a Plantagenet, was the mother of that Prince Henry, whose name will for ever remain conspicuous in the history of the world; the Braganza family, when it recovered its rights, applied, and not in vain, to its hereditary ally; and when Lisbon was visited by the tremendous earthquake of 1755, money was immediately voted by the English parliament for the relief of the Portugueze people; and ships laden with provisions were dispatched to them in a time of scarcity at home. These things are not forgotten-if there be a country in the world where the character of the English is understood, and England is loved as well as respected, it is Portugal. The face of its rudest mountaineer brightens when he hears that it is an Englishman who accosts him; and he tells the traveller that the English and the Portugueze were always---always friends."

The arrival of the British troops was the warning to Soult at that time to evacuate Portugal; but his movements were hastened by a rapidity of evolutions on the part of the English general which he by no means expected or desired.

"The enemy continued their retreat, and having crossed the bridge in the night, set fire to it, and completely destroyed it. At daybreak the British troops were again in motion, in full expectation and hope of again bringing the enemy to action; but before they could be reached there was a river to be crossed, more formidable than ever General had attempted to pass in the presence of a respectable foe.

"The Douro, which has the longest course of any river in the Peninsula, and rolls a larger volume of waters than the Tagus to the sea, is about three hundred yards wide at Porto, its deep and rapid stream being contracted between high and rocky shores. Soult had prepared for leaving the city, but he did not dream of being driven out of it. Having stood upon the quay from midnight till four in the morning, and seen not only the breaking up of the bridge, but the pontoons consumed as they floated down, and having previously given orders that all boats should be brought to the Porto side of the river, and collected at one place, that they might be the better guarded, he is said to have supposed that the English would avail themselves of their maritime means, embark their troops, and attempt a landing near the mouth of the Douro; and in that belief he went to his head-quarters, which were between the city and the sea, expecting that he could remain another day in perfect safety, which would allow time for the movements of the troops from Viana. Franceschi was instructed to guard the coast with the rear-guard; Laborde was to support him; Mermet to station one brigade at Val-longo, and two at Baltar, and to have frequent parties on his right to observe the river, and destroy all boats that could be discovered. Orders were also dispatched to Loison, requiring him to keep his ground at Mezam-frio and at Pezo da Ragoa, to prevent the enemy from crossing at either of these points. Every thing was prepared for retreating, biscuit distributed to the troops, the money from the public treasury delivered over to the paymaster, and a battalion was stationed on the quay, with the artillery. But the French were so possessed with the notion that the English must make a maritime descent, that this whole battalion was stationed below the bridge, and not a single post placed above it.

"Sir A. Wellesley knew how important it was, with reference to Beresford's operations, that he should cross the Douro without delay. In the morning he sent MajorGeneral Murray up the river, to send down boats if he could find any, and endeavour to effect a passage at Avintes, about five miles above the city, where it might be possible for the troops to ford. The Guards, under Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke, were to cross at the ferry below the city as soon as boats could be obtained, and he himself directed the passage of the main body from the Convent of S. Agostinho da Serra, which stands in the suburb of Villa Nova upon the most elevated spot on that side. It was certain that the enemy would have taken all common precautions for securing the boats, but it was equally certain that the inhabitants would do every thing in their power to assist their deliverers. Two boats were brought over by them to the foot of the eminence on which the Convent stands, and two more were sent down the stream to the same spot. There was a large unfinished building on the opposite side, designed for the bishop's

"While the Americans carried over ready-built houses for sale; and the French sent a frigate, by which the Grand Monarque expressed his condolence for what had happened, and requested to know if he could be of any use."

palace, which afforded a good position for those who should land first till they could be supported; and some guns were placed in the Convent garden, where they were masked by fir trees, in a situation to bear upon the enemy with effect.

"Four boats only had been collected when the passage was begun; but more were presently on the way, for the inhabitants were on the alert to promote their own deliverance. Lieutenant-General Paget crossed in one of the first, and took up a position with the Buffs as fast as they landed, and reached the summit. They were attacked in great force, and stood their ground most gallantly till the 48th and 66th, and a Portuguese battalion, arrived successively to support them. General Paget lost an arm early in the action, and the command devolved upon Major-General Hill. The most strenuous exertions were made by the inhabitants for transporting the troops, while this contest was maintained, in which sure hope and British resolution counterbalanced the great inequality of numbers. About two hours after the commencement of the action, General Sherbrooke, with the Guards and the 29th, appeared on the enemy's right, having crossed at the lower ferry; and about the same time General Murray was seen coming from the side of Avintes in the opposite direction. If any thing could be needed to animate the spirit of Englishmen at such a time, they had it that day. Hastening up the steep streets of Porto as fast as they could be landed and formed to support their countrymen, they were welcomed by the inhabitants with such demonstrations of joy as might have warmed colder hearts than those to which they were addressed. Handkerchiefs were waved from every balcony, and blessings breathed upon them, and shouts of triumphant gratulation and convulsive laughter mingled with the tears and prayers that greeted them.

