546 LIEUT.-GENERAL THOMAS DYNELEY, C.B., B.A. 
young hounds and walked four or five hours up to his knees in water, 
and the next day complained of having no use in his limbs, with 
terrible sweats in the night. Nothing could have saved him but the 
extraordinary care paid him by a Commissariat friend of mine. He 
has returned and is looking as well as I ever remember to have seen 
him. Do you remember his going with Miss Scott’s news of General 
Graham’s victory and the fool’s running all the way back and Mr. 
Ratclifi’s’ riding my black pony almost to death to carry the express 
to Woolwich? Of this last gentleman I will give you a short account. 
He was not appointed valet as you suppose and I will tell you why. 
On the first part of our retreat I lamed my little horse “ Bobby ” very 
badly and told him to go with the spare ammunition carriages 
and lead the horse in his hand. In one of the towns they went 
through the inhabitants had all fled and left their houses, cellars, etc. 
all open. Here Mr. Ratcliff thought proper to stop with some 
hundred of others until he was so drunk he was unable to stand; but 
a cry that the enemy were coming into the town roused him and he 
mounted his charger, rode directly across the country over everything 
and joined the troop just as we had got to the ground where we were 
to encamp for the night. As ill luck would have it for him, I was just 
looking out of my tent and caught the gentleman riding up. I was 
not long having him off his perch, which I accomplished by catching 
hold of one of his legs and hurling him to the ground. I instantly 
sent him to his duty with orders that he should walk every step of 
“the retreat,’ which he did, and I believe he now begins to feel that 
he was quite as comfortable in his old situation. I have not yet taken 
him back, but I shall see about it some of these days. 
How nicely you forgot to enclose me the letter you talked of from 
Miss Baker. Iam sorry to say we have no accounts of young Baker’s 
return tothe army. I never gave you hopes of his being able to effect his 
escape; the only hope I had was of an exchange being made, as I was 
at the out-post when the French General’s letter came in, offering to 
exchange any or all the prisoners they had, but this I believe his Lord- 
ship sets his face against, for what reason 1 know not. However, his 
family have the consolation of knowing that he is as well off as a man 
under the circumstances can be. He has the whole of his baggage 
with him, his horse to ride, and plenty of society in the Colonel of his 
regiment and many others whom we lost about that time.? My lot was 
very different, I had nothing, and nobody would give me anything, 
and no other society for the greater part of the time than the Major 
of artillery’s German boy who rode on the baggage waggon with me. 
My friend José was certainly up on the 17th November, the day on 
which Macdonald was wounded, and no doubt it was some of my old 
friends who helped to oppose us. 
So poor William Lyon is coming out. Well, he certainly comes out 
at the best time of year to season him for the campaign. I do not 
1 His groom, Gunner Richard Ratcliff. 
2 Lieut.-Colonel R. Pelly and Cornet J. R. Baker, 16th Light Dragoons, were taken prisoners 
during ‘‘ the retreat.” 
