prisoners; all the artillery of the right wing was lost; but, heavy as this loss was, that of the reputation of an army, which had hitherto demeaned itself so gallantly, was most to be lamented. By this last disaster the French were enabled without farther obstacle to direct their views against Ciudad Rodrigo, and threaten Portugal; and Lord Wellington removed in consequence from his position in the vicinity of Badajos to the north of the Tagus, there to take measures against the operations which he had long foreseen. Albuquerque's little army was now the only one which remained unbroken; but what was this against the numerous armies of the French even if it were suffered to cover Estremadura, what was there on the side of La Mancha to secure Andalusia, and Seville itself? Every effort was made to collect a new army under Areizaga at the passes of the Sierra, and to reinforce the Duke del Parque also, but the danger was

close at hand. The junta had thought to strengthen themselves in popular opinion, as well as to secure themselves against Romana, whom they always feared, by recalling him from Galicia, and appointing him a member of their own body. This measure only served to make their weakness still more notorious, for Romana publicly expressed his utter disappro bation of their proceedings. They had given notice in May that the Cortes would be summoned on the first of January, and enter on their functions on the first of March : they now began to fear, that the authority which they had employed so ill would be wrested from them before that time by an indignant people; the interposition of Marquis Wellesley saved them from this hu miliation. But a general view of their misconduct, its causes, and its consequences, must be reserved for the annals of the ensuing year.

WHILE the attention of the Spanish government was almost exclusively directed towards operations which it was scarcely possible could terminate otherwise than disastrously, Catalonia, the province wherein the most uniform and universal energy was displayed, was left to itself. The two strongest and most important places in this province had been treacherously seized by Buonaparte, while he pretended to be the friend and ally of Charles IV.; yet, even with this mighty advantage at the commencement, the French had to win their ground there by inches. As soon as their armies were recruited from the losses and exhaustion which they had suffered before Zaragoza, they proceeded to lay siege to Gerona. This city is situated upon the side and at the foot of a mountain near

the place where the little river Onar falls into and loses its name in the Ter. When the siege commenced, it was surrounded by old walls in good repair, and had besides four

forts with redoubts upon the high ground above it, but its principal defence was the citadel of Monjuic, which commanded it from an eminence about 60 fathoms distant. This was a square fort, in length 200 varast on each side, with four bastions, and four out-works, called the towers of St Luis, San Narcis, San Daniel, and San Juan. The popula tion of Gerona was between 13 and 14,000. In the Succession War, it distinguished itself by its faithful adherence to the Archduke Charles, and its desperate defence against his successful rival. After it had fallen, the Catalans blockaded it for eight months. Marshal Berwick raised the siege, and the French minister then proposed to him to demolish the works, upon the plea of saving the expence of garrisoning them, but in reality that the Spaniards might have one strong-hold the less upon their frontier. Berwick requested an order from Louis XIV. himself; but, though that ambitious prince

manifestly wished to have Gerona destroyed, a sense of decency prevented him from directly ordering it to be done, and Berwick did not chuse to expose himself to the anger of Philip V. without possessing a warrant which might be produced in his justification.

After the fall of Rosas and Zaragoza, and the defeat of the Catalan army at Valls, in which Reding received his mortal wound, it could not be doubted that the enemy would endeavour to take vengeance for the shameful repulse which they had suffered before Gerona the preceding year. The French expected a brave resistance, and they made their preparations accordingly. On the 6th of May, they appeared upon the heights of Casa Roca and Castarroja, and began to form lines around without opposition. A battery of eleven mortars was planted upon Casa Roca, from whence it commanded the city; works were also erected against Monjuic, The garrison, consisting only of 3,400 men, was not numerous enough to impede these operations; no precautions, however, were wanting on their part, nor were any means of defence omitted. The citizens, like the crusaders of old, took the cross, and with this ceremony, which their cause sanctified, eight companies of 100 men each were formed and organized. The women also, maids and matrons alike, enrolled themselves in an association, called the Company of St Barbara, to perform whatever they were capable of, like their countrywomen at Zaragoza. Never did any people prepare more resolutely for the performance of their arduous duty. Their governor, Campmarshal D. Mariano Alvarez, was worthy of the situation wherein he VOL. II. PART 1.

was placed; being himself fully determined to maintain the city to the last gasp, he thought it adviseable now, during the first enthusiasm of the people, to restrain by fear the few cowardly or treacherous spirits which might exist among them, and, with this intent, he forbade all persons from speaking of capitulation or peace, on pain of immediate death, without distinction of quality or condition. The garrison and the people received this edict with acclamations of applause, and throughout the whole course of the siege they did not belie the expectations which their governor formed of them. The military junta of the city proposed that the streets should be unpaved, to lessen the dangers of a bombardment. This was opposed by the junta corrigimental, or board of police, and the question was referred to the hospital board for decision; for the objection to the measure was, that it would be prejudicial to health. The medical men found it most convenient to avoid entering into a physical discussion, and they compromised the matter by deciding, that the paving should be taken up only in the plazas or squares, and in those streets through which the soldiers must necessarily pass.

