354 
general, but ta describe it is impossible ; 
we charged and were repulsed, and 
charged again; suflice it to say, that at 
night the French began toretreat, and the 
victory was consequently ours— 
_€€ But what brave and loyal heroes 
Saw the sun of morning bright! 
Ab, condemn’d by cruel fortune, 
Ne’er tosee the star of might }” 
Ft was, indeed, 
*« A battle hardly} bravely fought, 
A victory for which the conquérors mourn’d, 
So many fell. "= 
The French are said to have had five 
and forty thousand men in this action, 
withy King Joseph in person, 
however, had the command, and was se- 
conded by Sebastiant. Our loss ‘is esti- 
mated, and that pretty accurately, at five 
thousand men, in killed and wounded ; 
that of the French, by their own confes- 
sion, exceeds double the number. 
A our army, and with our brigade, we 
Jost the gallant General M‘Kenzie, and a 
very large proportion of officers; the 
plains were covered with the wounded 
and dead ; whilst, horrible to relate, the 
stubble caught fire, and many disabled 
wretches were burnt to death! Of this 
action, the Spaniards were quiet specta- 
tors. On the following morning, the 
French army having entirely disap- 
peared, we applied ourselves to searching 
out, and carrying of, the wounded. But 
such scenes as the field and town pre- 
sented on this, and the two succeeding 
days, exceeds human credibility ; as much 
as it overpowered the most unfeeling 
amongst us. The God ‘of mercy grant 
**Tne’er may look upon the like again.” 
If it was urged against the medical 
board, during Sir John Moore’s campaign 
in this country, that many perished for 
want of surgical assistance, what shall 
be said now, “when hundreds of brave and 
loyal fellows are daily dying from the 
same defect? This ought surely to bea 
subject of solemn’ investigation. Evi- 
dence to the fact cannot be wanting, itis 
notorious to every officer in thisarmy; and 
no man in any department can have the 
hardihood to deny it. 
The enemy plundered such of our offi- 
cersas they laid held of, of their watches, 
epaulets, and money; but in other re- 
spects, they observ ed the dictates of hu-, 
manity: to some they,administered wine, 
to others water, and placed others out of, 
the battle’s heat. To ene friend, of mine, 
they offered a service,, which I believe. 
few of us, an apy situations however anisers 
On. Néwspaper Representatwns. 
Victor, 
—[Nov. 4, 
able, would willingly accept. Seeing 
him severely wounded, and covered with 
blood, they asked him,. Lf they should ter- 
minate his sufferings? This favour he de- 
chned, and is now doing well. . My poor 
friend er indeed complained, that to hin 
they behaved otherwise, havingkicked and 
> pushed him in an unteéling manner; yet 
he spoke nut of them with xancour = but, 
having lingered for two days, he died the 
death ofa “Hero, with. the resignation of a 
Christian-~ 
¢ Peace to his honest spirit 17 
T am loth to dwell upon, yet unwilling to 
quit, the theme; and it surely might be 
nseful to us all to enquire, ~ 
66 When his last words, gre nature sunk 15 
rest, 
A meek Gein to his God express'd ; 
When his last look, ere thought and feeling, 
fied, 
A mingled gleam of hope and triumph shed; — 
What to his soul its glad assurance gave, 
It’s hope in death, it’s triumph o'er the 
grave?” 
i ee 
Lo the Editor of tie nantes Mogacine. 
SIR, 
I BEG the favour of you to insert the 
following statement in your long- 
established and well-conducted Reposis 
tory. 
fn page 391, of a “book lately pub- 
lished by TEE sal had occasion LO ins 
troduce a passage, . which I had_ read in 
the Evening Mail, of June.17, 1808, 
which appeared, also, i in another ondon. 
paper, without any material variation ;, 
and which, so far as my information‘ exe 
tended, had been neither. contradicted, 
nor qualified i in any of our ‘newspapers, 
But, previously to making any remarks 
upon the contents of the aboye-menti- 
oned passage, I said, in express terms, 
that I did not “venture to answer for the 
accuracy ofa newspaper representation ;’ 
and of course I was prepared to, avail 
myself of such credible ‘testimony, as 
might enable me to correct any mistake 
committed by the reporter. Since the 
publication of my book, I have had the. 
satisfaction to be told by a member of 
parliament, that the Kr boys capitally, 
convicted at Chester, did not. suffer. 
judgment, but were transported for life ;. 
that this mitigation of their sentence was. 
mentioned in the House of Commons by 
Mr. Justice Burton, mie tried them, and. 
» he meant to app ly, the, words, “ pro, 
luction of iniquity” not to “the collective. 
provisions of the new statute, as it passed 
ana ‘ 
5: 
