SWABEY DIARY. 255 
accidental, and both immediately forming charged. The result of the 
onset was entirely in favour of the British, but the more cautious 
Frenchmen had kept a squadron in reserve, whose aid not only 
retrieved the fortune of the day, but turned the tables against the 
seeming victors. Several prisoners were taken. I was sent the next 
day with a light dragoon officer, who afterwards fell at Waterloo, to 
enquire the fate of some of the parties, for this isolated affair had made 
no change in the general disposition of either army. Not many days 
before we had been driven out of the place whither we now repaired 
with a flag of truce, and I was well-known amongst the inhabitants. 
When we arrived at the outposts, handkerchiefs were tied over our 
eyes, a ceremony which, though performed with the greatest civility, 
was totally unnecessary on this occasion. We were carried to the 
General Officer’s quarters, ascertained that all due care was taken of 
some wounded men and officers, and set on foot their exchange which 
was afterwards completed. By the time this was done it was nearly 
sunset and we were persuaded to remained to dine and sleep. There 
was nothing very extraordinary in this for there was always great 
rivalry in generous civility between this part of the French army under 
Count d’Hrlon, Drouet, and Sir Rowland Hill, and the exchange of 
prisoners was carried on between these officers when it was not in any 
other part of the Peninsula. But the circumstance gave me an oppor- 
tunity of witnessing the different manner in which we and the French 
comported ourselves towardsthe Spaniards. True it is that we did not 
stand to them in the same relative position, but be that as it may, we 
paid for all we wanted with the most scrupulous punctuality, were im- 
posed upon and quietly submitted ; but what said my French General 
when he sat down to dinner? He found fault with the quality of the 
wine which I soon perceived was supplied by requisition on the Alcalde, 
which righteous functionary was immediately apprised by an aide-de- 
camp that the safest thing he could do would be to send some better, a 
piece of advice with which he forthwith complied. A good under- 
standing being thus restored, it was next proposed that messages should 
be sent through the small town to propose a dance to its fair inhabitants, 
this however was done not inthe form of an invitation but as a requisition. 
The ladies came indeed but were grievously incensed, and for a long 
time positively refused to dance with any but the two English officers. 
This was a dilemma the probable consequences of which I did not like 
much to think of, but firm they remained in their resolution, till at last 
we persuaded an old lady to make a request. on our behalf that they 
would comply, which some but not all of them did. They had possibly 
nothing to fear from the French officers, but we were extremely glad to 
get away at an early hour in the morning; the fair ladies themselves 
probably experienced individually no ill treatment, yet I was told after- 
wards when the place again fell into our hands, that the inhabitants 
were ever after viewed with little favour. It was a place so unfortun- 
ately situated that the slightest change of position laid it open to being 
alternately occupied by either party, and I have no doubt that after a 
time the inhabitants were as tired of the one as of the other, though 
the ladies always exhibited a preference for us. | 
