We had little opportunity of knowing much about the Spaniards here; but what we did know gave us no great idea of them, particularly the lower class. They seemed to be a jealous-minded, vindictive, and cowardly race, grossly ignorant and superstitious. Their soldiers are complete scarecrows, (I speak of them as I found them in every part of Spain,) badly clothed, ill paid, and worse officered. There could not be imagined a more barbarous-looking, grotesque assemblage of men in the world than a Spanish regular regiment. No two men are dressed alike—one wants shoes, another a coat, another has a slip of blanket, with a hole cut in the middle, and his head thrust through it, a lapell hanging before and another behind. It is a rare thing to find one of them with his accoutrements complete; and their arms are kept in such order, that if brought into action, the half of them would be useless. On the march they have no regularity—just like a flock of sheep; and such chattering amongst them, that you would take it for the confusion of tongues at Babel! They rarely ever succeeded at anything unless Guerilla fighting, and then only when they could take their victims by surprise, or when they were double or triple the number of their enemy. There are certainly many brave and noble souls amongst them, whose hearts beat high in the cause of liberty, and who have evinced it by their gallant enthusiasm; but unfortunately they are but a small number, in comparison to the millions who are sunk in slavish ignorance and superstition. FOOTNOTES: [7] I do not know whether the sergeant exaggerated or not; but, in justice to the service, I must remark that such stratagems are neither authorised nor resorted to at present. CHAPTER X.