The reader is expecting perhaps, that we set to work and nibbled the old woman, but let me assure him we did nothing of the kind, though we thought many and many a time, and growled sadly that we had not provided ourselves with a bit from the donkeys. The corpse had round its neck a set of beads with a gold cross at the end, which Wilkie very “piously” put into his pocket. We still, however, continued our prowling, and stumbled at last on a small cottage, into which we entered, in full hopes of having made a substantial discovery. An old emaciated half-starved looking hag, sat squatted by some extinguished embers, like the last survivor of a universal wreck. She was indeed the only living inhabitant we had seen in the village, and remained squatted by the embers, as if permitted that privilege only to recount her tale. The old soul continued a fixture, until Wilkie suspecting something, pressed her to move. “Non hai nada!” screamed the old lady, “Non hai nada!” (there is nothing.) “Oh but there is,” replied my comrade; until growing furious, he upset the old woman from her position, and out rolled a loaf of bread from under her, as natural as if it had been an egg from under a hen. Wilkie pounced at it instantly, and the miserable old creature burst into tears, and screamed herself almost into fits. Her cries in a few seconds brought in her daughter, who unable to keep herself concealed at this agonizing appeal of her parent, rushed forward to her assistance. Never before did I see such a pitiful pair, both were almost cadaverous with want, and begged hard for the loaf. But we were all of us half starved, and at last, Wilkie and myself, unable to contain ourselves any longer, willingly shared it with them. We were engaged daily with the enemy until we came to Friexedas, on the 28th of March, on which day we lost our gallant adjutant, Lieutenant Stewart, who fell by a musket shot. On the 1st of April we again came up with the enemy, who held possession of the town of Sabugal, where they seemed inclined to make a final stand. The town is situated partly upon a hill, with some woodland interspersed about, while the rapid river Coa winds between it and the Lisbon side of the country.