stance to eat with
our meat was one of the great causes of illness.

We halted at or near Val de la Casa as our next stage for Oropesa,
and two days after that at Deleitosa; and from there we were marched
to Xaracego, whence, through lack of provisions, we were obliged to
proceed to Badajoz, arriving there after being about a fortnight on
the road. On leaving Talavera our clothes had been completely
threadbare, and now, through having no change for so long we were
smothered with vermin. When we had been a little while in Badajoz,
however, we were supplied with new clothes, linen, blankets, and great
coats, our old ones being burnt; and more live stock was destroyed in
the process than there were troops in the country at the time.

Whilst we were staying at Badajoz, numbers of us fell sick daily, and
amongst them was unfortunately myself. We were conveyed to a
Portuguese town some four leagues from Badajoz, called Elvas, which
was the strongest fortified town in Portugal, being very little more
than two leagues from the frontier of Spain. It was situated at the
summit of a lofty hill, and at the other side of a valley was a still
higher hill, on the top of which was built another strong fort, the
two together being called Elvas. We invalids occupied the convents of
the town.

Our loss here through the sickness, which was some kind of fever, and
was increased through the want of doctors and medicine, was very
great, cartloads of the dead being carried out of the town every day
for interment in the ground kept for the purpose outside the
fortifications. I recovered sufficiently after about six weeks to be
able to get out a little on the ramparts, and there a fearful
spectacle often met my gaze, for the dead were brought out of the
convents completely naked, and after they had been pitched into carts
like so many pieces of wood, were carried out and put into holes
scarcely large enough to admit of such a number. This unpleasant
office of burying the dead fell chiefly on the Portuguese convicts,
and it was surprising to see with what readiness these men went to
work. They carried one body at a time, having the legs over their
shoulders, and the head dangling down behind them, and when they came
to the graves, on account of the piece of ground appropriated for the
burials being so small, they had to pack their burdens with the
greatest nicety. This sight soon cured me, as I thought what a narrow
escape I had had of being