The army continued its retrograde movement unassailed, and by the 30th of November was established in its different stations; but here the real effects of the retreat began to be felt. The soldiers, while in action, or in a state of activity, had not time to get ill! So long as the mind and body are occupied, everything, in comparison, goes on well; but after a storm a calm succeeds, and that calm is sometimes as bad, and even worse, than the storm that has preceded it. So it was in the present instance. More than half the men were attacked with some complaint; but fever and dysentery, from overwork and bad treatment, were most prevalent, and the number of bayonets which we counted at the conclusion of the retreat was considerably diminished before we were settled in our winter quarters. Many men, whose frames were as robust as their minds were ardent, began to sink under the accumulation of the miseries they had endured during the retreat. The continued and unsparing exposure of their bodies under such heavy rains as had fallen, and their being obliged to lie out, without any covering, for so many nights, during so inclement a season, now began to be felt, and made visible ravages amongst our ranks. The oldest and most hardy soldiers, as well as the youngest, sank alike under diseases, and it was heart-breaking to see our ranks thinned, not only of the hardy old stock, but of the promising young suckers also. But so it was! The men died by tens—twenties—thirties—and in the course of a short time every battalion was reduced to the half of its original strength. In less than a month the hospitals were overstocked, and many officers were taken ill. I, for once, was amongst the number on the sick-list. A bad ill-healed wound, which I received in the breast on the night of the storming of Badajoz, now began to revisit me. A high fever was the consequence, but I was at length relieved by the taking away of three pieces from one of my ribs. The reader is not to suppose from this confession that I was a married man at the time this operation was performed; but I had, nevertheless, a “rib,” though not a wife; and as to the “pieces” which I lost, it would be but a useless task to look after them now.