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  11th. The Enemy continue occasionally to show themselves; but it does not appear that their main Body is in advance of Salamanca. It is stated that Junot has arrived there with thirty thousand men and that preparations are making for the reception of Buonoparté. The News of one Day is however generally falsified the next. We expect to know something decisive by the next Mail respecting our remaining-in this Country. As long as a British Army is in Portugal, the People have no apprehension of danger; but they say, if left to themselves, their doom at once is fixed.

  This being the Season of Lent, there is abundance of Fasting and Praying, but as little Devotion as at other Times. The three Days prior to Ash Wednesday there was some very beautiful Music and singing in the Cathedral; the Organ is a remarkably good one, and one of the Priests possesses the finest Bass Voice I ever heard. Processions and Ceremonies are numerous, and the consumption of wax Candles is immense. The number of Priests attached to the Cathedral alone is very great, a Bishop, a Dean, three others possessing high Rank, but difficult of pronunciation, thirty Canons, and a vast number of inferior Clergy. I was witness to the Ceremony of Matrimony a few days since. It has a strong resemblance to that of the Reformed Church, but the greatest levity prevailed during the whole Service. The Bride did not appear to be more than twelve or thirteen, and made her Responses with the utmost pertness. The Bridegroom had the appearance of a Person going to be involved in a different species of Noose from that of Matrimony.

  17th. There is little doubt that the Enemy have received large reinforcements under Junot. Slight Skirmishes continue occasionally to take place. The idea that we must almost immediately abandon our present Position is general, and we are in daily expectation of an order to that effect. It is the Opinion of every one that, immediately we begin our Retreat, the French will advance in this direction, and annoy us by every possible means. Indeed our distance from the place of Embarkation is so great, that it is to be feared before reaching it our Casualties will be very numerous.

  The three hundred Men from England joined us a few days since, and a very fine detachment they certainly are. The 40th may with truth be considered at present the very finest Regiment in the Army. Our strength including Sergeants & Drummers is near thirteen hundred men. I feel the responsibility attached to the care of so large a body.

  The weather is very bad; the Rains are incessant, and come down in Torrents. Notwithstanding, the Army generally is in as good, if not better, Health than a Force of the same magnitude would be in England. This being St. Patrick's Day I much fear lest the intemperance that will certainly prevail should be the cause of Disease to many. The Regimental Bands played through the Streets, as is usual on this occasion, commencing at Midnight. On hearing it the Inhabitants were elated with hope, conceiving it could be from no other reason than the arrival of some great News.

  21st. The night before last at midnight fifteen hundred French, led on by a General Officer of four and twenty and a great favourite of Buonoparté, attacked four Companies of the Rifle Corps under the command of Colonel Beckwith. Notwithstanding the superiority of their numbers the French were completely defeated with great loss. The Rifle Corps had one Officer and three Men killed and six Men wounded. The Affair was a very brilliant one, and the Rifle Corps maintained by their gallant conduct that character for Valour which has so eminently and so long distinguished them.

  The weather appears to have set in fine. Hostilities may therefore be expected almost immediately to commence on a larger scale.

  27th. The Enemy have again retired to Salamanca, and there are Accounts, which rest on very good Authority, that reinforcements which had actually entered Spain have been suddenly ordered to return to France; Marshal Ney has likewise been sent for express to Paris. These circumstances are said to have originated in consequence of a dispute between France and Russia, which is likely to terminate in a Rupture between the two Powers. The next Packet from England will inform us as to the truth or falsehood of this Rumour, which has certainly obtained much credit. We are now an unusual time without a Mail—so much so that Fears are entertained for the Safety of the Packet. We have had no London Papers since the 14th of last month.

  Having described the ceremonies of Marriage and Burial in these Countries I am now enabled to add that of Baptism, having witnessed it a few days since in the Cathedral in this place. The Sponsors are four in number, two of each sex. After a few Initiatory Prayers, some salt previously consecrated is stuffed into the Child's Mouth; after which the Priest inserts Saliva from his own Mouth into the Ears and Nostrils of the Baptised; a variety of other ceremonies being gone through, the unfortunate Infant is stripped perfectly naked and immersed in the coldest water; a few more Prayers conclude the ceremony. This I saw practised on a Child of three days old. The same laughing & other marks of irreverence prevailed during this Ceremony as at the others I have before noticed.

