March continued—Wild and striking aspect of the country—Excellence
of discipline—Camp followers—Spanish peasant girls and
men—Plain of Fuente de Guinaldo—Reflections on a soldier's
life—A vegetable conflagration—Village of Martiago—Difficulties
of the French—Arrival in cantonments—The paymaster's
peculiarities.
Continuing our route through the town of Castello Branco and several
villages, we obtained to the left a view of the tremendous ridge of
snow-capt mountains of the Sierra d'Estrella. The barrier of bare and
rugged rocks towards the Spanish side, when gilded by the departing
glare of the setting sun, assumes the grandest appearance, and, in the
revellings of imagination, a thousand palaces of burnished gold may
be fancied amid these adamantine rocks, vieing with each, other in
height and endless variety of form. Afar off, an old monastery might
be descried, perched on the summit of bare and wild precipices; its
spiral turrets shooting on high, and encompassed by the immensity
of space; the frowning battlements overhanging the valley below, and
threatening to overwhelm the passing traveller with loose stones and
crumbling ruins—while the deep tones of the monastic bell chimed the
vesper hour. On a solitary eminence a lonely shepherd stood, tending
his flock, with a carbine slung across his shoulder, and a couple of
wolf-dogs crouching at his feet, their necks encircled by strong iron
collars bristling with long spikes, to protect them against the gripe
of the voracious wolves. All around seemed of other times in this
precipitous part of the country, composed principally of solid rock.
The rude hand of time had identified towns and villages with their
primitive stones; houses had fallen to decay, but nothing new had
arisen on the ruins; streets branched out, but it was no wise uncommon
to find huge rocks, of many tons weight, sticking up in the middle
of them, never having been removed, and leaving the traveller the
option of a choice of one of the two narrow roads round these natural
obstacles.
As the division threaded its march over winding and difficult
roads, its horse-artillery might be heard rumbling in the rear,
while the winding notes of the bugle horns echoed in the distant
valleys. Major-General R. Craufurd commanded the light division.
His arrangements and regulations of march stood unrivalled: at the
expiration of every hour, the division formed close columns of
regiments, and halted for about ten minutes; the leading corps were
generally again marching off by the time the rear came up. When any
obstacles came across the line of route, each officer, commanding a
company, saw that they were closed up before he put them into the
regular marching pace, and that even if a break in the column happened
of fifty yards between each company. I have frequently witnessed the
whole division marching in this manner through a difficult country, by
which means they were always in hand, ready to engage by companies. If
a man found himself exhausted between the halts, the senior officer of
the company ordered him to have a ticket, which he was obliged to hand
over on his arrival in camp, or to shew to any one who questioned him
on the road as to his authority for being absent from his corps.
The code of discipline was very strict; but every one knew exactly that
which was required of him, and, in the event of any irregularity even
on the line of route, amidst wilds and mountains, no matter where, the
column was closed up _instanter_, and a summary punishment inflicted
on the spot. This was far from harsh treatment: it was lenity in
the end; it preserved the health of the soldiers, by keeping them in
their ranks; it maintained discipline and concentration, the great
requisites in war; it prevented marauding on the inhabitants; soldiers
were debarred from coming to unpleasant collisions and assassin-like
encounters; and thus peace and harmony were established among those
whom we were bound to defend. The followers of the division (and of the
army) were composed of lank Barbary bulls and bullocks; mules loaded
with bags of biscuit, kegs of rum, kegs of ball cartridge, reserve
ammunition; a few hardy women (mistresses, or wives of soldiers)
mounted on strong and weak asses; Portuguese boys, drivers; officers'
milch goats; purveyors and medicine chests; and sometimes a few
suttlers, headed by a man better known by the name of _Tick_, owing to
his giving credit to officers in precarious times. This person, by the
bye, as a natural consequence, would lay on an enormous per centage for
small articles of luxury; disposing of bread itself at nine shillings a
four-pound loaf. Tea, sugar, and brandy in a proportionate ratio.
