Robert Southey

BUONAPARTE ENTERS SPAIN. DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMIES. SURRENDER OF MADRID. THE SPANIARDS ENDEAVOUR TO RALLY AT CUENCA, AND ON THE TAGUS.

?1808.
October.?

An old prophecy was at this time circulated in Paris, importing that the disasters which would lead to the overthrow of the French empire were to originate in Spain. It had probably been sent abroad in the days of Louis XIV. when his designs upon that kingdom were first manifested, and the resistance which they would provoke from the powers of Europe was foreseen. The persons by whom it was now reproduced apprehended ?Pasley on the Military Policy of Great Britain, p. 34.? that the English would land a strong force in the north of the peninsula, so as to cut off the French armies from their communication with Bayonne. Like all desponding or discontented politicians, they overrated the wisdom and the power of the enemy. If indeed, when an expedition was sent to Portugal, this had been done at the same time, the issue can hardly be deemed doubtful. We had disciplined soldiers, ships to transport them, and means of every kind in abundance; but vigour was wanting in our councils, and in offensive war we had every thing to learn. It was, however, intended that an army little short of 40,000 men should take the field with the Spaniards; and had such an army been in the field, under an able and enterprising commander, subsequent events have given an Englishman right to affirm, that no force which could have been brought against it in one point, would have been able to defeat it. But this intention was frustrated as much by the precipitance of the Spaniards as by the dilatoriness of the British movements.

?Movements against Blake’s army.?

By the latter end of October not less than 100,000 troops had crossed the Pyrenees from the side of Bayonne, to reinforce their countrymen. The head-quarters were at Vitoria, where they had continued since Joseph arrived there on his flight from Madrid. The left wing, under Marshal Moncey, Duke of Cornegliano, was posted along the banks of the Aragon and the Ebro, having its head-quarters at Tafalla; Marshal Ney, Duke of Elchingen, had his head-quarters at Guardia; Marshal Bessieres, Duke of Istria, at Miranda, with a garrison at Pancorbo; Marshal Lefebvre, Duke of Dantzic, occupied the heights of Durango, and defended the heights of Mondragon from the threatened attack of the Spaniards. Blake had posted the main body of his army in front of Lefebvre’s force, and occupied with the rest the debouches of Villarcayo, OrduÑa, and Munguia. He hoped that the Asturian General, Azevedo, would cut off the communication between Durango and Vitoria by Ochandiano, and that, by possessing himself of the heights of Mondragon, and thus getting in the rear of the enemy’s advanced guard, he might be enabled to strike a great blow. The plan was good, if it could have been executed in time; but Blake persisted in it after he knew that the French had received strong reinforcements. Some trifling advantages, and the confidence of the Spanish character, encouraged him to this imprudence, by which he exposed himself to be entirely cut off. It was Buonaparte’s intention to take the advantage which was thus offered him; and Lefebvre therefore had been ordered to content himself with keeping the Spaniards in check till the Emperor should arrive; but his flanks were so much annoyed by Blake, that this delay became inconvenient, and on the last day of October the French attacked him. After a long and well-contested action of nine hours the Spaniards retreated in good order by Bilbao and Valmaseda to Nava, without losing colours or prisoners. No artillery had been used, the country being too mountainous for it. The enemy entered Bilbao the next day; and the corps of Marshal Victor, Duke of Belluno, arriving at this time, was directed by Munguia and Amurrio to Valmaseda, to fall upon the flank of the Galician army.

?Blake falls back to Espinosa.

---

1808.
November.?

Blake’s intention had been to fall back till he could concentrate his whole force; but the second division, and a part of the Asturians under Azevedo, had their communication cut off; and as the French were strengthening themselves at Arancadiaga and Orrantia to prevent the junction, he prepared to attack them. They retreated during the night of the 4th; but on the following day a division of his army came up with 7000 of the enemy near Valmaseda, and drove them from thence with considerable loss. Having thus effected the junction, he attacked the enemy again on the 7th at GueÑes, and turned their left wing, but his own centre was unable to advance; and perceiving that the French had received very considerable reinforcements that day from Bilbao, his own men too being exhausted by hunger and fatigue, he deemed it prudent to retire to Espinosa de los Monteros, where he hoped to refresh and feed his men, and draw artillery and supplies from Reynosa. Seldom indeed have any troops endured greater hardships. From the 23rd of October they had been continually in the open air, among the mountains of Biscay, during rainy nights and the most inclement weather: they were all without hats, great part of them half clothed, and barefooted, and they had been six days without bread, wine, or spirits; indeed, without any other supply of food than the sheep and cattle which were to be found among the mountains. There had been a considerable desertion among the young recruits; but from those who remained not a murmur was heard under all these privations: they manifested no other wish than that the sacrifice of their lives might contribute to the destruction of the enemy, and the deliverance of Spain.

?Battle of Espinosa.?

The system of the French was to beat this army down, as their increasing numbers enabled them to do, by repeated attacks. Blake intended to remain some days at Espinosa, for the purpose of giving his men some rest. But having arrived on the 9th, his rear-guard, under the Conde de San Roman, one of the officers who had escaped from the Baltic, was attacked on the following day, by a far superior force. He immediately posted his army in front of the town; Azevedo, with the Asturians and the first division, on a height to the left, covering the road to S. Andero; the second division on a hill to the right; the third and the reserve in the centre. The van-guard was posted on a little hill close in the rear of the centre, with six four-pounders. The enemy were successful in their first attack, and drove the Spaniards from a wood which they had occupied; they returned, however, to the charge, being reinforced with the third division, and the action became general, except on the left of the Spanish position. It continued for three hours, till evening closed in; and Blake thought the advantage was on his side, though the enemy had gained possession of a wood and ridge of hill in front of his centre and right. The contest had been very severe, and a very great proportion of the Spanish officers had fallen, San Roman among them, and the Galician General Riquelme, both mortally wounded. The men lay on their arms that night, and Victor, who commanded in this battle, brought up fresh troops from his rear to the ridge. At daybreak, when the main attention of the Spaniards was drawn towards this point, he made his great attack upon their left, commencing it with a strong body of sharp-shooters; they were twice repulsed; meantime one of their large columns, under General Maison, came up and formed in line; the sharp-shooters, being reinforced, returned to the charge, and General Ruffin, with his division, attacked the centre. There the enemy were well resisted; but on the left they succeeded, owing, in great part, it appears, to the system which on this and the preceding day was practised, of marking out the officers. Azevedo, and the two Asturian Generals who were next in command, fell; this threw the men into confusion, and when they saw themselves cut off from the road to S. Andero, and that the French were advancing to occupy a height in rear of the town which commands the road to Reynosa, they gave way, and nothing remained but to order a general retreat. They had to retire by a bridge over the Trueba and a defile; and instead of attempting to save the guns, which would necessarily have impeded the retreat of the army, Blake thought it better to employ them till the last moment; this was done with great effect, and they were spiked when the enemy was close to them.

Blake was one of those men who would have been thought worthy of the chief command if they had never been trusted with it. His talents were considerable; he understood the theory of his profession well, and could plan an action or a campaign with great ability; but he was deficient in that promptitude and presence of mind which are the first qualifications of a commander. His own game he could play skilfully, but when the adversary disconcerted it by some unexpected movement, he was incapable of forming new dispositions to meet the altered circumstances. By persisting against a superior and continually increasing force in operations which had been calculated against an inferior one, he exposed himself to the imminent hazard of being entirely cut off; and by advancing so far into a country which had been stripped of its provisions, and with no commissariat to follow him, he exhausted his men. Under every privation he indeed set them an example of cheerfulness, and let them see that he fared as hardly as themselves; but this could not counteract the effects of inanition. They were in a state of famine when they arrived at Espinosa, and would have found nothing there to relieve them if 250 mules, laden with biscuits, had not most opportunely arrived, sent by Major-General Leith, who was forwarding partial supplies toward them by every possible way. But men thus hungered, and enfeebled also by long continued exposure to cold and rain, were ill fitted for close action, in which much depended upon personal strength. Another and more lamentable error was, that the troops from the Baltic, the only thoroughly disciplined part of his force, were brought into action after the first defeat, and exposed by single battalions to bear the brunt of every conflict; and thus they were sacrificed in detail, giving melancholy proof, by the devoted courage with which they stood their ground, of what they could have effected, if, as a body, they had been brought into some fair field of battle.

?Dispersion of Blake’s army at Reynosa.?

