THE ENGLISH RETREAT.

615

The Duke of Dalmatia then made a flank movement on his left with all his forces, with the intention of cutting off the road from Salamanca to Ciudad-Rodrigo; but this movement was begun too late to be successful. The morning had been passed in fortifying the heights occupied by the French, which the English made a feint of attacking, to mask their retreat. Precious time was wasted, the opportunity was allowed to pass by, and Lord Wellington, who had only intended to avoid a battle, drew off his numerous army in the direction of Tamanés,* in the face of the French, who offered no obstacle. Heavy rain, falling all day, was in favour of his reThe allies took advantage of the night to quicken their march. They were followed for some days by Marshal Soult, but he soon gave up the useless pursuit. Finally, the enemy fell back altogether on the frontiers of Portugal. They had, however, lost a considerable number of prisoners taken by the French on the rear of the Allied Army, and had sustained great losses in baggage and transport trains owing to the bad state of the roads.

treat.

Count d'Erlon entered Salamanca at the head of the Army of Portugal, on the evening of the 15th of November, and on the next day the King fixed his headquarters in that city. Thus ended the campaign so long prepared, so well conducted, until the critical moment, and from which so different a result had been expected. "Was this," we asked each other, "all that the collecting together of such forces was to produce? How did the Allied Armies, whom we had almost surprised in an unfavourable position, contrive to escape us? How was it that the French, after crossing the Tormes, did not instantly occupy the road from Salamanca to Tamanés so as to cut off the retreat of the English? How was it that we did not attack on the morning of the 15th, without waiting for the arrival of the Army of Portugal? Why did not Marshal Soult and his troops commence and sustain the battle, until Count d'Erlon had come up with his columns, which were only a league and a half from the field? Was it timidity, uncertainty, or want of good will that delayed the attack?" Such were the questions that occurred to every one after the events of the 15th of November. What had become of the activity and the boldness of our troops? What spell had been laid upon them? It was melancholy to think that personal resentment, and fatal misunderstandings, had probably robbed the French of the glory of avenging a recent defeat on the very spot on which they had incurred it, and yet we were almost forced to this conclusion. Our army was numerous, the enemy inferior in strength; our chiefs were able and experienced, our soldiers willing. How could vic

* Situated half way between Salamanca and Ciudad-Rodrigo.

tory have been doubtful, if the will to conquer had equalled the means?

We remained but a few days at Salamanca. So soon as we knew for certain that the Allied Army had crossed the Agueda, reentered Portugal, and once more left Spain to her fate, the King began to think of returning to Madrid, and cantonments were assigned to the three armies.

The Army of the South was ordered to occupy the provinces of Avila, Plascencia, and part of Toledo and La Mancha. Headquarters at Toledo.

The Army of Portugal was to occupy the provinces of Salamanca, Zamora, Valladolid and Burgos, as far as the boundaries of the Army of the North. Headquarters at Valladolid.

The Army of the Centre was to occupy the provinces of Segovia, Guadalaxara, Madrid, Cuença and those parts of the provinces of Toledo and La Mancha not occupied by the Army of the South. Headquarters at Madrid.

These arrangements once made, there was nothing to detain the King at Salamanca. * He left that city on the 23d of November, in extremely cold weather, quite unprecedented in Spain at that season of the year. We passed through Peña-Aranda, Madrigal, Arevalo, where we stayed three days, and Villa-Castin,

* The city of Salamanca, which I had sufficient leisure to explore thoroughly, contains many fine buildings. The cathedral, the Jesuits' College, and the University are the most remarkable. Above the entrance gate of the University is the following inscription, dating from the days of Ferdinand and Isabella :

ΟΙ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΣ ΤΗ ΕΓΚΥΚΛΟΠΕΔΕΙΑ.

ΑΥΤΗ ΤΟΙΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΣΙ.

The Plaza Mayor is very handsome. It is surrounded with porticos, above which are three-storied houses of fair architecture. Over the spring of the arches is a series of stone medallions containing portraits of the kings of Spain and of the great men of the nation. Among the latter are those of the Cid, Gonzalez de Cordova, Cristoval Colon (Columbus), Francisco Pizarro, Fernando de Toledo, Antonio de Leyva, and others. A great number of ancient buildings had been greatly injured by the construction of the Duke of Ragusa's fort on the Tormes, at the end of the bridge leading to the town. This part of the town was a heap of ruins.

+ Before leaving Salamanca, the King sent General Bigarré to Paris, with a memorandum to the Emperor dated the 21st of November, recounting recent events. In this memorandum he pointed out the mistakes into which Marshal Soult had fallen, at the time of the proposed attack on the English at the Arapiles on the 14th, mistakes which saved them from utter defeat. He added that Marshal Jourdan had advised the crossing of the Tormes at Alba, in the face of the enemy.

The little town of Madrigal was formerly the abode of the kings of Castille, but it retains no traces of its ancient splendour. It is the birth

AT MADRID AGAIN.

617

and after crossing the Puerto de Guadarrama on the 2d* of December we arrived the same evening at Madrid. After the departure of the Army of the Centre, the guerilla chief l'Empecinado had occupied the town; but he left it on the approach of the troops that preceded us.

