Illustration of the Seat of War. escapes from view till we reach Viliadrido. You proceed along a most fertile tract, through the several villages of Quintanillas, Estepar, and Oelada, which is sixteen miles from Burgos. The road then proceeds through the villages of Villazapoque, Villadrido, and Venta del Moral, which is at the confluence of the rivers Arlanza and Arlanzon. It then ascends two steep acclivities, beneath which flows the Pisuerga, after which you discover Quintana del Ponte, a small town on that river, which takes its name from a noble bridge of stone of eighteen arches. You arrive, at length, at Torrequeniada, a small town, where you again pass the Pisuerga. The parish church of this town is in the gothic style, and affords no bad specimen of architecture. Almost the whole of the road from Burgos to Torrequemada runs over a naked plain, where neither tree, bush, nor shrub is visible. Straw, vine branches, and aromatic shrubs are used in the kitchen and ovens for the purposes of fuel. The kitchen fire is a kind of stove, placed in the middle of the room, without a flue, and often without an aperture. These stoves are called glorias, and are encircled by a range of benches, on which the family sit to warın themselves. You next pass the village of Magaz, beyond which the Carion unites with the Arlanzon. After this you ascend a hill to the village of Duenas, beautifully situated amongst vines, and having its meadows below enamelled with the most delightful flowers. Duenas is the Eldana of Ptolemy; it has a parish church, and a convent of Augustins. You descend the hill into a plain, and at the distance of sixteen miles pass the village of Cabezon, much celebrated for its wines. The road still continues over the same plain, which becomes rough and heath-like. Having thus travelled twelve miles, you enter a noble avenue, two miles in length, at the end of which is Valladolid. Valladolid was the Pincium of the Romans, and is the second city in Old Castile. It was the native place of Philip the Second, who sometimes made it the seat of his court. It is built between the rivers Esqueva and Pisuerga, in a large plain, surrounded by hills. Its public buildings are approached by gates of a noble structure, handsome fronts, and courts embellished with piazas. These piazas are very frequent in Castile, they all resemble those of Covent Garden, having houses or suits of apartments over them; but they generally excel them. I bave a notion they were copied from the Romans, and thence passed into Spain and England. I say nothing more of the town, because every gazetteer describes it. It would be unpar donable, however, to omit the two public walks, the Campo Grande, and the Piaza Major. The latter is in the style of the piaza at Madrid, is equally spacious, and is surrounded by three rows of balconies, where it is computed that twenty thousand people may sit at their ease. It is embellished likewise with piazzas under the balconies, supported by four hundred marble columns, and by a correspondent number of pillasters. This will give some idea of the extent and magnificence of the town. At a short distance from it is Illustration of the Seat of War. the Ochavo, an octagonal area, into which six large streets open at regular distances. On quitting Valladolid, you enter upon a sandy road, which has been cut through a wood of lofty pines, and leads to the village of Puente Duero; beyond it is a large stone bridge over the Duero. Having reached the village Valdestillas you pass the rivulet Adaja, and thence proceed to Hornillos, another village twenty miles from Valladolid. You then pass the Adaja by two bridges, and go through a country of most delightful verdure, and most richly cultivated. It is through this beauty and fertility that you reach Olmedo, whence Marquis Wellington, being in pursuit of Marmont, dated his dispatches, giving an account of the battle of Salamanca. Olmedo is a small town situated on an eminence, in frout of an extensive plain. It was formerly surrounded by walls, some few remains of which are still visible. It has seven parish churches, and as many convents. The principal altar of one of them, St. Mary's church, is adorned with some good paintings. The population of this place was once very considerable, but is now reduced to two thousand inhabitants, who carry on a good traffic in bricks. On quitting Olmedo you proceed along the high road by which one division of the army moved upon Madrid. You pass successively the villages of Almenara, Rapariegos, and Montuenga; farther on is the town of Martin Munoz. The road then passes through the village of Adanero. Beyond it, having crossed a pine wood, the traveller has to pursue his journey over a wild and rude plain. It is watered in some parts by the river Almarza, whose wooded banks are perceived for a considerable distance. The plain becomes more beautiful as the road passes the villages of San Chidrian and Labajos. The Almarza is here crossed by a stone bridge; its banks are lined with fine