered the street over the grand bridge, amidst the 
 shouts and acclamations of a multitude crowding every 
 window. The scene reminded me of the London streets 
 at Lord Nelson's funeral. From the tete de pont, which 
 still in part exists, over the bridge, up to the cathedral 
 through all the principal streets, was a double line of 
 English troops, between which the procession passed. 
 Several of the regiments had got their clothing, and they 
 looked admirably, especially the Scotch 91st. 
 
 A sort of moveable garde urbaine de Vinfanterie on each 
 side kept also with us all the way. WTiite flags, exhi- 
 biting French ingenuity to the utmost, were hanging 
 from every window. Sheets, table-cloths, towels, &c., 
 covered with green paper fleurs-de-lys formed excellent 
 standards, and paper flags were innumerable. The 
 women, and some of the old men, were quite mad with 
 joy, and screamed, Vive le Roi et vivent les Anglois ! till 
 they were stopped by absolute exhaustion, or some by 
 tears of joy. Every house was hung with laurel mixed 
 
506 RECEPTION OF THE DUKE D ? ANGOULEME. 
 
 with the white, and the lower story covered entirely with 
 old tapestry, old carpets, or sheets, and paper fleurs-de-lys. 
 In the morning this made the streets look something 
 like Brokers' -alley certainly, but the effect, when mixed 
 with the rest of the scene, was not bad. 
 
 After passing under another triumphal arch of table- 
 cloths, laurel, fleurs-de-lys, &c., we reached the cathedral, 
 and a Te Deum succeeded. This was much like the last, 
 only rather more in order, and the public bodies were 
 more numerous and in their costume. The ten Judges 
 and the President, in their red robes, like our aldermen, 
 with small black-and-gold caps. The Judges de Premier 
 Instance, in black Master-of-Arts gowns, with sky-blue 
 sashes ; the Avocats in black gowns alone ; the professors 
 of sciences and arts in their crimson-coloured Master-of- 
 Arts gowns, and those of belles-lettres in orange ; the 
 Archbishop and clergy in full costume. The music was 
 not very striking, but many of the old people cried with 
 
 joy- 
 About six o'clock the Duke dined with Lord Wellington, 
 
 and went to the play in the evening, where the acclama- 
 tions were renewed with fresh vigour ; the women in the 
 streets caught hold of his coat to kiss it. Yesterday the 
 Duke had a grande messe, and then a full-dress drawing- 
 room this in the morning. In the evening the great 
 rooms of the Capitolium were opened again for music and 
 dancing. The Duke came in there too soon, when 
 scarcely five hundred people were arrived, but in another 
 hour the crowd was immense. The dresses of the women 
 were very splendid, and the variety of orders and uni- 
 forms made the scene very gay. General Yilette was 
 there, as well as Clausel, and a number of French officers. 
 The Duke was just the same as at St. Jean de Luz, and 
 remembered all his old acquaintance there, myself among 
 the rest. 
 
 He not only gave me a gracious nod during the first 
 
AFFABILITY OF THE DUKE. 507 
 
 procession, but surprised me by coming round behind the 
 chairs of the ladies, where I was standing, in the music- 
 room, and gave me his hand, and reminded me of King 
 Joseph's saddle-cloth, which I had given the Duke, and 
 which was on his horse, as I observed, when he entered 
 the town. His affability and good-nature are striking ; 
 but he must acquire more dignity and self-possession, as 
 his figure is against him in appearance, and he seems 
 shy ; in short he must learn the trade of kingcraft, like 
 any other, and a quiet rational man is just now the best 
 king the French can have. The great rock to avoid is 
 the probability of being misled by indiscreet emigrants. 
 
 I was, it must be confessed, rather at a loss what to 
 say to the Duke, but when he talked of the saddle-cloth, 
 I replied, that " Its only merit, which was as a trophy, 
 now was at an end, as the family of the Bonapartes had 
 ceased to be objects to triumph over/' This, and a lame 
 congratulation on what had happened, completed my 
 speech ; as, however, it was as new to me to address 
 royalty as it was to him to act it, I hope if occasion 
 offers I may improve by practice as well as his Highness. 
 One circumstance amused me much in all this scene : the 
 good city of Toulouse covered its streets with sand, and 
 made the air resound with cries, and every house had two 
 paper lanterns in every window at night ; and they were, 
 in general, I am convinced, sincere in this, although one 
 might have been induced to think otherwise from the 
 acts of the authorities and public offices. A set of garde 
 urbaine officers (the new gens-d'armes) ran all the way at 
 the head of the procession, prompting the cries, and 
 setting them going all the way we went ; and the illumi- 
 nations were, by special order of the mayor, from the 
 Bureau d' Illuminations, as usual in the time of Bonaparte's 
 system. My intended observation is this the city 
 loyalty vented itself in cries, in Te Deums, in music, and 
 in farthing candles, and dancing, shouting, draperies, &c., 
 
508 WELLINGTON AND GENERAL CLAUSEL. 
 
 but the Eoyal Duke was placed in the Palais Eoyale 
 (ci-devant Prefecture), and no provision made for his 
 table or for his establishment or Bordeaux guard of 
 honour, and our head-quarters' Commissary was called 
 upon to feed the animals, &c., of the guard and followers, 
 and Lord Wellington to entertain the Prince and invite 
 the principal citizens to meet him. 
 
 The old notion of the sign of the Four Alls " John 
 Bull pays for all/' seems to be as well known here as 
 elsewhere in the world. There seems no principle now- 
 a-days more generally diffused or adopted more readily 
 in every quarter. Our rations are all procured, you must 
 be aware, by requisitions, through the mayors of the 
 country, &c., to be provided by the districts, and you 
 would naturally think the same authority could provide 
 for all French deserters, and for the Eoyal troops of 
 guards and establishment ; but then who would pay for 
 all these requisitions ? All we have is paid for ; and it 
 is Men plus commode to come to our store ready collected 
 than to form one for these purposes. 
 
 An odd incident occurred to me just before the pro- 
 cession on Wednesday. I was at Lord Wellington's 
 new hotel, the great inn, the Hotel de France, endea- 
 vouring to find his room, to leave a Court-martial, when 
 I stumbled on my friend the Dutch aide-de-camp of 
 General Clausel, who told me he was looking for one of 
 our Marshal's aides-de-camp in waiting to introduce his 
 General, who was behind him, and who, on my turning 
 round, recognized me, as he and his division took me 
 prisoner. To their great surprise, I told them that there 
 was no chance of finding an aide-de-camp, but perhaps 
 we might find a serjeant, and I was on the search. It 
 so happened that there was no one but an ignorant 
 sentinel. In trying a door or two, we all blundered upon 
 Lord Wellington, who came himself to the door; so I 
 introduced the astonished Clausel, and walked off. 
 
MARSHAL SUCHET. 509 
 
 My Dutch friend told me that Soult and Suchet would 
 have had about six aides-de-camp, &c., in the first room, 
 and a general officer in waiting in the second. I own 
 that I think our great man goes to the opposite extreme ; 
 but he does not like being watched and plagued. Just 
 after the state levee yesterday, I saw him cross the crowded 
 square in his blue coat and round hat, almost unnoticed 
 and unknown even to the very people who half an hour 
 before had been cheering him. In one angle of Lord 
 
 "Wellington's hotel lives Madam C , a Spanish beauty, 
 
 married into a French family of rank, who are the pro- 
 prietors of the hotel, but who have been obliged to let 
 nearly the whole, reserving this angle. I do not mean 
 to be scandalous ; but this, perhaps, may have decided the 
 choice of the house. 
 
 Lord Wellington to-day had intelligence that Marshal 
 Suchet was on his way here, and has been with his staff 
 about a dozen miles to meet him in form. The French 
 Marshal, from some confusion, did not appear, and Lord 
 Wellington would wait no longer, but returned alone. In 
 our grand procession to meet the royal Duke on Wednes- 
 day a ridiculous accident happened. A French post car- 
 riage with three horses abreast ran away, and came full 
 drive down upon us, the Frenchmen all bawling, the 
 horses pulling all ways, and clearing all before them. Our 
 three hundred warriors were all broken in an instant, and 
 dispersed over the ditches, and in all directions, until at 
 last one unfortunate horseman ran foul of the French 
 horses, and the whole came down together. Fortunately 
 nobody was materially hurt. 
 
 Saturday, Post-day. As I returned home last night 
 by the Palais Eoyal from dinner, I found every one going, 
 without regular invitation, into the Palais Eoyal to the 
 Prince, who held a soiree; so I entered likewise, and 
 found him surrounded by dancing as usual, and by Mar- 
 shals and Generals only to be outdone at Paris. Suchet 
 
510 THE FRENCH GENERAL. 
 
 had arrived with his staff. Colonel Canning, who was 
 left behind for him, brought him in about two hours after 
 Lord Wellington returned. General Lamarque and se- 
 veral other officers came with him, two Generals, as aides- 
 de-camp, besides Colonels, &c. The Marshal himself was 
 a strange figure. His head and cheeks and chin all over- 
 grown with hair, like a wild man of the woods : and his 
 dress more splendid than the drum-major of one of our 
 Guards' bands on a birth-day. 
 
 The contrast had a singular effect. The uniform was 
 blue, but almost concealed, and could have stood alone 
 with gold embroidery. Every seam, edge, and button, 
 before and behind, above and below, was gallone with a 
 sort of oak-leaf pattern about three inches wide, and on 
 his breast were two gold and silver stars, as large as our 
 Garter star, and several small orders of different kinds. 
 He would have been rather a good-looking man if dressed 
 in a more moderate style. Lord Wellington and several 
 of his Generals, being in their plain uniforms, made the 
 French General's extravagance the more striking. 
 
 Soult's aide-de-camp also came in, and a guard was 
 ready, and an hotel for him, but he did not appear. Ge- 
 nerals Lamarque, Clausel, Villette, and three or four 
 more, and a number of embroidered Payeurs and Com- 
 missaires Generaux, Prefets, &c., increased the general 
 glitter ; but nothing looked better than our scarlet. The 
 Prince and Suchet had much conversation, and seemed 
 more easy and gay than I had seen the former before with 
 any of his new friends. 
 
 Scarcely any Frenchman has worn the Spanish or Por- 
 tuguese cockade ; and amidst all the cries you never hear 
 a viva for either Spaniards or Portuguese. They are in 
 consequence very angry and sulky, and I think a little 
 jealous of us. This you may well imagine, when you 
 learn that they all along consider that they have accom- 
 plished all that has happened, and that we have assisted 
 
LORD WELLINGTON SECOND FIDDLE. 511 
 
 a little certainly, but that they could have done without 
 us. Except those about Lord Wellington, who do it 
 more out of compliment to him, the Spaniards in general, 
 and a great number of the Portuguese, will not in conse- 
 quence wear the white cockade. 
 
 I see no harm in this, for as we fought a whole cen- 
 tury to prevent the two kingdoms of France and Spain 
 from being both under the Bourbons, it is quite as well 
 now that it happens to be our interest to fight for the 
 contrary doctrine, that there should be as little cordiality 
 between them as possible. A Spanish soldier was told 
 the other day in the street to cry " Vive le Roi ! Vivent 
 les Bourbons r He made no answer. The request was 
 repeated, and he was asked why he made a difficulty. 
 He was still silent at first, but then rapped out a favourite 
 Spanish oath, then " Viva Fernando VII. ! Viva Lord 
 Wellington ! Los Espanoles care for nothing more ;" 
 and nothing more would he say. 
 
 It is remarkable enough, but the fact is that Lord 
 Wellington is very popular with the common Spanish 
 soldiers, I am told, and with the country people ; but 
 with the generality of officers, regimental in particular, 
 and with the highest classes in Spain, it is rather the re- 
 verse. 
 
 It is curious now to see Lord Wellington play the 
 second fiddle, having been so long established leader. It 
 will serve to break him in by degrees for England and 
 peace. He carries it off very well. Most of our Lieu- 
 tenant-generals are gone to Paris, or going, and many 
 other officers. I suppose it will be best for me to remain 
 with the army to the last, or at least as long as Lord 
 Wellington remains, and then go straight to London and 
 report my arrival. 
 
 At the Capitolium on Thursday, young B , with 
 
 whom I was talking, as we were very hot and tired, per- 
 suaded me to sit down with him on the bottom step of 
 
512 TOULOUSE CANNON-FOUNDRY. 
 
 the vacant throne. The Prince and all the grandees 
 were then in another room, but we were soon routed up 
 by the garde urbaine sentinel, to the mortification and 
 vexation of my young honourable companion at not being 
 allowed at Toulouse what he was entitled to in the House 
 of Lords in England. He is well ; and dancing away 
 cotillions, waltzes, &c. 
 
 Later. We have just had an arrival, and Lord Wel- 
 lington quits this place for Paris immediately : I hope, 
 however, that he will return shortly, as he now intends 
 to do. We all here said that matters would never be 
 well arranged at Paris without him, and that he would 
 go at last. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Toulouse, May 2nd, 1814. Having 
 thanked you for your letter of the 12th of April, and 
 papers to the same date, I must proceed on my old 
 subject, Toulouse, and its sights and curiosities, regretting 
 on your account, as well as my own, that they are not 
 more interesting. 
 
 The great cannon-foundry here was formerly one of 
 the most prominent, but it has now ceased to work for 
 nearly three or four years. How or why this could 
 happen, when military works and manufactures seemed 
 alone to flourish in France during that period, I cannot 
 say. The fact is, everything remains in a state as if the 
 workmen were only all gone away to dinner, but in 
 silent desolation, like a scene in Herculaneum, or 
 Southey's town under water. Unfinished moulds, guns, 
 &c., and tools are lying about in all directions. To show 
 how much the whole has been neglected, even Egalite 
 has been suffered to remain on one entrance pillar, 
 Liberte on the other, and the word Imperial in the 
 middle. The fleur-de-lys will, I suppose, find its way 
 there soon by some accident. 
 
 Suchet now commands both armies here. He told 
 the Duke d'Angouleme that he had sixteen thousand 
 
PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 513 
 
 men of his own army at his service. This hero, to whom 
 the day of the month, yesterday (May-day), reminded 
 me of a much nearer resemblance than the drum-major, 
 has left us, and is off to his troops. 
 
 There are two public libraries here, in which I have 
 spent the better part of a morning each, one containing 
 about thirty thousand volumes, the other about twenty- 
 five thousand. The former has too large a proportion of 
 ecclesiastical learning ; but they both contain some good 
 editions of classics and good historians, annals, &c., 
 particularly the smaller library. They are old episcopal 
 and private foundations, and have neither gained nor 
 lost much by the Eevolution, which is rather extraordi- 
 nary. There seems to have been no very valuable early 
 editions or manuscripts nothing very much worth 
 plundering ; and they say they were too conscientious to 
 take advantage of the times, and enrich themselves by 
 plunder. The arrangement of the books is not bad. 
 Firstly, good polyglot and other Bibles of all kinds ; then 
 commentaries on sacred history, &c. ; then history in 
 general ; then laws of nations, &c ; then laws in general, 
 essays, &c. ; then French voyages, arts, sciences, classics, 
 and belles lettres. There is an atlas of the Grand Canal 
 and its vicinity on an immense scale, which might have 
 been important had we proceeded, though I think no 
 other stand would have been made until after we had 
 gone beyond the limits of the canal, and after a junction 
 of Soult with Suchet at Narbonne. Amongst the books 
 pointed out as of the most interest, were Eacine's Greek 
 editions of Euripides and ^Eschylus, containing his name 
 and several notes in his own handwriting, a remarkably 
 neat hand. The editions were Stephens' and Stanley's. 
 The notes were either short free translations of passages 
 and sentiments, or memoranda to call attention to par- 
 ticular passages for future use and application, or they 
 were short remarks of approbation or disapprobation of 
 
 2 L 
 
5J4 DESCRIPTION OF TOULOUSE. 
 
 scenes, passages, &c. I copied out nearly the whole, not 
 being very long, and I now enclose them. Will you 
 oblige me by putting them into my Euripides or some- 
 where, to be preserved. 
 
 Several of the private houses here of the merchants 
 and nobles are on a very large scale, and contain very 
 spacious suites of rooms round the court-yard. The 
 architecture is, in general, very moderate. Most of the 
 mansions have only the merit of extent ; and one or two 
 which have an attempt at more are in bad taste. The 
 one most remarkable is particularly so. It has an 
 immense heavy stone cornice, out of all proportion, and 
 the capitals of all the pillars are a species of false Corin- 
 thian, or rather, Composite, with the upper ornaments, 
 spread eagles, in most barbarous taste, and in the place 
 of the most beautiful part of the true pillars of the Com- 
 posite order. 
 
