ich might perhaps account for the condition of their animals, as
they had no more chance of gaining forage than our men had.

CHAPTER XIII.

Lawrence's division marched south to invest Badajoz -- Small
choice allowed by the fortunes of war -- In the trenches -- A
fort taken -- The town walls breached -- Refusal of the garrison
to surrender -- An assault ordered -- Lawrence in the forlorn
hope -- A somewhat premature assignation -- Fighting in the
breach -- Lawrence wounded -- Fearful scenes on his way to the
rear -- He reports on the state of affairs to Lord Wellington --
The story of Filer -- The castle carried after severe fighting,
and the English enter the town -- Dreadful excesses on the part
of the victorious troops -- Great losses on both sides in the
assault -- The end of Lawrence's assignation.

Our stay at Rodrigo was of short duration, for we were soon ordered
south to invest Badajoz, which gave us another long and tedious march
of a hundred and fifty miles or more. We arrived there at the
beginning of March, and the third, ours, that is the fourth, and the
light divisions, under the command of Marshal Beresford and General
Picton, invested the town.

We soon broke ground before the town by commencing to throw up
breastworks and batteries. Very heavy rains had just lately set in,
but our troops still pursued their undertaking and persevered in the
trenches. A cannonade was kept up from the town, which fortunately,
however, did not do much damage; but on the 19th of March the garrison
attacked us, and were only driven back with a loss on our side of a
hundred men killed and wounded, and a still greater loss on their
part.

I killed a French sergeant myself with my bayonet in this action. I was
at the time in the trenches when he came on the top and made a dart at
me with his bayonet, having, like myself, exhausted his fire; and while
in the act of thrusting he overbalanced himself and fell. I very soon
pinioned him to the ground with my bayonet, and the poor fellow soon
expired. I was sorry afterwards that I had not tried to take him
prisoner instead of killing him, but at the time we were all busily
engaged in the thickest of the fight, and there was not much time to
think about things. And besides that, he was a powerful-looking man,
being tall and stout, with a beard and moustache completely covering his
face, as fine a soldier as I have s