112 THE BRITISH LEGION IN SPAIN. 



another place through which one man might crawl. When all was 

 over our men were ordered to bury the bead ; and I had command of 

 a part of my company to bury about twelve or sixteen lying near us. 

 We dug one large hole ; and they were all thrust in together, about 

 two feet below the surface. One of them was a Carlist colonel, a 

 young, handsome, well-built man. He was shot through the temple, 

 and also in the breast. The dead were lying in all attitudes. Some 

 were lying crouched up, with their nails tearing up the ground ; 

 others were sitting up against walls, or stretched out at full length ; 

 and others, who had been shot in the head, were lying with their 

 brains protruding. The scene was altogether horribly disgusting. 



' That night four other officers and myself were fortunate enough 

 to procure quarters in a house with a roof on ; and we did not forget 

 to congratulate ourselves on our good fortune, for there were very 

 few houses in the neighbourhood which remained with a particle of 

 one. We were also fortunate enough to get some straw to lie upon ; 

 and so, after the fatigues of my first battle, I was enabled to enjoy a 

 pretty comfortable sleep. I have often since been glad to sleep on 

 a couple of boards. I have been on picquet sometimes without my 

 cloak. All the time it has thundered and lightened. Such thunder 

 I never heard in England ; and the rain has come down in torrents 

 for half the night. When the storm was over I have laid down on 

 the wet ground and slept, and have never caught the slightest cold 

 or rheumatism. Two days after the action of the 6th of June, I slept 

 from six o'clock in the morning until five o'clock in the afternoon in 

 the burning sun, and I was only awoke for about half an hour during 

 that time by my servant bringing me my breakfast. The sun, how- 

 ever, burnt my face so much that it smarted for two or three days 

 after. 



" Sometimes even now we are turned out at eleven o'clock at night, 

 expecting to be (attacked, and kept under arms until four o'clock in 

 the morning. We then see the rations served out, and generally 

 send a fatigue-party to build up walls and loop-hole houses. Half 

 (he regiment is usually on fatigue duty, and the other half accoutred 

 ready to turn out at a moment's notice. This you may suppose is 

 not very agreeable. 



" On the 28th of May our brigade, with the first lancers, and some 

 Spanish troops, forded the river at St. Sebastian, under cover of a tre- 

 mendous fire of artillery. The marine artillery were there ; and it 

 was a most beautiful sight to see the shells falling amongst the houses 

 on the other side, and the Carlists cutting out of them as fast as they 

 could. In one house nearly fifty Carlists were killed. Since we 

 have been on this side of the river we have built several wigwams. 

 At one place I had a very comfortable one built with turf and the 

 branches of trees, but just as it was completed we marched away. 



" On the morning of the sixth of June, about four o'clock ? we heard 

 firing to the right of us, where the ninth regiment was stationed. 

 We happened then to be in the reserve. Presently we received an 

 order to support the ninth ; but, as the firing was soon over after we 

 came up, we marched back, and remained under arms until seven 

 o'clock. We then heard the two guns of the Carlists to our left ; and 



