LETTER XIV.

ANECDOTES OF THE FRENCH SOLDIERY.-THE RAPIDITY OF THEIR MARCHES. SMALL VALUE ATTACHED TO THE LIVES OF SOLDIERS BY FRENCH OFFICERS.-ASSASSINATED IN GREAT NUMBERS BY THE PORTUGUESE PEASANTRY.—WRETCHED STATE OF THE FRENCH ON FIRST REACHING LISBON.--REFUSAL OF THE BISHOP of oportO TO JOIN IN THE REGENCY.

Lisbon, 9th October, 1808.

THE forced marches made by the French troops, at different periods, during their stay in this country, appear almost incredible. A corps of troops (all voltigeurs) marched from Bayonne to Lisbon in thirty days.

The little value which the French officers set on their soldiers' lives, is equally astonishing. On their march from Lisbon to Evora, to quell a revolt of the Portuguese, they lost from sickness, fatigue, and assassination, four hundred men.

I have hitherto, without success, endeavoured to obtain

correct information as to the amount of the French troops which entered Portugal and Lisbon. The natives of the country assert, what indeed the French themselves admit, that their army has been thinned, in a most incredible manner, by assassination. The French Generals, however, appear to consider France as an inexhaustible nursery for soldiers.

On the first entry of Junot's troops into Lisbon (the fact is well authenticated), they were in so deplorable a state for want of food, and so exhausted by fatigue, that ten thousand men might, without difficulty, have annihilated them. I conversed with a well-informed inhabitant of Lisbon, who assured me, he saw more than one French soldier die in the street, on the day of their arrival, from fatigue and hunger.

At Torres Vedras too I learnt, that the peasantry there, taking advantage of the state of debility to which they were reduced, dispatched great numbers of them, whenever they caught them straggling in small parties about the villages. The weapons which the peasants made use of, in such cases, besides knives, were those quince-tree poles that I mentioned in one of my former letters, which are extremely hard and compact, resembling the foreign timber called iron-wood.

I cannot comprehend how the poorer inhabitants of Lisbon existed during the domination of Junot. A town, about two miles distant from Lisbon, on the sea coast, contains about seven thousand inhabitants, all of whom are fishermen: these poor people, for three months, were not allowed to quit their home, or exercise their trade. Many of these families absolutely perished in consequence of this merciless prohibition.

The patriotic Bishop of Oporto, one of those delegated by the Prince Regent to assume the reins of government during his absence, has refused to become a member of the new Regency, as proposed by Sir Hew Dalrymple. This decision of the Bishop's has caused various disturbances, particularly in Oporto, where it was found necessary to apprehend one hundred persons. The Bishop, though he refuses to take an ostensible share in the government, will continue to exert his influence in favour of the English interests.

LETTER XV.

LISBON-ITS DELIGHTFUL CLIMATE.-PICTURESQUE AND EVER VARYING SCENERY OF THE TAGUS.-GREAT INEQUALITY OF THE STREETS. GENERAL KELLERMANN-HIS NARROW ESCAPE FROM THE FURY OF THE PORTUGUESE POPULACE.-MONASTRY AT BELEM. THE ROYAL PALACE.-PICTURE GALLERY.-ANTIQUE STATUES.

Lisbon, 12th Oct. 1808,

Rua Nova de Sacramento de Lapa.

I AM still anxiously on the look-out for letters from England, none of which I have yet received; but, although I feel much annoyed at this want of punctuality on your part, I shall not retaliate.

My present billet is in the house of a Portuguese merchant, in one of the streets in that quarter of Lisbon called Buenos Ayres. I find it very convenient, from its vicinity to the Estrella convent, where the general hospital is established.

The climate of Portugal, at this season, is particularly

agreeable, and I cannot help regretting that I am so soon to quit a place, with which I have every reason to be pleased.

Lisbon has been so often described, that you could learn little new from any remarks of mine. The shores of the Tagus, particularly on the other side, are steep and rugged; but the river, covered with shipping, presents an ever-varying picture, which, viewed from the situation where I now reside, under all the accidents of light and shade, twilight, mid-day, or a setting sun, displays a great variety of agreeable images.

I should admire the situation of Lisbon more, were it not for the extreme inequality of the ground on which it stands, which renders walking extremely fatiguing, nay, even laborious; and riding is dangerous and disagreeable, from the slipperiness of the stones. My rides, at present, are confined to the road between this and Belem, where I am attending General Sir Charles Stuart, who has been ill for some days of a feverish attack. He is now recovering.

I had an opportunity yesterday of seeing there, for a few minutes, the French General Kellermann, whose appearance certainly justifies what my friend *** remarks in his