636 
DEFENCE OF MONTSERRAT. 
From a height near this hermitage, 
pace de Schilling pointed out the road 
below, which he took when he headed 
the monks and the peasants of the estates 
belonging to the monastery, gaye battle 
to the French, and defeated them. Of 
this singular conflict he furnished me 
with the following modest, brief, and 
simple, narrative in writing: 
— “Lam by birth a German nobleman, 
and was formerly in the army: when we 
received intelligence of the French haying 
parched from Barcelona to surprize us,- 
I put myself at the head of our peasants, 
and, fallowed by some of the monks, ad- 
vanced to engage the military banditti. 
We met at the yillage of Bruch, near 
Montserrat; the enemy had about four 
thousand chosen men, well equipped. 
My rustic force was about the same 
nuinber, but badly armed, and few of 
them accustomed to military manceuvres, 
However, full of loyalty and ardour, in 
defence of our sacred mountain, and, 
committing ourselves to the protection of 
Gad, we gaye them battle, and, after an 
obstinate and bloody contest, succeeded 
in driving them as far as Martorel, making 
in the course of three hours great 
slaughter amongst them. In this battle, 
one of the hermits fought bravely, and 
died gloriously. When the enemy halted 
at Molins de Rey, upon their retreat, I 
dispatched a messenger to the general 
commanding the French forces, with a 
ehallenge to meet me in personal com- 
bat with the sabre, but he refused, and 
_ with his forces returned to Barcelona.” 
“© Qn the 24th of the same month, the 
French returned in considerable farce, to 
the attack, but were again repulsed. © In 
this affair [slew the French commander.” 
- On the Sd of January, 1809, about 
-forir o’clock in the afternoon, the enemy, 
amounting to about one thousand nine 
hundred men, under the command of 
General Davoust, again suddenly and 
unexpectedly appeared before the moun- 
tain. The monks fled to the summit, 
and I went to collect my peasants.. The 
French entered the monastery, where, 
_after killing two of cur people left in it, 
they broke open our apartments, and 
carried off whatever was easily remov- 
able, even the linen which he had left 
behind. Davoust, with solemn affec- 
tation of picty, and declaring himself to 
be a good catholic, would not permit any 
of the soldiers to enter the church, His 
object was to secure a choice of the pre- 
cious treasure of our Virgin, which be 
Sir John Carr’s Travels in Spaine : 
doubtless felt sure of finding, but we had 
previously buried it, and the secret was, 
confided to myself and two of my bre- 
thren. Accordingly, the French com- 
mander returned to his impatient sol. 
diers, who soon heard the mortifying In- 
telligence, that the riches of our Lady of 
the Mount had been removed, and that 
no one knew where. : ; 
“The next morning, the miscreants 
hearing that our peasants were collect. 
ing, retired about eight o'clock: as they 
descended, we dispatched about thirty 
of them by firing, and hurling down large 
stones upon them, from the heights 
which we occupied. We afterwards 
heard that General Duhesme ordered 
Davoust to be put under arrest for at- 
tacking our mountain without orders.” 
Padre de Schilling informed me, that 
the present populauon of the mountain 
was as follows: 
Sacerdoci, or monks 2 = 56, 
Laici, or lay brothers = = = 17 
Picoli, or young choristers - 24 
Heremetos, or hermits - = @ 
Emigrants from Barcelona + 70 
Total 174 
COUNTRY OF MAJORCA, 
Having visited every otject worthy of 
notice in the city of Palma, I joined an 
agreeable party on mules to the ccle- 
brated ‘monastery of Valdemusa os 
Mosa. Our nde, which Jasted about 
three hours, lay through an. exquisitely, 
rich, and highly cultivated, country, con- 
sisting of corn-land, vineyards, and 
woods of olive, carob, almond, pome- 
granate, and apple-trees. Male and 
female peasants with long hair, generally 
plaited, wearing large black felt hats, and 
dresses of blue serge, much in the style 
of those of Helland, displaying neatness 
and contentment, divided the labours of 
the field. Instead of the mantilla, a 
head-dress called the rebuzillo, or double 
handkerchief, is worn by the female, 
which covers the head, is fastened onder 
the chin, falls over the shoulders and 
back, and is far trom being becoming. 
The male peasants generally wear leather 
shoes. and spatterdastes. In the streets 
of Palma, Imet several youths attired as 
ecclesiastics, but I found that they did — 
nat belong to the church, and wore this — 
dress only through econgmy, many of 
them not having a shirt to wear. ie 
It was now the almond-harvest, and 
merry groups, young and old, were ass 
sembled to collect this delicious fruit 
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