 Toulouse appears to have been for a very considerable 
 time nearly stationary in size. There is not, as in some 
 of our country towns, and in some of those in France, 
 the new town as well as the old. The old brick walls, 
 with occasional towers, remain entire almost all round, 
 and still form nearly the city boundary, for there is 
 scarcely any suburbs without the walls. At several of 
 the entrances within there seems to have been some 
 vacant spaces, and in two or three places an ornamental 
 sort of crescent or square has been commenced, one 
 lately, but the others before the Ee volution. They are 
 all unfinished. In general, however, all within the city 
 walls is covered with building of some sort or another. 
 
 The splendid fagade of the Capitolium was raised 
 before the Ee volution. Henry IV. commenced the work, 
 it is said, and his statue remains there. A very small 
 beginning has been made towards stone faqades on one 
 of the other sides of the Grande Place of the Capital, but 
 in 'general the old shabby buildings still remain, and 
 seem likely to do so, for some time to come. 
 
VISIT TO THE COURT OP APPEAL. 515 
 
 May Brd. Our Prince is gone to review his new army 
 under Suchet, and leaves us quiet. Every day carries 
 off some of our higher officers, and we all expect to move 
 the instant Lord Wellington returns, if not before. To- 
 morrow, if possible, I go with a party and passport to see 
 the great basin de Feriol, the main feeder of the Grand 
 Canal. It is the sight of this country, and therefore, 
 though expecting to be disappointed, I have agreed to 
 join Dr. Macgregor and a party to-morrow, and return 
 the next day. It is near Eevel, about thirty -two miles 
 off. 
 
 I yesterday attended the Court of Appeal here for the 
 four departments around Aude, Tarn, Lot and Graronne, 
 and Arriege. There were ten judges present : there exist, 
 and may be present, as many as sixteen, and a quorum of 
 seven is necessary to form a Court. There were, besides 
 iheProcureur- General and Advocat- General, about twenty- 
 five barristers in gowns, nearly like ours, but with bonnets 
 instead of wigs. They were dirty, and mostly old, and 
 looked precisely like a set of provincial barristers in Eng- 
 land. The same habits make the manners and appear- 
 ance so similar in nations nearly equally civilized, that, 
 until the language betrayed the difference, I could have 
 fancied myself in England again. 
 
 The subject in dispute was half an acre of vineyard, 
 and it turned on the construction of a confused legacy in 
 a will of an old gentleman. The eagerness with which 
 the contest was maintained reminded me of a Court of 
 Quarter Sessions in England, all talking at once, and 
 with abundance of noise and action, especially just as the 
 ten judges, like our juries, had laid their heads together 
 to consider, and whilst le Procureur- General was sum- 
 ming up the law and argument previously to the Court. 
 Either the lawyers and judges must be starving, or the 
 judicial establishment must be very expensive in France 
 now. 
 
 2 L 2 
 
516 VISIT TO ST. FERIOL. 
 
 There are, besides this Court, others of Premiere In 
 stance in each department, and in four departments you 
 have more judges than in England. Unless some changes 
 are made, the French, in my opinion, will find their whole 
 government, which is calculated for a larger empire, in 
 every way much too expensive. This will prevent any 
 great reduction of ordinary taxation. The King and his 
 court to be paid ; the senate ; all the marshals and grand 
 dignitaries, the prefets, &c. Each department now has a 
 salary to pay its prefet nearly as large as that of an in- 
 tendant of a whole province before the Revolution. The 
 King will find abundance of patronage, if this goes on ; 
 but a great part of the national income will be consumed 
 in the management and support of the different species of 
 rulers. One advantage in this, it is to be hoped, will be 
 to keep France more quiet in future, as I have otherwise 
 little faith in the present temper of this changeable race. 
 
 May 7, 1814. Post-day. At five o'clock on Wed- 
 nesday morning I went to Dr. Macgregor's to breakfast, 
 preparatory to our expedition to St. Feriol, having ob- 
 tained our leave and a passport for that purpose. Our 
 
 party consisted of Dr. H , Colonel Gr , and P , 
 
 General H , and Mr. J , and Mrs. J . On 
 
 account of the latter, who was in an interesting condi- 
 tion, we set out on the canal road towards Castelnaudary, 
 that she might go in the boat. We rode along the tow- 
 ing-path very pleasantly for about twenty miles. Find- 
 ing that Castlenaudary would be so much out of the way, 
 we then left the canal and rode across through Villefranche 
 and St. Felix to Eevel, about twenty-two miles further. 
 This water scheme delayed us much, so that we did not 
 reach Eevel until seven or eight at night, and it also 
 lengthened our ride considerably. 
 
 The ordinary dinner at twelve, at the lock-house, was 
 however, entertaining, and partly made up for this ; but, 
 in truth, ladies should learn on these occasions, when in 
 
COLLEGE AT SOREGE. 517 
 
 such a state, to stay at home. We expected a malheur 
 every hour, she was so fatigued. 
 
 On Thursday morning, after breakfast, we went three 
 miles to Sorege, to see the great college or school estab- 
 lishment there, which is about three miles from Eevel. 
 It was formerly attached to a convent, and a sort of 
 Government military establishment. At the Revolution 
 the buildings were sold, and the present director and his 
 brother, who was one of the professors of the old estab- 
 lishment, bought the whole, and undertook to continue, 
 and, as they say, to improve the plan as a private specu- 
 tion. There are now about three hundred boys, from 
 eight to nineteen, or even twenty-one years old. On the 
 present arrangement, four hundred and forty is the limit. 
 The number, it is said, once amounted to nearly six or 
 seven hundred. There are now about thirty Protestant 
 boys. The rest are Catholics. Most of the Spanish 
 boys, once very numerous, left the school during the late 
 war. This peace, it is supposed, will bring them back, 
 even in greater numbers. English boys are also expected 
 to come again, as formerly. 
 
 The building is very spacious, and is prettily situated, 
 under the side of a mountainous tract of country, at the 
 head of a valley. The accommodation is very ample, and 
 the order and arrangement very great ; though, in my 
 opinion, it is less cleanly than the college at Aire. The 
 studies are more varied ; and the whole is complete in 
 itself; for there is a priest, a doctor, an Italian professor 
 of mineralogy, anatomy, a riding-master, and teachers of 
 all kinds. The regular studies for all the boys are 
 French, Latin, a little Greek, mathematics to some ex- 
 tent, dancing, swimming, drawing from models and casts, 
 perspective, drawing from anatomical study, fortification, 
 &c. ; and for the upper boys, riding for which purpose 
 about sixteen horses are at the disposal of the riding- 
 master. In addition to this, every boy has his own bed- 
 
518 COLLEGE AT SOREGE. 
 
 stead of iron ; and all tlie two upper classes of the three 
 into which the whole school is divided have separate 
 places to sleep in. Every boy, at a certain time, either 
 follows in his studies the choice of his parents, or his 
 own inclination, and may learn Italian, German, English, 
 Spanish, or any musical instrument ; even the pianoforte. 
 The drawing-school is hung round with the approved 
 productions of the boys, and is spacious, and so is the 
 riding-school. There is also a theatre, regularly fitted 
 up, in which the boys recite, and act plays and perform 
 concerts; asking the neighbours to come and form an 
 audience. The establishment also contains a small bo- 
 tanical garden, a tolerable collection of mineralogy, and a 
 piece of water for the purpose of swimming. The boys 
 were all in uniform, and looked healthy and well. As 
 they come from all quarters, it is usual to leave them 
 there all the year round, and this is rather expected and 
 desired. They come clothed at first, but afterwards 
 everything is found them, and the parents have nothing 
 to do but to pay mille francs, about 45. or 50Z., annually, 
 and no bills or extras of any kind are ever sent or charged, 
 whatever may be learnt by the boys : this is rather dearer 
 than at Aire or St. Sever, I believe, but not much, when 
 all circumstances are considered. 
 
 We found the schoolmasters consequential and prosy, 
 as they usually are with us. The Italian, who was more 
 particularly so, was formerly the professor who managed 
 the Grand Duke of Tuscany's collection. This education 
 would, I think, suit many an orphan or natural son des- 
 tined for the English army, and with small means. He 
 would join his regiment at eighteen, with much more 
 useful knowledge than could be obtained for the same 
 money in England, as to languages, &c., and much infor- 
 mation useful to a military man. He would also come 
 away, with at least one or two accomplishments probably, 
 by which he might amuse himself in country-quarters, 
 
COPPER-FOUNDRIES. 519 
 
 and be kept out of mischief. It might also answer for 
 mercantile men, merchants, clerks, &c., though, perhaps, 
 some of these pursuits would only make them idle. Most 
 of the boys are destined for merchants or soldiers, I 
 understood. For other professions, probably, we have 
 as good, or better, and as cheap an education in York- 
 shire, and other places in England. This sort of educa- 
 tion accounts for the general distribution of a certain 
 extent of acquirement which we see amongst the French 
 officers, and for the advantages they possess as to the 
 power of self-amusement. When prisoners of war, they 
 have a smattering of drawing, dancing, singing, music, 
 acting, &c. 
 
 We then went to the basin of St. Feriol. On our way 
 I rode up a valley to see some foundries of copper, which 
 were much talked of ; only one of a number was at work, 
 as times were so bad. I found the copper was Swedish, 
 and only worked there on account of the facilities of 
 wood and water to work the bellows and anvil. The 
 work in which the men were then engaged, was making 
 saucepans and pots, and stewing-pans for the Toulouse 
 ships, and on a very small scale. I always like to ascer- 
 tain that there is nothing to see when a sight is talked 
 of. We went then over the hill to the basin. 
 
 The extent of this basin rather surprised me ; but 
 though it was almost exactly what I expected to find it, 
 I was very glad to have seen it. The shape of the 
 ground, and course of the stream, were particularly fortu- 
 nate and well adapted to the plan, and the great dam or 
 dyke, which pens back the water, so as to form a small 
 lake, in depth, near the wall, from fifty to sixty feet, is a 
 noble work. It consists of three main walls, well ter- 
 rassed or puddled between each, and with two large 
 arched vaults, one quite at the bottom, covering the 
 natural bed of the river ; the other higher up, and 
 leading to the robinets or great cocks, which let out the 
 
520 BASIN OF ST. FERIOL. 
 
 water as required. The river coining down the valley 
 fills the basin, not being able to find its vent, and there- 
 fore spreading over the ground, and filling all the hol- 
 lows up to the dam wall, which is about sixty feet high. 
 The banks, except the natural dam, are the natural shape 
 of the ground, and there is no excavation at all. When 
 full, the water as required is let out by a hatch, and so 
 runs by into the stream, which conducts it, after about 
 ten miles' circuit, to the highest point of the canal, 
 whence the locks descend both ways to Toulouse, and to 
 the Mediterranean. It then supplies both. When the 
 basin is low, the next opening is a sort of hatch or flood- 
 gate, lower down in the wall ; when lower still, the water 
 is let off by three great robinets or cocks at the end of the 
 voute, about thirty feet or so below the surface. When 
 these are opened, the rushing of the water makes a tre- 
 mendous noise, at a distance like that of thunder. When 
 it is required to empty or clean the basin, the river is 
 turned off, and the contents of the basin empty them- 
 selves in the original bed of the stream : the contents of 
 the basin are, in my opinion, six millions of tons of water. 
 There is another smaller basin, about ten miles higher 
 up, in the mountains, and another near the canal, whence 
 the stream enters it. 
 
 The whole seems well managed. The canal itself is 
 kept in great order, like our New Eiver, the bands trim- 
 med, &c. ; and in width it exceeds even our Eoyal Canal 
 in Ireland, probably by several yards. 
 
 With much delay and difficulty, we got Mrs. J 
 
 through these sights, after much unnecessary alarm and 
 fright in the vaults. We returned about five to dinner 
 at Eevel, where we slept again yesterday. We had a hot 
 ride home through Caraman and Lentar, about thirty- 
 two miles. The country round the canal and in the 
 bottoms is rich and fertile, but it contains little wood. It 
 is like some of our Somersetshire and Dorsetshire valleys, 
 
A FRENCH LADY. 521 
 
 but more covered with villas and chateaux, and villages. 
 The road back, by Caraman, is through a much poorer 
 country, but also like the higher bad parts of Somerset- 
 shire, and that neighbourhood such as near Chard and 
 the hills round Bath. 
 
 The villages seem in a state of decay, and the inhabi- 
 tants poor, but the country upon the whole is in much 
 better condition, in point of cultivation and appearance, 
 than one could suppose after what has passed in the last 
 twenty years. In one or two out-of-the-way places we 
 were stared at, and followed like monsters or sights, but 
 were everywhere well received by the people. At Sorege 
 some French cavalry was quartered ; but they were 
 nearly all gone to the grand review before the Duke 
 d'Angouleme. I should like to have been there also ; 
 but we understood it would not be liked, and that the 
 Duke was to go without English altogether : this was 
 quite right. I am told that the review went off well, 
 and that Soult himself set a good example. 
 
 It is strange to think of our carrying off Bonaparte 
 in a frigate ; and his conversation with Augereau is 
 curious after the address of the latter to his men. King 
 Joseph is gone off and escaped ; but no one need be much 
 afraid of him now. 
 
 The style of nearly all the French chateaux is similar ; 
 all front and appearance. 
 
 On my return yesterday I dined with Mr. B and 
 
 his French hosts, for I scarcely know whose dinner it 
 was ; I believe a joint effort. The wines were the 
 patron's, and very good. He is a man of fortune, a 
 
 Monsieur de T , and speaks English tolerably. The 
 
 wife is a pleasing woman, and rather good-looking and 
 young. They were very civil, and she sang and played 
 in the evening very fairly. At least she had much exe- 
 cution and dash, if not feeling, in her playing. Like 
 most of our young female players, she left out all the 
 andantes and slow passages. 
 
522 INDICATIONS OF CHANGE. 
 
 The furniture of the two or three rooms in which she 
 lived was very splendid. Handsome carpets were alone 
 wanting to make her own room in particular an elegant 
 fine lady's drawing-room in England. In some respects, 
 particularly as to the gilding, there was "both more show 
 and taste than generally are seen with us. The piano- 
 forte was particularly handsome; it was hy Erard of 
 Paris, and, though only a small one, cost a hundred louis 
 d'or. The whole content of her room cost, it is said, a 
 thousand louis d'or. 
 
 In the variety and materials of the ladies' dresses here, 
 there seems to be also a very considerable degree of 
 luxury more perhaps than with us. 
 
 We are now very dull, and as the Prince is still absent, 
 do not even hear the " Vive le Roil" or " Vivent ks 
 Bourbons /" &c., as usual. I was much amused yesterday 
 at seeing pasted up at a country inn, a halfpenny print 
 of the royal Duke <T Angouleme in his best, on horseback, 
 and surrounded by a copy of most loyal verses singing 
 his praises and those of the Bourbons, and the English, 
 in the measure, and going to the music of the famous 
 Marseillais hymn; in short, a sort of parody of that 
 song, beginning " Allans enfans de la Garonne," &c. 
 What changes ! 
 
TOULOUSE. 523 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Toulouse Mr. Macarthy's Library The Marquess of Buckingham 
 General Hope Wellington's Dukedom The Theatre A Romantic 
 Story Feeling towards the English The Duke on the Russian Cavalry. 
 
 Head-Quarters, Toulouse, 
 May 11, 1814. 
 
 MY DEAR M . 
 
 THE very small number of sights which this town 
 affords being exhausted, and Lord Wellington being still 
 absent, we are in truth more dull than we should be in a 
 country town in England. The only interesting subject 
 of conversation now is, who goes to America, and who 
 does not ? Some of the regiments move to-day towards 
 Bordeaux from hence for the purpose of embarking upon 
 this new expedition, which I should think would all end 
 in a mere demonstration. Lord Wellington is expected 
 here to-morrow, and we shall then know what is to 
 happen ; and head-quarters will, I conclude, move imme- 
 diately. 
 
