About an hour after the capture of Fort Napoleon, I observed a private soldier of the 50th regiment, bending over the lifeless trunk of one of his comrades, and apparently wiping away the tear from his eye. Anxious to ascertain the cause of his grief, I stepped forward, and diverted his attention from the melancholy scene before him, by inquiring the name of the deceased. Till I spoke, the poor man imagined he was pouring out his grief in secret, for on lifting his head he blushed, and instantly dried up the fountain of tears. In answer to my query, I was informed that the deceased was my informant's brother, and the third of the family who had given their lives for their country. Perceiving that previous to my arrival he had been endeavouring to dig a grave for his brother on the counterscarp, with nothing but his fingers and his bayonet, I, on moving away, kept my eyes upon him for some time, and was not less astonished than delighted to see him succeed in forming a grave sufficiently capacious to contain the mangled remains of his beloved brother.
On re-entering Truxillo from Almarez, we found the inhabitants busily engaged in preparing to treat us to a grand bull-fight, as a small mark of respect and gratitude for the services rendered at Almarez by the British General and his humble followers.
The market-place being the grand arena where the two and the four-legged combatants were to contend for victory, every street leading from the square was barricaded with waggons, carts, ploughs, &c. to prevent the escape of the poor animals. In a house adjoining the square, the bulls were kept in durance, till released in order to appear before those for whose amusement they were to be tormented in every possible manner which the ingenuity of man could invent.
The Spaniards who were to act the most conspicuous parts in this extraordinary drama, entered the theatre of action about seven o'clock, each carrying a pike in his right hand, and a brown cloak in the left. As soon as they had moved to their respective stations, one of the bulls was released from prison. On entering the scene of action the air rang with the loud acclamations of thousands of delighted spectators, while the poor animal, astonished at his reception, surveyed the surrounding multitude with an eye of fury. With that bold and determined frown so characteristic of his species, he first gazed on his tormentors, and then with a wildness in his countenance altogether inexpressible, scampered around the square bellowing hideously, until he perceived an opening under a waggon, at the lower part of it, when darting towards the port of liberty, he endeavoured to obtain that which is alike dear to bulls as to men. The waggon being crowded with men and women, the whole on the approach of the furious animal were precipitated in various curious and somewhat laughable attitudes, from their elevated station to the same level with the object of their fears.
At this crisis, the Spanish combatants advanced and with a war-whoop equalled in wildness only by that of the Savage, pursued their antagonist and probing him in the hip, made him stop short in his victorious career. Turning round to resent this act of cruelty, and seeing five or six men all equally near, he spent a few moments in deliberation, before he selected an antagonist, on whom to wreak his vengeance. Having at length made choice of a tall, dark, powerful opponent, he pursued the latter with such speed, that the female spectators, trembling for the consequences, uttered the most horrific screams imaginable. The life of the man certainly appeared to be in imminent danger, but at the very moment when his fate seemed to be decided, he made use of the weapon, which above almost all others is the best calculated to avert the dreadful collision, I mean the cloak. By throwing that at the head of the bull, the latter seldom fails to stop short, conceiving he has his antagonist in his power, and in order not to let the animal get too close to him before he takes this step, the Spaniard always runs, with his cloak at full arms' length from his body. Just as the bull had tossed the cloak in the air, one of the Spaniards, from an opposite corner, went unperceived behind the poor brute, probed him in the hip, then made off, hotly pursued by his four-footed antagonist, until stopped by the cloak of the fugitive, and pike of one of his friends as before. Thus the fight continued till the animal could neither shake his head nor wag a foot. On recovering a little, he was removed to make room for another, which afforded no sport.
The third, on making his appearance, seemed completely out of humour. Foaming and bellowing, he made the circuit of the square several times. From eyes sparkling fire, the bull darted looks of scorn upon the surrounding spectators, and after frisking and capering a little, and attempting to pay home his tormentors for their acts of cruelty, at length effected his escape, and made room for others, none of which afforded much amusement.
A similar exhibition took place the following evening, but the sport was bad. Three soldiers, more expert at handling a musket than the horns of a bull, were, on their endeavouring to seize upon one of the infuriated animals, tossed into the air and dreadfully injured.
This savage-like amusement is considered a refined one in Spain, by all classes, from the peer to the peasant. Even the fair Donnas think so. I suspect, however, that but very few of my fair country-women will feel inclined to join their Spanish sisterhood in their admiration of a sport, the principal feature of which is cruelty.
CHAPTER XI.
After spending the 4th of June in a manner worthy of the day, we took leave of Merida for the last time, at one o'clock in the morning of the 5th, and marched to Almendralejo. Intelligence having been received a few days after, that Marshal Soult intended paying us a visit, Sir Rowland Hill deeming it prudent to concentrate his little army at a more advanced point, the whole of the infantry moved forward to Zafra, Los Santos, and Sancho Perez, on the 12th and 13th.