selves with cannon, which they had found on the coast, on the river Llobregate.

Fresh reinforcements of peasants having poured down from the mountains into the plains, made themselves masters of Montgat, cut off the road between Montgat and another small fort at Moncado, which they beset, securing themselves with entrenchments. The number of the patriots in arms, still rallying after defeat, and increased by the junction of one party after another, was on the whole rather increased than diminished; insomuch that they made an attempt to cut off the communications of Figueras, and, by forming a cordon, to invest and cut off the supplies of Barcelona: against which they opened some bat teries; but they were driven back, and a communication was preserved between the French garrisons in the fortresses and the country. Another body of peasantry, besides that which had already fortified themselves on the Llobregat, had recently formed themselves behind that river; which, by the melting of the snows, that had been for some days falling in the mountains, had swelled considerably. They had erected, at Molinos del Rey, a battery of three guns, which ranged the bridge that had been broken down in several places. All the fords of the river were beset down to the mouth of it. Two flying fieldpieces hovered on the line of the insurgents.

On the 30th of June, in the morning, the French, under the orders of General Goulles, and Brigadier-general Bessieres, marched from Barcelona, against the main strength of the insurgents, which rested on the right bank of the Llobregat. Proceeding to the mouth of the river, they forced the passage, and pushing up the right bank, took several Catalonian posts in the rear. Undisciplined, without a commander of any authority, or none that could inspire confidence; and surprised, perhaps withal, by this manœuvre, though it might have been expected, the peasants submitted to the French without much resistance. At the same time General Leckie, with a division of French, 1,500 strong, assailed and took possession of the bridge of Molimos del Rey, with the three pieces that guarded passage-way; but not without a well-fought battle, in which the loss of the French was computed to be equal to that of the Spaniards. On the side of Figueras, General Reible proceeded thither from Bellegarde against the insurgents, on the 5th of July. The insurgents being worsted in a smart action, and dispersed, he threw provisions into the place, and a reinforcement into the garrison. General Duhesme, in revenge for his repulse from Gerona, burnt many houses in the towns and villages by which he passed, took many prisoners, some of whom he killed in cold blood, and laid waste the whole plain or district within the

the

jurisdiction of the city of Barcelona; all the cul- BOOK VIII, tivated fields, villages, convents, and churches.

During these operations the junta of Catalonia CHAP. III. had established themselves at Lerida, for the conveniency of communication with Arragon and Valentia.

When General Duhesme returned to Barcelona, he found his two forts in great want of both' powder and provisions. During his absence about a month from Barcelona, it had been cut off from a free intercourse with the neighbouring country and a vessel loaded with powder for their use, and another with salted pork, had been taken by the English. Duhesme, who had already acquired the cognomen of the cruel, pointed the cannon of the citadel against the unfortunate inhabitants, threatening them with death if they, did not furnish him with 12,000 rations of provisions daily, and an excessive number of pipes of wine and brandy. of wine and brandy. Under the pretence of charges or suspicions of an intention to rebel against the Emperor Napoleon, he was in the habit of carrying away, from time to time, the most respectable persons in Barcelona, separating husbands from their wives, and parents from their children, for the purpose of extorting ransoms for their liberation.

In the meantime the affairs of the patriots in the north of Spain wore but an unfavorable aspect, and a battle was fought at Medina del Rio Seco, in the province of Leon, which turned the tide of fortune, and might have exceedingly damped, if not altogether quashed the insurrection, if this advantage on the side of the French had not been counterbalanced by the events in the south and the east just related.

Marshal Bessieres, at the same time that he sent a force against Saragossa, pushed forward columns for the reduction of Logrono, Segovia, Valladolid, and St. Andero. All these objects were easily accomplished. The raw and undisciplined levies of patriots did not long sustain a conflict with the impetuous and well-directed ex-. ertions of the veteran and victorious French; but consulted their safety by flight, for the most part throwing down their arms. On the 7th of June, General Frere, having arrived with his column within a quarter of a mile of Segovia, sent an officer to the magistrates demanding a parley.

The insurgents, 5,000 strong, with thirty cannons, would not suffer the messenger to approach, but fired on him with cannon. On this the place was taken by force; the resistance here was not inconsiderable; a great number of wounded and others fell into the hands of the French, with all their cannon. The city of Segovia, after the defeat and flight of the armed peasants, made its submissions in the manner required by the French general. When General La Salle, June

1808.

1808.