elms, and the adjoining country produces abundant crops of wheat and barley. Twenty miles from Martin Munoz the traveller reaches the village of Villacastin, the parish church of which is in the gothic order. On the front of it are two good statues. Having passed the village of Espinar, the road enters upon a plain called Las Navas de San Antonio, a heath about four miles broad. At the farther end of it you approach to the mountain of Guadaraina, which separates the two Castiles. This pass was formerly very steep and dangerous, but Ferdinand the Sixth formed a road beginning at Espinar, which is now easy and agreeable. At the foot of the mountain stands a public inn erected for the accommodation of travellers, by the inhabitants of Espinar, and at the summit is a marble monument to the memory of Ferdinand the Sixth, the pedestal of which mentions that he made this road over the mountains. This top of the mountain is called Puerto de Guadarama, and presents a most extensive and noble prospect, before and behind, of the two provinces of New and Old Castile. In the descent from the mountain, the traveller discovers, ten miles to the right of him, the magnificent monastery of the Escurial. He next passes the village of Guadarama, and thence reaches Rosas. The road is good, Illustration of the Seat of War. and the scenery very various and pleasing. The hills are skirted with villages, and clothed with vines and oaks, or royal forests of immense extent.— As you enter the plain, you come into a fine corn and wood country. Advancing to the banks of the Manzanares, you cross a noble bridge called the Segovia; and having passed some part of the fine promenade of Florida, enter Madrid by the gate of St. Vincent. The next road which I shall describe is that by which Lord Wellington himself marched upon Madrid; namely from Cuellar to Madrid, through Segovia and Ildefonso. The route of this road is as follows. From Madrid to Fuencarral eight miles, to Ildefonso 8, to Segovia S, to Escarbajoso 10, to Navalınanzano 12, to the river and bridge of Piron 4, to Cuellar 16. Total 66 English miles from Cuellar to Madrid. Upon leaving Madrid, you traverse a very naked country, till you reach the village of Fuencarral, a small town containing about two thousand inhabitants, celebrated for its vines and its excellent turnips. From thence you cross a little mountain, planted with oaks, and advance into a plain watered by the Xarama, whose banks are planted with villages. Having crossed a rivulet, which takes its course at the village of St. Augustin, you reach the mountain and village of Molar, well known for their mineral waters. The road next diverges to a verdant country, smiling with plenty, embosomed in vineyards and gardens, of a most pleasant, smiling, and picturesque aspect. Through this kind of country you pass the rivulet Mulacuera, whose banks are lined with trees, and next reach Torrelaguna. This is a small town, delightfully situated, embosomed in verdure, at the foot of a range of hills, which appear to terminate the plain of Xarama. It was the town and country of the celebrated Cardinal Ximenes. It has a parish church, a monastery, and a nunnery; the church is gothic, and has three aisles. The adjacent country is laid out in vineyards, and produces large quantities of wine. Through this beautiful district you see the royal palace of Granja and Ildefonso. I say nothing of it, because you will find the detail of it in any book of travels, to which I therefore refer your readers. My present business is with the topographical detail of the roads. From hence you have to traverse Leaving Granja and Ildefonso, the traveller reaches the Valsin, a small river, over which a stone bridge is erected. a tract of land thickly wooded with oaks. the country becomes an immense heath. it, the traveller plunges between two deep vallies, and thus reaches Segovia. Segovia is of a most singular shape, being of the figure of a ship, of which the stern points to the east, and the prow to the west. It commands an immense rock, and appears buried between two valleys, one of which is to the north, and the other to the south. The first is watered by a stream called the Clamores, which forms a junction with the Eresma, the last by Illustration of the Seat of War. the Eresma, on which are five handsome bridges. This river, whose banks are clothed with woods, formerly bore the name of Areva. The city is surrounded by walls, having a range of towers at regular distances on its ramparts. There are probably about five thousand houses. Its population, however, is said to be on the decline, since the year 1570, when it gave the most magnificent fêtes in honour of Queen Anne of Austria. The Alcazar of Segovia deserves to be a principal object of the attention of travellers. It was formerly the residence of the Castilian kings, and bears the character of venerable antiquity. It was in this palace that Alphonso the Wise divided his hours between the cares of his kingdom, and the studies of philosophy. The