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have expressed much dissatisfaction to his friends in private, though he had not hinted any disapprobation when in consultation with the other generals. But the board unanimously approved the judgment of Sir Harry Burrard, in abstaining from pursuit. "A superior cavalry," they observed, "retarding our advance, would have allowed the enemy's infantry, without any degree of risk, to continue their retreat in the most rapid manner, till they should have arrived at any given and advantageous point of rallying and formation: nor did Sir A. Wellesley, on the 17th of August, when the enemy had not half the cavalry he had on the 21st, pursue a more inconsiderable and beaten army, with any marked advantage."

In short, the report of the board was an indirect censure on Sir Arthur; for if Sir Harry Burrard was justified under all the circumstances in not advancing until the arrival of the reinforcements under Sir John Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley, who knew that he must be speedily reinforced, judged ill in pushing forward and exposing himself to an attack, from which the enemy could only experience, at the worst, the disadvantage of a repulse, instead of waiting for a day or two, for such an augmentation of numbers as would have ensured the ruin of

the enemy, notwithstanding the superiority of cavalry. It was generally believed, and it was probably the truth, that Sir Arthur, confiding in the bravery of his troops, burned with a desire to have a brush with the French, before he should be superseded in the command by the arrival of Sir John Moore.

All Spain and Portugal, as well as the English garrison at Gibraltar, was indignant at the Convention of Cintra.

As the defeat of Junot and the deliverance of Portugal were only mediate, and not the ultimate objects of the British army, it marched from Lisbon, but not till the 27th of October, nearly two months after the convention of Cintra, under the command of general Sir John Moore, to the assistance of the Spanish patriots. The general's instructions were, to march through Spain with his face towards Burgos; which was to be the general rendezvous of the British troops: not only of those now under the command of that officer, but of those with which he was to be reinforced from England. And he was to combine his operations with those of the commander in chief of the Spanish armies. But the issue of this expedition, together with the arduous struggle that preceded it, carries us into the year 1809.

VOL. L.

[Q]

CHAP.

CHAP. XIII.

Interview between the Emperors Alexander and Napoleon at Erfurth.-Artful Policy of Buonaparté.-Offer of a Negotiation, on the Part of France and Russia, for Peace with England, rejected.-Establishment of a Central Junta in Spain. Their declared Principles and first Acts of Government.-Relative Positions of the Grand French and Spanish Armies.-Arrival of Buonaparté at Vittoria.Successive Engagements and Defeats of the Spaniards.-The French enter Madrid.-Enthusiasm of the Spanish Colonies in the Cause of King Ferdinand, and of their Mother Country.-Brief Retrospect of the Affairs of the Northern Powers of Europe.-Italy.-Turkey.

-East Indies.

THE HE two emperors, when they met at Erfurth, were each of them attended by a very numerous and brilliant suite, and kings, sovereign princes, and other persons of high distinction, came day after day, to do homage to the great emperor of the West. Among others who attended Alexander, were his brother the grand duke Constantine, the count Romanzow, and the two counts Toltson, one of whom was the Russian am

bassador at Paris. The suite of Buonaparté was composed of Berthier, Talleyrand, Caulincourt, Champagny, secretary Maret, the principal writer of official reports, the generals Lasnes and Duroc, all of them bearing their new titles of princes, dukes, and counts, and in short all the staff officers belonging to the French army cantoned in Bavaria. The kings and sovereign princes of Germany, waited for the most part on Buonaparté in person. The Austrian general, count St.

Vincent, arrived at Erfurth, September 28th, with an apology from the emperor of Austria, for not attending the conference, and no doubt the strongest and most polite assurances of friendship towards both the French and Russian emperor. Count St. Vincent was closeted a long time with Buonaparté. Great was the pomp and ceremony, and most splendid the feasts and other entertainments, that took place on the occasion of this imperial and royal convention. The little town of Erfurth was astonished to witness a magnificence, that would have been admired at Paris. The first dinner was given by Buonaparté.

