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So unconquerable was this propensity, that our troops were often left in the fields all night in the cold and rain, to keep them from the wine-shops of the neighbouring town. On the 11th of January we reached Corunna. Every face brightened up, for the sea and England seemed words not to be discounted. On the 14th our friends the tars brought the transports, nearly all the artillery was embarked and the sick and dismounted cavalry. The beach was covered with dead horses, and resounded with the report of the pistols that wrought the havoc. The remaining horses grew mad, and breaking loose, neighed and screamed, galloping along the shore with manes erect and mouths wide open. We began our embarkation on the 16th, and about mid-day the French came down on us. Sir John headed every charge. Remember Egypt,' he said to the 42d, who drove all before them. The Guards' cartridges were all spent; but Sir John cried, Ammunition is coming; you have your bayonets;' and on they went. It was at this time Sir John received his death wound. Night put an end to the battle, and the army was drawn off and embarked by daybreak; great fires were left on the battle-field, and the freshest of our men stayed to keep them up and surround them to deceive the enemy. When morning came, the French opened fire on our transports from the heights of St. Lucia, and four of our vessels ran ashore in the confusion and had to be burnt. There was no regularity in the embarkation. One transport had men of seven regiments on board. The brave Spaniards manned the batteries to cover our departure, and the women waved their handkerchiefs to us from the rocks. Once on board, warm and well fed, the men were as happy as schoolboys out for a holiday. Donald returned quite blind, and when the cry rose of Land ahead!' he burst into tears and said, 'Far better if I had died in Spain. I shall never see Scotland again. It is me that is the poor dark man.' When we landed in Plymouth the people showed us all manner of kindness, carrying the lame, leading the blind, and receiving us in every house as if we had been their own relations.

In July our regiment embarked for Flushing. One night the French burnt the town. Colonel Pack led us into one of the enemy's batteries, close to a sea-dyke, which the French had cut to inundate our trenches. The Colonel struck off the sentinel's head at one blow. As I leaped into the works a savage French officer seized my firelock, and was in the act of cutting me down before I could recover my balance, when the point of a bayonet forced him to the ground. It was Donald's bayonet; he fell over on both of us; but I had no time to thank him, for the enemy took forty of our men and forced us to retire. The night after Flushing surrendered I caught the marsh fever while on guard. I was sent home, and remained eight weeks ill, very ill in hospital at Brabantlees near Dover. The hos

pital men were constantly fighting for the clothes of the dead, and cursing each other as the dying men groaned out their last prayers. One day, being a little better, I crawled along the wall of the hospital to the door, to see if I could find a convalescent who would go and buy me some letter-paper, wishing to write to my mother and tell her where I was; the hospital men could not be trusted with the money. I longed to breathe the pure air and see the clear sky. Feebly and with anxious joy I pushed open the door. Horrible moment! There lay the half-stripped body of my old comrade Donald on a barrow at the stair-head, waiting to be taken to the dead-house; his poor face was uncovered. My head reeled, my eyes closed, and I fell senseless on the body. I awoke half delirious, and it was many weeks before I could open a door without a shudder.

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I soon, however, became convalescent, and in September 1810 was draughted-off for service in Portugal. On the 14th of October the French attacked us on the hills round Sabral de Monte Agraco. Colonel Cadogan called out to us as we pushed on to drive back the French advanced skirmishers, My lads, this is the first affair I have ever been in with you; show me what you can do, now or never!' We were behind a mud wall, forty yards from the French, who, seeing the bugle and tartan of our bonnets covered with black crape, took us for Portuguese, and leaped over the wall on us with more than usual fury. We could not retreat, for behind us was ploughed land heavy with rain. So to it we fell pell-mell, all in a heap, every man with one or two opponents. I got my man up against the wall with my bayonet. He would not let me spare him, though he was unhurt; he cursed, defied me, and struck at me, till I pierced him, and he fell, his breath passing away in a curse and a menace. I was instantly again attacked, but my new antagonist fell, dropped by a random shot. We soon forced them to retire over the

wall, cursing their mistake. I followed the enemy for a mile without shoes or bonnet. When I returned I found the mud covered with trampled bonnets and shoes, and I took the first I could get. Here I earned my first plunder. I saw a French soldier lying dead, his hat fallen off, his head resting on his knapsack. I kicked his hat; it rattled. I seized it, and found in the lining a gold watch and silver crucifix. Cold and hungry, I would have given the watch to any one for a good meal and a dry shirt.

