The evening we landed, a fine healthy-looking young serjeant brought me the orderly-book,—and, on visiting the hospital at ten o'clock the next morning, I heard he had been dead one hour. So much for the Walcheren malady! In fact, the most fatal battle could hardly have made such havock in our ranks. Thus, in the short space of seven months, the English coast had been inundated with sick soldiers and scattered regiments from the Land's-end to Yarmouth. Walcheren was finally evacuated in the end of December. Napoleon had humbled his rivals, had ridden out the storm raised against him, and repulsed all his enemies. Pope Pius the VIIth had indeed thundered forth a spiritual excommunication against him and his followers at the beginning of the Austrian campaign; but he had unluckily fallen into the power of his temporal master, who, seated in the saloon of the Palace of the Tuileries, was meditating new conquests, and weaving silken cords for the Emperor of Austria's daughter. [Footnote 10: The sailors on board ship did not suffer much from the malady.] CHAPTER III. Progress of distemper on the re-landing of the regiment in England—Change of quarters—Amusements—Colchester—An eventful water party—The author obtains leave to join the detachment proceeding to Portugal—A Review—A tale of dental dislocation—Embarkation at Spithead—Landing in Portugal—Incidents of an evening—Amusements at Lisbon, and departure from that city. The regiment soon re-landed in England, and marched to Colchester, where a vast number of the men died, of ours as well as all the other corps, thereby keeping the clergy in constant requisition to repeat the funeral service over the rudely-shaped coffins of the dead soldiers. Nearly the whole of the corps to which I belonged were laid up with ague and fever, to such a degree, that those able to walk and the few fit for duty were removed to Sudbury, for the benefit of change of air. This proved very beneficial and restored the strength of those who had not been very badly affected with the malady. At the expiration of two months we were able to muster again about two hundred, out of six, fit for duty. Those officers whose health was sufficiently re-established frequented the balls at Bury St. Edmunds, which were extremely well attended by the neighbouring families; added to these, occasional jaunts and a few private parties made the time pass pleasantly enough until we were ordered to Weeley Barracks, where we spent a sombre winter, (with two other regiments) which passed without any occurrence worth mentioning, except that of the garrison being called out to fire a _feu de joie_ in celebration of George the Third's having reigned over this country for fifty years.