Napoleon and Alexander held their conferences every day at ten o'clock. These being over, they rode out together, either in the same carriage, or on horseback, to take a view of the adjacent country. In one of these rides Alexander consented to traverse together with Buonaparté the whole

* Whom it was the policy of Buonaparté to flatter with the hope of reigning at Constantinople.

whole field of Jena, the burying ground, or grave, it may be called, of the ally to whom he had sworn eternal friendship over the ashes of the great Frederick! What opinion must Napoleon have entertained of his brother emperor when he gave him so affronting an invitation, and what can the world and posterity think of Alexander for accepting it? The archduke Constantine, while at Erfurth, appeared every day in the uniform of the horse-guards of Buonaparté. It was the great object of Buonaparte, in the conferences and convention at Erfurth, to conciliate the goodwill of all parties there, that he might be enabled, having secured quietness in his rear, to bear with all his disposeable force on Spain and Portugal. Insignificant as the German powers had become, combinations might be formed by which they might distress him greatly in the present moment. Any concession, therefore, that would secure their connivance at his projects in the west, it would be prudent in him, in the present circumstances, to make: fully aware that if he succeeded in Spain, it would be an easy task again to reduce the countries in Germany, which he now occupied. But, at the same time that he found himself under the necessity of recalling his troops from Germany, he wished to hide as much as possible the weakness therein implied, and avert the designs to which a full conviction of that weakness might give birth. He therefore dexter. ously contrived to give the with

drawing of his troops the appearance of being the result of a negotiation; an act of favour to the sovereigns of Russia and Prussia, A negotiation was entered into at Erfurth, under the mediation of Alexander, in consequence of which Napoleon engaged to evacuate the Prussian territory, as soon as the contributions should be paid up: which he graciously reduced to one third of their total amount. And he wrote a letter to the queen of Prussia, with his own hand, in which he promised her the completion of all her wishes. He also relaxed in the severity of his restrictions and imposts on the commerce of Holland.

With regard to Alexander,itwas easy to persuade him that the insurrection in Spain was only the natural consequence, and what was to be apprehended from the conclusion of the treaty of Tilsit.*

In consequence of the conferences at Tilsit, the garrisons of Prussia were evacuated. And the veteran troops of France began to march from the Oder to the Ebro ; while, on the other hand, 40,000 French conscripts were sent to Germany. Another visible effect of the meeting at Erfurth was an offer of peace on the part of Russia and France to the British government. A flag of truce, with two officers, one a Frenchman, the other a Russian, arrived October 21st, at Dover. The Frenchman, by orders of lord Hawkesbury, who happened then to be at Walmer Castle was detained. The Russian

This sentiment was expressed on sundry occasions by Alexander, after his return to Petersburgh. And it may be presumed, that it had been inculcated on his pliant mind, by the companion and guide of his excursion to the field of Jena,

sian messenger was allowed to proceed on the 22nd to London. It was the object of Buonaparté in this overture to lull the British government into a neglect or delay of sending assistance to Spain, and to excite a distrust of England in her allies; for, as to any effect that professions and pacific dispositions on the part of Buonaparté might have on the minds of the French people, they had become stale and altogether effete. It was proposed, by the overture to his Britannic majesty, to enter into a negotiation for a general peace, in concert with his majesty's allies, and to treat either on the basis of uti possidetis, or on any other basis consistent with justice. The king professed his readiness to enter into such a negotiation in concurrence with his allies; in the number of whom he comprehended the Spanish nation. In the reply returned by France to this proposition of his majesty, the Spanish nation was described by the appellation of the "Spa. nish Insurgents ;" and the demand for admitting the existing government of Spain, as a party to any negotiation, was rejected as inadmissible and insulting. A declaration, therefore, by his majesty, was published on the 15th of December, concluding as follows, "His majesty deeply laments an issue by which the sufferings of Europe are aggravated and prolonged.

