Some of our artillerymen have by accident burnt one of the best of the few remaining houses at St. Sebastian, worth twenty thousand dollars the Spaniards say, and about to be let for six hundred dollars a-year. This will be quite convincing to the Conciso at Cadiz, and perhaps to the regency, that we burnt the town on purpose, and are now finishing our job. It is unlucky to give this handle to these most unconquerably jealous Spaniards, and already the engineers and few English at St. Sebastian are most unpopular. The weather is now much improved, and has turned to frost for the first time this month, which improves our roads, our spirits, and our prospects. The sea, however, has been for these last two days tremendous, and washed over the stone bulwark where we walk, and has cut off our supply of corn these three days from Passages. I was yesterday caught there when walking with General Pakenham and General Murray: the Quarter-Master-general ran one way, the Adjutant-general and I another; the former escaped, and so did the latter and I, though the foam and surf burst upright, close to us, above our heads, and then washed our legs midway up; but the force was broken, and we were not moved, only wetted. The natives and many of our officers think this roaring ocean predicts more bad weather here again, but I hope it only proves a storm some two hundred miles off in the main ocean, as I have always observed there is little connexion here between our land-storms and the state of the sea, which seems to be moved by other causes, of which probably one is the agitation caused by the flood spring-tides.
Monday.—Marshal Soult has returned again to Bayonne. Lord Wellington, &c., are all out with the hounds.
FOOTNOTES:
[7] He made no application to Mr. Larpent’s family, nor did he call at Somerset House.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Reports from France—More Desertion—Anecdote of General Stewart—Wellington and his Casualty Returns—The Courtesies of War—Scarcity of Transports—Wellington and the Trial-Papers—Sir G. Collier.
Head-quarters, St. Jean de Luz,
January 1, 1814.
My dear M——,
Many happy new years to you and all your party! We are now quite quiet here, and have no news to communicate. We have repeatedly received reports of the arrival of an English mail, but it never comes. This may, however, arise from our having had three of the vessels at once on this side of the water.
You will be surprised to hear that I had an old French woman, and a young Spanish girl to breakfast with me this morning, on their way through to Bayonne, from Bilboa. I had made arrangements for six mules, and an ox-car to carry their baggage, but they mistook the tide in their directions, and the baggage is only just arrived, so that they cannot go until to-morrow. They are the wife and mother of a Monsieur Dabedrille, at Bayonne, ci-devant principal Directeur de l’Octroi de Bilboa, who fled so quickly after the battle of Vittoria, that he left all his baggage and females behind him. He was very civil to Colonel Fitzgerald, who had undertaken to obtain for him the restoration of his wife; and as the Colonel was not exchanged, I undertook it, got Lord Wellington’s leave, and here they are, so far on their way safe. Not having just now much business, I have had time to attend a little to these good ladies, and they are really very pleasant and well-bred, but just now the worse for having been six days on board a Spanish coaster (of Bilboa), to get here.