LIEUT.-GENERAL THOMAS DYNELEY, C.B., B.A. 467 
out of his life when Morgan spoke to him, but finding we were English 
prisoners escaped from the French, he was delighted and came up 
immediately and told me it was certainly the rear-guard of the French 
army I had seen leave the town. I then consulted with him as to the 
best and most secure road for getting to Madrid, which he said was 
certainly by Lillo; so off we set to walk to the said town about 10 
English miles. The day was as hot as ever came out of the heavens! 
Having got within sight of the town I was determined to lie up in the 
bushes until I had sent the little fellow on to see if the town was clear, 
when just at that moment I discovered troops marching out of the 
town. I was by this time so beat I could not go a yard farther, and I 
got into a small hut belonging to a man who was guarding his melons. 
The first question I asked him was, whether he had seen anything of the 
French? ‘Yes, they have been gone out of this house about half-an- 
hour.”’—“ Do you know of any more coming ? ”—“ Yes, they told me 
there was another division coming, but I can’t say for certain.” It 
was immaterial to me whether they came or not, for out of their way I 
could not get, and I laid myself down and got two or three hours very 
good sleep. When I awoke I sent a man into the town to purchase 
something to eat. He came back in about an hour bringing some 
bread and aquardente (brandy), of which I made a hearty meal. As 
soon as the sun had gone down (about seven o’clock), I went into the 
town where I was received by all the inhabitants with open arms and 
“Viva les Hingleses, viva, viva.” I applied to the alcalde (the magis- 
trate) for a carriage, but none was to be had, so he furnished me with 
three donkeys, on which Morgan, the little fan-maker and I mounted, 
having three men to follow us on foot. As I told you I left my helmet 
behind me. I, of course, entered the town with a half handkerchief on 
my head; on seeing which, one of the people furnished me with a very 
large cocked hat. As I was going out of the town and pulling my hat 
off to the multitude, who were viva-ing me, my donkey took fright, turned 
directly round and over his head I went. As soon as I had got out of 
the town I gave the little fellow my hat to carry, and he went and 
looked into a well to see if there was any water and down went my 
fine hat. 
T'o proceed: we travelled on until about two o’clock when we found 
ourselves too tired to go on any longer, so we got off our nags, and 
lay down on the road. Having had an hour’s sleep we proceeded and 
reached Ocana about six o’clock the morning of the 18th, when we 
had to go through the same form of viva-ing, with this addition that a 
man came to ask me to step into his house. When I had been seated but 
a few seconds, he asked me if I would allow the inhabitants to see me, 
for they had never seen an Englishman. I of course said “yes,” and 
Morgan and I having seated ourselves in two large chairs, in came at 
least 100 people. As soon as they were satisfied in came ag many more, 
and so on until the whole town had seen us. Then we mounted our 
fresh donkeys and set off for Aranjuez, where we had to undergo the 
same form of sitting to be seen. At Aranjuez we got fresh mules and 
rode on 34 leagues further to Valdemoro. Poor Morgan knocked up 
half way, and I left him behind to come on gently with a man while I 