  31st. The long expected Packet has at length arrived and with it Papers to the 15th Inst. They do not confirm the intelligence so confidently reported of Russia having declared War against France, nor indeed do they mention anything that can lead to the probability of such an event. His Majesty's message for taking thirty thousand Portugueze into British Pay having been approved by both Houses of Parliament renders it no longer doubtful that the utmost is to be done for the preservation of this Country. This decision is a source of considerable disappointment to many individuals in this Army. For my own part, tho' I see no prospect of ultimately retaining our ground here, yet I do not think we can abandon these People without a struggle without sacrificing the National Character. We may probably sustain much loss, but even that I consider as not to be estimated when the Honour of England is at stake.

  The weather is excessively gloomy, and remarkably cold when the Latitude of this place is considered. The Climate of England I consider much less variable than that of this part of Portugal.

  APRIL

  April 6th. This afternoon three soldiers of the 27th Regiment were executed in the presence of the whole Garrison. They were convicted of Housebreaking, a Crime Lord Wellington has declared he will never pardon. They were all very young, and met their Fate with great firmness. The scene was truly melancholy, and was, I think, calculated to generate any other sentiment than that of Pride in the Hearts of the Spectators. For my own part I felt that I could not exclaim with the Pharisee—" I thank Thee, O God, that I am not as these Men, &c." The predominating sentiment in my Breast was Humility together with a pious Gratitude to that Being who had blessed me with Parents whose united Precept and Example had taught me in early life to distinguish right from wrong. The Execution was performed in as heavy a Snow Storm as I ever experienced.

  Several fresh Regiments have, it seems, arrived at Lisbon from England, which must convince the most sceptical that every effort is to be made to preserve this Country. We hear that an Ambassador has arrived in London from Paris, but no one appears to think that Peace can possibly be the Consequence. For my own part I see not how such an Event can anyhow be treated for, as long as we retain a footing in the Peninsula. Were the French absolute Masters of Spain and Portugal the case would be widely different.

  April 9th. I was yesterday attracted into the Cathedral by seeing an unusual Number of Persons entering it, and on enquiry found it was Passion Sunday, tho' with us Palm Sunday. The sermon treated on the Sufferings and Death of our Saviour, and was delivered in a tone of voice bordering on crying; this I was afterwards informed the Preacher is obliged to do. During a particular part of the Discourse, and, while he is describing in the most forcible language the extent of those Sufferings, a Curtain is suddenly drawn back by an invisible Hand, and an Image of our Lord upon the Cross is exposed. The whole Female part of the Congregation immediately commence an audible lamentation, which from its generality I could not conceive to be real. The Sermon is soon after concluded, when the whole Congregation strike their Faces repeatedly with their Hands and dismiss.

  13th. We are entirel
y without News of the Enemy in this Quarter. The weather appears likely to be more favourable than it has lately been, from which many infer we shall soon be engaged. Regiments continue to arrive from England at Lisbon, and indeed every circumstance tends to prove that there will yet be a most obstinate Struggle before the fate of this Country is finally fixed.

  26th. Last week, being Passion Week, was one continual round of Ceremonies and Processions; were I to attempt to describe them all this Book would be insufficient for the purpose. The Thursday is here a more solemn Day than the Friday, and every person who lays the smallest claim to the denomination of a good Catholic makes a point of confessing on that Day and afterwards communicating. I had an opportunity of being present at the different functions performed in the Chapel of the Nuns. The Organ is a very sweet one, and some of the Music particularly fine, but the levity I have so frequently observed among the Canons in the Cathedral may be styled Devotion in comparison with that which prevails among these fair Recluses. I never before had so convincing a proof of the inefficiency of this Religion to touch and amend the Heart.

