I communicated this good news to son Altesse Royale, and at the same time made him a little cadeau, by begging that he would permit me to send him King Joseph’s saddle-cloth, which I had picked up at Vittoria, but had never used, as being rather too splendid (blue with a very broad gold border). He was very civil, and in return lent me a paper of the 11th, which he had just got out with his baggage from England, a second edition of the Courier, containing in the corner a notice of the arrival of the message through France from Lord Castlereagh, a piece of news which alarmed him not a little, though our French accounts still say that the negotiations are broken off, and the Allies close to Paris.
General Harispe had raised about three thousand or three thousand eight hundred of his countrymen, the Basques, a fine race of people, but since our late move most of them have run home, and his corps, the maire here told me yesterday, is reduced to about five hundred. Our officers remain delighted with their reception on the right. They all say that every one talks with horror of making war in an enemy’s country; but they can declare from experience that they never wish again to make war in a friendly one, if this is to be the manner of making war in an enemy’s. Nothing has been done on the right of any consequence yet, merely preparations in case this bridge had failed; if so, I think we should now have Lord Wellington back here directly from Garris, where he has been, and the move will at last take place.
I have just got my mules back from Passages, with six days’ hay, and am now ready, though my Guardsman tailor has carried half my new clothes with him across the Adour, and I never expect to see them more, and have a Frenchman at work. Considering your lost box and all contingencies, my last suit will probably stand me in about 35l. sterling!
The ride along the high road to Bayonne yesterday was interesting. The refugees from the town, several of them very pretty Basques, were all coming this way, laden with the little baggage they could carry off; our artillery all moving up the contrary way; as well as the Spanish troops; and hundreds of Basques, men and women, with great loads on their heads (like our Welsh fruit-women going to Covent-Garden), only their baskets were full of bread, biscuits, &c., and all in requisition for the Spaniards. The bât animals and baggage parties of the Spaniards are not a little amusing, and their led chargers with their tails buckled up, and in swaddling clothes, with dirty magnificent housings, dancing about half-starved, with their heads in the air. Every fifty yards a dead bullock or horse, but chiefly the former, and every two hundred, an ox dying, and a Spanish muleteer or straggler waiting until the bullock driver abandoned him, to turn him up, and cut his heart out, before he was dead, but when in a state too weak to resist. The heart alone seemed to be worth the trouble, as nothing else could be cut off from the bones, and bone and all did not pay the cutting up and carriage.
The destruction and present price of cattle are tremendous, and I hear we have been obliged to give the Spaniards some of our best Irish cattle, as we had no other at hand. The only meat they seemed to have with them was a number of ox cars with sides of Spanish bacon; this, and sardines, seemed to form their supply. The men, however, are very fine men, and in my opinion, were they well commanded, would make excellent troops. Nevertheless, I was by no means sorry to find that we had still an English brigade of about twelve or fifteen hundred men (Lord Aylmer’s) between us and the eleven thousand French at Bayonne, for I am sure five thousand French would force their way through the fifteen thousand Spaniards if they chose to try, though we should in the end prevent their return. At any rate we should have early notice, and alarm from the runaways. The French beat our men at that, for we cannot catch them, and the Spaniards would not be easily caught by the French.
We had a most anxious scene here two nights since. Just as our vessels got into the Adour, a suttling brig, Dutch-built, and very strong, to save pilotage fees, tried to get into this river without the pilot boats. The boats towing missed the mouth, were both swamped, and the men in most imminent danger, as well as the vessel, which was driven in without guidance, aground for an hour, but saved, and at last all lives were saved, or at least all but one. When the boat was filled, another wave drove it against the ship, and three caught hold of the ship-chains and got in; the fourth was knocked about in the water between the ship, the boat, and the wall, but at last got his chin on the sinking boat, came up the harbour so, was hauled in and saved. In my morning walk on the sea wall, I found another ship on shore, a large brig with a valuable cargo, a private speculation. This will be the third wreck, but considering how many vessels have been here, and how they have been all exposed, and half of them absolutely at the mercy of any north or north-west squalls, we have been most fortunate.
Later.—In my ride to-day I met about thirty or forty wounded men of the Buffs and 39th, second division; but this is the consequence of the last move, I believe, as they told me they were wounded at or near Cambo. We have reports of an affair, but here nothing is yet known. We are becoming, instead of being like head-quarters, the centre of all good information, a mere hospital station in the rear, and famous as usual for ill-founded reports, which the medical men probably invent from ennui on these occasions. A large brig has arrived from Bordeaux with wine, but, in my opinion, almost too late for the speculation.
Sunday, 27th February, Post-day.—In my walk this morning I saw another boat swamped, trying to get out of the river over the bar. It was actually worked by the surf into this position, with the stern stuck into the sand of the bar, and fairly went over, with the five men. For some time all five were visible, two swimming, and three clinging to the keel of the wreck, which was bottom uppermost. Another boat, which had intended to follow this one out, was fortunately close at hand, just out of the reach of the surf, and by this means the two swimmers were saved by giving them a rope’s end, and also one of the three from the wreck, as it floated inwards. There was a struggle between the three, when a wave came, and two appeared no more. The relations of the two men witnessed their loss, as well as myself, for we were standing on the edge of the wall within ten yards of the men, but unable to help them. The distress you may conceive. We become in some degree hardened by seeing death so continually, and in so many forms, as we do here.
I have also this morning met with five English seamen, part of the crew of one of our provision ships, which were lost some months since on this coast. The master and four men, being from St. Andero, and the French having heard of the fever there at that time, they were put under quarantine on the coast, about forty miles on the other side of Bayonne. Afterwards they escaped, and lived among the inhabitants, who, they say, treated them well, as the master had money. At last, hearing from the French that we had crossed the Adour, they made through the woods this way, and fell in with our cavalry about three leagues on the other side of Bayonne, General Vandeleur being on that side of the Adour, with two regiments. They mention that they saw on the road going to Dax a number of the wounded French from Bayonne, and also troops retiring that way, they were told, to the amount of fifteen thousand, but the number must have been considerably exaggerated.
The servant of Captain Pitts, of the Engineers, came in yesterday with an account of his master’s death. Captain Pitts was one of General Cole’s staff, and a most spirited, zealous, skilful, and promising young man. He was killed on the right a few days since, when our men had driven the French over the Gave d’Oleron. He went down to reconnoitre, and take a sketch of the banks, and make observations with a view to the formation of a bridge. His servant says that he had finished, and was looking round just before he came off, when a ball struck him on the head. General Cole’s staff have been very unfortunate this last year, and indeed the loss of officers in his whole division has been very considerable. I used to think that it sometimes affected his spirits, though it never induced him to endeavour to diminish it, for he always was and would be foremost in danger.