For the third time, after being alternately obliged to leave Madrid, and then enabled through the chances of war to return thither, we were entering the capital, but it was for no long stay; we were destined soon to leave Madrid for ever.

place of the famous impostor Pasteleca, who pretended to be Don Sebastian, king of Portugal, who was killed in Africa in battle with the Moors. * We suffered greatly from cold on the mountain, without meeting, however, with any serious accident. But a few days after our passage, some troops from Segovia, under Count d'Erlon, were surprised on the Puerto de Guadarrama by a sudden storm and lost nearly a hundred

men.

+ Once in 1808, and twice in 1812.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Painful impression made on the French in Madrid by the accounts received of the Grand Army in Russia-Results of those disasters on Spanish affairs-The Army of the South is concentrated on the Douro The King, accompanied by his guard, removes to Valladolid- The forces under the King's command are reduced by more than one third, owing to the recall of a great number of subalterns and veteran soldiers to France, and to the detachment of a corps commanded by General Clausel, to act against Mina-Lord Wellington appointed generalissimo of all the Spanish armies by the Cortes-Evacuation of Madrid-The English general commences his operations at the head of 100,000 men, and arrives on the Tormes on the 26th of May-The French fall back on Burgos, and are pursued by the enemy-The King orders the citadel of Burgos to be blown up, a considerable number of French soldiers losing their lives by the explosion-The King's army reaches the passes of Pancorvo on the 15th of June-Dissension in the King's council of war as to whether we shall or shall not defend the defilesThe French fall back on the Ebro-The English having crossed the river, the French take to flight, and take up a position on the Zadora, before Vittoria, on the 19th of June-The opportunity of retreating to the Salinos Pass behind Vittoria having been missed, the King is obliged to meet the enemy-Position of the army on the morning of the 21st-The battle commences, and the French, after an obstinate resistance, are forced from their first, and shortly afterwards from their second position-The high road to France being held by the enemy, we retreat towards Salvatierra-The English hussars turn our retreat into a rout, and we reach Salvatierra in the evening-We continue to retreat, the Army of Portugal forming our rear-guard-The King, with the Armies of the South and Centre, reaches Pampeluna on the 23dHaving rejoined the Army of Portugal, he crosses the Bidassoa on the 28th of June, and fixes his headquarters at St. Jean de Luz—The Author is ordered on a mission to the Emperor in Germany, and sets out for Vichy, where he intends to see Queen Julia on his way throughThe Queen persuades him not to persist in his journey to Dresden, and retracing his steps he joins the King near Bayonne-Joseph establishes himself with his suite at the Chateau de Poyanne, but at the expiration of a week receives permission to reside at Morfontaine, where he arrives with the Author on the 30th of July, 1813.

SCARCELY had we returned to Madrid after the fruitless campaign of Salamanca, when news from Paris filled us with alarm and anxiety. The bulletins from the Grand Army in Russia announced that it was in full retreat, and although we could not as yet divine the disasters of that fatal retreat, the style of the bulletins was so

far from reassuring, that those among us who felt the greatest confidence in the ability and genius of the Emperor began to feel alarmed. On the other hand, the events that had taken place during the Emperor's absence: General Mallet's conspiracy, which had brought the political existence of the Government within an ace of ruin, the absurd conduct of the persons in authority during the momentary crisis, and the unusual procedure by which the General and his accomplices had been condemned, seemed to announce a state of weakness and internal convulsion, which our reverses abroad made still more dangerous and formidable. Finally, the comments of the French gazettes on the military operations that had taken place in Spain within the last three months, were all written in a spirit adverse to the King. In their accounts of the movements of our armies they preserved a studied silence in his regard, while the highest praise was lavished on the Duke of Dalmatia, thereby proving that the King's complaints of his conduct had received no attention.

In this state of disquiet, in this painful expectation of a gloomy future, the last days of 1812 passed slowly away. Madrid was dull, the palace was deserted; discouragement and discontent were evident everywhere. Marshal Jourdan was invalided, and had handed over his command to General d'Aultannes; discipline was becoming more and more lax. The King's temper, embittered by so many causes, was greatly altered; the difficulties into which his private affairs were thrown by the exhaustion of his finances, forced him to steps, which as they interfered with the interests of numerous persons, daily diminished the number of his adherents. In order to set him free to adopt more economical arrangements, I gave up, of my own accord, the post of superintendent-general of the household, which I had hitherto filled. I was therefore without any administrative duties; and I remained with him from motives of friendship and affection only.

The year 1813 opened under these melancholy auspices, and in a very short time the particulars conveyed by the celebrated Bulletin No. 29, and which were circulated in Spain even before we had received them,* dispelled all doubt as to the disasters of our army in Russia. They were moreover confirmed, and if possible aggravated, by a letter from Colonel Desprez, who, on returning from Moscow, wrote to the King that "imagination could not reach to the reality of our reverses," that, in one word, "the army was dead.” When the first shock produced by this terrible ending to a

* The bulletin only reached us at Madrid on the 16th of January, although on the 31st of December it had been received at Vittoria and Burgos, whence it had spread into Portugal and to Cadiz.