for their health or amusement, resort to this place during summer, for the benefit of the sea breezes. One great advantage it possesses over other towns in this country, is an excellent inn, kept by Mrs. * * * *, an Irishwoman.

"At Cintra I learnt an extraordinary fact, that the commissariat, for want of proper guides, had mistaken their road, and gone with their whole depôt into the centre of the French lines; from whence they were very politely conducted by a French officer back to the British army..

"On our arrival at Lisbon, we visited General Beresford, at whose house we met Lord Paget, his aides-decamp, and Colonel Graham. We here found that nothing could surpass the audacity of the attempts which had been made by the French to carry off all the articles of value which could be found in Lisbon, whether public or private property. They had actually packed up two state carriages, the property of his royal highness the Duke of Sussex; but at the remonstrance of General Beresford, they were compelled to relinquish their booty.

"Junot, who had become exceedingly indignant at the idea of returning to France in a frigate, instead of a line of battle ship, was informed that the Duke of York was

I

in the habit of sailing in a frigate; to which he made answer- That he trusted it was not intended to make a comparison between him and the Duke of York.' · The Duke of York,' said he, is only commander-in-chief of a king's army, while I, the Duke of Abrantes, am commander-in-chief of an emperor's army, as well as his Imperial Majesty's representative.'

"A major of the twenty-ninth regiment of infantry, made prisoner on the 17th, had been confined at Lisbon from that period till this morning, when he was released. The greater part of his imprisonment was on board the Portuguese ships. He told us many anecdotes of the French soldiery, and particularly dwelt upon the detestation which existed between the French and the Portuguese peasantry. He said, that on his march on the 17th to Lisbon, the French guard who conducted him, amused themselves by firing at the peasants as they passed along, without any apparent provocation having been given on their part. He added, that the French acknowledged they had received a complete beating on the 21st, and that they had, in the two actions, lost 4,000 men. They allowed they had 20,000 in the field on the 21st.

"At two or three different periods during his imprisonment, the Portuguese at Lisbon had attempted to rise

upon the French troops. After the battle of the 21st, so certain were the French that we should have entered the town of Lisbon as conquerors, that they had transported all their valuables on board the Portuguese and Russian men of war anchored in the Tagus.

“I saw at Lisbon, a report given in to General Beresford from the French, stating, that their force about to be embarked, amounted to twenty-seven thousand men. I hardly think that their army can be so numerous; but imagine they have exaggerated their numbers, in order to gain an additional quantity of tonnage, that they may the better smuggle away their plunder.

At the Convent, 8th Sept. 1808.

"We learn this day, that Sir Charles Cotton has permitted the Russian ships to surrender with the French. Major-General Ferguson has obtained leave of absence, in other words, quits his command.

"Sir Arthur, and most of his staff, went on the 9th to Lisbon, where he remained some days, and dined with Junot, who gave us a sumptuous repast. The conversation occasionally turned on ourselves, with what took place during the actions of the 17th and 21st. These, with the usual fanfaronnade of Frenchmen, they treated

as insignificant affairs, not as general actions. They said the 21st was merely a coup-de-main, on their part. However, I must say, they did justice to the bravery of our troops, as well as to the skill of our Commander-inChief.

"Junot's second aid-de-camp, near whom I was seated at dinner, surprized me much by the light and disrespectful manner with which he spoke of the military talents of his General, who, he said, was a bon officier de cavalerie, mais rien d'autre. I was equally amazed at finding that this man, as well as most of the officers who composed Junot's staff, and those of the other French generals, were men of a certain age, much past the flower of youth. My friend, of whom I am about to speak, served in the French army twenty-seven years, and had been at the siege of Gibraltar, where he was wounded. He had the rank of colonel d'artillerie, as well as that of the Duke d'Abrantes' second aid-de-camp. He acknowledged to me that the fire on the 21st in parti was very v'arm.

"The whole ceremony of this dinner greatly amused me; it consisted chiefly of Junot's family, which amounted to near sixty persons, with the addition of ten English guests. The greater part of the Frenchmen who assisted at this dinner, were anxious to shew us every mark of ci

vility; but it did not require a very discerning eye to discover that most of them had been exalted to situations, which they were ill qualified to fill. There were among them one or two young men, who had been emigrants, and possessed altogether engaging manners.

"The dress and costume of the persons who formed Junot's staff, partook more of the appearance of performers on the stage, than of soldiers. Many of them. were covered with orders of the first and second classes, fastened on fine tinselled coats, of all colours. After dinner, Loison and Laborde came to pay Junot a visit.

"Loison bears the most horrid character for rapacity, and all kinds of inhuman barbarity; Laborde also is not devoid of a taste for plunder, though he is less inclined that way than Loison.

I understand, from a very intelligent French emigrant, who resides here as a merchant, that nothing could exceed the jealousy and hatred which existed between the different French general officers, especially Junot and Laborde, which is easily accounted for. Laborde was lieutenant-colonel of the regiment in which Junot served as serjeant, at the commencement of the Revolution.