Blake attempted with the remains of his army to make a stand at Reynosa; his principal magazine and his park of artillery were there; it is one of the strongest positions in that strong country, and had it been occupied in time, the event of the campaign might have been different. But the forlorn hope of collecting his scattered forces there was soon defeated. Victor was pursuing him closely from Espinosa; Lefebvre from the side of Villarcayo. And from the side of Burgos, where a fatal blow had now been struck, Marshal Soult, Duke of Dalmatia, marched upon Reynosa. No alternative was left him but to retreat toward S. Andero, and the dispersion was so complete, that there no longer remained any force on this side to oppose the enemy. Yet in justice to this ill-fated army it should be said, that no men ever behaved more gallantly, nor with more devoted patriotism. Without cavalry, half clothed, almost without food, they fought battle after battle against troops always superior in number, and whose losses were always filled up with reinforcements. Nor did any circumstance of disgrace attend their defeat; there was no capitulation, no surrender of large bodies, or of strong places; the ground on which they fought was won by the French, and that was all, as long as any body of the Spaniards remained together. The magazines at Reynosa now fell into their hands, and they entered S. Andero. ?Nov. 16.? The Bishop saved himself in an English ship, and General Riquelme expired as his men were lifting him on board. They had borne him thither from Espinosa; for, routed as they were, they would not leave him to die in the hands of the enemy. Here, and in some of the smaller ports, the French found a considerable booty of English goods.

?Buonaparte arrives in Spain.?

When Buonaparte arrived in Spain he was not pleased at finding that Lefebvre had opened the campaign; his hope had been to march a strong force in the rear of Blake’s army, and thus place it in a situation where it must either have been destroyed or have laid down its arms. In crossing the mountains near Mondragon he had nearly lost one of his favourite Generals, Marshal Lasnes, Duke of Montebello; the ground was covered with frozen snow, his horse fell with him, and in attempting to rise fell on him. He was carried to Vitoria in a state of great danger, his body covered with those discolorations which show that the small vessels of the skin are ruptured, the abdomen swoln, the extremities cold, suffering acute pain, and with all the symptoms of inflammation in the intestines, from the shock and the pressure. M. Larrey, who attended Buonaparte in all his campaigns, had learnt a remedy from the savages of Newfoundland, applied by them to some sailors whose boat had been broken to pieces and themselves dashed by the waves upon their coast. A large sheep having been first stunned by a blow on the neck, was immediately flayed, the reeking skin was sown round the Marshal’s body, while his limbs were wrapped in warm flannels, and some cups of weak tea were given him. He felt immediate relief, complaining only of a painful sense of formication, and of the manner in which the skin seemed to attract every part wherewith it was in contact. In the course of ten minutes he was ?Larrey, Campagnes et Memoires, t. iii. 243–246.? asleep. When he awoke, after two hours, the body was streaming with perspiration, the dangerous symptoms were relieved, and on the fifth day he was able to mount on horseback and follow the army.

?Defeat of the Extremaduran army at Burgos.?

Buonaparte reached the head-quarters at Vitoria on the 8th, and immediately pushed forward a corps under Soult against the Extremaduran army in his front. Bessieres commanded the cavalry, which had before proved so fatal to the Spaniards at Rio Seco, and which had now been greatly reinforced. This army, under the Conde de Belveder, had been intended to support Blake, and keep up a communication between his army and that of CastaÑos. It consisted of about 13,000 men; and their Commander, a young man, although aware that a superior force was advancing against him, waited for the attack in an open ?Nov. 10.? position at Gamonal. He had with him some of the Walloon and Spanish guards, and a few regiments of the line; the rest were new levies, and among them a corps of students, volunteers from Salamanca and Leon. These youths, the pride and the hope of many a generous family, were in the advanced guard. They displayed that courage which might be looked for in men of their condition, and at that time of life: twice they repulsed the French infantry, and when Bessieres with the horse came upon their flank, fell almost to a man where they had been stationed. The loss in killed was estimated at 3000, nearly a fourth of this brave army; the victorious cavalry entered Burgos with the fugitives, and the city, which was entirely forsaken by its inhabitants, was given up to be plundered. Bessieres pursued Count Belveder, while Soult turned aside toward Reynosa, to complete the destruction of Blake’s army. One corps of the French marched upon Palencia, another upon Lerma; from the latter place the Count retreated to Aranda; there also Bessieres pursued, and the wreck of the army collected at Segovia; the piquets of the French were now upon the Douro, and their cavalry covered the plains of Castille.

?Proclamation excluding certain Spaniards from pardon.?

On the second day after the defeat of the Extremaduran army Buonaparte established his head-quarters at Burgos, and issued a proclamation, granting, in the Intruder’s name, a pardon to all Spaniards who, within one month after his arrival at Madrid, should lay down their arms, and renounce all connexion with England. Neither the members of the Juntas nor the general officers were excepted: but wishing, he said, to mark those, who, after having sworn fidelity to Joseph Buonaparte, had violated that oath; and who, instead of employing their influence to enlighten the people, had only used it to mislead them: wishing also that the punishment of great offenders might serve as an example in future times to all those, who, being placed at the head of nations, instead of directing them with wisdom and prudence, should mislead them into disorders and popular tumults, and precipitate them into misfortunes and war: for these reasons he excepted from this amnesty the Dukes of Infantado, Hijar, Medina Celi, and Ossuna, the Marques de Santa Cruz, Counts Fernan Nunez and Altamira, the ex-Minister of State Cevallos, and the Bishop of S. Andero; declaring them traitors to the two crowns of France and Spain, and decreeing that they should be seized, brought before a military commission, and shot. Those persons who had sworn homage to the Intruder, compulsory as that homage was, had unquestionably exposed themselves to its possible consequences: they had been forced into a situation in which the only alternative was to become traitors to him, or traitors to their country: but by what law or what logic were they traitors to France, a country to which they owed no allegiance, and with which they had contracted no obligation?

?Movements against CastaÑos.?

From Burgos Marshals Ney and Victor were dispatched with their divisions to act on the rear of CastaÑos, and cut off his retreat, while Lasnes, with 30,000 men, should attack him in front. This last remaining army of the Spaniards is represented by the French as consisting of 80,000 men, of whom three-fourths were armed. But the nominal force of the conjoined armies under CastaÑos and Palafox was only 65,000, and the effective soldiers hardly more than half that amount. Many of the Andalusian troops had returned to their homes after the first success, and many more had remained at Madrid, so that though some thousands (mostly from Valencia) had joined CastaÑos, his force was little more numerous than it had been at Baylen. His own opinion was decidedly against risking an action in which there could be no reasonable hope of advantage; but the commissioner, D. Francisco Palafox, to whom the power of overruling the General had been madly entrusted by the Central Junta, determined that a battle should be fought, and CastaÑos therefore was compelled to fight, lest he should be stigmatized as a traitor, and murdered by his own men, or torn to pieces by a mob. Already the Conde de Montijo, who left the army at this time, was every where accusing him of treachery, because he had warmly opposed a determination, the fatal consequences of which he certainly foresaw.

?Battle of Tudela.?

The plan of the French against this army was the same as that which they had practised against Blake’s; they meant to rout it by a powerful attack in front, and to destroy the fugitives by intercepting them with a second force in their flight. Their destruction was considered to be as certain as their defeat, but Ney was less expeditious in his movements than had been calculated; and CastaÑos hearing on the 21st that this corps was advancing upon Soria, while Lasnes and Moncey approached from the side of LogroÑo and Lodosa, abandoned Calahorra and fell back upon Tudela. On the 22d Lasnes entered Calahorra and Alfaro, and at daybreak on the following morning he found the Spaniards drawn up in seven divisions, with their right before Tudela, and their left extending along a line of from four to five miles upon a range of easy heights. The Aragonese, who had joined only a few hours before by forced marches, were on the right, the Valencians and the troops of New Castille in the centre, the Andalusians on the left. Their line was covered by forty pieces of artillery. Situations were chosen by the enemy for planting sixty pieces against them; but upon seeing their own relative strength, and the confusion which was observable among the Spaniards, they preferred a more summary mode of attack. General Maurice Mathieu, with a division of infantry, forced the Spanish centre; and General Lefebvre, with the cavalry, passing through, wheeled to the left, and coming in the rear of the Aragonese, at a time when that wing, having withstood an attack, supposed itself victorious, the fate of the battle was decided. At the same time Lagrange, with his division, attacked the left; a brave, and in some part a successful resistance was opposed; and the action, which began in the morning, was prolonged on this side till darkness enabled LapeÑa’s division to fall back from Cascante to Tarazona, where the first and third divisions were stationed, and had not been engaged. There too the second division arrived, which had been ordered to support LapeÑa; but though it received these orders at noon, and the distance which it had to march was only two leagues, either from incapacity in the leaders, or want of order, it did not arrive till night, after the action was decided.

?Retreat of the defeated army.?

