An original illustrated letter from Alfred Buston, H.M.S. “Rota”, describing the siege of Cadiz in March 1810, ink, four sides on a large sheet of white paper, folded to form the envelope addressed to ‘Dr. Hull, Stevenage, Herts.’, dated aboard ‘H.M. Ship Rota, Cadiz harbour, 2d March 1810’, with a fascinating round-up of recent events and a hand-coloured map detailing ship and land battery positions, thus commentary on the appalling state of our prison ships:


‘The French and Spanish carry on the war with a degree of animosity shocking to humanity, and equally impolitic and disgraceful to both parties. The whole of Dupont's army who surrendered near Seville 18 months ago, are here on board prison ships, there are at least 1600 men in each ship, they have the jail fever in a dreadful degree, they fling over board about a dozen bodies a day, and in some of them there are bodies which have been dead three weeks, and surviving companions are afraid to go below to touch them for fear of infection. The Spaniards keep them frequently 4 or 5 days without food or water, and one of them assured me yesterday he had not swallowed anything for three days. As they are prisoners of the Spaniards we cannot interfere, but the effect it had on our sailors was striking. Every one of them brought up all the bread he could get, to relieve these poor wretches, and many of our men went dinner less and supper less to give their enemies a meal. What a contrast is this between the two nations. We know that an Englishman will cut a French man’s throat when in arms, with so much glee as a Spaniard will, but he scorns to insult distress. I have witnessed some of the horrors of war in my time but never anything so affecting as this ... ’

and lighter subject matter such as the local talent - or lack of it:

‘The Spanish ladies are very little and almost muleteers, they all dress invariably in black, with veils but no hats or bonnets, and their dress looks as if their upper petticoat were flung over their heads. I cannot say I saw many pretty ones amongst them, so that after the samples I have seen of Danes, Swedes, Dutch, Italians, Greeks, Portuguese and Spanish, I am inclined more than ever to give the apple to my own countrywomen.’

red and black postal stamps, perforation to paper as a result of original wax seal, otherwise in generally good condition
£200-250