408 SWABEY DIARY. 
lances to dart, in place of goading the unfortunate beast, being a 
sight worthy the admirers of tilt and tournament to which it must 
bear a great resemblance. 
I met to-day with an anecdote worth remembering. Joseph Bona- 
parte on leaving Madrid sold the books of the Royal Library, a very 
curious collection, at 43d. perlb., showing as much respect for literature 
here as at Salamanca. 
9th September.—The bull-fights were continued to-day ; without the 
attraction of novelty they had ceased to please; and having seen the 
tameness of the sport I ventured inside the barrier, where I felt quite 
safe though obliged to use my legs frequently. 
10th September.—More Corridas de Toro, affording us little amuse- 
ment. I find that the Alcades, or magistrates make requisitions on 
the people for cars and wood etc. to enclose the arena for this sacred 
purpose, so much the passion of the Spaniards ; that the people who can 
see the sport from their windows, throw open their houses to all comers, 
and seem to consent with pleasure to the tiles on the tops being com- 
pletely ruined. 
11th September.—For the first time since the 6th of April, rain fell 
accompanied with dreadful thunder and lightning, which made old and 
young cross themselves, but caused with me the greatest demonstration 
of joy, much to the surprise of some priests who seemed to think 
purgatory too good for me. 
12th September.—More rain and a great change in the air, thunder 
and lightning still accompanying. 
13th September.—To our great satisfaction came a route to Don 
Benito, a town which the highly coloured epithets of the Spaniards 
had made me think at least asecond London. Iwas much disappointed. 
It is however a mart for the few commodities that since the siege of 
Cadiz find their way to this part of Estremadura. 
14th September.—We crossed the Guadiana above Medellin by a 
ford. I was anxious to see the bridge which is unique, being built in 
a curve to accommodate (as I consider) its shape to the soil in the bed 
of the river. The river is fordable almost anywhere above Merida be- 
fore the rainy season. We reached a miserable town called Miajadas, 
where part of the infantry column treated us as usual very illiberally 
in the distribution of the town. Part of our march was in the rain. 
15th September.—Marched in the rain to La Puesta de S'* Crux, and 
after a long quarrel with an infantry Brigade-Major, I succeeded in 
getting some quarters; nothing is so much against cavalry as being 
quartered with infantry. Perhaps in the house with one horse are 80 
men, who never let him rest or feed, and all the infantry staff take a 
pleasure in mortifying and rendering the cavalry ineffective. 
Near this place is an immense hermitage and some aqueducts, which 
the bad weather, and even more the difficulty of quartering the men, 
prevented me from seeing. 
16th September.—Marched still in the rain to Truxillo. On arriving 
there, though it is a large town, the Quarter-Master-General of the 