On the 9th of August we emerged from Portugal, and passed Albergeria,
a village on the Spanish frontier. My astonishment and curiosity were
highly excited on observing the extraordinary difference between the
natives of Spain and Portugal, and that it could be possible, for
people living so near one another, to be so dissimilar in complexion,
costume, and manners,—even when inhabiting respectively the banks of
a narrow stream, which holds its course near the frontier of the two
kingdoms, being scarcely two yards wide, and only ankle deep.
The merry Spanish peasant girls came forward with bold smiles and
strutting steps, greeting us in familiar terms, such as _Vivan los
Ingleses_; _vivan los Coluros, y Mil años a ustedes_; then pulling out
their castanets, jumping and saying, _den nosotros la musica: vivan
los Ingleses_. Others came running forward with pitchers, and, against
all rules, broke the ranks, insisting on supplying the soldiers with
water. Some of them were extremely pretty; their lively manner and
becoming costume made them appear to great advantage. Their complexions
generally are of a fine healthy brown, they have sparkling black eyes,
and dark hair combed back and tied in a knot with a bunch of black
ribbons, hanging down their backs; their jackets of brown or blue cloth
are laced up the front, and slit open at the sleeves, so as to display
a white chemise. Their petticoats are of various bright colours,
reaching just below the knee; and their stockings are red, blue, and
white, most fancifully worked up the middle of the calf of the leg;
their feet are remarkably small, with silver buckles in their shoes,
besides gold or silver ornaments in their ears and round their necks.
When going to church or visiting each other, they wear a black cloth
mantilla over the head, and held across the breast with both hands.
On entering a place of worship, they cross themselves quickly and
drop down on the pavement on both knees, looking very devout, unless
some object of attraction happens to catch their attention. The male
peasantry are hardy and well-made, but by far the shortest race of
men I ever saw in any other country, although their picturesque dress
gives them the deceptive appearance of a height which they really do
not possess. Their principal amusement out of doors is the game of
hand ball, or throwing an iron bar with the right hand a considerable
distance, and also pitching it betwixt their legs in various other
ways which may suit their fancy. On sundays and fête days they dance
_boleros_ with their village maids, who beat time with their castanets
and sing when music cannot be procured. That favorite dance is formed
by four or eight couple standing opposite one another, not unlike the
formation of a quadrille party. The male attire in the province of Leon
is a large _sombrero_, or broad-brimmed hat, with a wide black ribbon
tied round it; a brown jacket slit open at the sleeves; a blue or green
velveteen waistcoat decorated with two rows of long-shanked silver
buttons, and cut out at the breast, showing a white shirt, handsomely
plaited or worked, with a collar about half an inch wide, fastened
with a clasp. The belt round their waists is of durable leather, about
five inches broad. Their breeches are dark brown, stockings of similar
colour, with shoes and silver buckles. When they go out, or during
holidays, they envelope themselves in large brown cloaks, which they
throw gracefully over the shoulder, and conduct themselves with a
manner and deportment very far beyond the peasantry of other countries.
Their villages are built in a cluster round good churches, the body of
those edifices towering high above the small houses of one story high
that encircle them. The floor is usually composed of earth beat down to
a hard substance. There is no glass in the windows, which are merely
small square apertures, one foot by six inches, divided by an iron bar,
with a little shutter on hinges, which is closed at night. Their usual
furniture consists of a bedstead, wool or straw mattress, covered by
very coarse sheets and blankets, a table, two or three forms with backs
to them, a large chest with a partition for the double purpose for
stowing away flour and holiday apparel. Sometimes in winter a brass
pan with handles is used under the table, which they fill with hot
embers to keep their lower extremities warm. The only chimney in the
house is in the kitchen, where they use a small iron lamp filled with
_aziete_ or oil, and burn wood from their neighbouring forests; and
when afar removed from woods, and that article becomes scarce, charcoal
is substituted for cooking. Their usual food is sausages, garlic, and
chocolate, the latter made into cakes ready sweetened, but only used as
a luxury, and mixed so thick, that a tea spoon will stand upright in
it. The bread is extremely white, and compressed, without yeast, made
in the shape of a pancake, being ten inches in diameter, and about two
inches and a half thick, and weighing four pounds.
