Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1818-08-03

of manners makes her termagant and a
scold. lfshe be proud, want OF discretion
(which is still i'll breeding) makes her con-
ceited, fantastic, and ridiculous, and from
these she degenerates TO be turbulent, cla-
morous, noisy and hasty."
HOSPITAL SCENE n PORTUGAL.
Extract from the Journalof a British Officer,
in a series Of letters TO a friend.
from Biaekvood, Edinburgh .Masaz;x.)
wish now to give you some idea Of a
scene witnessed at Miranda do Cervo, on
the 9Th day Of our pursuit. Yet fear that
sight so terrible cannot be Swallowed out,
except in the memory Of him who beheId
il. entered the town about dusk II had
been black, grim and gloomy sort OF a
day--at one time fierce blasts OF vino, and
at another, perfect Stiffness, with Ear of
thunder. Altogether, there was wild a.
daption Of the weather and the day 10 the
retreat of great army. Huge masses Of
clouds lay motionless ON the sky before US;
and then they would break up suddenly, as
If with a whirlwind, and roll of in the red
and bloody distance. ] felt myself, towards
the fall Of the evening, in state OF strange
excitement. My imagination got the bet.
ter entirely OF all my other faculties, and I
was like a man in grand hut terrific dream,
who never thinks Of questioning any thing
he sees or hears, but believes all the phan-
tasms around with strength of belief seem.
ingly proportioned to their utter dissimila-
rity to the subjects Of the real world Of ma.
ture.
Just as Twas passing the great cross in
the principal street, met an old haggard-
look ing wretch woman, who seemed to
have in her hollow eyes an unaccountabe
expression of cfuelty-a glance like that Of
madness, but her department vas quiet and
moral, AMI she was evidently of the middle
rank Of society, though her dress was ia.
ded and squalid. She told me (without
being questioned) in brokea English, thstI
would find comfortable accommodation ia
an old convent that stood al some distance
among grove of cork trees: pointing 10
them at the same time, with her long shri.
yelled hand and arm, and giving sort Of
hysterical laugh<AYou will find, said she,
nobody there to disturb you. -
foHowedh her advice with kind Of su.
pcrstitious acquiescence. There was no
reason TO anticipate any adventure or dan.
ger in the convent yet the wild eyes, and
the wilder voice Of the old crone powerful
ly affected me and though, after all, she
was only such an old woman as one may see
any where, really beganto invest her with
many most imposing qualities, till found,
that in sort Of reverie, had walked upa
pretty long fight Of steps, and was standing
at the entrace 10 The cloisters OF the con-
vent. then saw something that made me
speedily forget the old woman, though
what it was | did see, ] could not in the
first moments Of my amazement and horror,
very distinctly comprehend.
Above hundred dead bodiers lay and
sat before my eyes, all Of them apparently
in the very attitude or posture in which
they had died. Hooked at them at least
minute before ! knew that they were all
corpse,. Something in the mortal silence I
Of the place told me that alone was alive
in this dreadful company. A desperate
courage enabled me then TO look steadiast.
ly at the scene before me- The bodies
were mostly clothed in mats and rugs, and
tattered great coats some of them merely
wrapped round about with girdles ofstr
and two or three perfectly naked. Every
face bad different expression-but all
painful, borrid, agonized, oloodless. Many
glazed eyes were wide open and perhaps
this was the most shocking thing in the
whole spectacle. So many eyes that saw
not, all seemingly ixedon different objects;
some cast up to Heaven, some looking
straight forward, and some with the white
orbs turned round and deep sunk in the
sockets it was sort of bospilal.-These
wretched beings were mostly all despe-
rately or MORALLY wounded and after ha-
wing been stripped by their comrades, they
had been left there dead and to die. Such
were they, who, as the old bag said, would
not trouble me.
! had begun to view this ghastly sight
with some composure, when saw, at the
remotest part OF the hospital, gigantic f.
cure sitting covered with blood and almos;
naked, upon rude bedstead, with his
back leaning against the wall, and his eyes
hxed directly on mine. | thought he was
alive, and shuddered; but he was stone
dead. In the last agonies he had bitten his
under lip almost entirely of, and his long
black beard was drenched in clotten gore
that likewise lay in large blots on Wis shay
gy bosom. One Of bis hands had convul.
sIvely grssped the wood work OF the bed.
stead, which had been crushed in the grasp.
recognised the corps. He was seyean,
IN grenadier regiment, and during the re.
treat, distinguished for acts Of savage va.
iour;; One day he killed, with his own
hand, Harry Warburton, the right hand
man OF my own company, perhaps The finest
made and most powerful man in the British
army. My soldiers had nicknamed him with
very course appellation, and really felt
as u ne and were acquaintance. There
he sat, as it frozen to death. went up to
the body, and raised up the giants aus.
cular arm, it fell down again with hol,
low sound against the bloody side Of the