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Capture of the Retiro.

the enemy's posts from the Prado and the Botanical Garden, and the works which they had constructed outside of the park wall; and, having broken through the wall in different places, they were established in the palace of the Retiro, and close to the exterior of the enemy's works, enclosing the building called La China.

The troops were preparing in the morning to attack these works, preparatory to the arrangements to be adopted for the attack of the interior line and building, when the governor sent out an officer to desire to capitulate, and the Marquis granted him the honours of war, with the security of the soldier's baggage, &c.

On the 14th the garrison marched out on their road to Ciudad Rodrigo; and the works, on being: taken possession of, were found to contain a garrison consisting of two colonels, a number of other officers, and a total of rank and file, &c. amounting in the whole to 2508.

Of all kinds of stores there were found 181 pieces of ordnance, 21,831 round shot, 1,148 shells, 23,000 musquets, near three millions of bail cartridges with a profusion of other stores belonging to the army of the centre; to which we must add a great quantity considered as belonging to the army of Portugal, amounting to eight field guns, a quantity of shot, 700 barrels of powder, 800,000 ball cartridges, with an immense quantity of intrenching tools, &c. &c.

The events which took place at Madrid, previous to, and after this success, are too important to be slightly passed over, and will in fact, if recorded here, form a text book for the future bistorian. It was, indeed, well observed in the first Madrid Gazette published after the liberation of that city from the grasp of the invader, that the many and important occurrences which passed in that capital from the 10th to the 16th of August were of such a nature as to fix the attention of Europe; and, we may add, to stamp the greatness

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Occurrences at Madrid.

greatness of the immortal Wellington on the minds. of latest posterity. Nor can we accuse the Spaniards' of hyperbole, in their approval of the sentiment that a simple and faithful narrative of these events would cause tears of pleasure to be shed throughout Spain, the allied nations, and every part of the world where virtue is not a mere name; at the same time that they will draw forth groans of fury and despite from the heart of Napoleon and his vile satellites. They are the triumph of the constancy, valour, and patriotism, of the Spaniards, and of the fidelity, generosity, and perseverance, of the allies-an eternal stigma and ignominy, on despotism, ambition, and tyranny-a terrible lesson to tyrants-a salutary admonition to the people.

In order to prevent confusion in the delineation of these events, the patriotic narrator adopted a chronological arrangement-and that we shall follow.

On the 10th of August, as soon as accounts arrived of the battle of Salamanca, and its fortunate issue for the cause of the allies, symptoms of inquietude and perplexity were observed in the whole court of Joseph Napoleon, who were well informed of the event, though they chose to pretend a belief in Marmont having gained a victory.

The alarm and dread which this occasioned in the French and their partizans was the greater, as they had hitherto reposed a blind confidence in their own strength, conceiving their troops to be invincible, notwithstanding the many defeats they had already suffered, both in Portugal and Spain.

This prejudice being thus dissipated, the perturbation and confusion into which they were thrown sufficiently pointed out to the suffering citizens the real state of affairs, which they in vain endeavoured to conceal. The public joy was manifested on all sides. The report of the great event was speedily circulated among the patriots, and the police was in despair, seeing that all their efforts to prevent it were in vain.

In

Anecdotes of Joseph's court.

In vain they employed threats-in vain they doubled their spies-in vain they filled the dungeons with patriots-in vain they circulated reports which nobody believed, because they circulated them. Common fame soon reported the death of the Marshal, and announced with accuracy the total destruction of his army; and even the lowest of the people were acquainted with the news.

The departure, or rather flight, of Joseph, of his court, and partizans, having been determined on in repeated councils of state, it chanced that about six in the evening of the 9th some soldiers, who had been stationed to observe the heights of Guadarama, gave notice that they saw English battalions descending them.

Consternation immediately spread through the palace-orders and counter orders were given-and at length it was finally determined to leave the city at six in the morning of the 10th. This anticipation increased the disorder of the fugitives. In the greatest confusion the immense convoy of the intrusive government was collected. Mourning and lamentation spread through all the houses of the partizans.

Some sold their moveables for half their value, or what they could get; others gave them to be kept by their friends; and others asked that favour from the insurgents themselves, whom but a few days before they had looked on with disdain. They turned into money all they could save of the wreck of their perty.

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Unfortunate fugitives! they were not yet acquainted with the French-they did not yet know that the money and precious effects, which they had with so much difficulty collected for their subsistence on their jourrey, would shortly become a prey to the rapacity of the troops that escorted them.

Many were robbed by their escort before they got half a league from Madrid. In fine they departed about ten in the morning, covered with disgrace and opprobrium :

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