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Coimbra, with thirty thousand English troops organized in three divisions of infantry.'-Le Noble, p. 233.*

As Sir Arthur Wellesley was so fortunate as to find a Portuguese barber to assist him in passing a river which ‘Alexander the Great might have turned from without shame'-Marshal Soult had the good luck also to fall in with a Spanish pedlar to extricate him from his difficulties, at the moment when he heard of Loison's determination to withdraw from the bridge of Amaranthe.

'The news of this unexpected calamity reached Soult at one o'clock on the morning of the 13th, just after he had passed the rugged banks of the Souza river; the weather was boisterous, the men were fatigued, voices were heard calling for a capitulation, and the whole army was stricken with dismay; then it was that the Duke of Dalmatia justified, by his energy, that fortune which had raised him to his high rank in the world. Being, by a Spanish pedlar, informed of a path that, mounting the right bank of the Souza, led over the Sierra de Catalina to Guimaraens, he, on the instant, silenced the murmurs of the treacherous or fearful in the ranks, destroyed the artillery, abandoned the military chest and baggage, loaded the animals with sick men and musket ammunition, and repassing the Souza, followed his Spanish guide with a hardy resolution.'-Napier, vol. ii. p. 290.

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This trait of hardy resolution in the French Marshal in following his guide was succeeded by others displaying, Colonel Napier, tells us, sagacity and judgment, happy reach of generalship -an inspiration of real genius :-The first of these inspirations of genius' was that Soult, with a long reach of mind, calculated that the bulk of the English army must be on the road to Braga and took therefore a short cut, leaving Braga to the left, and thus gaining a day's march in point of time,' but at the sacrifice of the remainder of his artillery. The Marshal's next inspiration,' according to Colonel Napier, was to draw up his forces on the ground where two months before they had overcome the Portuguese militia and peasants, the recollection of which exploit aroused all the sinking pride of the French soldiers.' And by a third inspiration he (Soult) now re-organized his army, taking the command of the rear-guard himself, and giving that of the ad

It is not unworthy of remark that this French author, like Colonel Napier, was an eye-witness, and he had probably the advantage, likewise, of a reference to some of Marshal Soult's original documents.' Le Noble's name occurs both in Heudelet's and in Riccard's register. His original situation was that of Commissaire Ordenna. teur in Soult's corps d'armée; but during the short period of the Duke of Dalmatia's anticipated sovereignty of the kingdom of Portugal, Le Noble was elevated to the dignity of Intendant General of the army, and was very liberally endowed by those decrees already mentioned, by which the marshal raised the pay and allowances of his generals and others. Le Noble, we must confess, has amply repaid his patron by praise in his Memoirs of the Military Operations in Gallicia, Portugal, and the Valley of the Tagus in 1809.

vanced guard to General Loison. Noble, the French historian of this campaign, says, the whole army was astonished.'—vol. ii. p. 291.*

But the great difficulties, as also the great exploits of the retreat, were yet to come, and Colonel Napier opens the way for these by the following description of localities :

From Carvalho Soult retired to Salamonde, from whence there were two lines of retreat; the one through Ruivaens and Venda Nova, by which the army had marched when coming from Chaves two months before; the other, shorter, although more impracticable, leading by the Ponte Nova and Ponte Miserella into the road running from Ruivaens to Montalegre. But the scouts brought intelligence that the bridge of Ruivaens, on the little river of that name, was broken, and defended by twelve hundred Portuguese, with artillery, and that another party had been, since the morning, destroying the Ponte Nova on the Cavado river. The destruction of the first bridge blocked the road to Chaves; the second, if completed, and the passage well defended, would have cut the French off from Montalegre.'-p. 292.

Here, however, as so frequently happens to him, our military historian's topographical knowledge is imperfect. The main road from Salamonde to Montalegre is by the Ponte Miserella, and it passes through Ruivaens. That route was used by the main body of the French, as also by the British when in pursuit of Soult. The road by Ponte Nova is only a short cut from Salamonde to the Ponte Miserella, and by it the French rear-guard, which was attacked by the British at Salamonde on the evening of the 16th

It is obvious that Loison is made a scape-goat for Soult in Colonel Napier's account of these operations, and we are told, in page 298, it was not General Loison's fault if England did not triumph a second time for the capture of a French marshal.' Whom Col. N. considers as the first French marshal captured we do not know. If Junot is meant, he was not a marshal, nor was he a captive. It is pretty clear, however, that the idea of casting so much blame upon Loison has been an after-thought of Marshal Soult, or an ingenious device of our historian himself; for it is very improbable that a general who had behaved so ill, as Colonel Napier has represented Loison to have done, should be selected to command the advanced guard during a very critical movement, when there was as much reason to apprehend that the head of the column would have to fight its way through very strong passes, as that the rear would have to defend itself against the pursuing enemy. Colonel Napier says, indeed (p. 292), that Maneta (Loison) dared not surrender. But was there such a searcity of men of fortitude in Soult's army that it was necessary to place in an honourable station, requiring much intelligence, promptitude, and courage, an individual who had recently misconducted himself, but in whom a dread of the vengeance of the Portuguese peasantry was to be a substitute for more honourable sentiments? Colonel Napier, in the motives which he assigns for Soult's arrangements, does injustice, we believe, to the marshal's judgment, to Loison's reputation, and to the character of the other general officers in Soult's army. Loison had incurred. it is true, the hatred of the Portuguese to a very high degree from the nature of the duties allotted to him under Junot in Portugal, but he served with much distinction in the field both before and after the retreat from Oporto. In the battle of Busaco, in September, 1810, the attack on the strongest part of the position was assigned to Loison's division.

