prisoners a column of one thousand two hundred Spaniards.

At that time the Spanish force consisted of three armies. That of Arragon, commanded by Palafox and Castanos, formed the right; the army of Estremadura, commanded by Cuesta, composed the centre; while General Blake, at the head of the combined armies of Gallicia and Asturia, and reinforced by the Marquis de la Romana's troops* from the Baltic, advanced towards Bilboa, and formed the left wing.

The first grand operation of the French seems to have been directed against Blake; and the Madrid papers which I have this day seen, contain an account of his entire defeat, after a series of actions, which commenced on the 31st, near Soronosa. Here he received a severe check, and retired, first to Valmaseda, and afterwards to Espinosa de los Monteros. At the village of Valmaseda an action took place on the 5th, which was attended with a partial degree of success to the Spanish army; but, having been again attacked by the French, on the 10th and 11th, at Espinosa, their left wing gave way, and the French got,

one.

Romana's troops amounting to eight thousand six hundred and seventy

possession of a height commanding the road by which Blake was obliged to defile: the Spanish army was in consequence entirely defeated.

Blake, in his dispatches to the Central Junta, extols the bravery and fortitude of his troops, who seem to have been in a most deplorable state; according to his account, having neither clothes nor food, they were, for the last five days, constantly harassed by an enemy, superior both in discipline and numbers.oasi

You will judge from the foregoing sketch what is likely to be the situation of the British army at Salamanca. Indeed, we are all the more disappointed and mortified, as we had permitted ourselves to be buoyed up by the flatter ing and exaggerated accounts that reached us on our route to this place. When we get to Salamanca, we may possibly find things not quite so sombre as they are depicted here. What annoys us most is the sang froid and stupid wonder with which these people seem to regard us in passing along their streets. I can hardly help thinking that I read in their physiognomy sentiments that do not exactly correspond with what we were inclined to expect from them. By the way, I must not omit to inform you, that something like a commotion had almost taken place in this town, in consequence of our soldiers having re

quested a little salt from the people on whom they were billeted. I dare say you will feel some difficulty in giving credit to this fact, which is, however, a real one.

Sir John Moore passed through this place on the 12th instant. Adieu.

LETTER XXXVI.

ROAD FROM CUIDAD RODRIGO TO SALAMANCA.-LIME-STONE MOUNTAINS.-VILLAGE OF ESPIRITU SANTO.-ST. MARTIN'S DEL RIO.— BOBEDA DE CASTRO.-VILLAGE OF SIETTE CARREROS.-A LEONESE FARMER'S FIRE-SIDE.-SPANISH HOSPITALITY.

Salamanca, 24th November, 1808.

SINCE I last wrote to you, we have had severe frosty weather, attended with very dense fogs; under the cover of which we left Cuidad Rodrigo on the morning of the 21st. Two miles from the gates of that town we entered a steep and rugged defile, which conducted us along the course of a torrent to the top of a high lime-stone mountain, from whence the road, by a gradual descent, led us to a village called Espiritu Santo. From thence our route lay through a dreary barren country; but, perhaps, the state of the atmosphere induced us to form that conclusion. On reaching St. Martin's del Rio, we found every house occupied by the fiftieth regiment, which had lately arrived. We, therefore, proceeded to Bobeda de

Castro. Towards the latter part of this day's journey we rode through extensive woods of the evergreen oak, in which we met several large herds of swine. The mode adopted here of feeding these animals is singular. A peasant, armed with a very long slender flail, made of light wood, marches at the head of this black squadron, and acts the part of a jackall, by beating from the boughs of the oaks their mast, which drops in great abundance upon the ravenous group beneath.. These testify their delight by forming a most sonorous chorus of grunting, accompanied by a rapid flourish of their slender appendages behind. Having exhausted the first tree, the peasant attacks others in succession, the swinish multitude following in a thick column, and throwing up a dense body of dust.

Owing to the illness of one of my horses, I was prevented from leaving Bobeda de Castro, a miserable village, before the morning of yesterday, which, like the preceding day, proved remarkably cold, attended with a thick mist. I then proceeded some miles, and was again obliged to halt at a village called Siete Carreros, where I remained all night. I had great difficulty in procuring admission into any of their houses, owing, as I afterwards discovered, to the men being employed at some distance from this place in erecting a new bridge. However, by the mediation of my Swiss servant, who speaks Spanish