  MAY

  May 10th. Since the last date the Enemy have made various movements indicating a disposition to attack us. Lord Wellington in consequence removed his Head Quarters to Celerico to be nearer the scene of action, and the whole British Force together with several Portugueze Regiments have been concentrated in this Neighbourhood. It is said however that the French have again retreated upon Salamanca, and that they may still be some time longer quiet. Notwithstanding the advanced Season of the Year the weather is cold and almost constantly wet, nor do the Inhabitants give us hopes of having better, at least for a Month to come. It is true we have not had any Snow very lately, but they bid us prepare to expect it.

  By papers from England to the 20th Ulto. we have an account of the late disturbances in the Metropolis. I much fear that the flame is only partially smothered, to break out at some future Day with augmented violence. It is melancholy to reflect how the lower Orders of People are led away. Could they but compare their lot with those of other Countries, they would be sensible of the numerous Blessings and Privileges they enjoy. This clamour for reform is made by designing men a cloak for the most pernicious and iniquitous Intentions.

  30th. We still remain here unmolested, though the Enemy have according to all Accts. been reinforced to an immense Number. This inaction on their part is attributed to the quantity of Water in the Rivers between them and us, which have been and still are greatly swollen by the constant and violent Rains that have lately prevailed.

  On the verge of June we have not anything in this place that indicates the approach of Summer. A Fire is still as desirable as it is in England in the Month of May. By descending the Mountain however on which this City stands we can at once change our Temperature many degrees. Nothing can be more beautiful than is the Valley at the Foot of the Hill about four Miles from hence. So sensible are the natives of the superiority of this charming Spot that everyone of them who can scrape together a little money builds a Quintal or Cottage there; it is now extremely populous. A variety of sketches of this valley have been taken by different Draughtsmen. Indeed, on descending the Hill, it forms a Landscape equal, if not superior, in Beauty to anything I ever before witnessed.

  I had a few Days since an Opportunity of going through the Convent in this place. I went in with a Staff Officer, who got admission under the pretext that it was necessary for him to take the altitudes of the surrounding Mountains from a high Tower belonging to the Convent, where the Sisterhood go to take the Air. The Abbess was completely taken in, and two Confessors being at hand to accompany us we were accordingly admitted. On the Door being opened the Abbess attended by Twenty Nuns presented themselves to pay their respects. As soon as we thought we had been a reasonable time in measuring distances we proposed to descend, when one of the Nuns whispered us to ask permission to see the whole of the Convent, which the Abbess at once granted. So pleased were the Sisterhood with this Visit, (the first they had ever known), that there was not a Nook, Cranny, or Corner, they did not in a whisper suggest to us to ask the Abbess to be permitted to see. In the Chapel we were favoured with some Solos and Duets executed in very superior stile and accompanied by the Organ. Being a Medical Man I was allowed to visit their Infirmary, where I saw a Nun a hundred and five years old in the possession of all her Faculties except her Sight. Not knowing I was near her, she was expressing to the Nuns who accompanied me her Surprise and Indignation that anything like a Man should be permitted to enter the Convent. We at length took our leave. The Abbess, whose Heart appears to be better than her Head, has been since made to believe it was a trick, and I fancy she will not again open the Doors on such a pretext.

  JUNE

  June 2nd. Everything indicates an immediate movement. An Order has been issued for each Regiment to be prepared to march at half an hour's Notice; every Man not entirely fit for Service has been sent away, and one Day's Provisions are kept constantly cooked beforehand. Whether this Movement will be forward or backward, to the right or left, we are in profound ignorance. The Weather has become fine, and it does not appear probable that an Engagement between the two Armies can be many Days delayed.

  23rd. We still remain at Guarda, and our quitting it appears to depend entirely upon the Movements of the Enemy. They are now actively besieging Ciudad Rodrigo, and, their Heavy Artillery having arrived, there is little probability of its holding out many Days. They are now in such force that it is generally conceived they will immediately after advance into this Country, & almost everyone appears to think that we cannot make any effectual resistance to their progress. Our advanced Picquets are constantly in sight of those of the Enemy, and the Men frequently approach so near to each other as to hold Conversations. They say it is nothing less than madness our remaining here, and that if we do not speedily fly to our Ships we shall inevitably all be eat up.