 I have heard nothing since my last, and seen but one 
 thing worth mentioning, and that is, Mr. Macarthy's 
 library, which the old father and grandfather have been 
 sixty years collecting, and which is now to be sold on the 
 father's death for the benefit of the widow and nine 
 children. This is the library for which the Duke of 
 Devonshire offered 25,000. sterling as it stands ; but the 
 bargain was never closed, as he wished the whole to be 
 embarked at the risk of the owner, and they wanted to 
 
524 THE MARQUESS OF BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 have the money for it as it stands here, to be moved by 
 the purchaser. The owner now talks of sending it to 
 Paris, and having a public sale there by auction, thinking 
 that emperors and kings will then bid against the Duke 
 of Devonshire, Earl Spencer, and others of our book- 
 loving nobles. 
 
 It contains a considerable number of fine copies of 
 " Principes editiones," filling one side of a large room all 
 upon vellum. There is also Cardinal Ximenes' polyglot 
 edition of the Bible; his own copy the only one on 
 vellum ; and a number of valuable books and some fine 
 MSS. Amongst the rest is the first printed edition of 
 the Psalms in 1457, of which we are told the only other 
 perfect copy is in our king's (George the Third's) library ; 
 that Lord Spencer had only an imperfect copy, and that 
 twelve thousand francs had been already offered for this 
 one volume ! So the world goes ! This sum would fur- 
 nish a handsome set of all the best French authors, and 
 amusement for life ; but many, you find, prefer a single 
 black-letter volume, which one must go to school again to 
 learn to read, and which, indeed, looks like a child's great 
 black-letter spelling book, or the books among the giant 
 friends of Gulliver. A single page as a specimen would be 
 as good to me as the whole, and thus five hundred curiosos 
 would be gratified for a few guineas a-head; or a lottery 
 would be still better fifty pages for the highest prize, 
 and a few lines for every one ; no blanks ! There would 
 be another advantage in this, that it would be employ- 
 ment for some worthy collector for half his life to re- 
 assemble all the parts and put the book together 
 again. 
 
 The Marquess of Buckingham has been here, and is 
 now going to Tarbes and Barege, and then returns to see 
 our great man. We hear the latter was at the review at 
 Paris in his blue coat and round hat. This is quite like 
 him, and upon a good principle ; the marshals, the public 
 
GENERAL HOPE. 525 
 
 functionaries, the kings and the emperors, would have 
 outdone anything he could have put on except this. 
 
 I am sorry not to have returned from Eevel through 
 Castelnaudry. Some of the officers did so, and by that 
 means fell in with a division of the French army. The 
 French officers were very civil, but told the same story 
 " If the Emperor had not deserted us, we never would 
 have deserted him ; and the men are of the same opinion ; 
 but as it was, there was nothing else to be done." 
 
 Colonels B and C went over to the second 
 
 review at Montauban, where the Duke d'Angouleme 
 reviewed Count Keille's corps two divisions. If I had 
 known this had been permitted, I should have been very 
 curious to be of the party. The men, it is said, were 
 well equipped and in high order. The officers in general 
 looked very shabby and unlike gentlemen. 
 
 Souchet was smiling and in high good humour, and 
 very fine as he was here. Soult was only to be distin- 
 guished by a most enormous hat, and by a surly look, 
 which is described as unpleasantly penetrating, and more 
 bespeaking talent than amiability. He took little notice 
 of the English officers, but the aides-de-camp and staff 
 officers, both belonging to Soult and to the other Gene- 
 rals, did so when they learnt who they were, and appeared 
 very earnest in their attentions and civilities. They 
 went there in a carriage, but were splendidly mounted 
 
 immediately; Colonel on Count Erlar's led and 
 
 caparisoned charger. 
 
 Thursday, l%th. Lord Wellington not having yet re- 
 turned, and of course nothing positive being known as to 
 our destination, we have only those passing reports which 
 the military men call " shaves." 
 
 General Hope is, I fear, likely to suffer long from his 
 wounds. He has astonished the Grenerals at Bayonne by 
 making three of them presents each of an English horse 
 out of his stud. It is an odd circumstance, but I believe 
 
526 GENERAL HOPE. 
 
 true, that the sort of notice we had of an intended sortie 
 by the enemy at Bayonne, which was given by a deserter 
 just before it took place, only did us mischief. The out- 
 picquets were doubled, and as no picquets could stand the 
 rush of four or five thousand men, we only lost so many 
 more prisoners by this. The men were alarmed with the 
 expectation of such an attack. The only fault spoken of 
 in this business was the abandonment of the church of 
 St. Etienne, which might and ought to have been main- 
 tained. The fifth division were but just on duty there, 
 and scarcely knew their posts. General Hay met the 
 men running back from it, and was stopping and leading 
 them on again, telling them he would show them how to 
 defend the church, when he was killed. Some of the 
 muskets of our men were found there, broken by the 
 French, and thrown away unfired. An English officer, 
 with about twenty men, maintained himself in a house 
 near the church the whole time, though it was much less 
 defensible than the church. 
 
 Our position there, close under the works, it is said, 
 was liable to such a sortie every night, and some well- 
 informed persons wonder it did not take place sooner. 
 General Hope's eager courage led him into a situation 
 where, I am told, no one could under ordinary circum- 
 stances remain the shortest time without almost a 
 certainty of destruction. Even as it was, it is said that 
 a party of Guards ought to have carried him off, as at 
 first only four Frenchmen were near him when his horse 
 fell, and the Guards then were close by. The French 
 had made the outworks of the citadel very strong ; they 
 must have been stormed first, which would have cost us 
 about twelve or fifteen thousand men. It would then 
 have taken sixteen days to establish batteries on the crest 
 of the glacis, the only possible way of breaching the 
 citadel. The garrison, who are now excessively bold, and 
 who have demanded rations for nineteen thousand two 
 
SORTIE AT BAYONNE. 527 
 
 hundred men, say they should have even then stood a 
 storming twice in the citadel, and again in the town at 
 last. 
 
 Making all due allowance for this gasconading, it is 
 quite as well to have been saved the necessity of taking 
 Bayonne. It would have taken all our transports about 
 sixteen days to bring up materials for four days' open 
 trenches from Passages by land, and we must then, for 
 the remainder of the time, have trusted to the uncertainty 
 of the water communication. The object of the French 
 sortie was supposed to be the destruction of our three 
 stores of fascines and gabions, &c., which we had been 
 six weeks and more cutting, collecting, and forming, and 
 for which purpose we had stripped the environs for near 
 five miles round the town. In that respect we were 
 quite prepared for the whole siege, and it is remarkable 
 enough that we remained nearly all that time sufficiently 
 near the French works to form the first parallel, and that 
 without making works to protect ourselves, because doing 
 so would only have drawn down a fire which no works 
 could have enabled us to live under, and there was nothing 
 to be done but to remain as quiet as possible until the 
 siege began. Had we withdrawn at all, the French 
 having seen the importance of the ground, which we got 
 as it were almost by accident, would have made it neces- 
 sary to begin the siege by the storming of the works 
 they would soon have made there. Thus we were obliged 
 to keep what we had got, unless resolved to turn the 
 whole into blockade. The French engineers admire our 
 bridge very much, and say it will figure in military his- 
 tory ; but their officers in general in Bayonne have 
 hitherto been very sulky, and we are yet by no means 
 friends. Very little accommodation is afforded us in 
 any way. 
 
 We are infinitely obliged to Bonaparte for having 
 lost his head, and blundered as he did latterly, and 
 
528 WELLINGTON'S DUKEDOM. 
 
 suffered the Allies to enter Paris, and pat an end to the 
 war. Had he succeeded at Paris, or had Soult and 
 Suchet united succeeded against us here, near the shores 
 of the Mediterranean, where our next conflict would have 
 been, you would have found, when a retreat became 
 necessary, and that the French saw that way out of their 
 difficulties, instead of a return to royalty, that we should 
 have had the other party, and that a strong one, upper- 
 most, and a cry the other way, with parties in our rear. 
 Thinking, as we do, the French army, and a great part 
 of the French nation, quite as much responsible and to 
 blame as Bonaparte, for a considerable portion of the 
 misery caused by France (for to effect this they were his 
 willing agents so long as it was out of France, and only 
 deserted him when he was in distress, and because his 
 good fortune had left him, and by no means from prin- 
 ciple) thinking this, their excess of loyalty only disgusts 
 us. Of course we are glad to promote it, but must 
 despise the majority of the Bourbon shouters a few 
 honourable individuals, and a small party, of course, 
 excepted. 
 
 Friday, \th May. Lord Wellington not yet re- 
 turned, and the late very warm weather turned to a 
 steady rain. The Paris papers of the 8th, received this 
 morning, make Lord Wellington ambassador in France, 
 and a Duke. 
 
 I was last night at the play to see La Seine de Gol- 
 conde, an opera, with some pretty music. I mention this 
 merely on account of a curious circumstance attending it. 
 A French General, according to the story, fights for the 
 deposed Queen and restores her. The troops of this 
 French General and liberator were a part of the grenadier 
 company of our Scotch sans culottes here in their own 
 costume ; and as they marched past, commanded and 
 headed by the French General in the full costume of a 
 general officer of Bonaparte's army, the house imme- 
 
BALL AT THE PREFECTURE. 529 
 
 diately applauded the English heroes. The sensations of 
 the French officers present must have been strange, and 
 not very agreeable. These Scotchmen are considered by 
 all the inhabitants (particularly of the town) as having 
 had the principal share in their defeats in sight of the 
 town. The mutes, bearers, and others in the procession 
 were all English soldiers. 
 
 "We have had no disturbances or quarrels here, and 
 our officers seem all to have behaved with considerable 
 propriety ; in short, the inhabitants dread our departure, 
 and the return of their own people. They say that all 
 order ceases, and all security, the moment our side of the 
 line of demarcation is passed. One furious old gentleman 
 at the cafe this morning said publicly, that he thought 
 the only regret was, that the war had not lasted three 
 months longer, to destroy the remainder of the French 
 brigands ; and that as for Soult, he should have been sent 
 in here, that the women might cut pieces out of his flesh 
 with their scissors, and that he might afterwards have 
 been executed publicly for his conduct to this city. 
 
 Saturday, Post-day. Lord Wellington returned in 
 the middle of the night, and, having had a cold, that and 
 the effects of his journey make him look rather thin. 
 He has been so taken up with business that I only saw 
 him for a moment. Report says that he leaves us again 
 in a day or two. I shall, if possible, ask leave, on our 
 arrival at Bordeaux, to be independent, and find my own 
 way home : yet I believe it would be best to go home 
 with the army. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Toulouse, May 21, 1814. Immediately 
 after my last, Lord Wellington left us for Madrid. 
 Nearly every one has quitted the army ; I mean the 
 great men, generals, &c. We are reduced to a few quiet 
 parties and have no events to observe upon, and see no 
 strangers to write about ; everything is tame and stupid ? 
 and the weather growing hot makes us languid and idle. 
 
 2 M 
 
530 AMERICAN EXPEDITION. 
 
 Lord Wellington, on his return here, was absolutely 
 overwhelmed with business, and every department was at 
 work in a sort of confusion and hurry that has never 
 happened before. 
 
 On Sunday, the Duke gave a splendid ball and supper 
 at the Prefet's or Palais Royal, where everything went 
 off much as usual. The ladies dressed well, and danced 
 admirably ; and the supper was not a matter of mere form 
 with them. Their early dinners, and their greater 
 exertion in dancing, make them certainly more voracious 
 than our fair ones. 
 
 On Monday, the Marquess of Buckingham returned, 
 and was introduced to his new cousin of Wellington. 
 The latter seemed, I understand, not a little surprised at 
 being embraced and saluted on the cheek by his new 
 relative. He had not been in the habit of receiving 
 those embraces a la mode Franqaise, and, I take it, 
 prefers very much the kind attentions of the fair ones 
 here, with whom he is an universal favourite. 
 
 On Monday the Marquess of Buckingham dined with 
 him, as well as a large party of French and English. I 
 was of the number, and we all went to a concert of very 
 moderate music in the evening at the Capitolium. The 
 Duke at eight the next morning was off for Madrid. He 
 intends to rejoin us at Bordeaux, and then to return 
 through Paris, and to be in London about the 10th of 
 June. This is a great deal too much, and I think 
 almost impossible. These exertions make him look thin 
 and rather worn ; but he was very gay, and in excellent 
 spirits whilst here. 
 
 The American party was all settled by him finally, and 
 is all on the road to Bordeaux, or now there. It will be 
 of about nine or ten thousand men, I should think, and 
 strong in artillery. Our faithful six 18-pounders, which 
 have marched all the way from Lisbon since this day 
 twelvemonth ! on roads which .never have, I think, or 
 
MILITARY ARRANGEMENTS. 531 
 
 will see such animals again, were embarked yesterday on 
 the Garonne, for Bordeaux, to be of the party ; and their 
 little grand- children, the mountain guns, go also. At 
 first the expedition was by no means popular, but is now 
 tolerably so, and the staff appointments have been of 
 course much in request. Lord Fitzroy Somerset, who is 
 the great manager of all this, and prime minister, has 
 been very busy, and we have all the intrigues of a little 
 court in miniature. Those who have been long here on 
 the staff, and with high brevet rank, will feel much a 
 return to their regimental duty and rank,* and still more 
 if their fate be half-pay ? I hear of nothing except all 
 this, and the schemes to get provided for. The regi- 
 mental officers are those who like this new expedition the 
 least. 
 
 On seeing the Duke of Wellington the last time, I 
 said, I concluded he would wish me to go down to Bor- 
 deaux with the army. He answered, " Oh, yes, you had 
 better." We are already almost without Generals. We 
 shall remain here, it is said, some days yet. The orders, 
 however, are all given for our movement as soon after we 
 receive official news of the garrison of Figueras having 
 marched for France as possible. In the mean time all 
 wounded, &c., are moving now. The cavalry also are to 
 set out on their way overland to England as soon as the 
 French Government have finally agreed to that arrange- 
 ment. I should not at all dislike to march with this 
 party. The Portuguese troops remain with the British 
 until the Commissaries can part entirely with the mule 
 transport. They then separate, taking all the mules and 
 muleteers with them attached to different regiments for 
 rations, &c., and set out through Spain for Portugal, a 
 good three months' trip, the weather growing warmer and 
 warmer all the way, to the great enjoyment, I conclude, 
 of the natives. At Almeida the muleteers have been 
 promised to be paid all their arrears. 
 
 2 M 2 
 
532 MILITARY ARRANGEMENTS. 
 
 The British from hence are to encamp near Bordeaux, 
 ready to be off as transports arrive. The Spaniards move 
 out of France the first of all, at the signal of Figueras, to 
 the joy of all parties. The Guards and troops at Bayonne 
 are likely to be the last, for they are to remain until all 
 stores, wounded, &c., are clear out of the Adour and St. 
 Jean de Luz, &c. The people here will be very sorry to 
 lose us, partly from the loss of the money spent here, and 
 partly from their dread of those who will succeed us 
 their own countrymen. 
 
 I understand General Clausel was the only one of the 
 French here who admitted the truth that they were fairly 
 beaten into taking their King. The others feel it, but 
 will not own it, and are very sulky in consequence ; and 
 in general not civil to our officers. Some of the French 
 gens-d'armes are expected on Monday in this town to do 
 duty, I believe, to levy taxes, &c. It is to be hoped that 
 this will not lead to quarrels with our men. 
 
 The continuance of the Droits reunis is very unpopular, 
 and, in my opinion, the effervescence of loyalty is some- 
 what subsiding already. We all expect disturbances also 
 in Spain. I hope the Duke will resign his command, 
 and have nothing to do with either party. It is said 
 even the armies are divided, and ours here (Frere's) is for 
 the Cortes. What with Spain, Ireland, Norway, Ame- 
 rica, and perhaps the interior of France, the world will 
 after all, it is feared, not be in that state of profound 
 peace which was generally expected. 
 
 Yesterday and to-day I have received letters from you 
 of the 3rd and 10th of May, and papers to the latter date, 
 which contain precisely the same news as those from 
 London through Paris. There seems to be nothing very 
 important either way. 
 
 I have just got the papers relating to a most extra- 
 ordinary story of a murder at Lisbon. It is a most 
 complete novel, and would be incredibly romantic as 
 
ROMANTIC STORY. 533 
 
 such. A Commissary named E - had an English girl 
 (a lady) who lived with him. Another Commissary 
 
 named S , his friend, had long been living in the 
 
 same house with him. After a time Mr. E con- 
 ceived that Mr. S - was undermining the affections of 
 the lady. He taxes her with it, she confesses, and says 
 
 she has promised to live with S , but swears nothing 
 
 improper had ever passed. Mr. E persuades her to 
 
 give up this scheme, stating how dishonourably S 
 had betrayed him, his friend. He then tells this friend 
 his discovery, and upbraids him. S - says that the 
 
 lady has been faithless to E , and is the betrayer. 
 
