SPAIN. 
432 
• On the 2d of April, the Duke Generalissimo published 
from Bayonne a proclamation announcing the motives from 
which he was about to cross their frontiers. On the fol¬ 
lowing day, a general order was issued to the army, explain? 
the objects of the war, and enjoining to the troops - that the 
strictest regard should be paid to the religion, laws, and pro¬ 
perty of the Spanish people. 
While the French army yet lay encamped on the right of 
the Bidassoa, an attempt was made by a party of French 
military refugees on the opposite bank, to shake their alle¬ 
giance by raising the tri-coloured flag, and the cry of “ The 
Emperor for ever!” The French troops, however, replied 
only by a discharge of grape. The next day, the whole 
army crossed the river, and the Duke d’Angouleme enter¬ 
ed Irun the same evening, amid the congratulations, it is 
said, of the clergy, and the acclamations of the populace. 
This reception was hailed as of favourable promise for the 
disposition of the nation in general; nor, in truth, were the 
expectations thus created disappointed by the event. 
We have no very precise accounts of the amount of the 
Spanish army at the commencement of the war, but it has 
been roughly estimated as follows:—the army of the North, 
under Ballasteros; that of Catalonia, under Mina; and that 
of the centre, under Abisbal, are computed to have consisted 
of about 20,000 men each. The armies of Gallicia and 
Asturias, under Morillo, might amount to 10,000 men, and 
about 50,000 might be dispersed in the several garrisons. It 
was upon these last that the Spanish Government chiefly 
relied. As soon as the French had crossed the Bidassoa, 
Ballasteros immediately fell back behind the Ebro, leaving 
strong garrisons in the fortresses of Saint Sebastian and 
Pampeluna. Having in vain summoned these places to 
surrender, it was found necessary to blockade them ; and the 
third corps of the French army was left behind, charged with 
that duty. 
• On the 17th, the head-quarters were established at Vittoria, 
and remained there for some short time. Here they learnt 
that Bilboa had surrendered to Gen. Canuel, and Pancorbo 
to the Duke of Reggio, who had crossed the Ebro, and 
moved upon Burgos. The population in general, seemed to 
evince the same friendly disposition towards their invaders, 
as had been manifested upon their first entrance into Navarre. 
The strictest discipline w'as observed in the French army, 
and immediate payment was regularly made for all,that they 
consumed. 
Ballasteros, in the meanwhile, retired down the course of 
the Ebro, followed by the second corps under Molitor. He 
did not attempt to defend Saragossa, which was evacuated 
by the garrison and the militia on the approach of the 
French; but continued his retreat in the direction of Valen¬ 
cia, with the purpose of attacking the castle of Murviedro, 
which had, early in the year, been surprised and taken by a 
corps of royalists. Molitor followed, but more slowly, and 
with precaution, leaving a corps of the royalist force before 
tire fortresses of Monzon and Lerida. 
The fourth corps, under Moncey, had not entered Spain 
until the 18th of April. Mina fell back to a strong position 
upon the right bank of the Fluvia, between Castel-follit and 
Bezalu; the French general immediately took measures to 
attack him; but his movements were delayed by the swell¬ 
ing of the river; and before they could be brought to bear 
upon his enemy, Mina thought proper to abandon his posi¬ 
tion, and retreat by the way of Olot, upon Vich. Moncey 
then moved upon Gerona, May 2d, which spontaneously 
opened its gates at his approach, as did most of the neigh¬ 
bouring towns in Upper Catalonia. 
In the meanwhile, the necessary measures having been 
taken for effecting the blockade of the fortresses of Pampe¬ 
luna, St. Sebastian, Santona, and Santander, the first corps 
with the reserve moved upon Burgos, which they entered on 
the 9th of May, and thence proceeded towards Madrid in two 
columns; the one under the Duke of Reggio, marching by 
Valladolid; the other, under the Commander-in-chief in 
person, by Aranda and Buitrago. It was at this last place. 
where he arrived on the 17th, that the Duke d’Angouleme 
received a flag of truce from the Count del Abisbal and the 
municipality of Madrid, proposing that a part of the garrison 
should be allowed to remain in the capital until the arrival 
of the French army; with the view of preventing the dis¬ 
orders which might arise among the various parties which 
divide the populace, if they were left to themselves. Ac¬ 
cordingly, a convention was agreed upon, by which it 
was arranged that a corps, under the command of General 
Zayas, should remain at Madrid until the 24th, on which 
day the French were expected to enter the city. 
Circumstances however occurred to prevent the execution 
of this arrangement. Ever since the departure of the king 
and the Cortes, the capital had been the prey of violent 
agitation. As in all periods of public misfortune, the popu¬ 
lace began to attribute their reverses to the treachery of their 
chiefs. The Count del Abisbal was reproached with having 
made no dispositions to arrest the progress of the enemy at 
the passes of Guadarrama and Somo Sierra; and it was 
rumoured that he had entered into negociations with several 
individuals of the opposite party, with the view of bring¬ 
ing about a change of the Constitution. Two letters, which 
appeared in the public papers at this time, sufficiently in¬ 
dicated what were the grounds of these suspicions. The one 
dated May ]], was addressed by the Count de Montijo to 
Abisbal. In this, the Count described the desperate state 
of the constitutional government, and the evident disaffec¬ 
tion of the public mind, contrasting, in that respect, the 
circumstances under which the country now stood, with 
those in which she was placed at the period of the French 
invasion of 1808. He therefore called upon Abisbal to come 
to a decision which alone could save the country. 
Abisbal’s answer to this appeal was dated the 15th. He 
observed, that it was his duty as a soldier to obey the king’s 
government, whatever might be his persuasion of incapacity 
of the present ministry. And this duty he was resolved to 
observe; but he added, that, as a Spanish citizen, he was 
of opinion, that the majority of the nation was unfavourable 
to the Constitution ; and he stated the means which he 
thought might be employed to re-establish peace and union. 
Abisbal appears to have sent copies of these letters to Mina, 
Morillo, and Ballasteros, and also to have communicated 
them to several of the superior officers of his army; meeting, 
however, with an evident manifestation of dissent on the part 
of these last, he endeavoured to counteract the bad impres¬ 
sion he had made, by publishing in the papers a disavowal of 
the interpretation which had been put upon the expressions 
of his letter, and a declaration of his unqualified adherence 
to the Constitution of 1812. His officers, however, had by 
this time lost all confidence in their chief; and on the 
morning of the 18th, they waited upon him in a body, and 
reproached him for the treachery of his procedure. A 
violent altercation ensued, the result of which was, that the 
Count resigned his command, and shortly after left Madrid 
and retired to France. 
Upon the departure of Abisbal, the Marquis of Castel- 
rios took the command; and immediately adopted measures 
for evacuating the capital, leaving behind Zayas, with a 
corps of reserve, according to the arrangements that had 
been agreed upon. The 24th was, as w'e have said, the day 
fixed for the arrival of the French. On the 20th, however, 
the celebrated partisan Bessieres, unexpectedly made his 
appearance at the gate of Alcala, at the head of a column of 
about 1200 cavalry and infantry; having succeeded by 
forced marches in pushing on considerably in advance of 
the French. Zayas, imediately proceeded to the gate and 
entered upon a parley with the royalist chief; informing him 
of the convention which had been entered upon with the 
Duke d’Angouleme, and stating his determination not to 
deliver up the city, except according to the terms of that 
convention. He therefore desired Bessieresto withdraw his 
forces; but meeting with a positive refusal on his part, and 
finding there was a disposition on the part of some of the 
populace to favour the entrance of the royalist troops, Zayas 
gave 