"The French had been completely surprised. The very boldness of the attempt, for history has recorded no passage of the kind so bold, was its security; till they saw that it was accomplished, they did not believe it would be attempted. A chef de bataillon told one of the generals that the English were passing, and his report was disregarded. Soult was assured by the French governor of the city that it was only some stragglers of their own people who had tarried behind till the bridge had been destroyed, and that the boatmen had gone to bring them across, but that he had forbidden the passage of boats on any pretext to the left bank. The Marshal was satisfied with this; and the report that the enemy were coming was not believed till General Foy, going upon the high ground opposite to the Convent, from whence Sir Arthur was directing the operations, saw the troops crossing, and Portugueze upon the walls making signals to them. In the confusion that ensued among the French, General Foy was wounded, and narrowly escaped being taken, for the enemy thought only of retreating as fast as possible, when they saw troops on either side arriving to support General Hill. It was about five in the afternoon when the action was terminated by their flight. The British were too much fatigued to follow up their victory that evening, when they might have completed the destruction of an enemy not less thoroughly dispirited than discomfited. But in the last four days they had marched over fourscore miles of difficult country. So complete and signal a success against an equal enemy was perhaps never before obtained at so little cost; the loss at Porto consisted only of twenty-three men killed, ninety-six wounded, and two missing, and in the preceding affairs at Albergaria and Grijo of 102 in all. That of the enemy was very considerable; they left behind them five pieces of cannon, eight ammunition tumbrils, many prisoners, and about a thousand men in the hospitals.

"Porto presented an extraordinary scene that night; every house was illuminated, while the gutters were still red with blood, and the streets strewn with dead bodies both of horses and men. There had been three hours' fighting in the suburbs, and before night the French who had fallen were stripped and left naked where they lay; they had their plunder about them for removal, and they had provoked by the most intolerable wrongs a revengeful people.

The disasters of Blake occupy the 23rd chapter; and in the 24th the reader will alternately be assailed by emotions of resentment, indignation, admiration, and pleasure, as he peruses the details of the absurd obstinacy, which, interfering with Sir Arthur Wellesley's plans, occasioned the loss of an opportunity of gaining a decisive victory, and substituted in its place, the doubtful, though well-fought, battle

of Talavera-This battle is too much a subject of national exultation to be passed over.

"About eleven, the enemy having been baffled in all their attempts, intermitted the attack, rested their troops, and, it is said, cooked their dinners upon the field. Wine and a little bread were served out to the British troops. A brook which flows into the Tagus separated the French and English in one part of the field, and during this pause men of both armies went there to drink, as if a truce had been established. Their muskets were laid down and their helmets put off while they stooped to the stream, and when they had quenched their thirst, they rested on the brink, looking at each other. The heat and exasperation of battle were suspended; they felt that mutual respect which proofs of mutual courage had inspired, and some of them shook hands across the brook, in token that, although they were met to shed each other's blood, brave men knew how to value a brave enemy. At such a moment it was natural for Englishmen to have no other feeling: the atrocities by which Buonaparte's soldiers, in the Peninsula, had disgraced their profession, their country, and their nature, were for the time forgotten. This interval also was taken for bringing off the wounded, who lay intermingled as they had fallen. And here, also, a redeeming sense of humanity was manifested; all bostility being suspended among those who were thus employed, and each striving who should, with most alacrity, assist the other in extricating the common sufferers. About noon, Victor ordered a general attack along the whole line. His own three divisions were to attack the hill once more. Sebastiani was to form his first division in two lines on the left of Lapisse; Leval, with a brigade just then arriving from Aranjuez, to be stationed to the left of this division, a little in the rear; still further left, Milhaud, with his dragoons, was to observe Talavera; Latour Maubourg's infantry, and Merlin's light-horse, formed in the rear of Victor to support his corps, and advance into the open ground now occupied by him, as soon as he should have won the hill. The reserve was placed in a third line behind Sebastiani's corps.