According to the French 4000 Spaniards fell in this battle, 3000 men, 300 officers, and thirty pieces of cannon were taken, their own loss not amounting to 500. The right wing, dispersing and escaping how it could, assembled again at Zaragoza, with some of the central division also, there to prove that their failure in the field had not been for want of courage. As soon as the wreck of the left had collected at Tarazona, CastaÑos ordered them to begin their march by way of Borja to Calatayud. It was midnight, and at the moment when they were setting forward a chapel, which served as a magazine, blew up. Many shells went off after the explosion; this occasioned an opinion that an enemy’s battery might be playing upon them, and the Royal Carabineers, in the midst of the confusion, fancying that the chapel was occupied by the French, presented themselves sword in hand to charge it. Presently a cry of treason was set up; it spread rapidly; misfortune in such times is always deemed a proof of treachery; those troops who had not been engaged could not understand wherefore they were ordered to retreat, and at such an hour; a general distrust prevailed; some corps dispersed, and they who remained together were in a fearful state of insubordination. They retreated however through Borja and Ricla, without stopping in either place, and on the night of the 25th reached Calatayud.

?Their deplorable condition at Calatayud.?

On that same day Maurice Mathieu entered Borja in pursuit, ... too late to make any prisoners. Ney arrived on the day following. He had been ordered to reach Agreda on the 23d, which, if he had done, the wreck of this army must have been destroyed; but he found a pretext for delay in the fatigue of his men, and a cause in the pillage of Soria. The people of that city, unmindful of the example which the Numantines had set them upon that very ground, opened their gates to the enemy. This did not save them from being plundered. Their church, and their rich wool-factors, afforded good spoil to the French; and for the sake of this booty, and that he might extort all he could from the inhabitants, Ney remained there three days, not because his men had been over-marched. But this delay enabled CastaÑos to reach Calatayud. He had thus escaped the danger of immediate pursuit, and men and officers had leisure now to feel the whole wretchedness of their situation. There were neither magazines nor stores here; the system of supplying the troops, which before had been miserably incomplete, was at an end, and the military chest, containing two million reales, had been conveyed to Zaragoza. Desperate with hunger, the men broke through all restraint, and the inhabitants fled from their houses, hardly less dismayed at the temper of their own soldiers than at the vicinity of the French. The muleteers attached to the baggage and artillery could obtain no payment, nor food either for their animals or themselves; such as could find opportunity threw away the baggage, mounted their beasts, and rode away; others abandoned them altogether, cursing their ill fortune, and yet glad to escape with their lives. The soldiers, having nothing else to stay the cravings of hunger, devoured cabbage leaves, or whatever crude vegetables they could find, and many literally dropped for want.

?They are ordered to approach Madrid.?

Here Palafox and the Aragonese army expected that CastaÑos would have rallied, have made a stand, and, acting on the offensive as circumstances permitted, have saved Zaragoza from a second siege, or at least have delayed its evil day. They who formed this expectation did not reckon upon the activity of the enemy, and imputed to their own government a promptitude and power which it was far from possessing. Had the defeat of the central army been apprehended in time, and measures taken for supporting it, one of the first objects would have been to have strengthened this point. There had been no such foresight. The French were in pursuit, and orders arrived from Morla, who was one of the council of war, requiring CastaÑos to hasten with his army to the defence of the capital. He consulted accordingly with the chiefs of division, and they resolved to march by way of Siguenza; from whence they might either repair to Somosierra, if that strong position should still be retained, or to Madrid, if such a movement should be more advisable. In that direction, therefore, they recommenced their retreat, after one day’s rest.

?Measures of the Central Junta.?

The Central Junta, mean while, was occupying itself with measures ill adapted to such times. While Blake’s army was fighting, day after day, without clothing, without food, and without reinforcements to recruit its ranks, they passed a decree for the establishment of a special tribunal, to try all persons accused of treason; its object being not more to bring such as were guilty to deserved punishment, than to rescue from suspicion and danger those who were unjustly suspected; for, under the existing circumstances of Spain, they said, the people having suffered so much from treachery, would naturally suspect all those whose conduct it did not fully comprehend. The tribunal, which was composed of members from each of the great councils of state, was to have a jurisdiction over persons of all ranks: but not to carry into execution any sentence of death, confiscation, or dismissal from office, till they laid the whole case before the Supreme Junta. A certain number of its members might carry on the ordinary business, but a writ for the arrest of any person, or the sequestration of his goods, must be issued by the whole. Especial provisions were made to prevent secret arrest, or long confinement; and the papers of the accused were not to be detained, as soon as it was ascertained that they contained no relation to the matter with which he was charged. No proceedings were to take place upon anonymous information, nor was any informer to be admitted, who would not consent to let his name be known. The humanity of these provisions is in such direct opposition to the practice of the holy office, that it seems to have been the intention of the framers of this tribunal to render their state inquisition as unlike as possible to that curse and disgrace of their country. The tribunal was particularly charged to inquire into the conduct of those persons who had gone as deputies to Bayonne, or who had submitted to the Intruder at Madrid; endeavouring carefully to distinguish between what was compulsory and what was their own act and deed; and proceeding with the caution and prudence required, where, on the one hand, the public safety was at stake, and, on the other, the reputation of many good and honourable citizens. And when their investigations had established the innocence of any one, they were to consult with the Supreme Junta upon the means of restoring to him all the credit and respectability which he had formerly enjoyed.

By another decree, dated on the day when CastaÑos was defeated at Tudela, they resolved that honorary militias should be formed in all towns which were not in the scene of war, in order to prevent disorders, and to arrest robbers, deserters, and ill-disposed persons. A more remarkable measure related to the Ex-Jesuits: their banishment was repealed, and they were permitted to return to any part of Spain, and there enjoy their pensions. The reason assigned was, that it was a miserable thing for them to be expatriated, to live far from their friends and kin, and be abandoned to the mercy of strangers; that it was now become difficult to furnish them with the pensions assigned to them by the crown; and that the sums thus allotted were so much withdrawn from the circulating specie of the kingdom, to increase that of foreign and even of hostile countries. This late act of humanity to the poor survivors of an injured community, is not at any time to be censured; but it is extraordinary that at such a time it should have occupied the attention of the Junta.

Of these measures, all would have been unexceptionable, and even praise-worthy, had they been well-timed; but the Central Junta still pursued the fatal system of deceiving the people as to the extent and imminence of their danger. They addressed a proclamation to the inhabitants of Madrid, saying, that they had taken all the measures in their power for defeating the enemy, ?Nov. 21.? who, continuing his attacks, had advanced to the neighbourhood of Somosierra; and that the number of the French there hardly amounted to 8000 men. The enthusiasm with which the soldiers were preparing to beat the enemies of their country, they said, and their confidence in their valour, was not to be expressed; and the English were ready to march from the Escurial, to reinforce the position chosen by the able general whom the Junta had appointed, and to support the operations of the van, who, by that time, were already engaged with the slaves of the tyrant.

With such representations did the government endeavour to deceive the people of Madrid, and lull them into a feeling of security, when its duty was, to have told them the whole extent of their danger, and manfully roused them to those exertions which the emergency required. But they themselves still in some degree partook the delusion which they inspired. Their confidence in the Spanish character was too well founded ever to be shaken; and they relied, with little reflection, upon the natural strength of the country. Their present hope was upon the pass of the Somosierra. D. Benito San Juan, a judicious and able officer, of high reputation, was stationed there with the remains of the Extremaduran army, which had with great promptitude been reinforced. The Junta did not call to mind with how little difficulty Vedel had forced the stronger passes of the Sierra Morena.

?Pass of the Somosierra forced.?

Buonaparte continued at Aranda till the 29th, when his head-quarters were removed to Bocaguillas, a village upon the skirts of the Somosierra. There he learnt that about 6000 men were entrenched upon the heights of Sepulveda, and that a stronger body occupied the pass. The advanced guard was attacked without the success which the French expected; but the Spaniards, instead of being encouraged by this advantage, forsook their entrenchments and dispersed. On the following morning the enemy, under M. ?Nov. 30.? Victor, attempted the pass. Sixteen pieces of cannon had been well placed to flank the ascent, and some attempts had been made to break up the road; but this easy means of defence had been so imperfectly performed, that the pass was won by a charge of Polish lancers. They were favoured in their approach by a thick fog; but the Spaniards must have strangely neglected the advantage of the ground, when they suffered a strong mountain defile to be taken by a charge of light horse. The men, fancying themselves betrayed, betrayed themselves by their own fears; they threw away their arms, and dispersed among the hills, leaving all the artillery and baggage to the enemy. And now the way to Madrid was open.

