SWABEY DIARY. 307 
I was then given in charge to one of his orderlies to be marched 
to the rear. He had not taken me above a hundred yards 
before he desired me to give up my spurs, a very favourite 
pair Bertie Cator gave me many years ago at Malta, by the 
time I had got then off, up came all the poor fellows belong- 
ing to our guns, some of them most dreadfully mangled. 
Though we were all sorry to find ourselves in such a situation, 
yet we were naturally happy to be together. At this 
moment a General rode across near me, and I called to him 
to allow his surgeon to dress my wounded, which he instantly 
consented to do and I got them bound up as comfortably as 
I could expect; one poor fellow, a corporal, had nine wounds. 
I had him dressed first and laid aside, and was attending 
to another, when the corporal called to me to say he was 
dying and that a Frenchman was stripping him, I looked 
round and there the fellow was pulling his boots off; he paid 
no attention to what 1 said, and I suppose if I had said much 
more he would soon have had mineoff. . . ... . 
The next morning, the 12th, at daylight I got up and looked 
out of the window. I saw the gun horses going past with 
the French scoundrels on their backs. From a French officer 
I learnt with no small delight that they had burnt the three 
guns they had taken from us, for I knew we should soon be 
able to replace the carriages. 
About an hour after this I was sent for with all the prisoners to 
the general’s house. He selected all those very badly wound- 
ed, about 5, and put them into a house that the English 
might fetch them away when the French retired. Those 
with only one cut or stab they obliged to march on 
without once having had their wounds dressed, but when 
I left them they were all getting quite well. Just as we 
were marching off, who should I see brought into the ring 
but my friend the German Colonel; ke had been taken 
poor fellow, after having made three or four most des- 
perate charges. Oh how the poor fellows of his regiment 
who were left behind to protect us behaved! There were 
certainly not more than 20 of the Germans, but the instant 
they saw the scrape the guns were in they formed up in sup- 
port, which was no sooner done than down came at least 150 
cavalry and lancers, and though they fought like men were 
soon overpowered and every soul of them cut to pieces.’’! 
Apropos of this affair we have a good story. Captain Dyneley in 
after years used to say that his last recollection before being 
upset was as follows. 
“Tieutenant Swabey being temporarily absent, Lieutenant Robe 
was doing duty in his place. The latter had a sword which 
1 Lord Wellington in his despatch from Madrid, August 13th, says, ‘The conduct of the brave 
German cayalry was, I understand, excellent, as well as that of Captain Macdonald’s troop of 
Horse Artillery.” 
The casualties were, killed 53, wounded 98, missing 44, 
42 