"From the moment this general attack commenced, the firing of musketry was heard, on all sides, like the roll of a drum, with scarcely a moment's interruption during the remainder of the day, the deeper sound of a heavy cannonade rising above it like thunder. The operations of the French were deranged by a blunder of Leval's division, which they attribute to the ruggedness of the ground, and the impossibility of preserving the line among the olive trees and vines. Instead of forming in echellon in the rear, it advanced to the front, and, before it had finished deploying, it was attacked. Sebastiani sent a brigade to its support, and it fell back to the ground which it was designed to occupy. This occasioned some delay. When the line was formed, Sebastiani waited till Victor had begun the attack. Lapisse first crossed the ravine, supported by Latour Maubourg's cavalry, and by two batteries, each of eight pieces of cannon. Vilatte threatened the hills and covered the valley, and Ruffin, skirting the great chain of mountains to the left, endeavoured to turn the flank of the British army. The attack upon the hill was exceedingly formidable, but, like all the former, it failed. Lapisse was mortally wounded, his men were driven back, and Victor himself rallied them, and brought them once more to the contested point; their retrograde movement had exposed Sebastiani's right, and there also the French suffered considerably.

"While Victor led his troops once more to the foot of that hill which had so often been fatal to the assailants, Vilatte with the columns in the valley advanced to his support. General Anson's brigade, consisting of the 1st German light dragoons, and the 23rd dragoons, with General Fane's heavy cavalry, were ordered to charge them. The French formed in two solid squares; they were protected by a deep ravine, which was not perceived till the horses were close to it; and they kept up a tremendous fire of artillery and musketry. This was the most destructive part of the whole action; numbers of men and horse fell into the ravine-numbers were mown down. But the portion which got over were collected, as well as he could, by the Honorable Major Ponsonby, and led upon the bayonets of the enemy. They passed between two columns of infantry, against which they could effect nothing, then galloped upon the regiment of chasseurs which supported them. Here they were charged by some regiments in reserve, surrounded, broken, dispersed, and almost destroyed, losing two-thirds of their number. The rest (Lord William Russell was among them) passed through the intervals of the French columns, and retired within their own lines. Injudicious and unfortunate as the charge was, the desperate courage with which officers and men had advanced upon almost certain destruction astonished the enemy; it put an end to their efforts on that side, and

no farther attempt was made upon the hill, which was now covered with dead, dying, wounded, and exhausted troops.

"The attack upon the centre was made at the same time. General Campbell was supported by Eguia and Henestrosa, and by a regiment of Spanish horse; the allies repulsed the enemy, and while the Spaniards turned their flank, the English took their cannon. A column, chiefly consisting of Germans, advanced with excellent steadiness through a heavy fire of artillery, like men who, having obtained the highest military character, were resolved to keep it. They were received by Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke's men with a volley of musketry which staggered them: the whole British division then rushed forward with the bayonet, and by that irresistible charge the enemy were driven back with great slaughter. But the brigade of Guards advanced too far in pursuit; they were attacked by the French reserve, they were cut down by a close fire of artillery from a wood; in a few minutes all their mounted officers were killed, with more than 500 men, and at that moment the fate of the day appeared worse than doubtful. But Sir Arthur's foresight secured the victory which had been so long contested. Seeing the advance, and apprehending the consequence, he moved a battalion of the 48th from the heights to their support; and this timely succour, with the assistance of the second line of General Cotton's cavalry, saved the brigade from that total destruction which must else have been inevitable. The broken Guards passed through the intervals of the 48th, re-formed behind it, and then in their turn supported the regiment which had preserved them. Upon their advance, the enemy, whose heart now failed them, retired; the Guards renewed the huzzas with which they had advanced, and the cry was taken up along the whole line. It was the shout of victory on the part of the allies for though the light troops continued to fire, and from time to time a heavy cannonade was renewed, the enemy made no further attempt.

"A circumstance more horrid than unfrequent in war, occurred toward the close of the action; the long dry grass took fire, and many of the wounded were scorched to death. It was night before the battle ended, and the allies were far from certain that it would not be renewed on the morrow. The moon rose dimly, the night was chill and damp because of the heavy dew; the troops lay in position on the ground, without covering, and without food; even water was scarce; but the officers and the generals were faring alike, and neither murmuring was heard for their privations, nor apprehension felt for what the morrow might bring forth. The French had made large fires along the whole front of their line. At day-light the troops were under arms, and in order of battle, but the enemy had disappeared, a rear-guard only being in sight on the left of the Alberche. The Intruder had been a spectator of the whole action. During the night contradictory reports were brought him, some affirming that another attack must ensure the victory, others that Victor's right had been turned, and he could not possibly keep his ground. In this dilemma Joseph sent to ascertain the true report, and retired to rest, in expectation of having the favorable one confirmed, the reserve bivouacking round him. At day-break he was awakened by Sebastiani, who had fallen back with his corps upon the reserve during the night, and who came with tidings that he had been compelled to make this retrograde movement, because Victor was retreating along the foot of the hills to Casalegas. This intelligence left no time for deliberation. The Intruder began to retreat also, but in perfect order; Milhaud's division formed the rear, and Latour Maubourg brought off many of the wounded. Twenty pieces of cannon were taken by the conquerors; the prisoners were not many.