The women wash by the side of streams, and continue to dip the articles
in the water, and then strike them on a large round stone, on which
they kneel, and, finally, lay them on the ground to dry; by which means
they bleach their linen very white.
It is curious to observe a mother dressing a young child: after putting
on its petticoat, she rolls several yards of coarse cloth so tight
round the body of the infant, that a stranger would conceive it would
be unable to respire, as its little arms stick out horizontally.
We continued our march over the plain of Fuente de Guinaldo, and within
half a league of that place took up our ground in a wood, where we
encamped, that is to say, cut down branches of trees, and constructed
huts; and although the canopy of heaven, or a rudely formed hut, for
months in succession, was the only shelter for the troops, the bivouac
resounded with merriment, and afforded frequent good cheer. For my own
part, I felt perfectly happy; my eyes and inclinations were directed
towards the front; I felt myself securely lodged on _terra firma_, and
no longer a sort of amphibious animal. I had escaped the dreadful fever
and mortality of Walcheren, nor could I well call to mind the having
ever experienced a day's serious illness. This was about the period
of the year when the sickly season commenced; but I flattered myself
that any impression on my unimpaired constitution was quite out of the
question; in fact, I never troubled myself with gloomy thoughts: a wide
field was now open, to which I looked forward with great anticipation,
little dreaming of the example that was about to be visited, in the
space of a short week, on my active limbs.
What situation is superior to the camp? and what period of a soldier's
life is called to mind in such glowing colours as the days of youth,
when he was reclining under the shady branches of a forest oak,
surrounded by young companions in arms, with light pockets and still
lighter hearts, cheerfully talking to each other of glittering and
moving armies, and all the imposing grandeur and pomp of war?—or fancy
him nourishing the fonder feelings, and expatiating on the beauty of
some foreign damsel, by whose wit and graces all hearts are captivated;
while many another, more constant, indulges the fond hope of once more
clasping the native mistress of all his thoughts to his arms, on his
return to his own shores.
Spain, of all countries, tends to produce in the mind the most romantic
thoughts, from the salubrity of its climate, its diversified scenery,
clear sky, and bright sun—a sun which shines throughout the summer
from morning till night, so that to those who sleep under the canopy of
heaven all days seem the same, and when summer closes and clouds darken
the atmosphere, the preceding season appears to the imagination as one
continued day. These and many other feelings are indelibly fixed on
the mind of a soldier, who closes his eyes on the highest mountains,
in the deepest vallies, in woods, in morasses, in dusty, parched, and
arid plains, or amid orange groves, luxuriant gardens, and beneath the
marble fountain; or amidst frost and snow—the inmate alike of the
palace, or of the peasant's menial hut—one night reposing on a bed
of down, enveloped by satin drapery, the next stretching his tired
limbs on the ground, or on a miserable bed filled with vermin—one hour
gazing on the sumptuous, light, flowing drapery and satin slipper of
the graceful _señora_, the next on the ruddy healthy cheek of the more
humble _muchacha_. All these opposite changes attend the soldiers'
career in rapid succession.
But lo! dinner is served up and announced. A truce to reflections!
While we were employed handling our knives and forks, displaying a
hungry dexterity, and bolting morsels of unchewable ration beef, a
smoke was observed issuing from a valley, in the direction of our
outposts, a mile to the front, which continued to increase, and then
burst into a flame. A gentle wind blew towards our bivouac. The blaze
increasing, and extending with great velocity, the cry of "fire,"
resounded from all quarters—"The camp's on fire." All was confusion;
officers and soldiers seizing their baggage, ammunition, and horses. In
the mean time, some tore large branches from the trees, and advanced
to check the devouring element, the dried corn burning and whizzing
towards us with the noise of a whirlwind; the heat was excessive;
opposition was useless; the trees of the forest blazing away like
a whisp of straw; and the whole brigade were _en déroute_, flying
to save their lives, by reaching the road, where the second brigade
had hastily formed, with boughs in their hands, as a last effort to
endeavour to repel this vast conflagration. Fortunately the wood here
ended, and the grass burnt itself out to the edge of the sandy road,
which was one of great width, such as are frequently met with in the
open parts of Spain. Had I not been an eye-witness to so quick and
extensive a devastation made in a short time, I could hardly have
pictured to my mind such a grand and awful spectacle.