 E , in despair, is going to quit the house, the lady, 
 
 and the whole connexion ; but he previously repeats to 
 her what Mr. S - told him. She solemnly denies it, 
 and then goes out with S . I should have mentioned 
 that the three had just before this conversation ridden 
 out together without speaking, and sat together at dinner 
 without speaking or eating. The explanation between 
 
 E and the lady then took place, immediately after 
 
 which S and the lady went out of the house. Three 
 
 pistol-shots are heard. E goes into the garden, 
 
 finds his mistress shot dead. S - ran by him into the 
 house apparently wounded, his handkerchief to his head. 
 He forced his way to a table -drawer, took out a razor, 
 and cut his throat quite across. He still survived both 
 wounds when the account came away, and deliberately 
 confesses in writing that by the lady's desire, by their 
 joint consent and agreement, he was to kill both; her 
 first, and then himself. This he endeavoured to accom- 
 plish, but in vain as to himself. Mr. E declines 
 
 telling who the lady is, except in a court of justice, in 
 order to prevent unnecessary pain to her friends in 
 England. 
 
 I have been asked, "What is to be done?" and whe- 
 ther, if the delinquent is mad, I thought that he must 
 
534 RELIGION AND MANNERS. 
 
 be tried for the murder ? It surely was very unfortunate 
 that the poor man had not heen left in the hands of the 
 Portuguese surgeons and doctors, who pronounced him a 
 dead man, and his wounds incurable. The skill of an 
 English surgeon has unluckily enabled this unhappy being 
 to stand the chance of either being hung or confined for 
 life as a madman for the rest of his days. 
 
 The 22nd, Post-day. I send you, being dull myself, 
 a part of a Gazette de Prance, which paper I take in 
 regularly. Some part of the Franc parleur is well done. 
 The same feelings exist here in the army. Were I a 
 French officer I should feel in the same way. 
 
 "We have now rain, and the weather cooler again: 
 hitherto it has not been ever very unpleasantly hot, 
 though at times above our summer heat, and with rain 
 and without sun at 69. 
 
 You ask me in your last letter about religion and 
 manners here? The former seems again much what it 
 was before the Eevolution. The churches are in general 
 well attended, but principally (as the case is all over the 
 world, I believe,) by your sex in particular of all ages, by 
 the very old of both sexes, who go there to make their 
 peace ; and the very young who are taken there by their 
 older friends and relations. With regard to manners, the 
 old French memoirs would still, I think, apply very 
 tolerably to the description of their present state, except 
 that the same things are done and said with rather more 
 coarseness perhaps now than in old times. 
 
 Our cavalry have not moved yet, as the approval of the 
 French Government has not arrived. They are intended 
 to move in two columns, one up the Paris road, nearly 
 through Cahors, &c. ; the other more to the left, through 
 Angouleme, Poictiers, and to unite at a town on the Seine. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Toulouse, May 27th, 1814. My new 
 friends and acquaintance fall off daily around me, and 
 our party at head- quarters is continually on the decline. 
 
MONSIEUR CATELLAN. 535 
 
 I am not a little amused with the Toulouse paper of 
 yesterday. We, the English, have been for these last 
 six weeks praised to the skies, and treated as, and called 
 the deliverers of Toulouse city and its inhabitants. 
 Soult's troops are now expected in here in a few days, 
 and the gens-d'armes have actually arrived. The Toulouse 
 Gazette, therefore, exhorts the inhabitants to receive with 
 open arms and to feast, and entertain those brave troops, 
 whose courage and noble conduct they witnessed on the 
 hills, above this city, when fighting for the defence of 
 the inhabitants. They also assure the public, that the 
 statement in an early number of the Gazette, that 
 Marshal Soult owed the safety of his retreat to the cle- 
 mency of Lord Wellington, under whose guns 'the French 
 troops filed off, was all an error and mistake (as it certainly 
 was), and that the retreat was in fact as secure as the 
 defence of the heights was noble and courageous. Had 
 we had but about five thousand more men up, to cross the 
 canal at once, this might have been another story. The 
 Gazette should have waited until we were off. 
 
 I dined yesterday with a Monsieur Castellan, a gentle- 
 man of very good fortune, and who, I understand, has a 
 good house, pictures, library, &c., #t Paris, and lands in 
 Normandy and elsewhere. He was formerly, at the 
 commencement of the Eevolution, Attorney-general to 
 the Parliament of Toulouse, and on that account desired 
 to be introduced to me, and gave us an excellent dinner. 
 In 1781, he was a man who figured much here, and also 
 in the English papers, on account of his early resistance 
 to the orders of the Court, and being imprisoned in con- 
 sequence. He was followed by all the inhabitants to his 
 prison, and released in a short time by the triumph of his 
 own party. He seems to be a good constitutionalist. 
 
 He mentioned several curious facts of Bonaparte's 
 tyranny, such as his putting persons to death without 
 trial, and without inquiry. Two of these persons he 
 
536 INSTANCES OF BONAPARTE* S TYRANNY. 
 
 knew in particular. They were chiefs of La Vendee. 
 When all the hopes of that party were gone, terms were 
 offered to these two men. One came in to sign them, 
 when he was instantly shot. The other, in consequence, 
 remained concealed three years in Normandy. At last 
 he was told privately, that if he would retire from the 
 country quietly, a passport should be given to him. He 
 agreed, received his pass, and made for the coast; but 
 when he arrived near the sea-side two gens-d'armes shot 
 him. 
 
 This made a noise ; the Juge de Paix began a proces 
 verbal, and the Prefet was active in endeavouring to 
 apprehend the soldiers. The Judge and Prefet were not 
 in the secret. Suddenly a senator came from Paris. 
 The Prefet was suspended from his office, and the Juge 
 de Paix enjoined at his peril not to stir a step in the 
 business. Monsieur Castellan's servant acted as clerk in 
 the proces verbal which had commenced, and the murder 
 took place close to his estate in Normandy. He therefore, 
 he said, knew the facts. 
 
 Another story, for the truth of which he vouched, and 
 which from the circumstances appeared to be true, shows 
 a little the state of Napoleon's court and their morals. A 
 young cousin of Monsieur de Castellan was the Emperor's 
 page a very good-looking boy. At the carnival he was 
 dressed as a girl at the play, and one of the grand cham- 
 berlains fell in love with him. The page continued the 
 disguise and the joke every night during the carnival, 
 and was courted and feted with presents by the lover. 
 At last the discovery was made, and the mortified cham- 
 berlain stopped the boy's promotion in consequence, 
 under the pretence that the page was ordered not to go 
 to the play. 
 
 I wished very much to have had time during my visit 
 to Monsieur Castellan to look over a very curious collec- 
 tion of original letters which he had in portfolios, and of 
 
ANECDOTE. 537 
 
 which I looked at one or two only. The most valuable 
 were of the Valois family, and were numerous and confi- 
 dential, coming to M. Castellan through a great-uncle, 
 and derived from an ambassador of the family in Spain. 
 There were several from Catherine de Medicis, mostly 
 about the marriage of her daughters with the Spanish 
 royal family, and which (as she had good occasion to do) 
 she always finished by desiring might be burnt as soon 
 as read. 
 
 The eldest daughter was first sent, being intended for 
 the son, Don Carlos, but Philip the Second took a fancy 
 to her, and though the son was in love, married her. An 
 intrigue was suspected with the son, as the daughter was 
 also in love with Don Carlos ; the finale was, as history 
 records and romance writers have improved upon, that 
 Don Carlos and the lady suffered death. After this, and 
 knowing, as she must have done, the cause, or at least the 
 reports of all suspected, Catherine writes, saying that she 
 must forget the mother in the Queen, and proposes to 
 make up a match between King Philip and her youngest 
 daughter. The writer desires the person addressed to get 
 at the King's mistress and his confessor, and to secure 
 them both as friends to her plans. The remaining letters 
 were those of eminent men, some from Eousseau, Vol- 
 taire, &c., and appeared to contain nothing particularly 
 interesting. 
 
 A few days since I think I half made a convert of a fat 
 silversmith's lady here, of whom I was purchasing some 
 articles. She asked me if we had a religion in England 
 at all like theirs. I said, " Yes ; very like." " But," 
 said she (and that weighed very much with her), " you do 
 not use these great silver cups, &c., in your country?" 
 To this I replied, " Indeed we do, and want them much 
 larger than you do in France, for with us we let every 
 one taste that pleases of the wine, and you only let the 
 
538 QUARREL BETWEEN TWO FRENCHMEN. 
 
 priests." This rather staggered her, when the sale of the 
 cups and sacramental plate came into her head. 
 
 May %$th, Saturday, Post-day. Our cavalry have at 
 last got leave to pass through France, and will commence 
 their route on the 1st of June. It is probable that we 
 shall move soon after. I have this moment received a 
 packet from you, with papers and enclosures to the 16th, 
 and having your letter now before me, will go through it 
 in answer. The alarms you mention about the quarrels 
 between the Allies, and the French, and the army, and 
 the National Guards, seem to have been principally of 
 English invention. We have heard little of this matter 
 here, though I have no doubt that the French officers 
 and soldiers are vexed and mortified, and as the Irish say 
 sometimes, they would easily " pick a quarrel " just now, 
 when they meet with any occasion. There is the same 
 feeling here, only hitherto scarcely any officers of the 
 army have arrived. 
 
 I witnessed last Sunday a quarrel between a gend'arme 
 and a garde-urbaine, about cutting off some acacia 
 blossoms in the public walk. The latter was disarmed at 
 last, after a scuffle and fight, in which, from the noise and 
 confusion, you would have supposed several limbs and 
 lives would have been lost (as would have been the case 
 in half the time in England), but in which in reality no 
 one seemed to come out the worse. The gend'arme, how- 
 ever, was very neatly beaten at last, as two of the garde- 
 urbaine overtook him again, and whilst one tried to wrest 
 the conquered sword back again, the other cut the belt of 
 the gend'arme, by which his own sword fell, and in 
 recovering that he lost the trophy, with which the two 
 lads made off in triumph. 
 
 An officer of the French regular army who was here 
 by accident a few days since, saw the caricature of Bona- 
 parte in a window, the face made up of " victimes" with 
 
RUSSIAN CAVALRY. 539 
 
 the cobwebs, &c., introduced, which I conclude you have 
 seen. He entered the shop in a rage, and desired the 
 shopman to take it from the window, threatening to cut 
 him down if he refused. It has not appeared in the 
 window since, and the man when now asked for the 
 print by an Englishman or Boyalist, says, " They are all 
 sold." * 
 
 The Duke of Wellington's misfortune from the Cos- 
 sack charge I have not heard of here. He came back 
 most highly admiring and praising the Russian cavalry 
 as in appearance the best in Europe, and saying there 
 was scarcely a private horse in the regiment he saw for 
 which a short time ago we should not willingly have 
 given a hundred and fifty or two hundred guineas in 
 Spain. The draught and artillery horses, also, though 
 very small, and unlike those of the cavalry, he thought 
 had great appearance of hardiness and activity. Some of 
 your other stories concerning us here are really, in my 
 opinion, mere inventions. 
 
 By-the-by, what inventions and scandal we shall have 
 now to fill the newspapers and afford conversation for all 
 our idlers ! As soon as peace is signed, they will have 
 little else but that to live upon; whilst the politician 
 must pore over all the debates of the multiplied popular 
 assemblies in modern Europe, which will all be aping our 
 House of Commons. 
 
 Our clergy here were ten days ago praying for rain, 
 and they have not sued in vain, for we have had it for 
 this week in showers only, and in the English fashion, 
 not like our mountain and St. Jean de Luz rain. We 
 have also had tremendous storms of wind, which were 
 not prayed for ; and more than that, a bit of an earth- 
 quake, felt principally at Pau and in that vicinity, but, it 
 is said, by some perceived here. It is not surprising that 
 old Mother Earth should just at first shake a little at all 
 that has passed lately ; but I hope she will take it quietly, 
 
540 RECOVERY OF THE BALANCE OP POWER. 
 
 and be as peaceably inclined as her inhabitants now are. 
 The recovery of the balance of Europe will be a fine 
 subject for an essay. This superiority over the ancient 
 associated states of Greece, which when once upset never 
 could right themselves again, is a matter of considerable 
 triumph for the moderns, and promises to check for some 
 time another age of barbarism. I should say that one 
 great cause of this has been the more general diffusion of 
 knowledge amongst the middling classes. Public opinion 
 and more fixed principles of the advantages of indepen- 
 dence, have got the better at last of a system of uni- 
 versal tyranny of the most ingenious and complicated 
 nature, and extending to every individual, and every 
 hole and corner within its clutches. I must now seal up 
 for the post. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR DUI'ARTTFRK. 541 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIX. 
 
 Preparations for Departure Bordeaux Imposition on the English 
 Greetings from the Women Mausoleum of Louis XVI. 
 
 Wednesday, June 1, 1814. 
 
 Toulouse. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 HERE we are still, but on the point of moving. 
 The orders are actually out, and our route fixed. We 
 start on Saturday, the 4th of June, I suspect on purpose 
 to avoid festivities on that day. On the 10th we hope 
 to be at Bordeaux : 4th, Isle en Jordain ; 5th, Auch ; 
 6th, Condom; 7th, halt; 8th, Castel Jelous; 9th, 
 Langon; 10th, Bordeaux. This will be sharp work for 
 loaded mules, and warm for us all, for the weather is now 
 clearing up, and promises to be hot again. 
 
 I am tired of Toulouse, and not sorry to leave it, 
 though the inhabitants continue to be civil and friendly. 
 So indeed they ought to be, as they have made no little 
 money out of us, and have been continually entertained 
 by balls, &c. Since the Duke has been away we have 
 had three balls given by the Adjutant-general, Greneral 
 Byng, and by the aides-de-camp. At last I was, by ac- 
 cident, introduced to a Madame de Vaudreuil. She was 
 it turns out, wife to the son of the old admiral, our 
 emigre Marquis in England, and your cousin. I was 
 then introduced to the husband, and we had some conver- 
 sation on family matters. He mentioned his nephew, 
 the aide-de-camp in Ireland, and inquired much after the 
 
542 FRENCH OFFICERS' RUDENESS. 
 
 Hochepieds, &c. To-morrow I am to breakfast with 
 them, and you shall hear more. He is a little man, but 
 high, and in repute here. 
 
 No events of any consequence have occurred. The 
 only thing at all worth mentioning which I can recollect 
 is a trait of the conduct of the French lower officers of 
 Soult's army. Two of the officers of the 43rd British 
 rode towards Montauban a few days since, out of their 
 own limits, without a passport. This, though foolish 
 just now, was a venial offence, and committed by many 
 French, who come in here within our line of demarca- 
 tion. On a bridge near the town our two gentlemen 
 were met by about eight or ten, not gentlemen, but 
 officers of the French garrison there. The latter imme- 
 diately attacked the two British officers rudely, told them 
 that they ought to know better their own limits, and 
 added at last that if they intended to come again, they 
 advised them to come with their coats off, sleeves turned 
 up, and swords drawn. One man actually went so far 
 as to come behind one of our officers to knock his hat off, 
 that he might get out the white cockade ; in short, the 
 two Englishmen were obliged to yield and return back. 
 
 An apology was, it is said, sent in to our General, from 
 the commanding officer at Montauban, stating that he 
 was sorry for what had happened, and hoping we would 
 consider it as the act of some mauvais sujets in the lower 
 commissioned ranks of the army, and not the act of, or 
 sanctioned by, the garrison in general. * I believe, how- 
 ever, that it is intended still to make some remonstrance 
 on the subject. 
 
 Dr. Macgregor has returned here, delighted with his 
 trip to Montpelier, Avignon, Nismes, Valence, &c. lie 
 was received most cordially everywhere, and at some 
 places quite enthusiastically. Almost at every place, he fell 
 in with fetes and entertainments in consequence of the late 
 changes, and the whole country was covered with con- 
 
PKKPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE. 543 
 
 scripts and deserters going home : he thinks he must have 
 seen from ten to fifteen thousand. Everywhere, he found 
 much jealousy between the military, the national guards, 
 and the civilians, as is the case here. There were several 
 quarrels in consequence. At the playhouse at Montpelier 
 the applause was so violent at a new popular piece called 
 " The Conscript," that a French General, who was there 
 with his suite, conceived it a marked insult to himself 
 and rose to leave the house, but was persuaded to remain. 
 
