38 SWABEY DIARY. 
Ith July.—When the tormentor came, whose arrival I anticipated, 
I had had time to think with dread of his knife, though yesterday he 
might have amused himself with cutting as much as he liked. He 
probed again, and said he could distinctly feel a piece of loose bone. 
He had changed his mind about cutting, which I did not disapprove of, 
and had recourse to another scheme for extending my wound, of which 
I know not the technical term ; but it consists in soaking sponge in 
melted wax, then forcibly compressing it and leaving it to dry. It is 
then cut into pegs, which are then inserted into the sinus of the wound, 
and the wax melting the sponge expands and forcibly opens it, to the 
no small annoyance of the patient, who is obliged to keep his bed and 
does not fail to curse the invention. 
1Sth July.—The first peg having done its office, a second was in- 
serted of a larger size, I being obliged to be all day in bed and for the 
first time suffering pain. 
19th July.—The ceremony was again repeated with larger pegs, but 
as they did not happen to take to expanding I did not suffer so much 
though still in bed. : 
20th July.—A thorough opening being now made, no less than two 
wiseacres gave my knee a thorough probing and examination, but 
nothing could be found, so that between their opinion and Gunning’s 
I know not what to think ; however, as they all now agree that the ball 
is in my knee they look on my recovery as distant, and recommend my 
going to England which at length I have consented todo. I accordingly 
sit down to write home on the subject. It is unlucky to be obliged to go 
to England because here is the place where I must lay the foundation 
of future fortunes. 
22nd July.—To-day I hear that under Sir Thomas Graham the 
breaching batteries were opened against St. Sebastian, and that the 
- siege is conducted by Sir R. Fletcher! and Colonel Dickson, with Frazer 
and Hartmann? under them. 
Frazer and Ross are gazetted as Lieut.-Colonels, and Jenkinson as 
Major in consequence of the Vitoria business. I do not yet know if 
this will be succeeded by other promotions, but as our troop was 
noticed in the field by Lord Wellington, and as amongst the extensive 
loss of the R.H.A., in men and horses, ours formed a half of the whole, 
I really thought that Gardiner stood a fair chance. On the other hand, 
Ross’s and Jenkinson’s long service in the country, and the success of 
the memorial drawn up by the latter certainly were prior claims; per- 
haps one action hardly deserves a second promotion, yet I wished for 
it as 1t would have inspirited the troop. TF razer’s Lieut.-Colonelcy is 
a compliment to all the Horse Artillery, which their high state of 
efficiency and almost constant employment has justly merited. Norman 
Ramsay I should have thought would have been promoted, but unfor- 
tunately about the time the despatch was sent, Lord Wellington was 
1 Lieut.-Colonel Sir Richard Fletcher, the distinguished Engineer of the Peninsular War. He 
was made a Baronet for his services at the Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos, and was killed 
during the assault on St. Sebastian on Ist August, 1813.—(#.a.w.) 
2 Lieut.-Colonel Julius Hartmann commanding the Artillery, King’s German Legion. 
