CHAP. of the Royal Council and of the Council of the XIV. 1808. December. Their address to the Madrid. Indies, that eleven members of the former, and nine of the latter, including their presidents, should follow the Central Junta, and with two members from each of the other tribunals, form a Consejo reunido, or united Council. The other members were commanded to leave Madrid, and retire either to their own places of abode in the provinces, or whither they would, there to receive their salaries, assist the government with their advice and services when called upon, and promote by all means in their power the national cause. Too many of these persons were found wanting in the hour of trial, some in weakness submitting to the Intruder rather than endure the ills of honourable poverty, others taking an active and infamous part in his service. The proposed Council was formed of those who repaired to Seville; and those who, from whatever cause, arrived at a later time, found from the Junta an indulgence which would not have been granted them by the people, less charitable, and perhaps less just; they were received with respect, and their salaries continued to them. The agents of the Intruder knowing how depeople of sirable for their views it would be to bring the national government into disrepute, reported that the Junta had sanctioned and approved the capitulation of the capital. This the Junta contradicted in a manly proclamation, and they exhorted the inhabitants of Madrid to bear in mind that the temporary occupation of their buildings XIV. 1808. by the enemy was of little moment, while he was CHAP. not master of their hearts. "Continue to resist him," said they, "in the very bosom of your December. families; place no confidence in the promises ofthe French; remember that they have promised happiness to every people, and have made every people miserable. Keep alive your hope, retain your fortitude, and your deliverance will be glorious in proportion to the greatness of the danger which you have encountered." They made no attempt to conceal the extent of their disasters; but they attributed them to the inexperience of their troops, and denied that the monarchy was comprehended within the narrow precincts of the metropolis. "Were you to believe the enemy," said they," our armies have vanished like the smoke of the battle, and Spain has neither forces wherewith to oppose her invaders, nor authority to regulate her councils, nor resources to save her from destruction. All this is false. The government which has been chosen by the people never attracted more respect, never felt more strongly the strong principle of union, and never found more ardour in the public cause. The provinces have redoubled their exertions at its voice, and new enlistments, new contributions, and new sacrifices have already filled the void occasioned by our losses." A splendid instance of patriotism in one of the nobles was at this time made public; the Duke of Medina Sidonia, whose property had just been confiscated in Madrid by the intrusive government, had from the commencement of the XIV. CHAP. struggle made a free gift every month of 2500 dollars, in addition to his share of the public burthens, and to various donations of necessaries for the army. 1808. December. ledo. While the Junta was making exertions which were well seconded by the zeal of the people, the whole of those extensive plains, which form the centre or table-land of Spain, lay at the mercy of the invaders. On the 11th of December Victor had his detachments in Aranjuez and in Ocaña; The French on the 19th he occupied Toledo. The surrender enter To- of this ancient and famous city, after its professions of determined patriotism, was one of those circumstances for which the Spaniards were reproached, by those who had depreciated their exertions, and despaired of their cause. Yet if the Toledans did not signalize themselves by heroic sacrifices, like the Zaragozans, there was no want of a right spirit, nor had they been deficient in their duty. In the spring of the preceding year Dupont and Vedel entered that city with their divisions, and raised a most oppressive contribution. But no sooner had they proceeded on their way to Andalusia, than a Junta was formed, consisting of the most respectable citizens: they could not raise forces themselves, being surrounded by the enemy, and having no military means; but they ordered as many of the districts in that kingdom as could exert themselves to act under the instructions of the Junta of Badajoz; they contributed large sums of money; and they refused obedience to four XIV. 1808. December. successive orders which enjoined them to pro- CHAP. claim the Intruder, though it was announced, that, if they continued in their disobedience, 5000 French would come, and perform the ceremony sword in hand. The evacuation of Madrid relieved them from this danger. And when the victorious army of Castaños was on its way to the capital, Toledo supported 10,000 men of that army for three weeks, made a donation of 300,000 reales to them on their departure, equipped many of their officers, and clothed a great proportion of the men. This was not all. In two months it raised and equipped two regiments of infantry, and a corps of 700 horse; for which funds were raised by a subscription, all persons, from the archbishop to the poorest peasant, contributing according to their means. The university also raised a corps of students; and after the siege of Zaragoza the pectoral of the archbishop, valued at 150,000 reales, was converted into money to relieve the inhabitants of that heroic city. After the defeat at Burgos, the Toledans applied to government for arms to defend their walls. This was the mode of warfare to which the Junta, if they had rightly understood the nature of their own strength, should have resorted; and this system of defence was advised by the English ambassador, Mr. Frere, than whom no man judged more generously, nor more wisely, of the Spanish character and the Spanish cause. But this essential precaution had been neglected; and when the Toledans applied for XIV. 1808. December. CHAP. artillery and ammunition, disaster followed so close upon disaster, that there was no leisure for attending to their request, urgent as it was. What then could be done? They sent off their moveable property to Seville; 12,000 swords also were dispatched to the same place, from that fabric which for so many centuries has been famous, and which probably owes its original celebrity to workmen from Damascus. The Junta, the legitimate authorities, and all the most distinguished inhabitants, left the city; neither the threats nor promises of the Intruder could induce them to return: they retired to the free part of the peninsula, submitting to poverty with that dignified composure which resulted from the consciousness of having discharged their duty. This was the fate of the parents, while their sons, in the corps of students, fought and bled for the independence of Spain. It is plain, therefore, that though the gates of Toledo were opened to the enemy, that same spirit still existed within its walls which, during the war of the Commons of Castille, rendered it the last hold of Spanish liberty. Defence of From Toledo, from Aranjuez, and from Ocaña, parties of French cavalry overran the open and defenceless plains of lower La Mancha, foraging and plundering the towns and villages with impunity as far as Manzanares. The La Manchans, relying, like the government, too confidently upon the resistance which regular armies and the modes of regular warfare could oppose to |