One night, soon after this, one of our officers and twelve men went up to the French pickets, who had grown careless, and looked over the wall. There were fifty of them drinking and playing cards. Our men levelled their muskets and gave them a volley for luck; on which they took to their heels, officers and all. For five nights, nearly always wet, I was never in bed, but lay on ploughed land ankle-deep in mud. I slept sitting on my knapsack, with my musket between my knees, and my blanket over all. I always woke stiff

and benumbed with cold; and many of our men caught fever and ague in this way. For five days our pickets lay in a small village not more than 150 yards from a windmill which the French occupied. As their deserters told us they were short of food, our sentinels used to present biscuits to them on the tops of bayonets. One day, as the French were trying to kill a bullock, he broke loose and ran right into our lines. They looked very foolish as we hurraed and killed the godsend in good style. Soon after an officer and four men came with a flag of truce, and quite humbly begged for half the beast, which we gave them.

In this retreat the French murdered and plundered as they went. Every house they entered they left a sepulchre. In Safrea I saw · twelve dead bodies on one floor; and in one small village seventeen dead bodies of men, women, and children! Our soldiers used to wonder why the Frenchmen were not swept from the earth by heaven for their cruelties, for every hundred yards we came upon their victims. The peasants killed all stragglers. In one wine-store, while drawing wine from a tun, we found a dead French soldier at the bottom. I could never drink red wine again after that.

After winter-quarters, our division was posted at Alberguila, a small town on the frontiers of Spain; and on the 30th of April 1811 reached Fuentes d'Onoro after a march of three days, two of them without food. At daybreak on the 3d of May, Colonel Cadogan put himself at our head. My lads,' he said, 'you had no provision for two days; there is plenty in front; let us divide it.' We advanced at the double-quick, our firelocks at the trail, our bonnets in our hands. The light companies, whom we met retreating, called to us, 71st, you'll come back quicker than you advanced!' When we came in full front of the enemy, the Colonel cried,' Here is food, my lads; cut away!' We waved our bonnets, and cheered three times; then brought our firelocks to the charge, and drove them. through the town. The French kept vociferating and chafing each other almost to madness, as they shouted at the very points of our bayonets; while after the first huzza our officers were restraining their men, and kept still as death, and the only sound you heard was a whisper of Steady, lads, steady!' In this advance I had wonderful escapes. A French bayonet went through between my side and clothes up to my knapsack. The man to whom the bayonet belonged fell by a musket-ball from my rear-rank man. While freeing myself from the bayonet, a ball broke off part of my right shoulder-wing and killed my rear-rank man, who fell upon me. Narrow as this was, I felt no uneasiness, I had become so inured to danger and fatigue. In our retreat to the town, when the enemy bore hard upon us to break our line, I was often obliged to stand with a foot upon each side of a wounded man, who wrung my soul with prayers I could not answer, and pierced my heart with cries

to which I could not hearken, to be lifted out of the way of the cavalry. Though my soul bled for them, I had to shake them rudely off. That night my shoulder was black as a coal, for I had fired that day 197 rounds of ball-cartridge; and sore as I was, I slept sound as a top till the bugle awoke me an hour before day. We kept firing till ten o'clock, and then exchanged the wounded, who had been all night bleeding. While this dismal barter was taking place, the French brought their bands to the front, and their men amused themselves with dancing and football. The next morning five picked regiments of grenadiers advanced to storm the town. Down they came, shouting as usual; they were taller and older than most of our lads, their hats set round with feathers; their long black beards made them look like savages; but we kept them at bay nevertheless. At last they overpowered us, and forced us through the streets, of which we disputed every inch. A French dragoon, dealing death around, forced his way up near to where I stood, expecting every moment to be cut down. My piece was empty, there was not a moment to lose. I got a stab at him beneath the ribs upwards; the vicious back-stroke the rascal gave before he fell cut the stock of my musket in two, but I stood unarmed. I soon got another gun, and fell to work again. Eventually, with a total loss of 400 men, we drove the French before us through the town.

