SWABEY DIARY. 83 
improving as we advanced, little cultivation, sickly inhabitants, and 
bad roads; ‘‘ Viva Senhor ” indeed saluted us often enough, but this 
was all that was even to be purchased. The modern system of cook- 
ery, which implies men cooks and provides second courses at dinner, 
we here find defied by sowpe and bowilli at top and sowpe and bowilli at 
bottom. We were provident enough, however, to supply ourselves 
beforehand with materials for plum-pudding, and our cook contrived, 
with the aid of our imaginations, to represent one. Sutton and Cap- 
tain M.’s servant, still commending the tractable temper of the mules, 
were to-day left behind. I was much alarmed at their non-appearance, 
as the night before we left Sacavem, a servant of an officer of the 
Guards, on his way from Lisbon, had been brought in terribly wounded 
by some villains in the dark. Sutton, however, made his appearance 
at about 9 o’clock, he had been left on the road, the mules being entirely 
knocked up; he had then loaded my gun and waited till they freshened, 
and thus, by his perseverance, brought in the baggage. His com- 
panion, who had gone to seek assistance, lost his way and was still 
TISSUE, 5 6 Oe ie : 
14th September.—Marched this day at 5 o’clock through a country 
getting every step more wild and romantic. Hyen where there were 
houses, the inhabitants had left them, as well as the windows! Not- 
withstanding the devastations of the French, the indolence of the 
people was sufficiently apparent in the want of cultivation, the uneven- 
ness of the roads, and the immense stones that lie in them. The dust 
and heat were very trying, and the sick list, principally cases of 
dysentery, begins to lengthen. We meet detachments of sick every 
day on their way to Lisbon. 
The village of Cartaxo through which we passed, is in the most 
ruined state I have yet seen, on every wall is marked “ Logement de 4 
comp®,” or some billet of the French army. 
A mile short of Santarem are the famous positions where Lord 
Wellington and Masséna stood so long at bay. They are on two 
opposite hills, almost within musket shot of each other: we passed 
over the bridge that communicates between them across a deep ravine, 
where on either side batteries are erected within point blank range. 
These positions are flanked by the Tagus, and on the left of Lord 
Wellington’s, the mountains rendered an attack from the enemy 
hopeless. 
After the battle of Busaco on the 27th September, 1810, Wel- 
lington retired within the lines of Torres Vedras, Masséna 
followed and took up a permanent position in front of Alhandra. 
The war was thus reduced to a species of blockade; Masséna’s 
object being to feed his army until reinforcements reached it ; 
Lord Wellington to starve the French before succour could 
arrive. In October, Masséna being convinced it was impractic- 
able to force the lines without great reinforcements, fell back to 
the position at Santarem, Wellington followed, and his head- 
quarters were fixed at the village of Cartaxo. In these positions 
the hostile armies remained from the 18th November, 1810, to 
