ns reached the sea coast and, after
two hours' rest, began its march south. The others had long been at
work.

It was a painful duty. The frightened villagers had to be roused in
the darkness, and told that the French were approaching, and that
they must fly at once, taking their animals and what they could
carry off in carts away with them. While the terrified people were
harnessing horses to their carts, piling their few valuables into
them, and packing their children on the top, the troops went from
house to house, searching for and destroying provisions, setting
fire to barns stored with corn, and burning or disabling any flour
mills they met with.

Then, as soon as work was done, they forced the villagers to take
the southern road. There was no difficulty in doing this for,
although they had stolidly opposed all the measures ordered by
Wellington, trusting that the French would not come; now that they
had heard they were near, a wild panic seized them. Had an orderly
retreat been made before, almost all their belongings might have
been saved. Now but little could be taken, even by the most
fortunate. The children, the sick, the aged had to be carried in
carts and, in their haste and terror, they left behind many things
that might well have been saved.

The peasantry in the villages suffered less than the townspeople,
as their horses and carts afforded means of transport: but even
here the scenes were most painful. In the towns, however, they were
vastly more so. The means for carriage for such a large number of
people being wanting, the greater number of the inhabitants were
forced to make their way on foot, along roads so crowded with
vehicles of every kind that the British divisions were frequently
brought to a standstill, for hours, where the nature of the country
prevented their quitting the road and making their way across the
fields.

On the 29th, the greater portion of the British troops passed the
Mondego. Hill retired upon Thomar, and the rest of the troops were
concentrated at Milheada. The commissariat stores followed the
coast road down to Peniche, and were embarked there. The light
division and the cavalry remained, after the main body had been
drawn across the Mondego, north of that river.

Soon after starting on his work, Terence learned that the British
troops had passed through Pombal, Leiria, and Thomar. It was
consequently unnecessary for him to endeavour to clear those towns.

The dela