During the series of disasters which thus rapidly succeeded each other, there had been no time for the Junta to think of removing their residence to the capital, still less for them to take into consideration, on the appointed day, the plan for forming a Regency, and convoking the ?The Central Junta retire from Aranjuez.? Cortes. They began now to feel themselves insecure at Aranjuez; ... already advanced parties of the French had approached the Tagus; wherever they went there was no armed force to oppose them; they had appeared at Villarejo on the 28th, on the 30th at Mostoles; and if at this time two or three hundred horse, with a few infantry, had pushed on to Aranjuez, they might with perfect ease have surprised the Junta, and by depriving Spain of its government, have inflicted ?Jovellanos’s Memorial, p. ii. § 44.? upon it a more dangerous injury than all which it had hitherto suffered in the field. This opportunity was overlooked by Buonaparte; and the Junta, sensible of their danger when the consequences of the defeat at Tudela and the rout at Somosierra were known, deliberated whither to retire. Florida-Blanca, who was sinking under the burthen of years and the anxieties of his situation, was for removing at once to Cadiz, and a few others agreed with him. Jovellanos, who added to his other virtues that of perfect calmness and intrepidity under any danger, represented that this would be sacrificing too much for safety; and that the honour of the government, as well as the public service, required that it should establish itself as near as possible to the theatre of war. Toledo was named, and rejected, ?1808.
December.? as having nothing but its situation to defend it. Cordoba and Seville were proposed, but liable to the same objection; and Badajoz, which was the place that Jovellanos advised, was chosen: the provinces every where were open to the enemy, but Badajoz was a strong place, from whence the Junta might correspond with the British army, and with that which Romana was now re-forming in the northern provinces from the dispersed troops of Blake and the Conde de Belveder. There they could take measures for raising new armies in Extremadura and Andalusia; and if the French should overrun those provinces, which there was now nothing to prevent them from doing, they might thence pass through Portugal to those northern parts where the founders of the Spanish monarchy had found an asylum from the Moors; and where its restorers, animated with the same spirit, might, in like manner, Jovellanos thought, maintain the independence of their country. They were to halt at Toledo on the way, and there take such measures as circumstances might require.

?State of Madrid.?

Two days before the passage of the Somosierra orders had been given to arm and embody the people of Madrid. The people were ready and willing, but this measure had been too long delayed; nevertheless a permanent Junta was formed, to maintain order, and provide for the defence of the capital; and the latter object was especially entrusted to Morla and to the Marques de Castelar. Now indeed was the time for that city to have emulated Zaragoza, and the spirit was not wanting in the inhabitants, had there been one commanding mind to have directed them. Priests and regulars came forward to bear arms, and old men, and women, and boys offered themselves for the service of their country; ... for this purpose leaving their houses open, and their property to take its chance, they employed themselves in opening trenches, erecting batteries, and barricading the streets. The pavements were torn up, and women and children carried the stones to the tops of the houses, to be used from thence against the enemy. Parapets were made on the houses, and the doors stopped with mattresses. Whatever arms were in the possession of individuals were brought forth, and about 8000 muskets were distributed. The troops who were in the city, and the armed inhabitants, were now assembled in the Prado, that they might be distributed to their appointed stations; the first step for establishing that order without which all efforts in defence of the city would be ineffectual. Great confusion prevailed, and when the people called out for cartridges, Morla coolly replied, that there were none. Happy had it been for Morla, if the indignation which this proof of negligence excited had been directed against himself; had he then perished under the hands of the mob, the treachery which he was preparing would never have been known on earth, and he would have escaped perpetual infamy. But his character stood so high, that no ?Marques de Perales murdered by the populace.? suspicion pointed towards him. It happened that among those cartridges which had been delivered in the morning some were found containing sand instead of gunpowder; they had probably been made by some dishonest workman, or mischievous lad; but in such a time of feverish irritation and imminent danger, the fact was of course imputed to a deep-laid scheme of treason, and the Marques de Perales was the person upon whom the crime was laid. The Duque del Infantado was informed that a mob was hastening toward the house of this unfortunate nobleman, and that he and his family were in the greatest peril. Infantado himself seems to have thought there was guilt somewhere; he repaired instantly to the spot, meaning to deliver over the suspected persons to a proper tribunal, by which they might be tried; but before he arrived Perales38 had been pierced with wounds, and his dead body dragged upon a mat through the streets, the rabble accompanying it, and exulting in what they believed his deserved punishment.

?The Duque del Infantado sent to the central army.?

The permanent Junta, who held their sittings at the post-office, as the most central point, taking into consideration the proximity of their danger, thought that more reliance was to be placed upon succour from without, than on any exertions of the inhabitants. These persons were in truth unequal to the arduous situation in which they were placed; even the example of Zaragoza had not taught them what wonders might be effected in a civic defence; and they did not consider, that as the first insurrection, and the consequent massacre at Madrid, had roused all Spain to arms, a greater impulse would now be given if the capital opposed a determined resistance. They agreed therefore to content themselves with such efforts as might prevent the enemy from instantly forcing the town, and induce him to grant terms of capitulation. If by this means time could be gained for a diversion to be effected, or a successful attempt made in their favour, it would be well; but if not, their minds were subdued to this. They counted upon succour from San Juan’s troops, many of whom were now arriving, and they dispatched Infantado to meet the remains of the central army, and bring it ?Manifesto del Duque del Infantado, i. 10.? with all speed to the relief of Madrid. On the 2d of December, therefore, early in the morning, the Duke set out on this forlorn commission, accompanied by the Duque de Albuquerque and a small escort.

?Madrid summoned to surrender.?

Only an hour or two after their departure, Bessieres, with the French cavalry, came within sight of Madrid, and took possession of the heights. Buonaparte arrived at noon on the same day, being the anniversary of his coronation. There were not more than 6000 troops in the city, but there were ten times as many men ready to lay down their lives in its defence; and the sight of the enemy excited indignation, not dismay. It was apparent that there was a total want of order among the people, but that they were in a state of feeling which might render them truly formidable: the bells of all the churches and convents were sounding, and from time to time the shouts of the multitude were heard, and the beat of drums. Preparations had been made which evinced at once the zeal and the ignorance of those by whom they were directed; the batteries were so low, that it was easy for the French to plant their guns where they could completely command them; and they were so near the wall, that there was scarcely room to work them, and the men would suffer more by the broken stones than the direct effect ?Infantado, p. 4.? of the enemy’s shot. Buonaparte thought it easier to force the city than he would have found it; but though insensible to any humane considerations, policy made him desirous of avoiding that extremity. Such a catastrophe might inflame the continent as well as Spain, by proclaiming to all Europe how utterly the Spaniards abhorred the yoke under which he had undertaken to subject them. An aide-de-camp of Marshal Bessieres was therefore sent to summon the town in form; he was seized by the people, and would have been torn to pieces if the soldiers had not protected him. No communication could be opened that day with those who wished to deliver up the capital. In the evening the French infantry came up; arrangements for an attack in the morning were made by moonlight; and at midnight a Spanish Colonel, who had been taken at Somosierra, was sent with a letter from M. Berthier, Prince of Neufchatel, to the Marques de Castelar, exhorting him not to expose Madrid to the horrors of an assault. Castelar replied, that he must consult the constituted authorities, and ascertain also how the people were affected by their present circumstances before he could give an answer; and he requested a suspension of arms for the ensuing day.

?Morla treats for a capitulation.?

This reply was sent on the morning of the 3rd. Before it arrived an attack had been commenced upon the Buen Retiro, the favourite palace of Philip IV. which had been fortified with some care, as a point from whence the city might be commanded. Thirty pieces of cannon soon made a breach in the walls, and the place was carried, after a thousand Spaniards had fallen in defending it. The other outlets which had been fortified were won also, but the French were repulsed from the gates of Fuencarral and Segovia. Some shells were thrown, in the hope of intimidating the inhabitants. In the forenoon of the ensuing day Berthier sent in a second summons. “Immense batteries,” said he, “are mounted, mines are prepared to blow up your principal buildings, columns of troops are at the entrances of the town, of which some companies of sharp-shooters have made themselves masters. But the Emperor, always generous in the course of his victories, suspends the attack till two o’clock. To defend Madrid is contrary to the principles of war, and inhuman towards the inhabitants. The town ought to seek protection for its peaceable inhabitants, and oblivion for the past.” The firing ceased, and at five in the afternoon Morla and D. Bernardo Yriarte came out to Berthier’s tent. They assured him that Madrid was without resources, and that it would be the height of madness to continue its defence, but that the populace and the volunteers from the country were determined to persevere in defending it. They themselves were convinced that this was hopeless, and requested a pause of a few hours, that they might make the people understand their real situation.... Hopeless, and without resources, when threescore thousand men were ready to defend their streets, and doors, and chambers! This would not have been said if Palafox had been in Madrid.