BOOK VII. was approaching Palentia, a deputation, with the bishop at their head, brought the submission CHAP. III. of the town. The town and province of Palentia were disarmed. On the 12th of June, General La Salle advanced to Duennas, where he formed a junction with General Merle, and from whence he continued his march to Valladolid where the spirit of insurrection had grown very strong, and which was a great rendezvous of the patriots. General Cuesta, with 7,000 men and six pieces of artillery, had taken post at Cabezon, a small town on the Pisuerga, about nine miles to the north of Valladolid. General Sabathier was ordered to force the position, which had been reconnoitred, of the insurgents, whilst General Merle was directed to cut off his retreat to Vallodolid. The firing, according to the French accounts, lasted but half an hour, when the insurgents were completely beaten, scattered in every direction on the field-of-battle, leaving their artillery, 4,000 muskets, and about 1,000 killed. The gazette of Madrid, that is, the French gazette, stated, that 5 of 600 French beat 14 or 15,000 rebels. The gazette of Oviedo, on the contrary, said, that the number of the French and Spaniards in this engagement was nearly equal; but that the French had the advantage of a more numerous artillery, while the patriots had only four cannon; yet that, in spite of this disadvantage on the part of the Spaniards, the French had left 700 dead on the field-of-battle, from whence they carried off their wounded.

The Bishop of Valladolid, with the principal clergy of the city, came to meet General La Salle, supplicating forgiveness to the city and its inhabitants, which was readily granted. The city and province of Valladolid were disarmed. Ten members of the council of Placentia, Segovia, and Valladolid, were deputed to go to his Catholic majesty (Joseph Bonaparte) at Bayonne, there to supplicate his forgiveness, in the act of tendering their own fealty, and that of their fellow-citizens.

General Merle proceeded to the mountains of St. Andero: on the morning of the 21st of June, he fell upon the insurgent patriots, headed by the bishop, drove them from all their positions, and took from them two eighteen-pounders, which, loaded with grape-shot, they had fired only twice. In other parts of the mountainous district, parties of the insurgents were driven from post to post into St. Andero, by General Ducos. On the 23d, the Generals Merle and Ducos entered St. Andero, on different sides of the town. The peasants every where returned to their homes. The city of St. Andero having made its submission, like Segovia, Palentia, and Valladolid, was obliged to swear fealty to the usurper. Thus quietness was restored for the present to Navarre, Guipuscoa, and Biscay.

A great number of patriots had been assembling, for some time, at Benevento, under the standard of General Cuesta. In this number were com prehended all the Spanish prisoners who had been sent back to Spain by the British government. With this force, General Cuesta marched on to Valladolid, with the design of cutting off the communication between the French in the northern provinces of Spain, and those in Madrid. It was his plan, having reduced Valladolid, to advance to Burgos. The force under Cuesta was stated by the French gazette to have amounted to not less than 35,000. Marshal Bessieres, aware of the design of the Spaniards, and sensible of the importance of maintaining the post at Valladolid, advanced to meet them with a force, amounting in all to 12,000, of which 2,000 were cavalry, with a proportionate train of artillery. On the 14th of July, at break of day, he came in sight of the enemy, who occupied a large extent of ground on the heights of Medina del Rio Seco. Bessieres attacked them on the right. At the same time General Monton, at the head of another division, made himself master of the town of Medina del Rio Seco, with fixed bayonets. All the positions of the Spaniards were carried; they fled in great confusion; and they lost all their artillery, consisting of forty pieces of cannon. Six thousand were made prisoners, according to the French accounts, and more than 12,000 left on the field-of-battle. All their baggage and military stores fell into the hands of the French. The Spaniards fled first to Benevento, from whence, after a short halt, they continued their retreat to Labenara, Leon, and Astorga. They were pursued by Marshal Bessieres, who, at Benevento, July 19, found an immense quantity of arms and ammunition. Here he received a letter of submission from the inhabitants of Zamora, and on the following day, the 20th, he entered that town, from whence he proceeded to Majorga. At Majorga he received a deputation from Leon; which city he entered on the 26th. The bishop came two miles to meet him. and the council, appearing before the gates of the city, presented the keys, in token of submis sion.

