HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



187 



has been stated in the Spanish pa- 

 pers, to have fallen through death, 

 disease, or desertion, greatly short 

 of their compliments, or the num- 

 bers at which they were comput- 

 ed in the dispatches, at the end of 

 May, from Paris. An intercept- 

 ed letter from Buonaparte to Mas- 

 sena, published in the Spanish and 

 Portugueze Journals, contains an 

 answer to one from the general 

 demanding a reinforcement of not 

 less tiian 40,000 men. «' As to the 

 reinforcement you require," says 

 Napoleon, "it is impossible to send 

 you so many troops at the present 

 moment. x\s soon as it can be done, 

 you shall receive ever}' assistance 

 possible. Meanwhileyouraustcom- 

 pel the English to come to a ge- 

 neral engagement: if you are vic- 

 torious, tlie peninsula is ours ; if 

 you are beaten, luhich is not im- 

 probable, you will at least have so 

 weakened the enemy, as to find 

 means of making a good retreat.'' 

 The testimony of lettere, said to 

 have been intercepted, and pub- 

 lished by the opposite power at 

 war, is very equivocal ; and the 

 clause, which is not improbable, 

 in the present letter, looks a little 

 suspicious ; nevertheless it may 

 have a place here. If authentic, 

 it is important : if fictitious, it is a 

 proof and instance of that misera- 

 ble policy of publishing lies, to 

 which most belligerent powers of 

 the present times resort, oftener, 

 and more impudently, than those 

 of any former period. 

 • The fortress of Almeida, deem- 

 ed by General Dumourier, the 

 strongest in Portugal, stands on 

 the top of a high mountain, or 

 rather a lofty mountainous plain, 

 at the distance of 113 miles 

 N. E. from Lisbon. This elevated 



plain is divided by a very deep 

 valley, or rather an immense glen, 

 containing in its sinuosities, the 

 rapid river Coa, which, rushing 

 down amidst rifted rocks of gra- 

 nite, after being joined by three 

 small rivers, falls into the Ebro. 

 The Coa runs at the distance of 

 a mile from the town of Almeida. 

 It iiad six royal bastions of stone, 

 and as many ravelins. There was 

 a good ditch and covered way. 

 Nearly in the centre of the town, 

 on a lofty mound stood the castle 

 and magazines, wliich were bomb- 

 proof. Within its walls were 

 wells, and at a small distance a 

 fine spring of water. Tlie po- 

 pulation of Almeida did not ex- 

 ceed 2500. Tiie fortress was 

 garrisoned by 5C00 men, partly 

 English, partly Portugueze, but 

 the whole commanded by British 

 officers. The governor was Bri- 

 gadier General Cox. 



The trenches were opened be- 

 fore Almeida in the night be- 

 tween the 15th and 16th of Au- 

 gust. The attention of the be- 

 sieged was occupied by a false 

 attack directed against the north 

 side of the town : by the favour 

 of which circumstance, 2000 la- 

 bourers dug the first parallel, 3 feel 

 in depth and ."00 fathoms in 

 length, through a rocky stratum, 

 under the necessity of cover- 

 ing themselves every instant by 

 gabions. The trench was after- 

 wards enlarged by blowing up the 

 rocks. In the night between the 

 24th and 25th the second parallel 

 was opened in the rock, within 

 less than 150 fathoms of the place. 

 A terrible fire from (he castle ob- 

 liged the men to quit the trench in 

 the day-time, but they return- 

 ed and enlarged it by the means 