Taking up fresh ground for the night, we descended in the morning the
precipitous banks of the river Agueda, leading to the remote village
of Martiago, nearly at the base of the Sierra de Gata. On the night
we entered it, a pack of famished wolves devoured a donkey, and tore
the hind quarters of a horse away. The poor animal was found in the
morning, having crawled from his ferocious pursuers into the middle of
the village for refuge, in that miserable condition.
Ciudad Rodrigo was to be reconnoitred. As convoys of stores and
provisions were expected from Salamanca, through the great forest, of
four days' march, between those places; and as Don Julien Sanches,
with his Guerillas, hovered about ready to cut off all small parties,
the French were under the necessity, with incalculable inconvenience,
to assemble their army, stretched over a great extent of country, to
keep the inhabitants under control, to protect their hospitals, levy
contributions, and to make perpetual countermarches in order to keep
open their line of communication.
On the 11th of August, before daylight, our division was bending its
course over ravines, and almost impassable pathways, to show front
during a reconnoissance made by Lord Wellington, who usually wore in
the field, at this period, a small low-crowned cocked hat, a blue
pelisse coat, and a Hussar sash.
The sun blazed forth as usual, (for not a drop of rain had fallen since
I had put my foot into the country), and biscuit and rum were served
out to refresh the exhausted soldiers; a humble refection which no one
would think of grudging to those who had been under arms for ten hours,
under a burning sun, and crowning the highest hills without a bush to
shelter them, or a drop of water to refresh their parched lips.
With my rum in one hand, making a shallow appearance at the bottom of a
soldier's tin, and my mouldy biscuit in the other, I beheld an officer
approach me, in the act of drawing from his bosom an old ragged black
silk neck-handkerchief worn out in the service, and now converted into
a pocket-handkerchief. He fumbled it over for a whole corner to apply
his nose to; and during this operation, his eyes were fixed on my tin.
After a variety of hems, coughings, and such like indications, he took
courage to beg that I would permit him to dip his dry biscuit into
my shallow allowance of rum, to moisten his lips: his request being
granted, and thanks returned for the given relief, he told me that,
in the hurry to grasp his share, he had unfortunately upset it on the
ground, and had the additional mortification to see it dry up in an
instant.
We were spread out rank entire within sight of the garrison, for the
governor to suppose our force stronger than it really was, so that he
might inform the Duke of Ragusa, and oblige him to bring up and deploy
his whole army, for the protection of his intended convoy.
Late in the evening we reached our cantonments in good spirits, though
well tired, but not so much so as to prevent my making a good meal.
Turning into a small recess, and getting into bed for the first time
for weeks, after some hours I awoke rather feverish, went to the door
in my shirt to cool myself, and found the air so refreshing that I
continued stationary for a considerable time, certainly much longer
than my prudence ought to have dictated; however, I did not feel any
ill effects from it at the time.
On the day following, our paymaster was encircled by a group of
officers, who were listening to his odd remarks, relative to warfare.
He declared that he hated _bullets_ and _swords_, but with fists he
flattered himself he was able to cope with, and would not turn his
back on any man. "Oh!" said he, "how I should like to see a fine
boiled leg of pork, and a pease pudding, smoking before me; why the
very thought makes me ravenous, and I could eat any thing, from a
gnat to an elephant; yes sir, I could eat an elephant stuffed with
militiamen!" Then with both hands, pulling his cheeks, his breeches and
his waistcoat, for in quarters he actually wore the identical dress he
had joined the regiment in; "Look at these," said he, "why they fitted
me as tight as a drum before I came to this cursed country; and look at
them now! Well, only let me get my wife on my knee by my comfortable
fire-side once more, and, if ever I leave old England again, may I
be ——! and as my poor brother _did die_, I wish he had taken his
departure before he ever persuaded me to enter the army!"