MURCHISON. 283 



retreating army must infallibly produce. At Tugo 

 the 36th regiment was fit to fight anything ; in two 

 days it was a rabble. 



" Happily for me I tumbled into a shoemaker's 

 house. His handsome young wife washed my 

 feet with warm water, and furnished me with 

 stockings, while her husband came to my further 

 aid with shoes. But my swollen feet had no time 

 to recover. On the following day the whole army, 

 such as it was, passed over the river, blowing up 

 the bridge and taking up its last position. 



"There, remnant as it was, the army formed a 

 respectable line — Corunna within two miles of us, 

 and our fleet ready to back us. Provisions and 

 shoes were served out to us, and with such luxuries 

 the bivouac, even in the month of January, was 

 well borne. In truth, the army got into compara- 

 tive good spirits, and on the 15th the French 

 crossed the last bridge we had blown up, and were 

 defiling at a respectable distance along our front. 

 We were quite refreshed, and ready to repel them. 

 The picquets, indeed, of our (Hope's) division had 

 a sharp encounter in that evening, and when 

 looking through the colonel's glass, I saw Colonel 

 Mackenzie, of the 5th regiment, fall dead from his 

 grey horse whilst leading an attack on two of the 

 enemy's guns. 



"On the i6th, just after our frugal repast, and 

 whilst leaning over one of the walls where we lay, 

 my old colonel, after looking some time with his 

 glass, suddenly exclaimed to me, 'Now, my boy, 