 The Society of Medicine at Montpelier made the 
 Doctor a member, with such fine speeches, that even 
 though he only half understood them, they raised his 
 blushes. 
 
 Friday, June 3rd. In the midst of the bustle and 
 confusion of my preparations for the march of to-morrow, 
 I received this day your letter and papers to the 24th of 
 May. I had just been reading in to-day's Trench paper 
 London news of the same date, so that, even this late 
 mail, of only nine or ten days from London, brought 
 us nothing new politically from England. The details, 
 however, and private news are always interesting. I 
 shall have more occasion for them as I am going the road 
 on this (the Toulouse) side of the Garonne, instead of our 
 military route, and shall be nearly, if not quite, alone, for 
 almost every other person who goes this way intends to 
 travel post, or ride faster than would suit me this warm 
 weather. This road is said to be by far the most pic- 
 turesque, rich, and amusing ; and, having a passport ready, 
 I mean to start at five to-morrow. My route is through 
 Grisolles, Castel Sarazin, Monteil, Moissac, Agen, Port 
 St. Marie (where I shall try and see our emigre friend, 
 the Baron de Trenqueleon), Tomeirs, Eeolle; then, if 
 necessary, cross the river to Langon, but If not, keep the 
 right bank, opposite Bordeaux. I have sent my baggage 
 and Henry on in the line of march, and only take a Por- 
 tuguese ci-devant servant to the Prince of Orange, and 
 
 
544 FAREWELL PARTY AT THE DUKF/S HOUSE. 
 
 now mine, on a pony, with a small valise, and intend to 
 trust to the inns for everything. Thus I shall avoid 
 troops, and nearly all places through which they have 
 passed. 
 
 The last detachment of cavalry will leave this to- 
 morrow, to start to Grisolles and Montauban on Sunday. 
 The Hussars in advance leave Montauban to-day. The 
 last infantry will move from hence on Sunday ; and the 
 whole infantry from hence will be assembled at Bordeaux 
 (excepting what may be embarked) by the 17th of June. 
 The last Portuguese will pass Bayonne about the 23rd ; 
 and then the Guards and troops there will be at liberty 
 to move not before. The Spaniards are nearly all out 
 of the country already ! 
 
 Sir W. W. Wynne has been here these last five or six 
 days, to succeed the Marquess of Buckingham ; they are 
 specimens of what are considered our greatest peers and 
 commoners. The people here stare at them, and look 
 strange. The inhabitants are seriously sorry for our 
 departure, I really believe. "We had a sort of farewell 
 party at the Duke's house yesterday, given by Colonel C. 
 Campbell, of all the great men here : we dined, then went 
 to the play, and then to the ball. Some of our Generals 
 are so pleased that they talk seriously of returning here 
 after peace is signed, and they have laid by their laurels 
 in England. Having so many things to do, I must now 
 end this, and leave it to go by the post, for I shall be 
 away from head-quarters, and the regular post, perhaps, 
 next mail. Do not be surprised if you do not hear again 
 very soon. On my arrival at Bordeaux I shall endeavour 
 to write immediately, and let you know my plans. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Bordeaux, June 13th, 1814. On 
 Saturday (llthj, I sent you a few hasty lines, I will now 
 try and fill up the interval from Toulouse here, with an 
 account of my proceedings during that time. 
 
 After a tremendous thunder-storm, at six in the morn- 
 
GOOD CONDUCT OF THE PORTUGUESE. 545 
 
 ing of the 4th of June, I started along the rich plain in 
 which Toulouse stands, and proceeded through Grisolles, 
 and a number of small places, to Castle Sarazin ; but not 
 liking the appearance of the latter, I went on to Moissac, 
 which is just across the Tarn, at which place the plain 
 ceases, and the road becomes hilly. 
 
 The distance was about forty-five miles to Moissac ; 
 the country all rich and fertile, but much too bare of 
 wood, and the road is tiresome from its uniformly level 
 character. The river ran the whole way, about half a 
 mile from the road, and the opposite bank being high, 
 bounded the view on that side, and formed a picturesque 
 object, though not the most profitable, for the soil seemed 
 less rich. The flat lands must be subject to great losses 
 and damage from floods, as there is no fall for the sudden 
 torrents which descend. The corn in many places had 
 suffered much this year. 
 
 At Grisolles, I passed the last of the cavalry (the Blues) 
 on their way home. The Life Guards entered Montau- 
 ban with laurels. The Prefet immediately told the com- 
 manding officer, that he understood his men were come 
 into the town in a triumphant manner, and seemed much 
 vexed, until reminded that it was the 4th of June, when 
 he became civil, and admitted the validity of the reason. 
 On stopping at the village of Fignan, to give my horses 
 some corn, I was very glad to find the inhabitants 
 regretting the departure of the Portuguese regiment 
 which had been quartered there, as they had behaved so 
 well. They told me the people cried when they crossed 
 the water, and the next day so many soldiers came back 
 to take another farewell of their new friends, that the 
 officers were compelled to place a guard to prevent it. 
 
 The Tarn at Moissac was wide, and the current very 
 strong. The passage by the ferry, a troublesome one, 
 backwards and forwards, through the remains of the 
 ruined buttresses of an old bridge. On landing I asked 
 
 2 N 
 
546 MOISSAC. 
 
 for the Commandant or French G-eneral. There had 
 been unpleasant altercations of late near that place and 
 neighbourhood. The officer of whom I inquired pointed 
 to General Hey, the late governor of St. Sebastian, who 
 happened to be near. I announced myself to him, and 
 was received civilly by him, and then immediately went 
 to the inn. 
 
 The only sights noticeable in the town are a great 
 water-mill in the river, with about twenty-four pair of 
 mill- stones, and a number of establishments for purifying 
 wheat and preparing flour. These last were on a large 
 scale, but without machinery of any ingenuity, and one 
 steam-engine would have saved them nearly all their 
 labour, which was great. The country round is famous 
 as a corn country, and Moissac was once a great place of 
 export for flour and wheat by the canal, &c., of Toulouse, 
 to Montpelier, and by the Tarn and Garonne to Bordeaux, 
 and thence to the French islands and foreign settlements. 
 The inhabitants wished much to begin dealing with the 
 English ; but I told them that our Parliament was about 
 to prevent that taking place. 
 
 There is a curious old church at Moissac with many 
 carved grotesque figures at the entrance. The style is 
 nearly the old English, but in some places, the early 
 Gothic. The accommodation at the inns is very good ; 
 but the joke of Milord Anglois has commenced, and is 
 increasing fast. We were all mon Commandant and mon 
 General; and paid accordingly, 
 
 The next day, on leaving Moissac, I ascended a long 
 hill, and continued on rich high ground above the river, 
 in a country of cultivated, undulating scenery, with more 
 wood, somewhat resembling Devonshire or Somersetshire, 
 with the exception of the want of hedges. This continued 
 about seven miles, when I came down again, having a 
 fine view of the river, and continued my way along the 
 banks over a rich flat through several villages and small 
 
THEATRE AT AGEN. 547 
 
 towns to Agen, about thirty-four miles from Moissac.. 
 The valley was here much narrower and varied than that 
 at Toulouse, bounded on both sides by gentle hills, culti- 
 vated and rich, as well as apparently populous, along the 
 whole way. The French troops were in cantonments in 
 every village, and in general looked very sulky. A few 
 touched their caps to me, as I was in my scarlet uniform; 
 but most looked sulky and took no notice. I was, how- 
 ever, never insulted. The cries of the children all the 
 way, and often of the country-women, and sometimes of 
 the men, of vivent les Anglois ! certainly did not contribute 
 to put their soldiers and officers in better humour. If so 
 disposed, I could easily, as the Irish say, " have picked a 
 quarrel." 
 
 At Agen all was gaiety and bustle. It was the 
 Sunday before their great fair ; and all was preparing for 
 that, as well as for the service which was to take place in 
 the great church the next day for Louis XVI., the 
 Queen, &c. I immediately went to the Commandant of 
 the town. He was civil, but the numerous officers looked 
 very much disposed to be impertinent, if occasion should 
 offer. The eager curiosity of the towns-people to see the 
 English, and to be civil, was very pleasing , every one 
 seemed anxious to show some attention. Here I fell in 
 
 with Dr. M and Mr. and Mrs. J , and after 
 
 dining together, we went to the play. 
 
 It was a little narrow theatre, but almost new, and 
 very clean and neat. The performances were not de- 
 spicable. There was a good-looking singer, with no bad 
 voice, from Bordeaux. In the character she acted much 
 happened to be said of her innocence and inexperience. 
 From the constant joking this gave rise to in the 
 audience, and from some very prominent feature in her 
 person, I conclude that she had lately been under the 
 necessity of retiring from Bordeaux, from some little 
 
 2 N 2 
 
548 TRENQUELEON CHATEAU. 
 
 faux pas. And this, I was told afterwards, was the 
 case. 
 
 Agen is an old and rather shabby town of about ten or 
 eleven thousand inhabitants ; but the walks and country 
 around it are picturesque. The next morning I staid 
 until after the ceremony had commenced in the church, 
 and peeped in, to see what was going on, and whether 
 the military attended. Many of the latter did so, with 
 crape round their arms. I was immediately admitted 
 without a ticket ; and the old priests, several of whom 
 had been emigres, and spoke a little English, were very 
 civil to me. About twenty milliners had made really a 
 very elegant linen and crape mausoleum for the occasion, 
 nearly twenty feet high. Four fluted pillars, one at each 
 corner, were made of fine white linen, the festoons round 
 the base were of black and white crape, urns on the pil- 
 lars, and other ornaments of the same. About a hundred 
 and fifty wax candles were arranged up the steps on every 
 side of the tomb, and above it were lilies springing fresh 
 from the centre, and the crown, in elegant crape, sus- 
 pended above the whole. 
 
 About ten o'clock I started again to find out the 
 Baron de Trenqueleon at Port St. Marie, which was 
 about twelve miles from Agen. On inquiry at the inn, 
 I found a friend of his son's who had left him only a few 
 hours before. I, therefore, determined to cross the river 
 again, in order to pay him a visit, and to stay there the 
 night. Trenqueleon Chateau is about five miles from 
 Port St. Marie, on the road thence to Nerac, on the side 
 of the hills which enclose the valley in which the 
 Garonne descends. It is old-fashioned, in the style of 
 the Tuileries, and apparently large. In reality, it does 
 not contain much room, but is a comfortable place. 
 
 Except two higher wings, it is, in fact, only a ground- 
 floor house. The rooms are lofty, spacious, and decently 
 
BARON DE TRENQUELEON. 549 
 
 furnished for a French house in the country. There is 
 a great square garden in front, like a wilderness full of 
 weeds, with a square plantation and straight walks. The 
 roads run about two hundred yards from it on one side, 
 and a small river navigable for boats on the other, which 
 runs into the Garonne about four miles below. This 
 would be convenient to export the produce, if there were 
 a market, which of late had been the case. 
 
 I found the old Baron feeble, without the use of his 
 limbs, in a great chair penned in like a child. He was 
 surrounded by a large party his wife, his son, and his 
 son's wife, daughter to the maire of Agen ; an old lady, 
 whom I took for the Baron's sister; and five young 
 ladies, who called him " Papa." One of these was in 
 weeds, and one about twenty-five or thirty ; the rest 
 young. One was a fresh, ruddy, English-looking girl. 
 All were most attentive and civil. The old Baron made 
 me repeatedly kiss him, and cried several times as he 
 conversed with me. He remembered all our friends in 
 England during his emigration. He was very anxious 
 to know all I could tell him of my brothers. He asked 
 much after your sister and brother, and the T 
 family. His table was bad, bub there was quantity, and 
 a hearty welcome. I was put into his uncle's room, our 
 old friend the Bishop of Montpelier. His family seemed 
 attentive to him, and, except at meal times, seemed to 
 live around him, some at work, some reading the papers 
 to him, and some sitting ready to talk, and with no other 
 occupation. The poor girls must lead a very dull life in 
 the Chateau de Trenqueleon, for from the state of the 
 Baron's health they do not go out to balls or amuse- 
 ments even at Agen. 
 
 On the following morning I left Trenqueleon about 
 twelve o'clock, and crossed the river again at a ferry near 
 Aiguillon, which is a pretty town, small, but "well situ- 
 ated. I got on to Tomeins that night. The country 
 
550 GREETINGS FROM THE WOMEN. 
 
 continues to be the same rich valley the whole way, and 
 is very populous. Tomeins is a small ill-built town of 
 perhaps about five thousand inhabitants. There is 
 nothing of interest in it, except a fine sort of Kichmond- 
 terrace view from the public walk overhanging the river. 
 The women struck us as very pretty, and they were 
 peculiarly eager about " les Anglois" one or two calling 
 out in English, as we passed near the windows where 
 they were, " How you do? how you do?" &c., and then 
 running away to hide themselves. And this came from 
 well-dressed girls in good houses. 
 
 On the 8th I proceeded through Marmande de la 
 B-eolle, to breakfast; and then crossing the river again 
 near Langon, I intended to stop at the pretty village of 
 Barsac, about five miles on this side Langon, where the 
 good wine of that name comes from. Finding all this 
 part full of our sixth division, just arrived, I was obliged 
 to push on to Ceron, a mere post stage and a poor inn. 
 
 On the 9th I proceeded to this place (Bordeaux), and 
 arrived by one o'clock, when my order to proceed to Tar- 
 ragona (for the trial of Sir J. Murray) was put into my 
 hands. I found every one in the same hurry and confu- 
 sion as when the Duke paid us his last visit at Toulouse. 
 
 The country continued nearly the same until we got 
 some way beyond Barsac ; we then began to skirt the 
 Landes, and had only sand and firs, a sort of Bagshot 
 Heath, but still broken by frequent villages and cha- 
 teaux, which are very numerous around Bordeaux. 
 
 During my journey I always stopped at some small 
 inn for a feed of corn in the course of the way, and also 
 during rain, which was frequent and heavy. I gave the 
 chance passengers their wine to make them talk. A 
 drunken Frenchman seemed much like an English one, 
 and was sometimes very entertaining ; but the feeling of 
 the soldiers was the most curious. At one place I found 
 two discharged soldiers going home on leave ; they said 
 
FEELINGS OF THE FRENCH SOLDIERS. 551 
 
 that they had been betrayed by their Generals, &c., and 
 that the game was up, so they had applied for their dis- 
 charges,, for they would not fight for the King. They 
 had served seven or eight years, and now intended to be 
 quiet, though their wounds would not have prevented 
 their fighting for the Emperor. One had lost a finger 
 only, the other had received a knock in the leg, which 
 rather made him. halt a little ; they had both above six- 
 teen months" pay due to them, but said that they con- 
 cluded, of course, the King would never pay the Em- 
 peror's debts, and they were satisfied to be discharged 
 without pensions. They said that nine-tenths of the 
 soldiers of the army would have remained firm to the 
 Emperor if their Generals had been faithful, and had 
 agreed in opinion with them ; " mais riimporte cest 
 fini." 
 
 The Trenqueleon party told me, they were for some 
 time in great uneasiness, for we had no troops near them 
 on the left bank of the river, and on the right bank only 
 came down to the river Lot. Thus Agen was the centre 
 of the formation of partisan corps who were to cross the 
 river near them, and scour the country to annoy us. 
 
 In three or four instances they succeeded in this ; and 
 the Commissioner was issuing most violent orders to 
 compel all persons to form their corps immediately (these 
 if caught by us would be hung), and to teach the women 
 also, to entice our soldiers into their houses by wine, &c., 
 to make them prisoners and kill them, and even to in- 
 struct their children to cut the back sinews of the horses 
 in the stables at night, saying they must do as the 
 Spaniards did by them in Spain. 
 
 The Baron's family said they had different feelings, 
 but would have been compelled to do much of this had 
 matters gone on. They also talked with much horror of 
 the state of terror in which they had been kept by Bona- 
 parte's agents. One deputy Prefet some time since 
 
552 HEAT OF THE WEATHER. 
 
 alarmed them by quietly telling some of their neighbours 
 (who told them again) that they were in a terrible scrape, 
 and had been detected corresponding with the English. 
 They went instantly to the Prefet to know what this 
 meant, and found it was one of my father's letters about 
 the Bishop of Montpelier's affairs, which had been stopped 
 by the police. My father was the Bishop's executor in 
 England. The Prefet afterwards told him to be easy 
 " ce netoit rien" The Baron seems to have been a 
 popular character in the neighbourhood. 
 