According to certain accounts in the Spanish newspapers of the day, the Spanish army did not exceed 14 or 15,000 infantry, and 800 cavalry. The Spaniards, it was stated, were in the first onset so fortunate as to beat back the French, and take and spike four pieces of cannon. But the field-of-battle being in a vast plain, the patriots, who were carried by their impetuosity out of their ranks, without a sufficient number of horsemen to make head against the French cavalry, and unaccustomed to any such prompt evolutions as might have supplied that deficiency, were obliged to leave the field-of-battle to the

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BOOK VIII. home, that the most respectable part of the Spanish nation was sincerely attached to King CHAP. IV. Joseph, he used means also for impressing the inhabitants of Spain with the belief that their countrymen, that had been drawn into the French service, were also devoted to him. It was published in the Paris newspapers, August 12, as an article front Hamburgh, that the Spanish troops, under the Marquis of Romana, had come forward of their own accord, and with great zeal, to swear allegiance, and had proffered a detachment, from their corps of picked men, to form a guard of honor for King Joseph.

The Marquis de la Romana was kept in profound ignorance of the glorious events that had taken place in his country, and various attempts had been inade, on the part of the British goverment, to communicate the tidings to him, and to devise means for his escape with the troops under his command, without effect. At length a Swedish clergyman was found, in whose honor, good sense, and enterprising disposition, the firmest confidence could be placed. This gentleman, disguised as a low and travelling tradesman, went by the way of Heligoland, and having overcome many obstacles with the utmost patience, prudence, and fortitude, at length arrived at the place where the marquis and his troops were stationed. Having ascertained the person of the marquis, he was obliged to watch incessantly for an opportunity of addressing him, without exciting the suspicion of the numerous spies by whom he was surrounded. The venerable agent at last was obliged, as if by accident, to jostle the marquis in the street, in order to attract his attention. Having done so, he apologized, as if ignorant of the person whom he addressed, and concluded with offering to sell him some excellent coffee. The marquis treated this offer with contempt, and signified that he supposed he was speaking to a smuggler. The minister of the gospel, however, persevered in recommending his coffee, and, in the course of the conversation, found means to intimate that he was not a smuggler but a gentleman.-"We'll soon see that," said the marquis, and then asked him if he could speak Latin. The minister answered in the affirmative, and a conversation ensued, apparently about coffee, as the gestures of both were calculated to deceive all who might observe them. The marquis was then duly informed of every thing that had occurred in Spain, of the assistance the British government had rendered, and of the readiness of his Britannic majesty to adopt any measure that might be thought practicable for effecting the rescue of himself and his troops, that they might join their heroic countrymen in resisting the base attempts of France to enslave them.

As soon as this gallant, corps heard of the

forced abdication and captivity of the royal family, and particularly of the patriotic struggle in Spain, they burned with ardor to join the ranks of their countrymen. Though surrounded by hostile battalions, they planted their colours in the centre of a circle which they formed, and swore, on their knees, to be faithful to their country.

By a well-combined plan, concerted between Keats, the British admiral in the Baltic, and Romana, 10,000 of the Spanish troops stationed in Funen, Langland, Zealand, aud Jutland, emanci pated themselves from the French yoke, and, under the protection of the British fleet, were conveyed, with their stores, arms, and artillery, to Spain, where they landed at Corunna on the 30th of September. The Marquis of Romana himself returned home by the way of London, where he arrived on the 16th of September, for the purpose of having a conference with the British ministry, and British military officers. But one Spanish regiment, near 2,000 strong, in Jutland, was too distant, and too critically situated, to effect its escape. And two in Zealand, after firing on the French General Frision, who commanded them, and killing one of his aid-de-camps by his side, were disarmed. While Frision was in the act of haranguing these troops, for the purpose of engaging them to declare for King Joseph, one of the soldiers, burning with indignation, and regardless of consequences, stepped forth from the ranks, and fired a pistol at him, which, missing the general, killed the aid-de-camp.

When the real state of affairs in Spain became manifest to all Europe, by the flight of King Joseph from Madrid, and the concentration of the French forces on the defiles of Biscay, and on the Ebro, Bonaparte's sarcasms against the insurgents, and his misrepresentations of facts, were interrupted for a long time, as well as his military operations. Not a word was said of Spain. Even the Moniteur was silent. The world entertained great curiosity to know what face would be put on the flight of Joseph, and the inactivity of the French in Spain. It was given out by the French government at Madrid, that the king found it necessary to retire for a time from that city, for the benefit of his health; which was every where made a subject of ridicule. But nothing at all was said on the matter in the newspapers of France, Italy, or Germany. It was evident to Bonaparte, that the Spanish insurrection was of too serious and formidable a

nature to be treated lightly in respect of either words or actions. It was manifestly not to be crushed but by a very large force, and a larger one too than any he could march against it, if the Germans should avail themselves of so inviting an occasion to throw off his yoke; and,

above all, if the Emperor of Russia should swerve from the treaty of Tilsit.