After Soult raised the siege of Badajoz, we set out to stop General Girard's depredations in Estremadura. When we got to Alcuesca, we heard the enemy were at Arroyo del Molino, and unconscious of our approach. We were placed in the houses, and told to keep silent; and to every man was served half-a-pound of rice. At midnight we received our rum, and shortly after the sergeants tapped softly at the doors, and we began our march in a ceaseless drench of rain. The only thing that broke the silence was the howling of the wolves. When day broke, we were near the town. The embers were glowing at the stations which the French outposts had just left. General Hill riding up to our colonel, ordered the men to clean out the wet priming from the pans of their firelocks. The drift was driving so thick in the eyes of the French, they could not see us. The colonel then told us off in three divisions, and ordered us to charge up the three streets of the town, forcing our way to the other side. The general, taking off his hat, said, God be with you-quick march!' We gave three cheers, and in we went at the gate; the inhabitants cheering, our pipers playing Hey, Johnny Cope, are ye waking yet?' The French, jammed in with baggage, were swearing, firing in confusion, and running here and there, some in their shirts, some half accoutred. The French general came out of a house mad with rage and gnashing his teeth, threw his cocked-hat upon the ground, and stamped upon it. In a moment our men stripped his coat of all his medals. A brigade

of French came in sight. We had orders to fire; nearly half the pieces missed, the powder was so wet. Some Portuguese artillery coming up, however, we gave the enemy a volley, leaped over a wall behind which we had formed, and in column drove them over the hill; down which they threw all their baggage, and then surrendered. In this affair we took 3000 infantry, 1600 cavalry, and six pieces of artillery. The horses were sold, and the money divided amongst the men. I got two-and-sixpence for my share; but I had taken care to supply myself very comfortably out of the French stores at Molino.

One day while skirmishing near Alba Tormes, one of our lads, whilst taking cartridges from his box, let it fall over a wall we were lining, the French being in great strength in front. He instantly leant his musket against the wall, leaped over to the enemy's side, and came back unhurt. The very same hour the button of my stock was shot off-that was a near one. While at Tormes we were short of provisions. One of our men found a piece of meat on the face of the brae near the hospital, brought it home, and cooked it. A good part of it was eaten before it was discovered by his comrades to be part of a man's arm. He then threw it away, but said nevertheless it was very sweet, and never a bit the worse.

One winter's night in 1813, I was on duty at a bridge near Bovo, a lonely outpost. My orders were to be on the alert; and if I heard anything, to put my ear to the ground, distinguish if it was the tread of men or horses, and give the alarm. The night was starry and a little cloudy. About half-past one I heard the footsteps of an animal, probably, I thought, a stray mule. At last I could distinguish a large wolf a few yards from the bridge in the middle of the road, looking full at me. I levelled my piece; we stood staring at each other. I durst not fire, lest I should give a false alarm. I expected him every moment to spring. However, on the tread of the sergeant and relief guard, he scampered off, relieving me from my disagreeable position.

Following the enemy quite across Spain, we at last, on the 20th of June, encamped on the face of a hill near Vittoria. We had no tobacco, and were smoking leaves and herbs, when Colonel Cadogan rode away and bought us kindly half-a-pound of tobacco a man. Next morning our pipes did not play for parade, and we began to suspect mischief. At eleven we received orders to fall in and follow the line of march; and just as we started we had to step on one side, to allow a brigade of guns to pass us at full speed. Now there's work to do,' we said to each other. We passed a village, and crossed a river. On the other side of the road we saw the fires still burning in the deserted French camp. A large Spanish column. was moving along the height to our right. We halted, drew up in column; and orders were given to brush out and oil our locks,