But

neither the honour of his majesty, nor the generosity of the British nation would admit of his majesty's consenting to commence a negotiation by the abandonment of a brave and loyal people, who are

contending for the preservation of all that is dear to man, and whose exertions in a cause so unquestionably just, his majesty has solemnly pledged himself to sustain."*

While the army of France lay inactive on the Ebro, and the passes into the mountainous province of Biscay, and Buonaparté was employed in averting danger to his cause on the side of Germany and Russia, the provincial juntas had leisure to resolve themselves into one supreme and central junta.

The situation of the Spaniards, when their country was assailed by the intrigues, the treachery and the arms of France was without example in their history, unforeseen by their laws, and in opposition to their habits. In such circumstances, it was necessary to give a direction to the public force, correspondent with the will and sacrifices of the people. This necessity gave rise to the juntas in the provinces, which collected into themselves the whole authority of the nation, for the purpose of expelling the common enemy, and maintaining internal order and tran. quillity. But as soon as the capital was delivered from the invaders, and the communication between the provinces re-established, it became practicable, as well as necessary, to collect the public authority which had been divided into as many parts as there were provincial governments, into one centre from whence the strength and the will of the nation might be called into action. A supreme and central junta, formed by deputies nominated by the respective juntas, was installed

"See the whole Declaration. State Papers, p. 364.

at

at Aranjuez, on the 25th of September. The president per interim was the venerable count Florida Blanca. Among the members we find two other distinguished names, viz. Don Francisco Palafox, one of the deputies from Arragon, and Don Melchior de Jovellanos, one of the two from Asturias. After hearing mass, which was celebrated by the primate of Laodicea, also archbishop, and one of the members of the junta for Seville, the following oath, administered on the holy Evangelists, was taken by all the deputies"You swear by God, and all the holy Evangelists, and by Jesus Christ crucified, whose sacred image is before you, that in the exercise of the supreme and sovereign central junta, you will defend and promote the conservation and advancement of our holy, Catholic, Apostolical, and Roman religion; that you will be faithful to our august sovereign Ferdinand VII, and that you will maintain his rights, and his sovereignty. That you will concur in the support of our rights and privileges, our laws and customs, and above all those, concerning the succession of the reigning family, according to the order established by the laws afore said. In short, that you will give your vote for every measure calculated for the general good, the prosperity of the kingdom, and the amelioration of its customs. That you will observe secrecy in all cases where secrecy is proper. That you will protect the laws against all malevolence, and prosecute their enemies, even at the expense of your - life, your personal safety, and your fortune."

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The formula of assent was, "I swear this." The following sen

"If you do

tence was subjoined: this, may God help you. If not, may he punish you, as having sworn in vain by his holy name. The subscriber said, Amen.

After a solemn Te Deum, the deputies walked between two lines of troops, to the royal palace, a hall of which was consecrated to their sessions. An immense multitude of all ranks and descriptions of persons, that had assembled to see this ceremony, giving way to the most ardent enthusiasm, made the air resound with the cry of Viva Fernando Septimo.

On the opening of the gates of the palace, that had been so long shut, the sad solitude of the magnificent mansion of their kings, and the recollection of the epoch at which, and of the reasons for which the gates had been shut, drew tears from every eye, and an universal cry of vengeance against the authors of so profound calamities and such pungent sor

rows.

The oath taken by the supreme junta, a kind of Spanish Bill of Rights, they repeated, or re-echoed in a proclamation to the Spanish nation; in which, after a variety of. most judicious observations, they say, "Let us be constant, and we shall gather the fruits of victory : the laws of religion satisfied; our monarch either restored or avenged; the fundamental laws of the monarchy restored, and consecrat ed in a manner solemn and consonant with civil liberty; the fountains of public prosperity pouring benefits spontaneously and without obstruction; our relations with our colonies drawn more closely, become more fraternal, and consequently more useful: in fine, activity, industry, talents, and virtues stimulated

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