apartments are fretted with ancient Mosaic work, which is still fresh. One of the walls presents a curious historical series of statues, including all the ancient monarchs of Oviedo, Leon, and Castile, from Froila the First, who reigned in 760, to Queen Joanna, who died in 1555. These statues, which are fifty-two in number, are of painted wood, and have each a suitable inscription. The antient aqueduct of Segovia is described at large in the different travels in Spain, and therefore I omit it here. On leaving Segovia, the road becomes more even, and after crossing a plain of twenty-four miles, is abruptly terminated by the neighbouring eminences. Having passed the villages of Zamarramila and Escarbojoso, you discover Navalmanzano. In about six miles farther you reach the little river Pison, over which is a stone bridge. You then traverse a wood of pines, and proceed through similar plantations to the village of Sancho Nuno, six miles from Navalmanzano. You next enter another pine wood, eight miles in extent, and upon arriving at the end of it, are at Cuellar, eight miles from Sancho Nuno. Cuellar, the recent head-quarters of the English army is a small town, which bears the title of a marquisate. It is placed on the side of a high hill, on whose summit stands an old castle, supposed to be the ancient Colenda, so celebrated for its long resistance to the Romans. The place was not reduced till after a siege of nine months, when the brave inhabitants were sold for slaves. Cuellar contains about three thousand persons, but, to judge by its extent, and the number of its parishes, it must have been formerly much more populous. Madder is here cultivated with much success, and several mills are employed in grinding it. A considerable number of persons are occupied in preparing wool for the manufactories of Segovia. town. The Duke of Albaquerque, who so lately died in England, was Marquis of Cuellar, and had a magnificent family palace in the neighbourhood of this His ancestors have preserved a variety of rare and curious objects in this place; amongst others there is a fiue collection of ancient arms, including three hundred complete sets of armour, lances, pikes, swords, &c. all of different ages and nations. And this concludes what I proposed to say of Old Castile. Review of Military Books. REVIEW OF MILITARY BOOKS. Trait sur l'Etat Major; par le General Grimoard, Paris, 8vo. 420 papes.-And Essay on the Military System of Buonaparte; by C. H.S. a Staff Officer. WE have directed our attention to the two above books at the same time, because the one tends to illustrate the other; and because they are the ablest, if not the only works which are to be met with in England upon the French staff and armies. The work of General Grimoard is one of those productions which are to be expected only from men who unite the rare advantages of practice, abilities, and general information., It is not, on the one hand, a mere mass of materials, or on the other of minute detail, but a masterly generalization of a most important subject: it is not, however, wanting in that detail which is necessary in a practical work, but displays a method, at once simple and artificial, uniting and binding all the numerous subdivisions into one point of view, and thereby at once assisting both the memory and judgment. In subjects of science this method is uniform, established, and passes from one writer to the other; but in any subject of morals every writer is left to seek an order from his own invention, and it is therefore a just praise when it is at once simple and sufficient, comprehensive and full, without a wearisome and useless minuteness. 66 The Essay on the Military System of Buonaparte" is entitled to its full share in the same kind of praise. It is an ardent, vivid, and faithful sketch of the composition of an engine which has overwhelmed all the states of Europe. It is written, indeed, with some abruptness, and occasionally too brief and general; but the picture is spirited, and forcibly impresses upon the mind the character of the original. The reader would do well to commence his study of the French system with this essay, and then to seek the detail and development of the essay in the practical work of General Grimoard.The two works have this relation to each other: the one (the essay) is a spirited portraiture of the system by a judicious selection and display of its prominent features: the other is the development of the machinery through all its practical detail. These two works have brought before our present attention a subject which has often occupied our thoughts. We shall avail ourselves, therefore, of this opportunity to execu e a purpose which we have long intended-that of laying before our readers a connected view of the French military system. In so doing we shall occasionally avail ourselves of the materials both of the essay and of the treatise, but shall adopt our own order and words. It is but just, however, to acknowledge that we are very much indebted to the essay. |