On the 30th of March General Picton arrived before Guarda. His approach to that town was not only unperceived, but seemed unexpected, having advanced to within two gun-shots of the town without meeting a vedette. Such conduct on the part of the French general was not only culpable in the extreme, but showed the greatest presumption and confidence, because, had we a brigade of guns with us, and a few hundred cavalry, the five thousand men that occupied Guarda would have been forced to lay down their arms. Fortunately for them, we had neither the one nor the other; and instead of being in a condition to attack the town, we had the mortification to witness the French getting out of it, bag and baggage, as quick as they could. The scene of confusion that the streets presented was great; infantry, artillery, and baggage, men, women, and children, all mixed pell-mell together, hurrying to the high road leading to Sabugal. Our cavalry came up shortly after the enemy had evacuated the place, but too late to do much good. Some prisoners and baggage and a few head of cattle were captured, and we took up our quarters in the town for the night. On the 3rd of April we again, and for the last time in Portugal, encountered the enemy at Sabugal. The Light Division had a gallant affair with the corps of General Reynier, and though greatly outnumbered, they not only succeeded in forcing the position, but captured a howitzer and several prisoners. The 3rd Division soon after reached the ground, and its leading battalions, especially the 5th Regiment, had deployed, and having thrown in a heavy fire, were advancing with the bayonet, when a violent hail-storm came on and completely hid the two armies from each other. Reynier hurried his divisions off the field; and this unlooked-for event snatched a brilliant exploit from us, as the total overthrow of this corps would have been in all probability the result. The French suffered severely, but they never fought better; so rapidly did they fire that, instead of returning their ramrods, they stuck them in the ground for expedition, and continued to fight until overpowered by our men, who are certainly better at close fighting than long shot.