He had
suffered a good deal during the heavy rains, which came on occasionally,
from the fact that his infantry cloak was not ample enough to cover his
legs when riding. He was fortunate enough here to be able to buy a pair of
long riding-boots, and with these and a pair of thick canvas trousers,
made by one of the regimental tailors, and coming down just below the
knee, he felt that in future he could defy the rain.
At Salamanca there were far better opportunities of the officers
supplementing their outfits. Landing on the Mondego early in August, they
had made provision against the heat, but had brought no outfit at all
suited for wear in winter, and all seized the opportunity of providing
themselves with warm under-garments, had linings sewn into greatcoats, and
otherwise prepared for the cold which would shortly set in. The greater
part of the troops were here quartered in the convents and other extensive
buildings, and as Fane's brigade was one of the first to arrive they
enjoyed a short period of well-earned rest. Terence had by this time
picked up a good deal of Portuguese, and was able to make himself pretty
well understood by the Spanish shopkeepers. He, as well as the other
officers, was astonished and disgusted at the lethargy that prevailed
when, as all now knew, the great Spanish armies were scattered to the
winds, and large bodies of French troops were advancing in all directions
to crush out the last spark of resistance.
Pages:
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195