On the 22nd of May, 1811, an order came from the Horse Guards for a
detachment to join the 1st battalion, then on its march from Lisbon to
the frontiers of Portugal. The following officers were of our
party:--Brevet Major Moncrieff, Captain Benjamin Rowe, Captain William
Henderson, Lieutenant Geo. Bartley, Lieutenant William Crofton, Ensign
Alexander Hay, Assistant Surgeon Browne.
All were in high spirits at the prospect of going to the Peninsular
army; and in this state of mind we embarked at Portsmouth on the 25th
of the same month, on board of H.M.S. Romulus, commanded by Lord
Balgonie. His Lordship was a Northern, and a fine athletic figure. He
was fond of gymnastics, and joined the officers in their trips on
shore, for the purpose of enjoying any exercise in that way, for which
they might be inclined. Being a great cricketer, he also formed a
party to engage in that active sport. With a man of this description
to command the ship, it may easily be imagined that our time on board
was happily spent, and I may say with truth, that we all regretted the
hour of separation from the Romulus.
We put into Falmouth, on the 31st, owing to contrary winds, and the
officers were permitted to go on shore, where our enjoyment was soon
interrupted by a change of wind, which springing up favourably our
little convoy once more unfurled their sails; and taking a farewell
glance at the white cliffs of England, we soon found ourselves again
buffetting the rough sea and restless waves of Biscay. After a
prosperous voyage of ten days, we entered the Tagus; and on the 25th
of June the troops disembarked at Lisbon. They marched from thence on
the 2nd of July, on their route to the main body of the allied army.
At the end of a long and most fatiguing journey, we got into Abrantes
on the 7th, where we found considerable delay in obtaining quarters.
After waiting in the streets for more than two hours, under a burning
sun, and starving with hunger, we were supplied with billets upon
houses totally destitute of furniture, which, together with the
wretched state of the inhabitants, formed but an indifferent
commencement to our campaign. We halted at this town during the
ensuing day, and employed our time in exploring the various bearings
of the place. The houses are badly built and old-fashioned, and, on
the whole, Abrantes seems altogether destitute of those comforts
which, from its aspect at first sight, one might be led to expect. We
resumed our march on the 9th, and, crossing the Tagus by a long wooden
bridge, passed on without interruption, save by that which the forests
on our way presented. The road was in general sandy, and full of
stones, and as the sun got up we found the heat and dust intolerable;
owing to these impediments, we did not reach our destined quarters
until 12 o'clock, when we entered Garvao, 18 miles from Abrantes.
The French, whose progress on the north of the Tagus was marked with
cruelty and desolation, did not, fortunately for the people in the
Alentejo, extend their wanderings in that direction; this place,
therefore, as well as many others, had escaped the ravages of an enemy
so destructive, and been hitherto exempt from the miseries inflicted
on a country that has become the seat of war.
Our detachment started from Garvao at 1 o'clock in the morning of
the 10th, an early hour it must be admitted, but at this season the
intensity of the heat precludes the possibility of marching at any
other; we found it, besides, far more agreeable to make a moonlight
journey when the air was cool and refreshing. We were in Gafete on the
9th, where I was lodged at the domicile of Louis Corteja, a wealthy
farmer. The family of the worthy Don consisted of his wife, a plodding
garrulous dame, and two lively daughters, together with a brace of
female attendants. Serenissima Rosa, the eldest, was very pretty, but
not gifted with the nimble-tongued accomplishments of her mother, on
the contrary, she was rather stupid and forbidding in her manners; the
other sister, Maria, although scantily furnished with beauty of form
or feature, was, nevertheless, pleasing and agreeable; nature thus
keeping an equal balance between them. On a hard mattress, upon a
still harder floor, (both of which had long been occupied by a colony
of bugs,) I endured a sleepless night, and looked out impatiently for
the return of day. We were woefully tormented in this manner on our
route; for the French, wherever they appeared, carried millions of the
noxious vermin in their train, leaving a bountiful legacy to their
successors, and thus increasing tenfold the dirt and misery of their
habitations.