These unworthy deputies were introduced to Buonaparte, and one of those theatrical displays ensued in which he delighted to exhibit himself. “You use the name of the people to no purpose,” said he; “if you cannot appease them, and restore tranquillity, it is because you have inflamed them, and led them astray by propagating falsehoods. Call together the clergy, the heads of convents, the Alcaldes, the men of property and influence, and let the city capitulate before six in the morning, or it shall cease to exist. I will not withdraw my troops, nor ought I to withdraw them. You have murdered the unfortunate French prisoners who fell into your hands; and only a few days ago you suffered two persons in the suite of the Russian Ambassador to be dragged through the streets, and killed, because they were Frenchmen. The incapacity and the cowardice of a General put into your power troops who capitulated on the field of battle, and that capitulation has been violated. You, M. Morla, what sort of an epistle did you write to that General? Perhaps it becomes you, Sir, to talk of pillage; you, who, when you entered Roussillon, carried off all the women, and distributed them as booty among your soldiers. Besides, what right had you to use such language? the capitulation precluded you from it. See what has been the conduct of the English, who are yet far from piquing themselves on being strict observers of the law of nations. They cried out against the convention of Portugal, but they have fulfilled it. To violate military treaties is to renounce all civilization; it is placing generals on a footing with the Bedouins of the desert. How dare you then presume to solicit a capitulation, you who violated that of Baylen? See how injustice and ill faith always recoil upon the guilty! I had a fleet at Cadiz, it was in alliance with Spain, and yet you directed against it the mortars of the city where you commanded. I had a Spanish army in my ranks; and rather than disarm it, I would have seen it embark on board the English ships, and be forced to precipitate it afterwards down the rocks at Espinosa. I would rather have seven thousand more enemies to fight than be wanting in honour and good faith. Return to Madrid. I give you till six o’clock in the morning; come back at that hour, if you have to announce the submission of the people; otherwise you and your troops shall be all put to the sword.” Had there been a Spaniard present to have replied as became him in behalf of his country, Buonaparte would have trembled at the reply, like Felix before the Apostle.

The enemy had now been three days before Madrid, and the ardour of the people was deadened by delay and distrust. Deserted and betrayed as they were, they knew not in whom to confide, and therefore began to feel that it behoved every one to provide for his own safety. During the night the strangers who had come to assist in the defence of the capital, and such of the inhabitants as had been most zealous in the national cause, left a scene where they were not allowed to exert themselves; and at ten o’clock on the morning of the 5th the French General Belliard took the command of the city. Morla’s first stipulation was, that the catholic apostolic Roman religion should be preserved, and no other legally tolerated. No person was to be molested for his political opinions, or writings, nor for what he had done in obedience to the former government, nor the people, for the efforts which they had made in their defence. It was as easy for the tyrant to grant this, as to break it whenever he might think proper. The fifth article required that no contributions should be exacted beyond the ordinary ones. This was granted till the realm should definitely be organized; and, with the same qualifying reserve, it was agreed, that the laws, customs, and courts of justice should be preserved. Another article required, that the French officers and troops should not be quartered in private houses nor in convents. This was granted with a proviso, that the troops should have quarters and tents furnished conformably to military regulations, ... regulations which placed houses and convents at their mercy. The Spanish troops were to march out with the honours of war, but without their arms and cannon: the armed peasantry to leave their weapons, and return to their abodes. They who had enlisted among the troops of the line within the last four months were discharged from their engagements, and might return home; the rest should be prisoners of war till an exchange took place, which, it was added, should immediately commence between equal numbers, rank for rank. It was asked that the public debts and engagements should be faithfully discharged; but this, it was replied, being a political object, belonged to the cognizance of the assembly of the realm, and depended on the general administration. The last article stipulated, that those generals who might wish to continue in Madrid should preserve their rank, and such as were desirous of quitting it, should be at liberty so to do. This was granted; but their pay was only to continue till the kingdom received its ultimate organization.

Notwithstanding the formality with which the soldiers were included in this capitulation, very few of them remained to be subject to its conditions. Castelar and all the military officers of rank refused to enter into any terms, and, with the main body of the troops and sixteen guns, marched out of the city on the night of the 4th, and effected their retreat. The Council of Castille, which had already suffered the just reproaches of their country, had now to endure the censure of the tyrant whom they had supported while his power was predominant, and disowned when the tide turned against him. He issued a decree, whereby, considering that that Council had shown, in the exercise of its functions, as much falsehood as weakness, and that, after having published the renunciation of the Bourbons, and acknowledged the right of Joseph Buonaparte to the throne, it had had the baseness to declare that it had signed those documents with secret reservations, he displaced them, as cowards, unworthy to be the magistrates of a brave and generous nation. Care, however, was taken to except those who had been cautious enough not to sign the recantation. At the same time another decree was passed, abolishing the Inquisition, as incompatible with the sovereign power, and with the civil authority. Its property was to be united to the domains of Spain, as a guarantee for the public debt. A third decree reduced the number of existing convents to one-third. This was to be effected by uniting the members of several convents in one; and no novice was to be admitted or professed till the number of religioners of either sex should be reduced to one-third of their present amount. All novices were ordered to quit their respective convents within a fortnight; and those who, having professed, wished to change their mode of life, and to live as secular ecclesiastics, were permitted so to do, and a pension secured to them, to be regulated by their age, but neither exceeding 4000 reales, nor falling short of 3000. From the possessions of the suppressed convents, a sum was to be set apart sufficient for increasing the proportion of the parish priests, so that the lowest salary should amount to 2400 reales; the surplus of this property should be united to the national domains; half of it appropriated to guarantee the public debt, the other to reimburse the provinces and cities the expenses occasioned by supplying the armies, and to indemnify the losses caused by the war. Provincial custom-houses were abolished, and all seignorial courts of justice; no other jurisdiction being permitted to exist than the royal courts; and another decree, premising that one of the greatest abuses in the finances of Spain arose from the alienation of different branches of the imposts, which were, in their nature, unalienable, enacted, that every individual in possession, either by grant, sale, or any other means, of any portion of the civil or ecclesiastical imposts, should cease to receive them.

Buonaparte now addressed a proclamation to the Spaniards. What possible result, he asked them, could attend even the success of some campaigns? Nothing but an endless war upon their own soil. It had cost him only a few marches to defeat their armies, and he would soon drive the English from the peninsula. Thus, to the rights which had been ceded him by the princes of the last dynasty, he had added the right of conquest: that, however, should not make any alteration in his intentions. His wish was to be their regenerator. All that obstructed their prosperity and their greatness, he had destroyed; he had broken the chains which bore the people down; and, instead of an absolute monarchy, had given them a limited one, with a free constitution. The conclusion of this proclamation was in a spirit of blasphemy, hitherto confined to the barbarous countries of Africa or the East. “Should all my efforts,” said he, “prove fruitless, and should you not merit my confidence, nothing will remain for me but to treat you as conquered provinces, and to place my brother upon another throne. I shall then set the crown of Spain upon my own head, and cause it to be respected by the guilty; for God has given me power and inclination to surmount all obstacles.”

But though Buonaparte had thus easily dispersed the Spanish armies, and made himself master of Madrid, his triumph was not without alloy. He now perceived with what utter ignorance ?Change in Buonaparte’s views concerning Spain.? of the national character he had formed the scheme of this usurpation, and he complained of having been deceived, when, in reality, he had turned a deaf ear to all who would have dissuaded him from his purpose. Till he arrived at Madrid, ?De Pradt, 180.? the people, as well as the armies, had disappeared before him; the towns and cities were abandoned ?Rocca, 24, 55.? as his troops approached. Twelve months before there was no other country wherein his exploits were regarded with such unmingled admiration; they had a character of exaggerated greatness which suited the Spanish mind, and as he had always been the ally of Spain, no feeling of hostility or humiliation existed to abate this sentiment: now, it was not to be disguised from himself that he was universally detested there as a perfidious tyrant. But policy, as well as pride, withheld him from receding; unless he went through with what he had begun, he must confess himself fallible, and let the world see that his power was not equal to his will, and then the talisman of his fortune would have been broken. He had committed the crime and incurred the odium; wherefore then should he not reap the benefit, and secure the prize, not for a brother, whom he began to regard with contempt as the mere puppet of his pleasure, but for himself? This was a feeling which he did not conceal from those who possessed his confidence; and Joseph, and the unworthy ministers who had abased themselves to serve him, were made to perceive it, by the manner in which Napoleon, regardless even of appearances, issued edicts in his own name, as in a kingdom of his ?De Pradt, 222, 225.? own. The obstinacy of the Spaniards in refusing to acknowledge his brother, he thought, would give him ere long a pretext for treating the country as his own by right of conquest. Meantime no interval was to be allowed them for collecting the wreck of their forces to make another stand.

