DuringthePeninsularWar,whichbeganwhenNapoleoninvadedPortugal,aFrenchsergeantresolvedtodecampandliveincomfort.Tothisendhepersuadedabout100oftheworstcharactersinthearmy,andgoingwiththemtotherear,tookuphisquartersinavastdesertedconvent.Hecarriedoffeverythingintheneighbourhoodthatsuitedhim;well-furnishedspitsandstewpanswerealwaysatthefire,andeachmanhelpedhimselfashewould.Thescoundrelhadalsocarriedoffnumbersofwomen;andbeingjoinedbeforelongbythescumoftheFrenchandAlliedarmies,heformedabandofsome300English,FrenchandPortuguesedeserters,wholivedasahappyfamilyinoneunbrokenorgyforseveralmonthstilltheirdenwascarriedbythreeFrenchbattalions,andthesergeantwasshot.
拿破崙進侵葡萄牙，引起半島戰爭，其間一名法軍中士決定潛逃，逍遙過活，誘使軍中最下流者約百人，一起走到後方，在一宏大而荒廢了的女修道院住下來，要什麼，就去附近搶。爐火之上，整天烤叉肉不空，燉鍋菜常滿，各人隨意大嚼。那卑賤的中士還搶得一些女人。而法軍、聯軍裏的渣滓，紛紛來投，不久他就糾集了約三百個英軍、法軍、葡軍逃兵。他們像一家人那樣，一直縱慾狂歡，過了幾個月，最後才給三營法軍搗破巢穴，那中士也被槍決。