May,

May, effected its retreat. The torrent which passes at Ruivaens, and that which passes under the Ponte Nova, is the same torrentalthough Colonel Napier supposes them to be different, and calls the one the little river' of Ruivaens, and the other the Cavado river. It is obvious, therefore, from what has been said, that, to cut the French off from Montalegre, it was necessary to stop them effectually both at the bridge called Ponte Nova, and at the bridge of Ruivaens, which is about a mile and a half higher up the same stream. But neither of these bridges was completely destroyed, and an assemblage of peasants with a few fowling-pieces-for that was the real composition of the Portuguese force, and the quality of their arms—was very unequal to the defence of these bridges— even had they been both cut through.

Colonel Napier proceeds

'The night was setting in, the soldiers were harassed, barefooted, and starving; the ammunition was injured by the rain, which had never ceased since the 13th, and which was now increasing in violence, accompanied with storms of wind; the British army would certainly fall upon the rear in the morning; and if the Ponte Nova, where the guard was reported to be weak, could not be secured, the hour of surrender was surely arrived. In this extremity, Soult sent for Major Dulong, an officer justly reputed for one of the most daring in the French ranks. Addressing himself to this brave man, he said, "I have chosen you from the whole army to seize the Ponte Nova, which has been cut by the enemy. Select a hundred grenadiers and twenty-five horsemen, endeavour to surprise the guards, and secure the passage of the bridge. If you succeed, say so, but send no other report; your silence will suffice." Thus exhorted and favoured by the storm, Dulong reached the bridge unperceived of the Portuguese, killed the sentinel before any alarm was given, and then, followed by twelve grenadiers, began crawling along a narrow slip of masonry, which was the only part undestroyed. The Cavado river was flooded and roaring in its deep channel; one of the grenadiers fell into the gulf, but the noise of the waters was louder than his cry, and Dulong with the eleven reaching the other side surprised the nearest post; the remainder of his men advanced at the same moment close to the bridge, and some crossing and others mounting the heights, shouting and firing, scared the poor peasantry, who imagined the whole army was upon them; thus the passage was gallantly won.'—pp. 292, 293.

We have not the least doubt of Major Dulong's bravery, nor of his having executed with intelligence and with courage the part allotted to him. Neither shall we object to Soult's theatrical speech, although we are a little at a loss to know what use the twenty-five horsemen could be of in the proposed enterprise. We know that the torrent which passes under the Ponte Nova—whether Colonel Napier may call it the little river' of Ruivaens, or the deep and roaring Cavado'-is quite noisy enough, when flooded, to

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drown the voice of a man who has fallen into it; but we know, likewise, that at day-break on the morning after the affair at Salamonde two officers of the British staff, with a party of dragoons, passed the bridge of Ponte Nova-and that, although the bridge is very narrow, and the parapets had been thrown down, and the stones of the arch itself had been laid bare of their covering of earth and gravel, and no subsequent repairs had been made, the officers and dragoons rode over the bridge, notwithstanding that, by Colonel Napier's account, a narrow slip of masonry was the only part undestroyed.'

'Beyond the Ponte Nova there was a second obstacle still more formidable. For the pass in which the troops were moving being cut in the side of a mountain, open on the left for several miles-[four miles]-at last came upon a torrent called the Miserella, which, breaking down a deep ravine, or rather gulph, was only to be crossed by a bridge constructed with a single lofty arch, called Saltador, or the leaper, and so narrow that only three persons could pass abreast. Fortunately for the French, the Saltador was not cut, but entrenched and defended by a few hundred Portuguese peasants, who occupied the rocks on the farther side, and here the good soldier Dulong again saved the army.'-pp. 293, 294.

The pass at the bridge of Miserella is very strong, for there is a steep and rugged rock of considerable elevation on the right bank of the river, and immediately fronting the bridge. There were not, however, any entrenchments there, nor was there indeed much occasion for them, had there been well-armed troops to defend the pass. The bridge itself was, however, sufficiently broad to admit of the passage of the British artillery; and it was very little injured. So much for the romance which Le Noble and Colonel Napier together have composed upon Marshal Soult's retreat from Oporto.

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We do not recollect to have met with any other author who departs so much in the body of his work from the promises, professions, and expectations held out in his preface, as is done by Colonel Napier. He professes, in his preface, to make truth the object of his search; avoiding equally the mists of prejudice,' and the false lights of interest." He holds out to his readers, that to remedy the injustice done,' and justice left undone,' has been one of the chief motives of his undertaking. He professes to have 'corrected his own recollections and opinions' by those of others of superior knowledge:' and he claims confidence partly as an eye-witness,' and partly as possessing the advantage of access to 'original documents, placed without reserve at his disposal.' But in the body of his work, the mists of prejudice appear to be his natural element; and his own glaring partialities are the lights held out by him for the guidance of his

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readers.

readers. To distribute an undue share of praise to some, and to
load others with bitter reproaches unsupported, nay, contradicted,
by facts, is Colonel Napier's mode of doing justice, and of re-
dressing injustice. In place of amending his own recollections
and opinions by those of others, and adding further information,
by means of original documents, to the stock already possessed,
he has departed, without giving any explanation of his motives,
or any notice even of the fact, from records of unquestionable
authenticity already before the public; and has represented, on
the authority of interested parties, many transactions in a very
different point of view from that in which they appear when the
light of unbiassed contemporaneous testimony is made to fall
unexpectedly upon them.

We shall, at our leisure, continue our examination of this
equally pompous, flagitious, and shallow History.

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