Three days before the battle of Somosierra, CastaÑos, with his broken army, recommenced their retreat from Calatayud. Some ten miles west of that city, near the village of Buvierca, the high road to Madrid passes through a narrow gorge, where the river Xalon has forced or found its way between two great mountain ridges. When D. Francisco Xavier Venegas, with the rear-guard, consisting of 5000 men, reached this place, he found instructions from the Commander-in-chief, requesting him to suspend his march, and take measures for defending the pass, on which, he said, the safety of the other divisions depended; and he desired him to place the troops whom he selected for this purpose under such officers as would volunteer their services, promising to reward them in proportion to the importance and danger of the duty. Venegas was too well aware of its importance to trust the command to any but himself, and he replied, that he would halt there till the rest of the army was beyond the reach of pursuit. Early on the 29th the French came up, 8000 in number, under Mathieu. They commenced an attack at eight o’clock, which continued for eight hours: the Spaniards suffered severely; but they maintained the pass, and they effectually disabled this part of the French army from pursuing. On the evening of the following day the army reached Siguenza with all the artillery which they took with them from Tarazona, notwithstanding the bad state of the roads and the fatigue of the men, who had been allowed no rest upon this last march. Here CastaÑos received a summons from the Central Junta, and resigned the command to Don Manuel de LapeÑa.

The situation to which this general succeeded was deplorable. The artillery had indeed been saved, and the pass of Buvierca most gallantly maintained; nevertheless the army had suffered during its retreat from all the accumulated evils of disorder, insubordination, nakedness, and cold, and hunger, and fatigue. Sometimes when the rear-guard had been on the point of taking food, the enemy came in sight, and the ready meal was abandoned to the pursuers; this, though it was the effect as much of panic in the soldiers as of any want of conduct in their commanders, gave new cause for dissatisfaction and distrust. The men themselves were ready to fly at sight of the French, because they suspected their leaders, yet they accused their leaders of treachery for not always turning and making head against the enemy, ... not reflecting, that the officers in like manner, though from a different motive, could place no confidence in their men. Many dropped on the way, overmarched, or foundered for want of shoes; others turned aside because they considered the army as entirely broken up: they were ready to die for their country, but it was folly, they thought, to squander their lives, and, under the present circumstances, their duty was to preserve themselves, and recover strength for future service. The loss at Buvierca, too, had been considerable. Before they reached Siguenza the four divisions had thus been wasted down to 8000 men.

It was on the evening of the last day of November that they reached this point. Here message after message arrived, requiring them to hasten with all possible speed to Somosierra. They set forward again the following day, the infantry by Atienza and Jadraque, the horse and artillery by Guadalaxara, in order to avoid the bad roads, leaving the river Henares on their right. This plan was soon changed; advices reached them in the middle of the night at Jadraque, that the pass of Somosierra had been lost. It was now determined that the whole army should march for Guadalaxara, for the defence of Madrid; information of this movement was dispatched to the Marques de Castelar, in that city; and persons were sent, some to ascertain the position of the enemy, others to learn whither San Juan had retreated, in order that some operations might be concerted with him. ?Dec. 2.? The next day, when the foremost troops entered Guadalaxara, they found some detached parties of the enemy in the town, whom they drove out: the first and fourth divisions, the horse and the artillery, arrived there that night; here the news was, that Madrid was attacked, and the continual firing which was heard confirmed it. Poor as the numbers were which they could carry to the capital, they were eager to be there; and if Madrid had been protected, as it might have been, by a British army, or defended as the inhabitants, had it not been for treachery, would have defended it, 8000 men, who stood by their colours under so many hopeless circumstances, would have brought an important succour. The inhabitants relied with great confidence upon this reinforcement; ... they expected hourly that these brave men would appear, and take post beside them at their gates, and in their streets; and one of the most successful artifices by which the traitors who made the capitulation depressed their zeal, was by reporting that a second battle had been fought, in which the army of the centre had been entirely defeated by Marshal Ney, so that no possible succour could be expected from it. At the very time when this falsehood was reported, a part of this brave army was only nine leagues from Madrid, impatient to proceed to its assistance. They were, however, compelled to remain inactive the whole of the next day, waiting for the second and third divisions and the van, which did not come up till the day following.

On that day the Duque del Infantado joined them, having passed safely through the advanced posts of the French by favour of a thick fog. A council of war was held; the urgent danger of the capital was represented by the Duke, and low as his hopes had fallen, when he saw the deplorable state to which the remains of the army were reduced by fatigue and hunger, it was nevertheless determined that an effort should be made, not to attack the besiegers, for this would have been madness, but to collect as large a convoy of provisions as they could, and endeavour to enter with it under cover of the night by the Atocha gate. The Duke, however, knew but too well the situation of the metropolis; and at his suggestion a letter was sent to the French General who commanded before the walls, reminding him that a great number of French were in the hands of the Spaniards, and would be held responsible with their lives for any ill treatment which might be offered to the inhabitants of Madrid. Both the officer and the trumpet were detained prisoners by Buonaparte’s orders.

The troops were now mustered, and it was then perceived what they had lost in number, and how severely they had suffered during this fearful retreat. From 6000 to 7000 infantry, and about 1500 cavalry, were all that could be brought together; men and horses alike exhausted by fatigue and hunger; many indeed had fallen and perished by the way. Here for the first time they found something like relief, great numbers not having tasted bread for eight days: they had now sufficient food, and there was cloth enough in the manufactory there to supply every man with a poncho, the rude garment of the Indians about Buenos Ayres, which the Spaniards have adopted for its simplicity and convenience. Meantime the French were collecting in their neighbourhood; they occupied Alcala and the adjoining villages, and some skirmishes took place at Meca. Buonaparte had been informed of their movements, and as soon as Madrid capitulated, Bessieres was dispatched to Guadalaxara with a considerable force of horse, and Victor followed with infantry. The first business of LapeÑa was to disencumber himself of his superfluous artillery, for they had brought off no fewer than sixty pieces of cannon. Forty of these, to preserve them from the enemy, were sent across the Tagus at Sacedon, and these were safely forwarded to Carthagena. The van, under Venegas, which had saved the army at Buvierca, arrived on the night of the 4th. Its losses had been replaced by drafts; the post of honour and of danger had been assigned it during the whole of this retreat, and it continued to cover the movements of the other divisions. Two of them were leaving Guadalaxara when it arrived, the second and third followed the next noon, in two columns, proceeding by two roads to Santorcaz: this division began to follow them, but before it was out of one gate, the advanced guard of the enemy entered at another.

Venegas perceived the importance of a position to the south of the city, lying directly between the two roads to Santorcaz, and he immediately, occupied it. The battalions (tercios) of Ledesma and Salamanca, which formed the rear of the third division, perceived his intention, and turned back and joined him; their commanding officers, D. Luis de Lacy and D. Alexandre de Hore, being ambitious of bearing part in the action which they expected. The French were in great force opposite on the right bank of the Henares; some of their detachments forded both on the right and left of the Spaniards’ position; but light troops had been stationed on both the flanks, who skirmished with them, and repelled them till night. The position was judged too formidable in front to be attacked, and the main body of the French halted during the whole evening, not choosing to cross the river. Having thus obtained time for the army to perform its march, which was all he hoped or wanted, Venegas broke up three hours after the darkness had closed, and continued his retreat in good order without the loss of a single man. The Commander now took up a position at Santorcaz, a little village about two leagues east of Alcala, between the rivers Henares and Tajuna. There he learnt the fate of Madrid. The French now evacuated Alcala, and extended themselves along the heights at the back of Meca, and along the banks of the Jarama, pushing their advanced parties to Arganda, Morata, and other places in that neighbourhood. The plan of LapeÑa and his officers under these circumstances was, to cross the Tagus at Aranjuez, and take shelter, if necessary, among the mountains of Toledo. With this intent they marched to Villarejo de Salvanes. A few poor soldiers, who dropped behind at Nuevo-Bastan, were sabred by the French with that cruelty which at this time so frequently characterised and disgraced their armies.

On the 6th, when they were about to proceed to Aranjuez, tidings came that the French were in possession of that place, and this was confirmed by an express from General Llamas, who had vainly attempted to resist the enemy there with a few armed peasantry, and a few soldiers who had escaped from Madrid. New difficulties now presented themselves to the remnant of this harassed army. To look towards Toledo was become hopeless: it was equally hopeless to make for Andalusia, for the French General, Ruffin, as soon as he had obtained possession of Aranjuez, crossed the Tagus, and, pushing on as far as OcaÑa, cut off their retreat in that direction. Nothing remained but to cross the Tagus by boats at Villamanrique, Fuenteduenas, Estramera, and other places where there were ferries, and make for the Sierras of Cuenca. There it was hoped they might be able to rest, rally the stragglers, and again unite in numbers sufficient to take vengeance for all their sufferings. Hazardous as it was to cross the river in this manner, with an enemy so near at hand, it was effected with rare good fortune; the French had not foreseen the attempt, and not a man nor a gun was lost. Having gained the left bank of the river, they hastened on their retreat, and head-quarters were established on the 7th at Belinchon. The second division, under General Grimanest, which crossed at Villamanrique, was the only one which was endangered. This having effected the passage, took up a position at Santa Cruz, between Aranjuez and Ucles, where it was attacked on the night of the 8th by a corps of Bessieres’ division, under General Montbrun. Finding themselves unable to maintain the position against a force which was superior to their own, they abandoned it before they sustained any loss.