On the 11th we entered Portalegre. Our road, though passable, extended
over a deserted region, planted thinly with chestnut and olive trees,
with pines at intervals. Portalegre is large, populous and well built:
although not regularly fortified, it is capable, from the strong
ground in its neighbourhood, with the aid of some works on the
adjacent heights, of making much resistance, and might be rendered
formidable to an enemy by some degree of skill combined with labour,
and by exertions that the Portuguese will never make. The approach
leading through the North-west gate is extremely steep and difficult,
causing to the men and baggage animals great fatigue. The remnant of
an ancient wall affords no defence whatever; and the large and ruinous
arched passages serve but to give some evidence of its former
importance. The public buildings are numerous. The grand cathedral in
the Praça de St. Paulo, is the most remarkable; not only for the
splendour of its interior, but also for the magnificent style of
architecture exhibited in the whole of the fabric. The houses are
generally good, and similar to those of the other principal places
through the country; but they have a cold and miserably unfurnished
appearance within; they are, however, well calculated for a warm
climate, having spacious and lofty rooms, with unglazed windows, at
all times open, and their tiled floors being occasionally sprinkled
with fresh water, an additional coolness is produced, acceptable to
the parched and thirsty inmates.
During our stay at Portalegre I could see nothing of, and consequently
could form no opinion as to the merits of, the fair damsels of the
place, so closely were they all immured, so hermetically sealed up,
within the dark recesses of their habitations. Thanks to the watchful
eyes of the Argus-looking duennas, under whom they were held in
durance vile, we were not gratified by even a hasty glance, and thus
we were utterly deprived of a pleasure, which would have afforded some
consolation for the miseries and fatigues endured in the course of our
rough and wearisome service. These fair and bewitching prisoners (for
such I must suppose them to be,) were by no means willing inhabitants
of their dismal chambers; for as we afterwards learned, they left no
scheme untried to outwit their ancient keepers, and making many an
amorous survey from between their rusty gratings, would gladly have
been emancipated by any of those heroes who paced beneath the windows,
and by whom the various tricks and manoeuvres of the black eyed
Signoritas were not altogether unperceived.
Early on the morning of the 13th of July we marched from Portalegre,
and passing through the villages of Azunar and St. Alaya, arrived on
the following day at the heights of Torre de Moro, on the sides of
which the 50th in brigade with the 71st and 92nd lay encamped. After
unloading our mules, and making other arrangements, we found ourselves
comfortably lodged in huts, composed of branches from the spreading
oak, which grows luxuriantly on those hills; our bed was formed of
rushes from the banks of the Caja, a limpid stream winding along the
boundaries of the wood. The wigwam, although not furnished with a
marble slab, possessed the convenience of a stone table, and a chair
of the same durable material. In one corner, suspended from a twig,
the haversack, well supplied with dry biscuit, was dangling, and in
another the flask of rum or wine, while the paniers, or canteen, amply
stored with sundry articles of provender with which to comfort the
weary frame, completed the appurtenances of the humble shed, and were
sufficient for the wants of the warrior ensconced therein. On the
aforesaid bed, of low pretensions, covered by the camlet cloak or
blanket, with the leathern portmanteau for a pillow, the tired
campaigner enjoyed repose as soundly as though he were provided with
all the "appliances and means to boot" to be found within a palace.
Having broken up from the lines of Torre de Moro, we proceeded to
Elvas and Campo Mayor, on the frontiers, and from thence into the
fertile district of the Alentejo, where, cantoned at Borba and Villa
Viçiosa, we were ordered to remain during the extreme hot weather of
this season. We arrived at Borba on the 22nd of July, and were
speedily established in most excellent quarters, our men were chiefly
lodged in an old Franciscan convent, and the officers billetted
throughout the town. My billet was on the house of a rich 'padre,' who
supplied generously all my wants.
