462 LIEUT.-GENERAL THOMAS DYNELEY, C.B., R.A. 
when I was there; consequently I got on famously with them. I 
had my friend Morgan sitting on the ground by me the whole time, 
and he got a most hearty supper. After the company had taken 
their departure, we lay down in the passage of José’s house, but we 
were soon disturbed by some soldiers who marched us off to the guard- 
room, where they gave us a handful of dirty straw to he upon. I 
never closed my eyes the whole night, but Morgan made a good snore 
of it, much to my annoyance. 
The next morning, the 12th (the Prince Regent’s birthday), at day- 
light I got up and was looking out of the window when I saw our gun 
horses going past with those French scoundrels on their backs. I learnt 
with no small delight from a French officer that they had burnt the 
three guns they had taken from us, as [ knew we should soon be 
able to replace the carriages. ; 
About an hour after this, I and all the prisoners were sent for to the 
General’s house; he selected all those very badly wounded and put 
them into a house that the Hnglish might fetch them away when they 
retired. ‘They passed about five of my worst, but those with only one 
cut or stab they obliged to march on, and in that state they were 
marching when I left them, without having had their wounds once 
dressed and yet they were all getting quite well. Just as we were 
marching off whom should I see brought into the ring but my friend the 
German Colonel. He had been taken poor fellow after making three 
or four desperate charges. Oh how the poor fellows of his regiment 
behaved who were left behind to protect us! They certainly were not 
more than 20 in number, but the instant they saw the scrape our guns 
were in, they formed up to support us, which was no sooner done than 
down came at least 150 cavalry and lancers; the poor fellows fought 
like men, but of course they were very soon overpowered and every 
soul of them cut to pieces. Morgan saw two Frenchmen at one of 
them, he cut down both, when a lancer came up at the moment and 
despatched him. It was really (if, as Robert says, you could divest 
yourself of fear) a most beautiful sight to sce these fellows coming 
down upon us. ‘They are dressed in very handsome high brass 
helmets with a horse’s tail fixed at the back which, when they gallop, 
flies out and covers their back and shoulders. They are armed with a 
long lance, at the end of which a flag is fixed so that, when our dragoons 
make a stand to receive them, the flags frighten their horses, and they 
go about and the lancers have them through the body in the “twinkling 
of an eye.” 
‘Now to proceed: I am marched off in the centre of the column with 
the rest of the prisoners, 26 in number, 12 of my own, the German 
Colonel and five of his, a Portuguese Colonel and five of his. The 
German Colonel and myself are allowed a mule between us, the Portu- 
guese Colonel has to walk. Long before it came to my turn to ride I 
was so beat I could scarce put one foot before the other, but still they 
kept shoving me along with “allons, allons!” When it came to my 
turn to mount, I could hardly get up, and when up, I could scarce sit 
there. At this time up came King Joseph to stare at us, and as soon 
as he had satisfied himself that we had legs and arms like other people, 