The Austrians had been employed, for the last three years, in bringing their finances into order, and in strengthening their frontier, forming magazines, and increasing their armies, far beyond what was at all necessary for the preservation of internal tranquillity, and apparently with a view not to mere defence, but to aggression. This did not escape the observation, or fail to excite the suspicions, of the French government. A long correspondence ensued on the subject, which was afterwards published, between Count Metternich, the Austrian ambassador at Paris, and Campagny, the French minister of external relations. The French minister, on the part of his master, after calling to mind the moderation of the conqueror in the battle of Austerlitz, asked the Austrians what they feared from France, or of what they had to complain. If certain posts, still occupied by the French in Silesia, or in any other part towards the frontiers of Austria, had given umbrage, or caused any apprehension, they should be immediately evacuated.

An uncommon degree of earnestness on the part of Bonaparte to persuade the court of Vienna that he did not entertain any hostile designs against Austria, was apparent throughout the whole of this correspondence. "It is not," said Bonaparte," any part of my political system, to destroy, or even to humble the House of Austria:" and in this he was sincere. It could not have been any part of his policy to annihilate a barrier so convenient and necessary against the power of the Russians, growing every day, by the natural progress of population and improve ment, in so vast an empire, greater and greater. The Austrian minister, on the part of his court, disclaimed all hostile designs against France, and explained the increase of the military force complained of, by the general necessity that all the powers of Europe now felt themselves to be under, of proportioning the scale of their standing armies to that of their neighbours.

The Austrians persevered in their military preparations. Orders were transmitted from Paris to the members of the confederation of the Rhine, to call out their respective quotas, which when assembled, would be very powerful. Of the German troops of this confederation, 80,000 were taken into the pay of France, clothed in the uniform of French soldiers, and sent into France to garrison the towns quitted by French regiments sent to reinforce, the French army in Spain. In this manœuvre it was Bonaparte's object to render it impossible for the German princes to revolt from him to Austria, while at the same time he stationed a force in France better for some of his purposes, such as that of enforcing the conscrip

1808.

tion, than that which it replaced; in as much as BOOK VIII. Germans would not be so likely as the French regiments to sympathise and coalesce with the CHAP. IV. people. But whatever might be the inclinations, or the attempts of the Germans, they were not to be considered as formidable, if the Emperor of the North, as Bonaparte had affected to style him, should abide by his engagements. Alexander, at this moment, held in his hand the balance of Europe, the fate of many natious, their condition, whether as independent states, or as submissive provinces of a great and domineering empire, probably for many centuries! Into whichsoever of the scales the Czar should throw his weight, that must inevitably preponderate. To confirm and fix the resolution of Alexander was a matter of the last importance, and what Bonaparte did not think it prudent to commit to the agency of any of his ministers. He determined to have a personal interview with the Emperor of the North; on whose mind it would appear be was perfectly confident be should maintain an ascendency. For, on the 11th of September, he addressed, in print, his soldiers as follows: "Soldiers, after triumphing on the borders of the Danube, and the Vistula, you traversed Germany, by forced marches; you are now, with the same celerity, to traverse France.

"Soldiers, I declare that I have need of you. The hideous leopard contaminates, by its presence, the territory of Spain and Portugal. Let your faces strike him with terror, and put him to flight; let us carry our victorious eagles even to the pillars of Hercules. There we have an affront to revenge.

"Soldiers, you have surpassed in renown all the warriors of modern times. You have equalled the Roman legions, who, in one campaign, triumphed on the Rhine, the Euphrates, Illyrium, and the Tagus. A durable peace and permanent prosperity shall be the reward of your exploits. No good Frenchman can enjoy a moment's repose, so long as the sea is not free and open.

"Soldiers, all that you have already achieved, or that remains yet to be done is for the happiness of the French people, and for MY glory.-Be assured, that the remembrance of so great services shall remain for ever engraven on my heart."

The inhabitants of Lisbon, overawed by the army of Junot, were restrained at first from expressing their joy at the patriotic efforts of their allies, otherwise than in private and confidential conversation. The public voice of Portugal was first heard at Oporto. This town, besides the circumstance of being situate at a considerable distance from the force under Junot, possessed another advantage. It had been occupied by about 3,000 Spanish troops, who, before their departure to join the patriotic standard in Spain,