  25th. Head Quarters remove this day to Almeida, but there are no Orders as yet for the Troops to accompany them. The Army is at present so generally healthy, that it is supposed Lord Wellington will defer hutting them as long as possible.—Almeida is distant from the French Head Quarters only six Leagues.

  Yesterday commenced here a large Fair, notwithstanding its being Sunday, thus furnishing another instance of the total disregard paid to the Divine Ordinances by a People assuming to themselves an extraordinary degree of Religion, and excluding from the Ark of God's Mercy all those whose Religion tends to differ from theirs.

  JULY

  July 10th. Ciudad Rodrigo still holds out, and furnishes another instance of the extraordinary valour with which the Spaniards defend their Cities. The Enemy have three times attempted to storm the place with chosen Troops, and each time have been repulsed with great slaughter. The defence of the Garrison has excited universal admiration. The weather is extremely fine, and at this time of the year Guarda may be considered a very pleasant Quarter, as from its height there is an almost constant breeze: in the Valleys the heat is excessive, and the Troops are less healthy than those here.

  The Marquis Romana passed thro' here a few Days since on his return to Badajos. He had been to Head Quarters to have an interview with Lord Wellington. He speaks, I am told, with great confidence of the ultimate triumph of Spain over her oppressors. He is most devoted to his Country, and I really believe determined not to survive the extinction of her liberty. His appearance proves that a very great soul does sometimes inhabit a very mean body.

  12th. The enemy entered Ciudad Rodrigo by Capitulation the Evening before last. Conjecture is afloat as to what will be their next movement. Some think they will push on for Almeida; others are of opinion they will direct their force against Badajos. A short time will determine.

  In a skirmish Yesterday Colonel Talbot of the 14th Dragoons was killed. He is much lamented.

  The Night before last a most horrid Murder was committed a short distance from this place. There is too much reason to suppose that the
perpetrators were British. I was directed by the General Yesterday Morning to go down there, when the most dreadful Sight I ever witnessed presented itself. Three Bodies, viz., a Man, Woman, and their Daughter, a Child about eight years of Age, lay on the Floor, weltering in Blood; the former and the latter quite dead, and the Mother with little sign of Life. A Hatchet lay beside them with which the deed had evidently been completed. The Heads of the deceased were literally beat to a Jelly. The Woman still lives, and there are hopes of her recovery. She is at present incapable of making a deposition, but her return to reason is anxiously looked for, in the hope that it may lead to the discovery of the Murderers. The wretches were doubtless instigated to the Murder from the fear of discovery, as Lord Wellington invariably punishes Housebreaking with death.

  21st. The enemy continue in force about Ciudad Rodrigo, and there is every reason to suppose they will immediately commence the Siege of Almeida. Genl. Loison, equally notorious for his infamy & his impudence, sent in a few days since a message to Lord Wellington offering him a bet of five hundred Guineas that he would not dare to attempt to raise the Siege of Almeida whenever it should be attacked. Lord W's intentions as far as regards that Fortress are profoundly secret. It is very strong and well provisioned; consequently a protracted defence is expected from it.

  25th. Affairs are evidently drawing to a Crisis. The Light Brigade had yesterday a very severe action in attempting to defend a Bridge over the Coa. By the great superiority of the Enemy they were repulsed on the third attack with the loss of twenty-two Officers killed & wounded; our loss in Men has not yet transpired. Several Regiments that formed the advance are expected in here this Afternoon. As the Garrison here has no order to march, many are of opinion that a stand is to be made in this place.

  26th. It appears that the Enemy did not succeed in forcing the Bridge, but they were themselves compelled to retire. Genl. Crawford remained in possession for several hours, but thought it prudent to retire in the Evening. Our loss amounted to thirty Officers and six hundred & fifty men. The loss to the French is not known, but it must have been very great. Their force was more than two to one.