The first and fourth divisions mutinied on their march to Yedra, where they were to be stationed. This was ascribed to the intrigues of some traitorous agents, as well as to the unprincipled ambition of a few officers, desirous, in these times of insubordination, to exalt themselves by flattering the soldiers and slandering their commanders. It was easy to inflame the men, who imputed all their misfortunes to treason, and were already in a state of great insubordination. They insisted upon marching to Madrid, that they might attack the enemy there; an artillery officer was at their head; and the guns were planted to prevent the troops from proceeding in the direction where they had been ordered. A difference of opinion among themselves prevented the execution of this mad purpose; some were for hastening to DespeÑaperros, to take their post in the passes of the Sierra Morena for the defence of Andalusia. This afforded opportunity for the General to reason with them, and pacify them for a while. In consequence of this circumstance, the difficulty which daily increased of subsisting the troops, their increasing wants, and the rapid desertions which were naturally occasioned by privations, want of hope, and total relaxation of discipline, LapeÑa assembled his general officers at Alcazar de Huete. The Duque del Infantado, and Llamas, who had joined them at Villarejo, were present at this council, and it was determined, on LapeÑa’s proposal, that the ?Infantado chosen commander. Dec. 9.? Duque should take the command. One reason for appointing him was, that he was president of the Council of Castille, and in that character was entitled to require provisions and all things necessary from the people, ... such being the respect paid to the old authorities and established forms, even at a time when necessity might have superseded all laws, as paramount to all.

No command was ever accepted under more painful and disheartening circumstances. The troops were in a state of mutiny: the enemy within three leagues, preparing to complete their destruction; they had neither stores, supplies, nor treasure, nor other means of obtaining any than by the obedience which the people might pay to his authority; and upon any panic which might seize the soldiers, or any suspicion that should arise among them, the General would be the first victim; it had too fatally been proved, that no character, however unimpeached, no services, however eminent, afforded any protection against the ferocity of a deluded multitude. With a full sense of these dangers, the Duke accepted a command which it might have been even more dangerous to refuse. His rank, his affable manners, the part which he had taken against the Prince of the Peace, and the share which he was supposed to have had in bringing about the downfall of that worthless minion, had made him one of the most popular persons in Spain; and though he had lost something by accompanying Ferdinand on his miserable journey to Bayonne, still he stood high in the opinion of the nation. The new appointment was announced to the army in a short proclamation; and the Central Junta ratified it afterwards, approving LapeÑa’s resignation, and dispensing with an informality, which the dangerous and peculiar state of things rendered prudent. The immediate good which had been expected from this measure was produced; for the soldiers confided in their untried General, and order was re-established among them. On the 10th they entered Cuenca, there concluding a retreat of nearly four hundred and fifty miles. The position of that city enabled them to receive supplies from La Mancha, Valencia, and Murcia; there they rested for a while, discipline was restored, and three persons, who had been most active in the mutiny, were brought to trial and executed. The troops were clothed, funds were raised for paying and supporting them, and hospitals established. The stragglers having recovered that strength, for want of which they had fallen behind, rejoined their corps; new levies were raised; and it was manifest that, notwithstanding all their disasters, notwithstanding the mighty power of the enemy, the treachery of some leaders, and the misconduct of others, which had been hardly less injurious, the spirit of patriotism was still unimpaired, and the people, by whom alone a country is to be saved, had not abated one jot of heart or hope.

Five days after their arrival they were joined by a corps which it was supposed had been cut off among the mountains of Rioja. The history of its escape is equally honourable to the men and to the Conde de Alache D. Miguel Lili, who conducted them. They formed originally a part of the army of Old Castille, under the Conde de Cartaojal, which had been broken up after the position of LogroÑo was lost. At the end of October, CastaÑos stationed it along the skirts of the Sierra de Cameros, extending from in front of LogroÑo to Lodosa; the last division of this force, which formed the left flank of the army, was posted at Nalda under Lili. During the first three weeks of November, this division sustained repeated and almost daily attacks; varying its position as circumstances required, and having, like Blake’s army, to endure the severest privations; nevertheless it carried off fourteen pieces of artillery, from Nalda to Ausejo and Calahorra, in sight of the French, and by roads which had been thought impracticable. On the night of the 21st, Lili received intelligence that a considerable force of the enemy had moved from LogroÑo towards Ausejo; the next day he learnt that the Spaniards, who were stationed there and at Tudelilla, had fallen back upon their right, and that 5000 French infantry and 1000 horse had moved from Najara, giving out that they were going for Calahorra. He was thus in imminent danger of being surrounded. Immediately he left the banks of the Iregua, and fell back to Venta de Codes, four leagues in the rear of Nalda, where, in the course of the night, a messenger from Cartaojal reached him with instructions written at Tudelilla, on the 21st, saying, that the French were in great force at Ausejo, and that CastaÑos ordered him to retreat by the Sierra to Agreda, whither Cartaojal himself was going with all his troops to oppose the French on the side of Almazan.

For Agreda, therefore, Lili began his march at daybreak. By two in the afternoon he had reached Villar del Rio, five leagues from the place which he had left, eight from that to which he was bound; but here he met intelligence of fresh disasters and new dangers. Agreda, it was said, had already been abandoned by the Spaniards; 1200 French cavalry, with a small body of foot, were on their way to that town from Soria, which had opened its gates to the enemy; other columns from Soria and from Almazan were to follow in the same direction. Fugitives now arrived every hour, with tidings that the enemy were sacking one place, or approaching another, all their parties tending to the one point of Agreda. Lili perceived, that if Cartaojal had not already retired from that town, he inevitably must, and that for himself, if he continued his march, it would be to run into the midst of his enemies. He did not hesitate, therefore, to disobey orders which would have involved him in certain destruction; and, acting upon his own judgement, he marched the next morning in a contrary direction, to Lumbreras, and the day afterwards to Montenegro, thinking that a more defensible point, and for the sake of receiving certain intelligence from the side of Agreda. The report that that town had been evacuated on the 23d was premature; and Lili received a letter from Cartaojal, written from thence on the 24th, and regretting that he had fallen back to Lumbreras upon erroneous information; to have joined him at Agreda, he said, was the proper movement, and almost the only means of safety; but it was no time to consider what might have been done, and, as things were, he must now follow his own discretion, with that zeal which it was not doubted he possessed. Whatever regret Lili might have felt at receiving this reproof, was effectually counteracted by the report of the messenger who brought it; for at the very moment when Cartaojal dispatched him, news arrived that the enemy were beginning to attack the town. In fact, he was compelled speedily to abandon it, and, marching by way of Borja to Calatayud, joined the wreck of the army of the centre, and accompanied them in their retreat.

Perilous as Lili’s situation now was, he had yet to receive intelligence of events which rendered it more desperate. On the 27th he learned at Salas de los Infantes, by some stragglers who had escaped from the action at Burgos, that that capital was now in the hands of the French. His spies brought him information, that the Intruder was with a great force at Aranda; that the enemy occupied all the bridges and fords of the Duero; and that the Somosierra was threatened: finally, to crown the distressing news of the day, a full account reached him of the battle of Tudela. On every side he was surrounded; to move in any direction seemed equally perilous, and he was utterly ignorant what course had been taken by the relics of the army which he wished to join. In these difficulties his first measure was to march to Canales, four leagues from Salas, where, in the very centre of the mountains, he might hope to remain concealed from the enemy, or resist them to the best advantage if he were attacked. There, amid those difficult and inclement heights, from whence the Arlanza flows toward Lerma, the Duero toward the plains of Castille, the Tiron, the Najerilla, and the Iregua toward Rioja, he remained six days. During this time he obtained sufficient intelligence of the movements of the French to direct his own, and then proceeded towards New Castille, in search of CastaÑos’s broken army. On the 5th he reached Quintanar de la Sierra, on the 6th San Leonardo. His men travelled the whole of the following day and night, and crossed the Duero at Berlanja. On the 9th they entered Atienza, and here the information which they found served only to occasion new perplexity; for here Lili learned that the central army had passed through, and been pursued by the French; that they had afterwards abandoned Guadalaxara and the heights of Santorcaz: of their farther movements nothing was known. Lili, however, considering all circumstances, was convinced that they must have retreated upon Cuenca, and he directed his march towards the same point. On the 11th, at daybreak, he crossed the great road from Zaragoza to Madrid, at an opportune and happy hour, passing between the last division of the French and their rear-guard, then on the way from Calatayud; and on the day that the Duke del Infantado reached Cuenca, he arrived at Villar de Domingo Garcia, from whence, on the 16th, he passed to the head-quarters of the Commander. During this whole retreat, which was over a tract of nearly four hundred miles, through the most difficult and untravelled ways, this corps had constantly been surrounded by the enemy, who were seldom more than ten or twelve miles distant from them. Food they had none, but what they could procure upon the way; most of the men were barefoot, many of them nearly naked, but their spirits never failed.