The remainder of the 24th chapter and the 25th, comprise the recitals of the misfortunes of the Spanish armies at Almonacid, at Ocana, and at Alba de Tormes, and the preparations of Lord Wellington for his retreat upon the lines of Torres Vedras. The 26th is devoted to the siege of Gerona, which is another of those remarkable events that so ennoble the Spanish character. We have no rooin for extracts from this portion of the work; and, in fact, the whole of it should be read together; the 27th, gives us the history of the deliberations which in France and England influenced the fortunes of the Peninsula; the 28th, the march of the French on Cadiz ; and the total conquest of Spain, except that comparatively little nook, by

their armies; nor is there any thing, but a view of the disaster after disaster borne up against by the Spaniards with astonishing perseverance, till the 32nd chapter, when the "Favorite Child of Victory" appears upon the scene, with the vaunt of driving the English legions into the sea. The battle of Busaco gave him the first doubt of his success;-which the formidable aspect of the ever-memorable fortification of Torres Vedras soon reduced into certainty. We give Dr. Southey's animated narrative of the battle, with which we shall conclude our extracts and remarks.

"Busaco, which was now to become famous in British and Portugueze history, had long been a venerable name in Portugal. It is the only place in that kingdom where the barefooted Carmelites possessed what, in monastic language, is called a desert; by which term an establishment is designated where those brethren, whose piety flies the highest pitch, may at once enjoy the advantages of the eremite and the discipline of the cœnobite life, and thus indulge the heroism of ascetic devotion in security. The convent, surrounded by an extensive and almost impervious wood, stands in, what may be called, the crater of the loftiest part of the ridge: its precincts, which included a circumference of about four miles, were walled in. Within that circuit were various chapels and religious stations; and, on the summit of the mountain, which is within the inclosure, a stone cross was erected of enormous size, upon so huge a foundation, that three thousand cart-loads of stone were employed in constructing its base. The cells of the brethren were round the church *, not in a regular building, but accommodated to the irregularities of the ground, and lined with cork, which was every where used, instead of wood, because of the dampness of the situation. Every cell had its garden and its water-course for irrigating it, the cultivation of these little spots being the only recreation which the inhabitants allowed themselves as lawful. In one of these gardens the first cedars which grew in Portugal were raised. It was, indeed, one of those places where man has converted an earthly Paradise into a Purgatory for himself, but where superstition almost seems sanctified by every thing around it. Lord Wellington's head-quarters were in the convent; and the solitude and silence of Busaco were now broken by events, in which its hermits, dead as they were to the world, might be permitted to partake all the agitations of earthly hope and fear.

"On the 26th Generals Hill and Leith joined the army. This corps had made so rapid and arduous a march, that Massena regarded its junction as impossible, and reckoned, therefore, that the force which he wished to attack must necessarily be weak in front, if indeed Lord Wellington should venture to give him battle. That general arrived on the same day at Mortagoa, and the bridge over the Criz was re-established for his artillery, the army having crossed at a ford at a little way above. Some skirmishing took place, and, at S. Antonio do Cantaro, the French were resisted in a manner which made them first apprehend that a determined stand was to be made against them. Massena himself upon this, reconnoitred the position, after which he asked one of the unworthy Portugueze who accompanied him, if he thought the allies would give him battle? He was answered, that undoubtedly they would, seeing they showed themselves in such strength. The French Marshal replied, I cannot persuade myself that Lord Wellington will risk the loss of his reputation; but if he does, I have him !---To-morrow we shall effect the conquest of Portugal; and in a few days I shall drown the leopard!

"About two on the following morning the French army was in motion. Ney's corps formed in close column on the right, at the foot of the hill, and on the road which leads to the convent; Regnier's on the left, upon the southern road which passes by S. Antonio do Cantaro; Junot's was in the centre, and in reserve; the cavalry was in the rear, the ground not permitting it to act. The allied British and Portugueze army was posted along the ridge of the Serra, forming the segment of a circle, the extreme points

"The author of Der Feldzug von Portugal in den Jahren 1811 and 1812 (Stutgard und Tubingen, 1816) is mistaken in calling it the burial-place of the kings of Portugal.