 I2th, later. A mail goes to-day, and I have a pile of 
 papers a foot high to arrange by to-morrow. The Duke 
 goes away and leaves the army the day after, Wednesday 
 the 14th, consequently all is a bustle of business, balls, 
 dinners, operas, plays, all proceeding at once. My next 
 will give you an account of this handsome town. I am 
 in quarters at Monsieur Emerigon's, a barrister now at 
 Paris, but daily expected to return. The Duke has 
 written strongly home to put off this intended Court- 
 martial at Tarragona ; all here detest it, and grumble. 
 The worst is, that we are to remain here in suspense 
 until an answer arrives. 
 
 I am writing without my coat, and so are all the 
 Duke's Secretaries, &c., on account of the heat. The 
 thermometer shut up in my writing-desk is at 76. The 
 un most ardent when out. 
 
BORDEAUX. 553 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 The Opera-house The Cathedral The Synagogue A Jewish Wedding- 
 Strange Show-house Wellington and King Ferdinand. 
 
 Head-quarters, Bordeaux^ 
 June 16, 1814. 
 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 As I have no news to communicate, you must be 
 satisfied with the best account of Bordeaux which the 
 excessive heat permits me to give you. The Duke is 
 gone for good, and we are left here in a state of dull, and 
 almost feverish uncertainty. Time slips away fast, how- 
 ever, and my fate will soon be decided. 
 
 Before breakfast I take an hour's ride to look about 
 the town and suburbs, and make my observations. The 
 restaurateurs are so hot that I prefer my own society 
 and a mutton-chop with abundance of vegetables and 
 fruit, and my bottle of claret or Sauterne, to the inces- 
 sant dinners going on in public. My wine I get from 
 the housekeeper of my landlord, Monsieur Emerigon, the 
 counsellor, as she in his absence sells his produce for him 
 his wine, namely Sauterne Emerigon, which is really 
 very good, his pigeons, his ortolans, his poultry, his 
 cherries, his vegetables, &c. As he has not yet returned 
 from Paris, I have also taken possession of his salle a 
 manger, and drawing-room, in addition to my bed-room. 
 I only now want to get into his library. He is a 
 royalist, and one of the commissioners sent from Bor- 
 deaux to Paris. 
 
654 BORDEAUX THE GARONNE. 
 
 Bordeaux is a very handsome town, and very superior 
 to Toulouse as a city indeed there is no comparison ; 
 still in my opinion there was more ton and fashion at 
 Toulouse. The prosperity of the place was arrested by 
 the Eevolution, when it was in a state of splendid com- 
 mercial prosperity, rapidly increasing in magnificence. 
 Toulouse, on the contrary, I take it, was even then on 
 the decline. Another advantage Bordeaux has, in addi- 
 tion to its having been laid out, like Bath, with modern 
 improvement as to the width of the streets, namely, the 
 convenience of stone quarries close at hand, instead of 
 bricks to form the buildings, and this with water car- 
 riage. It has besides a stone somewhat similar to Port- 
 land stone, a complete Bath stone cut by the saw and 
 adze like that at Bath; and of course these advantages 
 have not been neglected by Frenchmen. 
 
 The Garonne is a noble river, not very much wider 
 than the Thames at London Bridge, but it appears 
 .deeper, and of more importance ; the tide occasionally 
 reaches up as high as the neighbourhood of Langon. The 
 quays probably extend nearly two miles, and in general 
 are well-built and handsome, and the river just now full 
 of shipping. The quays are inferior to those at Lyons, 
 and the few half-rotten ships on the stocks in the spacious 
 yard, show strongly the urgent necessity of what the 
 people did on the late occasion. 
 
 The Grand Theatre is a very handsome building, with 
 a colonnade of twelve pillars in front. The whole height 
 of the building, with its connexions of taverns, Exeter 
 Change, &c., runs back to the river. In its front is a 
 square, with two handsome streets branching off right 
 and left. One has the double row of trees, in the foreign 
 fashion, in the centre, with paved carriage-roads outside, 
 and is spacious, ornamental, and useful. At the end of 
 this is the other Theatre, de la Gaiete, and that leads into 
 a sort of wide avenue street planted all the way, and 
 
THE OPERA-HOUSE. 555 
 
 nearly a mile long. On one side again of this is the 
 ci-devant Champ de Mars, or Jardin Publique, a spacious 
 public planted walk. The town contains several other 
 planted wide streets, and a handsome Palais-Royal, 
 ci-devant Du Prefet. There is not any one very hand- 
 some square, and upon the whole Brussels is to be pre- 
 ferred ; and it is a town probably nearly of the same 
 size. 
 
 The Opera House is handsome in the inside, but dirty, 
 and not well contrived so as to hold the greatest numbers. 
 It consists of twelve large Corinthian pillars, which 
 occupy much of the room } and all the upper boxes 
 are like baskets projecting between them, and only two 
 deep. The shape of the house is a flat horse-shoe, and 
 well proportioned. The singing tolerably good ; and the 
 dancing by no means despicable. Except perhaps one or 
 two of our best, it is better than at our London theatres. 
 The dresses are rich and expensive. The reception of 
 our Duke was very gracious; and it was not a little 
 curious to hear " God save the King " sung constantly 
 with " Vive Henri IV. /" A TAnglois, a VAnglois ! was 
 also a popular cry, and produced a hornpipe tune, always 
 attended with great acclamation, but what the connexion 
 was I cannot say. Some impudent sailors always called 
 out for " Rule Britannia," but French politesse could not 
 go so far. Two Americans would not pull off their hats 
 one night to " Grod save the King," and were shouldered 
 out of the house in consequence. 
 
 The upper boxes are entirely filled with very smartly 
 dressed ladies of a certain class, whose wardrobes have 
 improved during the last two months, I have no doubt, 
 as much as that of the similar class of ladies at Toulouse, 
 and the last was very visible. The Theatre de la 
 Glaiete is a sort of Sadler's "Wells, neither more elegant, 
 nor more chaste. The rope dancing is decidedly good. 
 There is also a Musee here, as well as at Toulouse, but 
 
556 THE CATHEDRAL. 
 
 much inferior. There are not half a dozen original pic- 
 tures of any tolerable master. The antique inscriptions 
 are very uninteresting, to me at least, and there were no 
 antiques affording pleasure to an artist or amateur. The 
 collection of birds, serpents, butterflies, minerals, &c., are 
 tolerable, but only of the second order. The library also 
 appeared smaller and inferior to that at Toulouse, but 
 there were many more readers, which surprised me. 
 
 There is also a deaf and dumb establishment here simi- 
 lar to that at Paris, and a very civil and apparently very 
 intelligent master. I stayed there two hours, to have a 
 regular lesson of the principles of the education illustrated 
 by the female pupils, who were the most forward. There 
 were about seventy scholars, mainly supported by the 
 Government. The pupils were not quite so skilful as 
 those at Paris, but it is always an interesting exhibition. 
 To find out what we were, the teacher ingeniously made 
 a pupil ask us what nation we were of, and of what pro- 
 fession, and as all the deaf and dumb pupils rejoiced in 
 the answer, and seemed much pleased, I determined to 
 keep up our good character, and gave the damsels a 
 Napoleon, for which I got much dumb-show thanks in 
 return. 
 
 The cathedral, or principal church, of St. Andre, is a 
 good Gothic building of about the second class, built by 
 " vos Messieurs les Anglais," as we are instantly told. It 
 is in one respect unfinished ; for both the north and 
 south fronts are intended to have each two light Gothic 
 spires on the towers, whereas only one pair is built the 
 other has been but just commenced. The pair that exist 
 were some little time "since out of repair, and a part had 
 fallen down. Bonaparte saw this, and graciously said 
 they must be put in order directly. The Bourdelois were 
 grateful, thinking he intended to have it done, but he 
 only ordered it, and a tax on the commune at the same 
 time, to pay for it. In the same way, as he came from 
 
THE SYNAGOGUE. 557 
 
 Lyons to Bordeaux, he found the road bad, and much 
 out of repair : this he also ordered to be repaired imme- 
 diately; but an impot all along the communes on the 
 road, beyond the expense of the repairs, followed likewise 
 as immediately. The Prefet's palace he also ordered to 
 be put in complete order, and it was just finished in time 
 to receive the Duke d'Angouleme, which was not quite 
 according to the wishes and intentions of the said Bona- 
 parte. 
 
 The Exchange at Bordeaux is a well- contrived hand- 
 some building, and the square in the centre, roofed in 
 with sky -lights, to form a convenient place for the differ- 
 ent walks. The cloisters round are full of shops, jewel- 
 lery, maps, &c. 
 
 June 28/A. I have just returned from the synagogue, 
 where I have been these two hours. There are nearly 
 two thousand Jews at Bordeaux. "It is no wonder the 
 Christians are well fleeced," as my French companion 
 observed, " when there are two thousand persons in the 
 town who impose it upon themselves as a duty, and cheat 
 for religion's sake." The chapel is a new building, the 
 style of architecture not good, being a sort of imitation 
 of Saxon, or rather of no particular order, but the shape 
 of the temple is excellent, the proportions good, and the 
 whole imposing. A colonnade formed by pillars runs all 
 round, with a gallery above for the women, who are 
 separated from the men. The altar at the end, with the 
 ark of the covenant and the books of Moses, &c. The 
 branch in the centre ; round this the reading-desks, with 
 the rows of lights for the priests, &c. The upper 
 gallery is arched over like Covent Garden, with a cir- 
 cular roof. 
 
 The Jews were very civil. The singing was tolerably 
 good ; the singing boys, about twenty in number, in 
 white surplices and sky-blue silk sashes and scarfs, and 
 bonnets, had a good effect, mixed with the old priests in 
 
558 COFFEE-HOUSES. 
 
 their hoods. The ceremony of producing the books of 
 Moses and returning them to the ark was the most 
 imposing in point of solemnity, and was attended by 
 music ; but what to me was the most striking, was when 
 at a certain period in the service called the Benediction, 
 every parent found immediately his son or grandson, or 
 the children their parents. In short, after a few mo- 
 ments' bustle, you saw every one, whatever his age, 
 imposing his hooded head and hands on his own off- 
 spring, and every generation thus at the same instant 
 receiving the benediction from his own parent respec- 
 tively. This was really an imposing scene. 
 
 The most truly Jewish part followed, for by solemn 
 proclamation every sacred office, namely, the opening of 
 the ark, the drawing the curtains, carrying the books, 
 putting on the ornaments, reading out of them when 
 produced, the right of assisting in every part of the cere- 
 monies, was regularly put up to auction, and sold to the 
 highest bidder. The biddings were from one franc to 
 three and five, and even at times up to forty and fifty. 
 As I was informed, these profits were given to the poor. 
 There was a little spoilt Jew child, about six years old, 
 for whom its papa had, I conclude, bought the privilege 
 of placing the silver ornaments on the tops of the 
 wooden rollers of the vellum Pentateuch, and the little 
 creature seemed much pleased and excessively proud 
 of his office. On Wednesday next there is to be a 
 wedding, and if not engaged, it is my intention to be 
 present. 
 
 The coffee-houses here, before we came, were very good, 
 and are not very dear. They are now so hot and 
 crowded, and in such confusion that I prefer my dinner 
 solo. Being in a great measure fixed by la carte as to 
 prices, I believe we are less imposed upon at the restau- 
 rateurs than anywhere else. 
 
 I rode out one day about four miles on the old 
 
STRANGE SHOWHOUSE. 559 
 
 Bayonne road, to see a house and garden much talked of 
 
 here, belonging to a Mons. E , the Portuguese Consul, 
 
 a queer old man, who goes about in a scarlet uniform 
 like that of our former English Generals, and with a 
 white-feathered General's hat. The grounds and gardens 
 are large, and in the first style of a Paddington tea- 
 garden, with a mixture of Hawkstone nonsense and 
 Walsh Porter's sham villages, &c. The house is nothing 
 remarkable, consisting of a number of rooms by no means 
 good ; not a single good picture, only some bad indecent 
 ones and very free prints. The most ludicrous part was 
 a regular inscription of " Library " over a door which led 
 to a little closet with one small set of book-shelves, con- 
 taining a dozen or two of great almanacs, and a few odd 
 volumes of all sorts of books, the whole in number about 
 a hundred. 
 
 On the landing-place on the stairs is a negro, carved in 
 wood, holding a bottle and glass. The flower-garden 
 which is in the old style, is tolerable. There are no good 
 statues, but plenty of cut trees in all shapes, temples, 
 &c., the whole being an endeavour to make poor Nature 
 as little likely to know herself as possible. There were 
 trees with the stems in frames and the tops pointed. In 
 the cut promenades in the woods were tombs and 
 wooden painted figures, of all sorts and descriptions. 
 There were dogs in their houses, the prodigal son feeding 
 swine, a mad lady half naked in a cage, &c. In another 
 part of the garden was a labyrinth, and a windmill with 
 a wooden man looking out of one window and a woman 
 out of the other, and below these a wooden cow and 
 some sheep, goats, deer of the same material, grazing. 
 
 Strangers are admitted to survey this place on any day. 
 The doors were opened to about a dozen of us, and we 
 were turned loose, without any showman, into the house 
 and grounds, and ranged about where we pleased. On 
 Sunday every one is admitted, and it is said there is much 
 
560 RECEPTION OF FRENCH ARMY IN TOULOUSE. 
 
 company. The walks are cool, and it is not surprising 
 that they are frequented. The whole is one mode out of 
 many of obtaining notoriety. An ingenious way for pre- 
 serving the flowers is by an inscription insinuating that 
 every flower is a transformed female. This would not, I 
 fear, succeed in England. The poor ladies would have 
 many a pinch and squeeze, and lose many a limb, if 
 Kensington Gardens were full of such flowers, and had 
 no other protector. 
 
 Sunday, 19th. The embarkation of the troops is now 
 going on with more spirit. The fourth division are, I 
 believe, all on board, if not sailed, and everything is by 
 degrees moving down towards the camp at Blanquefort, 
 and the place of embarkation, Eouillac, about thirty-five 
 miles below this. From the state of uncertainty in 
 which I remain I shall be one of the last, if I go at all, 
 that is, whether our Tarragona Court-martial is put an 
 end to. All accounts which have reached me agree with 
 
 P 's. I have thought all along that, with the help 
 
 and assistance of Bonaparte himself, who was our best 
 ally, almost the whole of what has happened has arisen, 
 as it were, from the peculiar state of the nations of Eu- 
 rope, and from a natural course of events directed by 
 Providence, and with which the Allies had nothing 
 to do, except not to prevent it by their blunders or 
 quarrels. 
 
 We have various letters from Toulouse, to officers of 
 the army, full of regret for the loss of their English 
 friends, and by no means satisfied with the exchange for 
 their own countrymen. The army is vexed at this, and 
 matters are worse, as they do nothing but grumble and 
 quarrel in consequence. The reception of the .French 
 troops when they entered, it is said, was very flat and 
 provoking. D'Armagnac, who was supposed to have 
 saved the town by advising Soult to be off, was sent in 
 first, with two thousand five hundred men, and he and 
 
TREATMENT OF ENGLISH CAVALRY. 561 
 
 his officers bowed and were very anxious to court a cor- 
 dial greeting ; but the dull silence was scarcely broken, 
 and the French officers could not contain their vexation 
 and abuse in consequence. There was, I believe, more 
 sincerity in the professions of the Toulousians towards 
 us, as far as the majority was concerned, than is usual 
 with Frenchmen, or than we could reasonably have ex- 
 pected from them. 
 
 On the other hand, the accounts from the cavalry, of 
 their treatment in their march through France, is very 
 different from ours at Toulouse : in this they all agree. 
 The officers, trusting to French hospitality, have left their 
 own beds behind, and having had to bivouack almost as 
 much as in Spain, they have had a bad time of it. Seve- 
 ral letters have come from Mr. H , who went with 
 
 the column through Angouleme and Poictiers. He has 
 written from both these places. He says, " The inha- 
 bitants profess openly that, as we chose to march through 
 France, they will try and make us repent of it. They 
 scarcely give any quarters, send the men leagues about 
 out of the road, and only let the Commissary buy his 
 provisions on the road. At Angouleme, a town which 
 might quarter ten thousand men without inconvenience 
 for a short time, they would only suffer a few officers and 
 the General in the town, and most of those were quartered 
 at inns. The General and one servant got a billet at a 
 private house, but he was to pay if he took more in with 
 him. The incivility is general ; the doors were all shut 
 against us. The playhouse at Angouleme was empty 
 the night it was known that our officers would be there. 
 Nothing to be had without paying." This is the same 
 spirit of vexation as that in the army a conviction that 
 they have been beaten, and that this march is a sort of 
 proof and token of it. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Bordeaux, June 26th, 1814. My life 
 has been every day the same a ride early, at work 
 
 2 o 
 
562 FRENCH EXTORTION. 
 
 at home all the middle of the day, a dinner generally 
 solo, and another walk or ride in the evening, or, as 
 the weather has become cooler again, sometimes the 
 play. 
 
