over the river, preparations were made to destroy the bridge torrents of rain and snow were descending. The cavalry scouts of the enemy were abroad, and a large party, following the store-waggon, endeavoured to pass the piquet, and gallop down to the bridge. The design was perceived and defeated. Smart skirmishing was kept up all the day; but the masonry of the bridge was so solid, that midnight had arrived before the arches could be materially injured. We then descended the heights on the left bank, and passing with the greatest silence by single files over planks laid across the broken arches, gained the other side without loss,-an instance of singular preservation, as the night was dark and tempestuous, and the enemy almost within hearing. The mine was almost immediately after sprung with good effect,-I mean the bridge was ruined; while we marched forward to Benevente, where the cavalry and the reserve still remained. Here we re-entered the convent which had given us protection on a former occasion. During the brief stay made here, we experienced a remarkble escape from imminent danger. The lower corridors of the building were filled with the horses of the cavalry and artillery, so thickly stowed that it was scarcely possible for a single man to pass them, and there was but one entrance. Two officers returning from the bridge, being desirous to find shelter for their men, entered the convent, and with terror perceived that a large window-shutter was on fire. The flame was spreading to the rafter above; in a few moments the straw under the horses would ignite, and six thousand men and animals be involved in inevitable ruin. One of the officers, (Captain Lloyd, of the 43d,) a man of great activity, strength, and presence of mind, made a sign to his companions to keep silence, and, springing upon the nearest horse, ran along the backs of the others until he reached

the flaming shutter, which he tore off its hinges, and threw out of the window; then returning quickly, he awakened some of the soldiers, and cleared the passage without creating any alarm, which in such a case would have been as destructive as the flames. I scarcely need add, that Captain Lloyd was a man of more than ordinary talent.

The town of Benevente, a rich open place, is remarkable for a small but curious Moorish palace or castle, containing a fine collection of ancient armour, and is situated on an extensive plain, that, extending from the Gallician mountains to the neighbourhood of Burgos, appeared to be boundless. Here the army rested two days; but as little could be done to remove the stores, the greater part was destroyed, of which I was a reluctant eye-witness. I am sorry to say, that during this sojourn, the fine discipline of our corps, thus far maintained without a flaw, was sadly broken down. Some circumstances may be urged in mitigation of the fault, though, looking at that eventful crisis, nothing can altogether extenuate the excesses into which numbers of the troops descended. Exhausted as they were with privation and fatigue, it is no wonder that they were eager in search of repose and refreshment. Unfortunately one of the first objects of attention was an extensive range of vaults, in which pipes of wine were deposited. In such haste were the half-famished men to quench their thirst, that shots were fired at the heads of the casks, which sent them in altogether, so that the choice and heady liquor ran in all directions, and was ankle-deep on the pavement; beside which, and this was the most serious part of the calamity at such a moment, the men, regardless of the potent and intoxicating beverage, drank it like water. result need not be told; and I have often thought it was a special mercy that at such a juncture the

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services of the men were not required. Had the enemy approached, no one could have averted the fate of the aggressors. Unable either to fight or fly, they must have fallen into hostile hands, in all the disgrace of impotent inebriety. It has often been to myself a source of satisfaction, that on the occasion referred to I was preserved from the excesses described. Not that I can take credit for possessing at the time any extraordinary measure either of virtuous principle or religious light; yet I was not without a strong sense of duty. The good advices my mother were frequently uppermost ; and many a time, when hard pressed by hunger and perilous service, my mind was supported by a persuasion that my mother was praying for my preservation.

of

From the temporary mischief alluded to we soon recovered. Sobriety marshalled our ranks as heretofore, and on the 29th the brigade quitted Benevente, but the cavalry remained in the town, leaving parties to watch the fords of the Esla. Soon after day-break, General Lefebre Desnouettes, seeing only a few cavalry-posts on the great plain, rather hastily concluded that there was nothing to support them, and crossing the river at a ford a little way above the bridge, with six hundred horsemen of the Imperial Guards, he advanced into the plain. The piquets at first retired fighting; but being joined by a part of the 3d German Hussars, they charged the leading French squadron with some effect. General C. Stewart then took the command, and the ground was obstinately disputed. At this moment the plain was covered with stragglers, and baggage-mules, and followers of the army; the town was filled with tumult; the distant piquets and videttes were seen galloping in from the right and left; the French were pressing forward boldly, and every appearance indicated that the enemy's whole army was come up,

and passing the river. Lord Paget ordered the 10th Hussars to mount and form under the cover of some houses at the edge of the town: he desired to draw the enemy, whose real situation he saw at once, well into the plain before he attacked. In half an hour, every thing being ready, he gave the signal: the 10th Hussars galloped forward, the piquets that were already engaged, closed together, and the whole charged. In an instant the scene changed, the enemy were seen flying at full speed towards the river, and the British close at their heels. The French squadron, without breaking their ranks, plunged into the stream, and gained the opposite heights, where, like experienced soldiers, they wheeled instantly, and seemed inclined to come forward a second time; but a battery of six guns being opened upon them, after a few rounds, they retired. During the pursuit in the plain, an officer was observed separating from the main body, and making towards another part of the river being followed, and refusing to stop when overtaken, he was cut across the head, and brought in a prisoner. He proved to be General Lefebre. In this spirited action the French left fifty-five killed and wounded on the field, and seventy prisoners, besides the General, and other officers. The British loss was also severe.

Rencontres of this sort had their value, as they served to curb the audacity of the enemy, and furnished a seasonable sample of what might be expected in the event of a general battle. Meantime the tide of superior force, against whose overpowering number it was physically impossible to present an effective check, came rolling on in waves of gathering might. Napoleon had arrived at Valderas, Ney at Villator, and Lapisse at Touro. The French troops were worn down with fatigue, yet the Emperor still urged them forward. He flattered himself, and

wished to persuade others, that he should intercept the retreat of the English at Astorga; but the destruction of the bridge of Castro Gonzalo had been so complete, that twenty-four hours were required to repair it, and the fords were now impassable. After all, the Emperor, with whom it was never safe to trifle, was near the accomplishment of his design; for scarcely had the rear of the British army quitted Astorga, when advanced parties of French soldiery appeared in view.

Upon the 1st of January, 1809, the Emperor Napoleon took possession of Astorga. On that day seventy thousand French infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and two hundred pieces of artillery, after many days of incessant marching, were thus united. The assemblage of this mighty force, while it evinced the energy of the French Monarch, attested also the genius of the English General, who, with a handful of men, had found means to arrest the course of the conqueror, and to draw him, with the flower of his army, to this remote and unimportant part of the Peninsula, at the moment when Portugal, and the fairest provinces of Spain, were prostrate before him. That Sir John Moore intercepted the blow which was then descending on Spain, no man of honesty can deny; for what troops were there in the south to have resisted even for an instant the progress of a man, who, in ten days, and in the depth of winter, crossing the snowy ridge of the Carpentinos, had traversed two hundred miles of hostile country, and transported fifty thousand men from Madrid to Astorga in a shorter time than a Spanish diligence would have taken to travel the same distance? This stupendous march was rendered fruitless by the quickness of the adversary; but Napoleon, though he had failed to destroy the English army, resolved nevertheless to drive it from the Peninsula; and