Borba, or Villa Bourba, is a considerable place, though styled by the
natives but a village, and is distant from Elvas five leagues, and one
from Villa Viçiosa, where the other brigades of the 2nd division were
quartered. It is situated in the midst of a fruitful and highly
improved valley, and in the heart of a beautiful country, encompassed
by hills, the summits and declivities of which were clothed with
richly variegated and almost impenetrable woods, the scenery around
being truly magnificent. In the immediate neighbourhood are splendid
groves of orange, lemon and fig trees, besides numerous gardens,
producing every description of the most tempting and luscious fruits,
natural to this delightful climate. The simple yet healthful manner in
which the inhabitants lived, was evident from the abundance of those
gardens, stocked profusely as they were with all the necessaries of
subsistence, which a people who exist chiefly on vegetable diet could
require.
The most extensive and charming of those gardens is that of Don Juan
de Almeida, who, being in the Brazils, has left the care of it to an
old steward, from whom our officers had permission to ramble
throughout its pleasant walks, whenever we might feel disposed that
way: often have we enjoyed ourselves during the sultry hours, while
perambulating those delicious grounds, beneath the verdant festoons,
hanging from branch to branch, so closely interwoven that scarcely
might a single ray of noonday sun penetrate the leafy canopy. At
intervals, terminating the avenues, were white marble seats and
alcoves, together with bowers, composed of shrubs and evergreens,
while interspersed throughout this fairy land were numerous curiously
wrought fountains, the cool waters of which were received into smooth
and highly polished marble reservoirs. Sundry carved figures, on
pedestals, representing their ancient kings, were scattered among the
sylvan groves, seeming, as it were, to gaze with admiration on the
beauties of nature and art by which they were surrounded. The houses
of Borba are well built, and adapted in every way to repel the summer
heat and winter cold; their floors are neatly tiled, and the doors and
framework composed of solid oak. There are usually three or four
extensive apartments, opening off each other, with a kitchen
backwards. By means of large folding doors, thrown open in hot
weather, a constant circulation of fresh air passes through the
building. In winter, the blast is excluded from their rooms by
curtains appended to the doors; and, although they have no fireplaces,
the deficiency is well made up, by means of the brasseiro, a large
circular cauldron well filled with burning charcoal, around which the
Portuguese dames get in congress, discussing the affairs of the
nation, while they enjoy the genial temperature diffused by the heated
but rather suffocating embers.
Many religious buildings are to be found here; and among them the most
remarkable is the Nunnery of St. Clara; a stupendous mass of masonry,
affording, with its chapel and other appendages of monastic style, a
good specimen of these saintly prisons. Enclosing this grave of all
that is fair and lovely, is a wall above twenty feet in height, which
gives the concern a fortified appearance, and renders escape
impossible. The only mode of ingress is by means of a huge pair of
folding doors, which in general are kept securely fastened by locks of
ponderous dimensions. From the court yard the passage leads, by a long
flight of stone steps, to the visiting rooms, to which strangers and
friends of the imprisoned are admitted. In the centre of the thick and
solid wall of this apartment is an opening about six feet square,
furnished with a substantial iron grating, separating the aforesaid
room from another, in which the Lady Abbess with her nuns may
condescend to appear. The visitors being permitted the freedom of
familiar converse, a round of chattering and gossip soon commences,
the gaiety of which, by no means corresponding with vows of retirement
from the world, would rather imply, on the part of the novices, a
desire to participate once more in its lately forsaken joys and
pleasures.