 I have spoken to Colonel M about your friends 
 
 who think of a removal to the south of France, he 
 having many connexions at Toulouse. He is decidedly 
 of opinion that that should be the place of abode, for a 
 family of ladies especially ; I am rather disposed to be 
 of the same opinion. Pau, however, which I. have not 
 seen, is much recommended. Supposing they fix on 
 
 Toulouse, Colonel M says, of course, that the house 
 
 which they will require for comfort must be large, giving 
 them four rooms with lits de maitre, and four beds for 
 filles de chambres, and about four other servants, and 
 three good sitting rooms, &c. He thinks such a house 
 may be had for about eighteen hundred francs a-year, 
 that is, about 75. a-year. I can assure them, that in 
 point of economy, all must depend upon their arrange- 
 ments being made by some French friends, and not by 
 an English one. In house-rent, in wine, in everything, 
 an inhabitant will get articles at one-third of the price de- 
 manded of the English. The French have no ideas of 
 honesty or moderation towards the English, and not 
 much towards any one in matters of trade. The extor- 
 tion, and even the downright frauds committed, especi- 
 ally on travellers, are quite disgraceful, and every trades- 
 man assists his neighbour in getting a job, and fleecing 
 the milords. I believe they are like the Jews, and have, 
 from continual practice, arrived at the same conclusion as 
 the others from religion, namely, that they are performing 
 a duty when they cheat an Englishman. 
 
 There are two Protestant chapels here, and one ex- 
 cellent preacher, in the style of a London chapel preacher, 
 only extempore ; I heard one very eloquent French 
 sermon delivered by him, with great propriety. The 
 
A JEW'S WEDDING. 50)] 
 
 service, the singing, and other parts of the duty, are but 
 moderately performed. 
 
 The courts of justice are much the same as at Toulouse, 
 and about nine or ten judges generally attend. I was 
 unfortunately obliged to leave Toulouse before their 
 criminal sessions with a jury commenced, and on my 
 arrival here they were over. This takes place only once 
 in three months, unless something extraordinary or a 
 great press of business occurs. I attended a case of mis- 
 demeanor, a bad assault, in the criminal court, but that 
 was an appeal only, and being of the class of petits delits, 
 there never is a jury but a president and five judges. 
 The same number presides when there is a jury, in more 
 penal trials ; and in certain cases when the jury are 
 divided, as for instance seven against five, then the judges 
 are called in to vote as jurymen, and the proportion of 
 votes required by law calculated on the whole numbers. 
 There was much unnecessary delay and argument in the 
 case I heard. It was like one of our worst-managed cases 
 of motions for a new trial on account of deficiency of 
 evidence, which are always of the most tiresome class. 
 
 Post-day, June 27th. I have been to the Jew's wed 
 ding. The ceremony consists principally of singing an 
 drinking, and blessings in Hebrew. There must be some- 
 thing Jewish, however, as usual, and that is concerning 
 the ring, which, as soon as it is produced, is shown round 
 to all the rabbies near, and some elders, &c., and to the 
 sponsors, to be sure it^s really gold, or otherwise the 
 marriage is void, and the true old clothesman-like way in 
 which they all spied at the ring was very amusing. 
 Nearly the last ceremony is the bridegroom's smashing a 
 wine-glass in a plate on the floor, with an idea that he 
 and his spouse are then as difficult to separate as it would 
 be to reunite the glass. The gentleman showed gallantry 
 by exerting all his force, and looking most fiercely as he 
 broke the glass. 
 
 2o 2 
 
564 FEELINGS TOWARDS THE ALLIED SOVEREIGNS. 
 
 I understand that the Duke of Wellington came back 
 from Madrid with a much better impression of King 
 Ferdinand than when he went, thinking that he showed 
 talent, firmness, and character. The manner in which 
 he received the Duke may have somewhat disposed him 
 to this favourable judgment. I understand the King 
 immediately treated the Duke as a grandee of Spain, by 
 shaking hands with him, and putting his hat on, and that 
 the king declared almost the only two acts of the Cortes, 
 which he approved of in toto, were those which made the 
 Duke commander of all the Spanish armies, and gave him 
 the estate in the South. 
 
 We have had news from our cavalry from the vicinity 
 of Paris, from Chartres ; all the officers have deserted 
 their regiments to see Paris that present wonder of 
 wonders! They have occasionally lately been better 
 treated, that is, whenever they met with a Eoyalist patron 
 
 at their quarters. H says there seems to be two 
 
 parties every wheie, and it is a sort of lottery which they 
 fall into the hands of; that, when he wrote last from 
 Chartres he had been " stuffed to death," made to eat three 
 or four meals a-day, and to attend a party given on pur- 
 pose for him every evening : this, I conclude, was all a 
 douce violence. 
 
 Still no news as to our Tarragona plan. My patron, 
 Monsieur Emerigon, says, that at Paris the Emperor of 
 Eussia individually was the most popular, except perhaps 
 the English and our Duke ; that the Eussian troops were 
 not in such favour ; the King of Prussia so-so. Blucher 
 and his troops better, but the Emperor of Austria the 
 worst of all; and every one must have observed the 
 marked difference of his reception from that of the other 
 sovereigns. 
 
 I am to-day turned out of my room, which is the 
 dining-room, as my patron gives a dinner, to which he 
 has asked me. I must not therefore complain. 
 
PLENTIFUL SUPPLY OF MONEY. 565 
 
 We have been paid up a good deal of money at this 
 place, where the quantity of gold and silver we have 
 circulated is quite incredible. Every one talks of it, and 
 the piles and piles of empty money-boxes of all sorts, and 
 from all quarters, fully prove it. At present we have 
 immense quantities of French money, Napoleons and 
 Louis, gold and silver, from Paris, whilst, on the other 
 hand, I am told that the French are here buying up our 
 guineas and Portuguese gold, to turn them into Louis, 
 as they have begun a new coinage both here and at 
 Paris. 
 
566 COUNTRY FETES. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXI. 
 
 Country F6tes Brawls with the French The Duke d'AngoulSme 
 Mademoiselle Georges The Actress and the Emperor French Acting 
 and French Audiences Presentation of a Sword to Lord Dalhousie 
 Georges' Benefit Departure. 
 
 Head-quarters, Bordeaux, July 4, 1814, 
 
 Post-day. 
 MY DEAR M , 
 
 WE have still had no instruction how to proceed, 
 and are waiting the determination in England. In 
 the mean time I am being gradually stewed, for the heat 
 has again commenced, and is in full operation. My life 
 is quite retired and monotonous, and affords no incidents. 
 The only variety that has arisen is, that yesterday I 
 dined at three o'clock with my patron's sister, a West 
 Indian elderly single lady, and a female party. I was 
 the only beau, the brother was engaged ; and in the 
 evening I rode over about three miles to Briges, a village, 
 where they were keeping an annual fete. 
 
 The crowd of country-people dancing and singing was 
 very considerable, and the road was covered with the 
 lower class, going and returning. The difference between 
 this and our country fetes seems to be, that there was 
 nothing to buy or sell, and but little eating and drink- 
 ing going on, the principal occupation being dancing and 
 talking, laughing, and parading about. It seems impos- 
 sible to make such a people as the French very unhappy 
 in any way, however bad their government, except by 
 the conscription. 
 
BRAWLS WITH THE FRENCH. 567 
 
 Those who are satisfied with salads, sour wine, dancing, 
 and other amusements entirely depending upon them- 
 selves and the meeting of the two sexes, can only be dis- 
 appointed and deprived of their happiness by the removal 
 of one sex altogether. Leave them alone, and they have 
 nearly all they wish. John Bull, on the contrary, wants 
 many things more to put him into the same state of joy 
 and satisfaction. 
 
 Several of Marshal Soult's officers have got into Bor- 
 deaux of late ; disputes and quarrels have been the con- 
 sequence, but hitherto they have been of no great 
 moment. Every opportunity of seeking a row was 
 eagerly laid hold of by the French a jostle on the 
 stairs at the theatre was sufficient. Lord Dalhousie, 
 who is in command here now, has been obliged to forbid 
 any officer going to the Theatre de la Graiete where this 
 was most likely to arise, and to order off every officer 
 not on duty here to camp. We have here now only the 
 Guards and staff officers. The inhabitants are all with 
 us, particularly a set of very fine-looking young men, but 
 a little hot-headed, who compose the Duke d' Angouleme's 
 guard of honour. They have been also insulted, and a 
 few days since paraded with bludgeons to see if this 
 would be repeated either against themselves or the 
 English, and they determined to resist either on the 
 spot. 'No great harm has yet happened. As far as I can 
 learn, there have been about three fights, but none fatal. 
 
 A young Tyrolean, in the pay-office department, 
 having been insulted, watched and followed the offender 
 home. He then went for his sword, which we never 
 wear (but the French always do), returned, and insisted 
 upon instant satisfaction. Upon this the Frenchman's 
 zeal began to cool, but it was too late ; the Tyrolean 
 insisted upon his going out into a backyard and fight- 
 ing directly. He cut him across the face, and was just 
 about running his sword into his body, when a friend 
 
568 BRAWLS WITH THE FRENCH. 
 
 interfered, and stopped him, saying that " he had done 
 enough/' 
 
 Another Frenchman has been horsewhipped by an 
 English officer, who, when insulted, -returned with his 
 sword and whip, and offered the Frenchman his choice, 
 and as the latter persisted in asking for time, he chose 
 for him and gave him the whip. All this makes Lord 
 Dalhousie anxious to get the troops off, and as I hear 
 Lord Keith has promised plenty of transports, in answer 
 to his pressing letters on the subject, we expect to be all 
 away in ten days' time, and some immediately. There 
 are nearly eighteen thousand men still in France, includ- 
 ing the fifth division at Bayonne, where, by-the-by, the 
 disposition on the part of the French to be uncivil, sulky, 
 and quarrelsome has been much greater. On the con- 
 trary, the generals and superior officers are very civil, 
 particularly Marshal Suchet, to the few English officers 
 remaining at Toulouse, and General Villette, who is here, 
 is also very civil. 
 
 Later. A ship is just arrived in sixty-four hours 
 from Plymouth, telling us that fifteen sail of the line, 
 and as many frigates are close at hand, but no news of 
 our destination. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Bordeaux, July 10th, 1814. I have 
 now received two letters and packets of papers from you 
 by the last mail, including those up to the 28th June. 
 The same mail brought orders for all the members of the 
 Court-martial appointed for Tarragona to proceed direct 
 for England, and there report themselves to the Adjutant- 
 general. Upon this I asked Lord Dalhousie (our present 
 chief) what I was to do? and was by him desired to 
 remain here to the last and move with the head-quarters, 
 who remain here till the troops move. This must, I 
 think, take place in about a week or ten days, unless you 
 cease to send shipping from England. We shall in three 
 days' time have only a brigade of Guards remaining for 
 
DUKE D'ANGOULEMK. 
 
 the city duty. The rest who will not be already em- 
 barked will be at Poulliac in readiness. 
 
 We have now got our small share of Royalty also at 
 Bordeaux, as the Duke d'Angouleme has arrived again, 
 and means to stay a few days before he goes to join 
 Madame la Duchesse at the Baths at Vichy. He looks 
 worn, and less calculated than ever for public show, but 
 still apparently as amiable as before. The Due de Gr - , 
 though still, I believe, in our 10th Hussars, came in with 
 him, as his aide-de-camp. The Due de Gr -- is come 
 back much disgusted with Paris, and even almost with 
 France and Frenchmen. He says that Paris is a dirty 
 place, without society and manners, and that he has met 
 with no one to whose word or whose honour he would 
 fairly trust : that all seemed to be a system of deception 
 and falsehood, and that unless things mend, and alter 
 considerably, he should feel almost disposed, in case of 
 any unfortunate quarrel with England, to renounce 
 France, rejoin his regiment, and become an English- 
 man. This, I conclude, is the depression of first feel- 
 ings, which, in the case of emigrants, must be very 
 strong just now. Matters have not quite proceeded to 
 their tastes, and they must every hour meet with that 
 which must inevitably disgust them. 
 
 We have now also at Bordeaux the celebrated Made- 
 moiselle Georges, the actress from Paris, and Mons. 
 Joami, also from the metropolis. In spite of the heat, 
 I have been three times to hear them in Voltaire's plays, 
 Merope, Phedre, and V Orphelin de la Chine. The man 
 has neither much figure nor countenance, and I should 
 place him only as a second-rate performer, though still 
 very superior to the ordinary set here in that line. In 
 fact there are no tragic performers here at all ; and the 
 inferiority, beneath mediocrity, with which every other 
 part is sustained, takes off the interest with which these 
 tragedies would be otherwise attended. 
 
570 MADEMOISELLE GEORGES. 
 
 Mdlle. Georges herself is also in many parts deficient, 
 both in good taste and in true nature. She is of a 
 large figure, but now fallen to pieces ; and I am rather 
 surprised that the ci-devant Emperor should have fancied 
 her anywhere except during his Moscow campaign. The 
 story, however, goes here, that at one of their interviews, 
 Bonaparte was taken ill, and in her confusion and ig- 
 norance Mdlle. Georges rang the Empress's bell instead 
 of that for the attendants, and that on the arrival of 
 Maria Louise there was of course a scene. 
 
 Mdlle .^ Georges' voice is good, and her countenance 
 would by many be considered fine. In some parts of 
 her acting I think she is strikingly great, but generally 
 forced and extravagant. She runs into extremes from 
 crying to laughing, and from low ghost-like intonations 
 to loud vulgar screams. Upon the whole, one comes 
 away fatigued from one of these representations, and not 
 much pleased or affected. And what convinces me that 
 it really is inferiority in the drama or in the actress, and 
 not merely the difference of style and manner, or national 
 feeling as to composition and taste, which causes this, is, 
 that the French part of the audience never seem affected 
 like an English audience under the influence of really 
 fine acting. You never hear the generally suppressed 
 sobs, or see the eyes full of tears all round the house as 
 with us at an English tragedy, when, for example, Mrs. 
 Siddons plays, and every one goes away with a serious 
 impression. In the French auditors you only hear 
 bursts of "Tres beau, tres beau ! superbe I magnifique !" &c., 
 always applied to some extravagant and sudden change of 
 tone or manner; and now, at this present moment, if 
 there happens to be a royal sentiment which can be 
 applied, it is encored like a song. No one seems carried 
 away by feelings which he cannot command; but the 
 applause is given as it would be to a mountebank for a 
 clever trick. The distressed heroine or empress spits in 
 
SWORD PRESENTED .TO LORD DALHOUSIE. 571 
 
 her pocket-handkerchief, or on the stage in the true 
 French style, and certainly not in a manner to excite 
 admiration or interest, or to impress the spectators very 
 strongly with ideas of her dignity and elegance. 
 
 The first night the Duke d'Angouleme was at the play 
 (on his arrival here this time), we had verses and songs 
 in his honour, and " Vive Henry IV. /" without end. 
 At last came for once, " God save the King," which was 
 received very differently from what it was even when I 
 first came here ; coolly and civilly enough, except by a 
 few ; and I believe we have a few sincere friends here. 
 
 As Paris gave a sword to General Sacken, Bordeaux is 
 to give one to Lord Dalhousie ; and I really think the 
 town has (as they certainly ought to have) some feelings 
 of gratitude towards him for his attention to everything 
 which can be of service to the city, and in successful 
 efforts to preserve order, and prevent any mischief being 
 done to the inhabitants. This sword will be a curious 
 heir-loom in the Dalhousie family, given to their ancestor 
 by the French civil authorities of Bordeaux. 
 
 As a trait of the natural French feelings of vanity, I 
 may tell you, that my loyal patron Mons. Emerigon said, 
 not only should we have been all originally prevented 
 from entering France, had the people been of one mind 
 with the Emperor and the army, but that all along a 
 single word of complaint from Louis XVIII. of the con- 
 duct of the allied troops would have been a signal for 
 their entire destruction at any period since. 
 
