Meanwhile, we, whose trade was bloodshed, war and battery, proceeded to our natural occupation, and, being already accoutred for the field, were quickly at the rendezvous, prepared for a little morning sport with the veterans in our front.

At an early hour General Foy, at the head of two thousand men, and a squadron of cavalry, was observed marching with hasty strides along the Salamanca road; and when it was clear day-light, their advanced guard, consisting of light troops, made a vigorous attack upon a strong picket of the 50th, commanded by Captain Benjamin Rowe, which had been posted at a farm house on the road.

Formidable by his numerical strength, the enemy pushed on regardless of all opposition, while the riflemen, stealing warily behind the rocks and broken ground, and concealed from our view by the surrounding mist and fog, penetrated almost to the very walls. With determined obstinacy the picket kept its station, disputing every inch, until at length, overpowered by superior numbers, it was compelled to fall back on the reserve, posted near the town.

Well armed parties of our men were drawn up at all the most exposed and assailable positions, and the utmost vigilance was required on their part to guard against surprise; the defences being so much extended, from their embracing the whole circuit of the scattered suburbs, that, had the French General made a bold and persevering assault, he must at least have gained access to the principal entrance of the place.

To this point Foy pushed forward with a considerable body of his troops, who, flushed by the success of their first onset, moved daringly forward, to force their way even to the principal street, and made a furious charge upon the party stationed at the gate. This small resolute band, detached from the main picket, was commanded by Lieutenant William Deighton, of the 50th grenadiers, who ranging his men across the passage, over which the archway was projected, resolved to defend to the utmost extremity the post at which he was stationed. Like a warrior of olden time this gallant soldier, of colossal build and stature, (for he was more than six feet high,) seemed as though he were himself able to check the further progress of the foe. His orders for the firing to commence, was answered by a peal so well directed, and with such deadly aim, as made the Frenchmen waver and fall back. A repetition of this warm salutation was answered by a sharp and rattling volley from the rifles of the Frenchmen; with bravery worthy of a better cause, the assailants still pressed on, closing after the soldiers under Rowe, until they arrived within thirty or forty paces of the walls.

Their spirit was, however, at length effectually damped by a repeated and destructive fire from our men, which sent them about like nine-pins, handling them so roughly, and finishing the morning's work by such an unmerciful coup de grace, that they could no longer hold their own. Having no power to rally, or withstand the treatment they met with, they collected the remnant of their scattered force, and forming into column, filed off with deliberate steps along the road, on which, puffed up by full assurance of success, they had so recently travelled.

They were soon after joined by the remainder of the troops under Foy, who, seeing that all further efforts would be in vain, marched off to his former quarters, chagrined in no small degree at his defeat, and no doubt regretting that he had ventured to attack a garrison composed of such tough materials.

The joy of the inhabitants of Bejar, on the departure of the enemy, could be only equalled by their gratitude; and, during the remainder of our stay among them, we were treated with a degree of kindness and hospitality, exceeding if possible all that we had hitherto experienced at their hands. Encouraged by these warmhearted people, as well as by the smiles of beauty, we could not have felt any duty too severe, that might have been a means of protecting them from the rude embraces of Frenchmen, and from the plunder and destruction of their town and families.

CHAPTER XVII.

On the 17th of April, 1813, we marched from Bejar; I need not add that it was to the mutual regret of all parties; and, proceeding on the road leading to the Puerto de Banos, were cantoned that same night at the village of Banos near the pass.