The French meantime continued their works, and so sure were they of the firm and unalterable spirit, both of the Geronans and their go vernor, that they did not summon the place till their lines were completed, and every thing ready to commence the bombardment. Then they sent a flag of truce requiring Alvarez to spare himself and the city the evils which must inevitably attend a resistance. Don Mariano admitted the officer to his presence, and bade him say to his general, that 3 c

for the future the trouble of sending flags of truce might be spared, for he was determined to have no other communication with him than at the mouth of the cannon. This was on the 12th of June; on the night between the 13th and 14th, about an hour after midnight, the bombardment began. Then for the first time the generale or alarm was beat, a sound which afterwards became so frequent and familiar in this devoted city: roused from their sleep, the aged and the children repaired to those cellars and other places of imagined security, which they who could had provided for this emergency, and the female company of St Barbara hastened to their posts. An illjudged sally was made early on the 17th against some works which were supposed to be the base of a battery against the Puerto de Francia: they succeeded in their object, but the success was in itself of little importance and dearly purchased, many brave men fell, 110 were brought back wounded. The bombardment continued, and, among the other buildings which it reduced to ashes, the military bospital was destroyed: the people, while it was burning, observed that its destruction was deserved, for, instead of proving a place of help and healing for the sick, covetousness and peculation had made their profit there upon human sufferings. The hospitals of St Domingo and St Martin were also rendered uninhabitable; one other had been made ready, another was to be prepared, and thus the labour and difficulty of providing for the sick and wounded increased at the time when their numbers were daily increasing. For about the end of the month, an epidemic affection of the bowels became very prevalent, occa

sioned partly by the perpetual agitation which the people endured, partly by their sleeping in damp subterranean places, where the air never circulated freely, and where many of them had nothing but the ground to lie upon. In July, a bilious fever is usually endemic in Gerona; it seized especially upon the lower classes, and upon the refugees from those places which had been either taken or burned by the enemy, and it af fected the wounded also.

The main attacks of the enemy were directed against Monjuic; their tremendous artillery soon rendered the out-works untenable, though every foot of ground was defended with a heroism unexampled in modern times, except at Zaragoza. At the beginning of July, three batte ries played upon three sides of this little fortress: that which was planted against the north front, consisted of 20 four-and-twenty pounders; while the French were battering it, that angle on which the flag was hoisted fell into the ditch, D. Mariano Montorro descended for it in the midst of the fire, brought it up in safety, and replanted it upon the wall. The breach was soon wide enough to admit forty men abreast. The fire of the garrison had ceased, for they perceived that the French were secured by their trenches, and ammunition was too precious to be used unless its effects were certain: The enemy, who had not learned the nature of the men with whom they were contending, judged from this silence, that their hearts or their ammunition had failed, and in the night between the fourth and fifth they assaulted the breach. It was for this that the gar rison had reserved their fire, and they poured it so destructively upon the columns which approached, that

the French retreated with great loss. For three days they continued their fire upon the breach. Between two and three on the morning of the 8th, 6000 chosen men again assaulted it, at the same time the town was bombarded. D. Blas de Furnas, second in command at Monjuic, was in the thickest of the fight; he strained his voice till from exertion it totally failed him, but still his presence and his actions encouraged all who saw him; the enemy came on, filled the fosse and proceeded to the breach-"Woe to him," says Samaniego, the historian of the siege, "woe to him who sets his daring foot upon the fosse of Monjuic!" A mortar, which lay hidden among the ruins of the ravelin, and discharged 500 musket-balls at every shot, was played full upon the enemy by D. Juan Candy. The havoc which it made was tremendous,-three times in the course of the day, the assault was repeated, with the utmost resolution on the part of the assailants, who were never thrown into confusion, though all their efforts were unavailing, and though they left 1,600 of their number slain. The day, however, was disastrous to the Geronans also, though not from any evil which it was possible for strength or courage to have averted. The tower of St Juan, which stood between the west curtain of the castle, the city, and the Calle de Pedret, was blown up. In what manner the magazine took fire was never known. Part of its little garrison were fortunately employed in active service elsewhere, the rest were buried in the ruins, from whence twenty-three persons were extricated alive amid the incessant fire which the enemy kept up upon the spot. Their preservation was in a great measure owing

to the exertion of D. Carlos Beramende. The company of St Barbara distinguished themselves greatly that day: covered with dust and blood, under the burning heat of July, and through the incessant fire of the batteries and musketry, they carried water and wine to the soldiers, and bore back the wounded.

The severe loss which the French sustained in this second attempt, convinced them, that while one stone remained upon another, Monjuic was not to be taken by assault. From this time, therefore, they continued to batter it on three sides, and, practising the surest and most destructive mode of warfare, stationed sharpshooters in their trenches on every side, so that for one of the garrison to be seen was almost certain death. So perilous was the service become, that the centinels were changed every half hour, yet nine were killed in one day at one post, and scarcely one escaped unwounded. An instance of heroism worthy of record was displayed by Luciano Aucio, a drummer belonging to the artillery, who was stationed to give the alarm when a shell was thrown: a ball struck off his leg at the knee; but when the women came to remove him, he cried out,-No, no, it is only a leg: my arms are left, and I can still beat the drum to give my comrades warning in time for them to save themselves. This brave lad was the only person during the siege who recovered after an amputation of the thigh. It became at length impossible to observe the operations of the enemy, so thick were their marksmen, and with such fatal certainty did they take their aim: no other means remained than that of sending some one into the fosse, who, lifting up his head with the most imminent ha