 I am now told that the fifth division, from Bayonne 
 are also on their march hither to embark. This will 
 probably cause some little more delay ; but I think in 
 ten days we must be on board ship. 
 
 Head- Quarters, Bordeaux, July 15^, 1814. Our final 
 departure from hence appears, at last, to be gradually 
 approaching. The numbers of the English diminish 
 daily; and though we have for this month past been 
 
572 GARDENS PLUNDERED. 
 
 talking of the "next week," I begin to think that an- 
 other week will really and truly see us off, and the 
 Trench army again in possession of Bordeaux. 
 
 The tradesmen of the town will miss us greatly. They 
 have made a famous time of it these last three months, 
 for the army has in that time received six months' pay, 
 and most of it has found its way into the pockets of the 
 keepers of the restaurateurs, the hotels, &c. Bordeaux 
 has had its full share of the spoils of the milords. Nor 
 have the inhabitants suffered anything by the army, 
 except the little inconvenience of giving up a room or 
 two in general as quarters for the officers, who partly 
 made up even for this by giving their hosts tickets for 
 the play, taking boxes for the ladies, &c., and making 
 them presents every now and then. The only persons 
 who have suffered by us at all in the neighbourhood, are 
 those who have small gardens near the camp. They 
 certainly have had their vegetables and fruit gathered 
 gratis, and have generally not even had their share. 
 This evil is, however, exaggerated, and much of it which 
 really exists, has been done by the French peasantry and 
 country servants, who, if a soldier takes six cabbages, 
 immediately take a dozen more themselves, sell them in 
 the camp, and swear to the owners that the soldiers are 
 the culprits. 
 
 Those who have vineyards as well as gardens, have 
 also their full revenge in the price of their wines, which 
 were immediately doubled, by the arrival of the troops, 
 and the latter in fact pay dearly for their vegetables, 
 though they get a good part for nothing. It is fortunate 
 for the inhabitants that we shall be off before the grapes 
 begin to ripen, and for our own soldiers likewise. Sur- 
 rounded by vineyards, the temptations would be irresis- 
 tible, and the means of offence almost boundless ; so that 
 the loss to the cultivators of their principal harvest, and 
 the injury to the soldiers, would be very considerable. 
 
FRENCH CONFIDENCE. 573 
 
 I have bought a violoncello to amuse myself this warm 
 weather, and as my host, M. Emerigon, plays the violin 
 in very excellent style, we have frequently music of an 
 evening before he goes to his consultations. 
 
 We most of us, nevertheless, begin to find Bordeaux 
 dull, I do in particular. My occupation has nearly 
 ceased, except as to swearing the paymasters, &c., to 
 their accounts, and now and then a Court-martial, not 
 enough to give me full employment. The constant 
 expectation of moving, the uncertainty when I may be 
 wanted, and the natural indolence arising from the heat, 
 prevent me from voluntarily engaging in any regular 
 study or pursuit, and even prevent my making any 
 excursions beyond a league or two on my pony. Shut 
 up in this town, which, though airy, as to the general 
 breadth of the streets and openings, is still in fact hot 
 and low, and built in a country like that round Woolwich 
 or Deptford, I get thin and languid, and shall be glad to 
 be braced by the sea-air and the cooler climate of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Saturday, 1st. As yet we have had no packets this 
 week, and being beyond the usual time, this makes us 
 believe the reports which have been some days in circu- 
 lation, that you mean to send no more packets from 
 England. I have still hopes. 
 
 I must tell you a trait completely French, of one of 
 the noble guard of honour of the Duke d'Angouleme at 
 Bordeaux. I had met him twice in the family with 
 whom I live : 011 one of these occasions, at dinner. He 
 dined here yesterday, and whilst the rest of the party 
 were taking their coffee, I went to my room to dress, as 
 I dined at Lord Dalhousie's. This guardsman slipped 
 up stairs after me. He came bowing into my room, 
 whilst I was in my shirt, and without any excuse or 
 apology, immediately began to tell me he had a little 
 favour to ask, and hoped that I would oblige him, and 
 
574 FRENCH CONFIDENCE. 
 
 say nothing of it in the family, for he would not ask 
 them, and was anxious they should not know anything 
 about it ; and at last said, " Could I just let him have 
 five guineas or so, for which he would give me a bit of 
 paper." In short, he added that he was rather deficient 
 in cash, and I should oblige him infinitely by the loan, 
 which should be paid when he could. As I fully expected 
 an application to ask some favour of Lord Dalhousie or 
 the Duke of Wellington, or something very disagreeable, 
 I felt rather relieved by the explanation in full. As he 
 was quite a young man, had just got a commission in 
 the new regiment to be raised in Martinique, and was, I 
 concluded, of good character, from his connexion with 
 M. Emerigon and his family, who are held in great 
 esteem, I counted him out his five guineas (all the time 
 in my shirt), and he went away very happy, saying that 
 he would go below and leave me a bit of paper, though I 
 told him there was pen and ink in my room. The paper 
 
 said that he would send Mr. six guineas to England 
 
 (a guinea more than I had given him) as soon as he 
 
 could. It was signed P. de V. De R , De La 
 
 Martinique, leaving my name a blank, and not inquiring 
 where he should send, so as to reserve, I presume, enough 
 to satisfy his conscience in not repaying the money, that 
 he should never know where to send it. His bit of paper 
 only confirmed me in my notion that I was doing an act 
 of charity, and not turning Jew or money-lender. 
 
 The guard of honour are to-day dismissed, by order of 
 the higher powers from Paris. In truth, there are quite 
 troops enough in France, without adding the expense of 
 these gentlemen, with their white feathers a yard long, 
 who would be of no use except to quarrel with the 
 regular troops. Only four years since Bonaparte, when 
 at Bordeaux, was attended everywhere by a guard of 
 honour of the same description. Volunteers were his only 
 body-guard. 
 
FETE TO THE DUKE D*ANGOULEME. 575 
 
 The Prefet of Bordeaux last night gave a fete to the 
 Duke d'Angouleme. I went with M. Emerigon. The 
 Duke came a few minutes after eight o'clock in his car- 
 riage and six, dressed, I believe, in the uniform of a 
 Field-Marshal, with the cordon-bleu, &c. He was re- 
 ceived by the Prefet, attended by Grenerals Villette, 
 Blagnac, Clement de la Eonciere, &c., &c., and a number 
 of old and new nobility, all in their best ; and having 
 been, as it were, proclaimed to the company by the 
 Prefet, the Duke went about most graciously, talking to 
 every one as usual. 
 
 About ten supper was announced, for the Duke has 
 very early habits ; and in about half an hour afterwards 
 he came to the window to see very pretty fireworks, 
 which were let off in the main street, surrounded by 
 thousands of people below, and at all the windows. It 
 was a gay and attractive scene. Soon after eleven the 
 Duke went home, for he rises at five, and works hard at 
 business, on petitions, &c., and at four o'clock to-morrow 
 morning is to start for Bayonne. He had been at two 
 reviews in the course of yesterday, and had both times 
 been in tolerably severe storms. I fancy he must now 
 and then wish himself quiet again, as he has been for the 
 last twenty years. I am almost sure I should. The 
 new barons and nobility seem to make very good cour- 
 tiers. Indeed, the duties are all the same ; it is only a 
 change in the cry and the idol, the same worship exists 
 
 as before. The Prefet, Monsieur le Baron de Y , 
 
 while the fireworks were going on, observed to all 
 around him (loud enough on purpose for the Duke to 
 hear) how fortunate he was to have thought of the fire- 
 works ; that the idea had come into his head, as he 
 observed that every one would see Monseigneur so well 
 at the window, whilst the fireworks were going off ; and 
 then how plainly we can read the inscriptions O yes, 
 observe Vive le Due d'Angouleme ! Vivent les Bourbons ! 
 
576 LIBERAL CATHOLICS. 
 
 and the fleurs-de-lys how well they look in the midst of 
 the fire ! He felt quite happy that he had thought of 
 all this to gratify the people, as it necessarily must do. 
 Now the inscriptions were close to us, and in letters 
 a foot long. And note besides, that this Baron was one 
 of the functionaries who ran away from Bordeaux, when 
 the Duke came here on the 12th of March, and who 
 would probably not now hold his situation, if my patron 
 and some others had not persuaded him to return in 
 good time, and continue in his office to wait the result. 
 The Duke must see through this, and be disgusted. 
 
 The women here are not as well dressed as at Toulouse 
 not so stylish. They do not show so much blood and 
 fashion. I believe, however, among the higher orders, 
 that there is much more morality, and that there is a 
 greater difference in reality,- as well as in outward appear- 
 ance, between the ladies in the dress-boxes, and those in 
 the tier above, than there was at Toulouse. 
 
 Shortly after eleven o'clock the few English who were 
 present at the fete, had nearly all gone home, being chiefly 
 Generals and their aides-de-camp. I came away, leaving 
 the company waltzing and! dancing away with less spirit 
 and skill than at Toulouse. 
 
 I met with some very liberal Catholics here ; for 
 instance, a gentleman said yesterday, before me, that if 
 all the pieces of the true Cross were collected, they 
 would, when put together, make a cross half a mile long. 
 A lady in company said 'to a friend (also before me), that 
 she did not much trouble the father confessor, and indeed 
 that it was what she liked the least of any part of her 
 duty. She added that their religion depended on faith, 
 hope, and charity, and that she understood (addressing 
 me), ours did so too, but that theirs required a good deal 
 of hope. Madame Emerigon, with whom I live, has 
 returned home highly delighted with Paris, but abuses 
 the inhabitants, who, she says, think only of making 
 
FRENCH GASCONADING. 577 
 
 money, taking in strangers, provincials and foreigners, 
 and amusing themselves day and night. 
 
 She is a French Creole from one of the islands. A 
 little mulatto girl, about fourteen, always stands behind 
 her chair, laughing at all her mistress says. The hair- 
 dresser is genernlly seated in one corner of the room, 
 half the dinner-time, joining in the conversation, and 
 sometimes adorning Madame, whilst we are taking our 
 wine, and during this time an idle Paris lad, of the girl's 
 age, whom Madame seems to have fancied because he 
 speaks such good French, and not the Patois, is running 
 about, bustling, but in reality doing little or nothing from 
 morning till night. Three other female servants, and a 
 nephew of the family, complete the party on this side 
 of the house, or rather wing. 
 
 In an opposite wing, are, first in the upper part, two 
 respectable old ladies, and their servants ; below them 
 au-premier, is an old West Indian gentleman and his two 
 sons, both ci-devant of the Imperial guard of honour, 
 from Bordeaux, and his two daughters, with servants, 
 &c. None of these are very elegant, nor, as far as I can 
 judge from one visit, very well bred. They amused me 
 the whole time with talking of the superiority of the 
 French troops, and how the Imperial guards in particular 
 could beat all the Allies if not more than two to one, as 
 they always had done, to which I only said that I 
 believed the Imperial Guards had been all withdrawn 
 from the army of Spain, at least I supposed so, and that 
 I had had, therefore, no opportunity of judging. One 
 Miss also asked what the English lived upon? as she 
 understood we ate no bread. Upon which a French 
 visitor, to save me the trouble of explanation, informed 
 her that we principally lived upon des potates (which is 
 now the word here for potatoes) and betraves, with which 
 accurate information she seemed quite satisfied. This 
 sort of conversation, and a few songs quite in the French 
 
 2 P 
 
578 MADAME GEORGES' BENEFIT. 
 
 style, which I do not at all admire, though one of the 
 demoiselles had a good voice, have not tempted me to 
 pay another visit. 
 
 The other night I went to the benefit of Madame 
 Georges. She acted Semiramis, in Voltaire's play, and 
 with considerable success, particularly when she let 
 Nature have its way. She also acted in the sentimental 
 farce of La Belle Fermiere, and really well, if she had 
 but omitted a miserable song, accompanied by an old 
 violin or two behind the scenes, all out of tune. The 
 orchestra, as well as every part of the house, was full 
 almost every passage crammed near the openings to the 
 boxes. The play began at seven o'clock, and the com- 
 pany were all ready by four, and I saw many well-dressed 
 women going to the play at two and three o'clock, as 
 a box cannot be engaged without paying almost double 
 price. The Duke was very well received, and as there 
 was luckily no band, we escaped about five-and-twenty 
 Vive Henry IV. ! which we should otherwise have had. 
 
 Mr. Wilberforce should exert himself in getting little 
 essays written in French, on the Slave Trade, circulated 
 in France, in some degree at least to enlighten the 
 people. At present, even the more intelligent and better 
 sort of men seem only to consider the English as playing 
 the part of Don Quixote in this business, and consider the 
 whole as a sort of romantic affectation of humanity ; whilst 
 many others insinuate motives not quite so honourable, 
 by stating that, having well supplied our own islands 
 with slaves, we wish to give up all the other colonies, 
 with a diminished black population, and in bad condition, 
 and then to prevent their ever recovering themselves. 
 This is to be done by the abolition of the Slave Trade ; 
 whilst our own islands, in full prosperity, will be ready 
 to reap the benefit of the distress of their rivals. 
 
 July iSth. I have now only time to seal up and to 
 tell you that the returns of embarkations are just arrived 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 from Ponillac, by which it appears that all the troops are 
 now actually on board, except the two brigades of Guards, 
 one of which entered Pouillac to-day to be prepared, and 
 the other is still here. At present no more shipping is 
 ready, though more are expected ; some say we shall be 
 moving about to-morrow week, some this day fortnight ; 
 but I believe no one knows anything of the matter. 
 
 From the following entry in the Diary kept by Mrs. 
 Larpent, it appears that Mr. F. S. Larpent arrived at his 
 father's house, at East Sheen, on the 8th August, 1814. 
 
 8th August, 1814. "In the evening came Seymour, 
 looking younger than when he went away, and in excel- 
 lent health, after having been absent two years, all but a 
 fortnight. We thanked God sincerely for this great 
 mercy and happiness." 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 [Although the annexed letter does not come chronologically 
 within the scope of Mr. Larpent's Journal, as there is an antici- 
 patory notice, towards the close of the second volume, of Sir John 
 Murray's trial, it may not inappropriately be inserted here.] 
 
 Paris, January 19th, 1815. 
 MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 IN regard to Sir John Murray's trial, I intended to prove 
 the charges framed by my directions against him, in consequence of 
 the orders of Government, by the production of my Instructions 
 and his Eeports, all of which are in the Government Offices. 
 
 Sir John Murray contends that one paragraph of my Instructions 
 directed him not to risk an action. I think he has mistaken my 
 meaning in that paragraph ; but whether he has or not, that para- 
 graph did not recall the other Instructions for his conduct. 
 
 The object of that paragraph was to prevent the Spanish Generals 
 Elio and the Duque del Parque, from taking advantage of Sir John 
 
580 APPENDIX. 
 
 Murray's absence, and the temporary command which they had of 
 the cavalry belonging to Sir John Murray's and Whittingham's 
 corps, to attack the French. There existed a prevailing opinion 
 among the Spanish officers that their failures were to be attributed 
 to the want of good cavalry ; and this paragraph of the Instructions 
 was drawn with the view of preventing those officers from attempt- 
 ing to fight a general action when circumstances should have 
 placed a small body of good cavalry at their disposal, more particu- 
 larly as all the manoeuvres ordered by the Instructions had in view 
 to prevent the necessity of a general action. 
 
 ^ I have not by me the Instructions, but, as well as I recollect, 
 this meaning of the paragraph is obvious ; and it will be particularly 
 observed that it comes in after the directions for the formation of 
 the Corps Eomain in Bohemia with the Duque del Parque and 
 General Elio. I think, as I before stated, that this paragraph has 
 nothing to say to the question of Sir John Murray's guilt or inno- 
 cence of the two charges, though it has to that brought against him 
 by the Admiral. 
 
 The Court has, of course, a right to judge of my meaning by the 
 words in which it is conveyed, in whatever manner I may now 
 explain it or you may explain it for me, as the obvious meaning of 
 those words was to be the guide of Sir John Murray's conduct. 
 I must add also, that whatever care I may have taken, it is not 
 improbable that in drawing an Instruction for the operations of so 
 many corps, all with separate Commanders-in -Chief, I may not in 
 every instance have made use of the language which should convey 
 the meaning I had in my mind. 
 
 There is nothing else that occurs to me ; but 1 shall be glad to 
 hear from you occasionally during the trial, and receive a copy of 
 the evidence when it can be got. 
 
 Believe me, 
 Ever yours, most faithfully, 
 
 WELLINGTON. 
 To F. Larpent, Esq. 
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