If ever during the contest there was a time when Spain might have been irretrievably subjected, it was now, if a dissolution of the government had taken place. The Central Junta had been slow in perceiving the danger, but when it came upon them they acted with promptitude and wisdom. Before they left Aranjuez a commission of six members was appointed to transact business during their journey, and official intelligence of their removal was communicated to the foreign ministers. Their escort was so insufficient, that a small body of cavalry might have surprised them; they travelled in parties, but assembled at Talavera; three members were left there to collect and re-organize the soldiers who were coming in great numbers to that point. From thence proceeding to Truxillo, there they again met, dispatched orders to the provinces, and sent some of their own members to those places where they might be most useful. That city afforded an opportunity of reconsidering where they should fix their abode, whether at Badajoz, as had been determined, or at Cordoba, the road to either place being open: Seville was preferred to either, and they assembled there on the 17th of December. Before this removal it had been concerted by Jovellanos, with some members of the Royal Council and of the Council of the Indies, that eleven members of the former, and nine of the latter, including their presidents, should follow the Central Junta, and with two members from each of the other tribunals, form a Consejo reunido, or united Council. The other members were commanded to leave Madrid, and retire either to their own places of abode in the provinces, or whither they would, there to receive their salaries, assist the government with their advice and services when called upon, and promote by all means in their power the national cause. Too many of these persons were found wanting in the hour of trial, some in weakness submitting to the Intruder rather than endure the ills of honourable poverty, others taking an active and infamous part in his service. The proposed Council was formed of those who repaired to Seville; and those who, from whatever cause, arrived at a later time, found from the Junta an indulgence which would not have been granted them by the people, less charitable, and perhaps less just; they were received with respect, and their salaries continued to them.

The agents of the Intruder knowing how desirable for their views it would be to bring the national government into disrepute, reported that the Junta had sanctioned and approved the capitulation of the capital. This the Junta contradicted in a manly proclamation, and they exhorted the inhabitants of Madrid to bear in mind that the temporary occupation of their buildings by the enemy was of little moment, while he was not master of their hearts. “Continue to resist him,” said they, “in the very bosom of your families; place no confidence in the promises of the French; remember that they have promised happiness to every people, and have made every people miserable. Keep alive your hope, retain your fortitude, and your deliverance will be glorious in proportion to the greatness of the danger which you have encountered.” They made no attempt to conceal the extent of their disasters; but they attributed them to the inexperience of their troops, and denied that the monarchy was comprehended within the narrow precincts of the metropolis. “Were you to believe the enemy,” said they, “our armies have vanished like the smoke of the battle, and Spain has neither forces wherewith to oppose her invaders, nor authority to regulate her councils, nor resources to save her from destruction. All this is false. The government which has been chosen by the people never attracted more respect, never felt more strongly the strong principle of union, and never found more ardour in the public cause. The provinces have redoubled their exertions at its voice, and new enlistments, new contributions, and new sacrifices have already filled the void occasioned by our losses.” A splendid instance of patriotism in one of the nobles was at this time made public; the Duke of Medina Sidonia, whose property had just been confiscated in Madrid by the intrusive government, had from the commencement of the struggle made a free gift every month of 2500 dollars, in addition to his share of the public burthens, and to various donations of necessaries for the army.

While the Junta was making exertions which were well seconded by the zeal of the people, the whole of those extensive plains, which form the centre or table-land of Spain, lay at the mercy of the invaders. On the 11th of December Victor had his detachments in Aranjuez and in OcaÑa; ?The French enter Toledo.? on the 19th he occupied Toledo. The surrender of this ancient and famous city, after its professions of determined patriotism, was one of those circumstances for which the Spaniards were reproached, by those who had depreciated their exertions, and despaired of their cause. Yet if the Toledans did not signalize themselves by heroic sacrifices, like the Zaragozans, there was no want of a right spirit, nor had they been deficient in their duty. In the spring of the preceding year Dupont and Vedel entered that city with their divisions, and raised a most oppressive contribution. But no sooner had they proceeded on their way to Andalusia, than a Junta was formed, consisting of the most respectable citizens: they could not raise forces themselves, being surrounded by the enemy, and having no military means; but they ordered as many of the districts in that kingdom as could exert themselves to act under the instructions of the Junta of Badajoz; they contributed large sums of money; and they refused obedience to four successive orders which enjoined them to proclaim the Intruder, though it was announced, that, if they continued in their disobedience, 5000 French would come, and perform the ceremony sword in hand. The evacuation of Madrid relieved them from this danger. And when the victorious army of CastaÑos was on its way to the capital, Toledo supported 10,000 men of that army for three weeks, made a donation of 300,000 reales to them on their departure, equipped many of their officers, and clothed a great proportion of the men. This was not all. In two months it raised and equipped two regiments of infantry, and a corps of 700 horse; for which funds were raised by a subscription, all persons, from the archbishop to the poorest peasant, contributing according to their means. The university also raised a corps of students; and after the siege of Zaragoza the pectoral of the archbishop, valued at 150,000 reales, was converted into money to relieve the inhabitants of that heroic city. After the defeat at Burgos, the Toledans applied to government for arms to defend their walls. This was the mode of warfare to which the Junta, if they had rightly understood the nature of their own strength, should have resorted; and this system of defence was advised by the English ambassador, Mr. Frere, than whom no man judged more generously, nor more wisely, of the Spanish character and the Spanish cause. But this essential precaution had been neglected; and when the Toledans applied for artillery and ammunition, disaster followed so close upon disaster, that there was no leisure for attending to their request, urgent as it was. What then could be done? They sent off their moveable property to Seville; 12,000 swords also were dispatched to the same place, from that fabric which for so many centuries has been famous, and which probably owes its original celebrity to workmen from Damascus. The Junta, the legitimate authorities, and all the most distinguished inhabitants, left the city; neither the threats nor promises of the Intruder could induce them to return: they retired to the free part of the peninsula, submitting to poverty with that dignified composure which resulted from the consciousness of having discharged their duty. This was the fate of the parents, while their sons, in the corps of students, fought and bled for the independence of Spain. It is plain, therefore, that though the gates of Toledo were opened to the enemy, that same spirit still existed within its walls which, during the war of the Commons of Castille, rendered it the last hold of Spanish liberty.

From Toledo, from Aranjuez, and from OcaÑa, parties of French cavalry overran the open and defenceless plains of lower La Mancha, foraging and plundering the towns and villages with impunity as far as Manzanares. The La Manchans, relying, like the government, too confidently upon the resistance which regular armies and the modes of regular warfare could oppose to such a military power as that of France, had made no preparations for defending themselves; some places were deserted by the inhabitants; all left open to the enemy, who scoured the country at their pleasure. The little townlet of VillacaÑas afforded a single and honourable exception. A party of 60 horse entered it on the night of the 20th of December, being a detachment from a much larger force which had quartered itself in Tembleque. The people caught up such arms as they could find, and drove the invaders out; they began immediately to dig trenches and throw up barricadoes, ... the adjoining peasantry came to their assistance, ... a few persons of high quality fled; but, with these few exceptions, the utmost zeal and alacrity were displayed by all ranks, and ready obedience was paid to some old soldiers, who took upon themselves the command. During five successive days the French renewed their attacks, and were constantly repulsed; their plundering parties had no artillery with them, and the means of defence, therefore, as long as the Spaniards took care not to expose themselves to a charge of horse in the open country, were equal to those of attack. Weary at length of repeated failures, and unwilling to incur farther loss in an object of no other value than what the plunder of the place might be worth, the French desisted from any farther attempts, and VillacaÑas remained safe and uninjured, while all the country round was ransacked. The example was deservedly thought of such importance, that the whole details of this little siege were published by the government in an extraordinary gazette. Whatever contributions were due to the state by the inhabitants of this townlet were remitted to them, and those persons who had taken the lead were rewarded by other privileges. “This,” said the government, “is the kind of war which our perfidious enemy feareth most, and which is the most advantageous for ourselves. Let the people of every village arm themselves, entrench themselves in their very houses, break up the roads, lay ambushes upon every height and pass, intercept his provisions, cut off his communications, and make him perceive that at every step he will find the most obstinate resistance. Thus we shall waste his forces; thus we shall show to the world that a great and generous nation is not to be insulted with impunity, not to be conquered when it fights for its king, for its liberty, and for its religion.”