The Capuchin convent is a venerable looking pile, standing in the
midst of a thick wood, near the town. Although dark and solitary with
regard to aspect and situation, within its walls is collected as jolly
a set of monks and friars as ever met together, who living, or rather
merely existing, in a state of lazy indolence, are supported by the
deluded multitude, and supplied most plentifully with an abundance of
good things. On visiting this tomb of fish, flesh, and fowl, soon
after my arrival here, I found that the friars had concluded their 12
o'clock repast, and were preparing to take their usual _siesta_ in the
galleries, while the mendicants and pauper monks, below, were feasting
on the remnants of the banquet left by the reverend fathers. From a
spacious vaulted chamber I descended, by a narrow passage of stone
steps, into the kitchen or refectory, where presented to view were
many indications of the luxurious and sensual manner in which those
holy men mortify their living members. Within a fireplace of immense
capacity lay the expiring embers of the fagots used in cooking their
repast, and around were numerous stoves and ovens, the walls being
garnished with a multitude of culinary apparatus, and other articles
for household service. In the calderio, and kettles, were still the
smoking remains of mutton, beef, and vegetables, together with an
endless variety of savoury food, well flavoured with oil and garlick,
the perfumes from which, though not by any means agreeable to me, were
snuffed up by numerous hinds and paysanos, grinning with delight, as
they peeped through the door on the tempting provender, while they
stood in the grand hall of the convent. These half-starved varlets,
together with a horde of begging friars, with ropes tied round their
bodies, (that in many of them would have been more appropriate
ornaments for their necks), were called into the kitchen, by an old
barefooted monk, habited in a cloak and cowl, who did the duty of head
cook to the fraternity. With an air of importance, and no sparing
hand, he served out to them potsfull of the compound; the poor
wretches received the dole in cork vessels, and made a hearty meal,
devouring it ravenously, while they squatted like so many hungry Turks
at the porch of the establishment.
On the first of September, 1811, we broke up from our cantonments at
Borba, and commenced our march for Portalegre. Under a burning sun,
and parched with thirst and heat, we arrived at Monteforte in the
evening; and on the following day once more entered Portalegre, where
we took up our quarters near a large open space called the Praça de
Rocio. The sufferings of the men were extreme during this route, for,
loaded as they were, each with three days provisions, and sixty rounds
of ball cartridge, together with a well filled knapsack, they were
almost overcome; and on arriving at the termination of this journey
were scarcely able to proceed to their allotted billets. Many went
into the hospital, and for a considerable time the regiment did not
recover from the effects of that unusually long and harassing march.
The officers, most of whom walked, were likewise foundered, and the
sick report was for several weeks after filled with their names.
Ensign Alexander Hay, a very promising young man, who had joined at
Torre de Moro, with the detachment last come out, was attacked by
fever, in consequence of drinking incautiously of cold water while
under the influence of excessive heat, and he died in a few days,
sincerely regretted by his companions and brother soldiers.
Our stay at Portalegre was unmarked by any extraordinary event. The
miserable quarters in which the 50th was condemned to pass the winter
months, were rather calculated to diminish our zeal for military life,
while on the other hand, their attractions being so slight, our ardour
to embark in some active business was rather encreased than otherwise.
We had not, indeed, been exactly placed so as to encounter all the
inclemency of the weather, but we had indisputably undergone a
tolerably rough seasoning while stationed there. My quarters were at
the house of Donna Elvira, an ancient maiden, who had counted at least
fifty winters, her forbidding aspect might lead one to presume that no
small portion of the murky gloom of those winters had been imparted to
her visage, which frowned in a darkened scowl upon her ill-fated
guest. A dilapidated hovel was the tenement of this famed sybil, and
scanty indeed was the accommodation afforded within its shattered
walls; like those in the suburbs of all Portuguese towns, it was
fraught with poverty; and, as if to harmonize more with its dingy
patrona, all the appendages contained therein were of broken, filthy,
and crumbling materials.
I was introduced by the aforesaid hostess into a chamber of sadness,
without the vestige of any thing in the shape of furniture to garnish
its interior; with the exception of two broken chairs, and a rickety
table, as venerable as their proprietor, tottering upon three legs,
gnawed into holes by vermin, hordes of which had long maintained
undisturbed possession of the premises. After throwing an old
colchao upon a floor unswept for ages, the presiding genius of the
place departed slowly, muttering from her toothless jaws sundry
uncouth sounds, which had very much the tone of maledictions.