ened,
and sustained a signal defeat. The commander-in-chief himself lost an
arm: 7000 prisoners, eleven guns, and two eagles were taken; and it was
only the coming on of night that saved the army from utter destruction.
Wellington pursued the flying enemy as far as Valladolid, and then,
re-crossing the Douro, marched upon Madrid. King Joseph fled once more
at his approach, and the English were received with enthusiasm in the
capital of Spain.

Lord Wellington had thus ventured to place himself in the heart of
Spain, with, at most, 60,000 men, well-knowing that the French armies in
the Peninsula still mustered at the least 150,000 in the expectation
that so spirited a movement, coming after the glorious successes of
Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajos, and Salamanca, would effectually stimulate the
Spanish generals. Ballasteros in particular, he doubted not, would at
least take care to occupy all the attention of Soult, and prevent that
able leader from advancing out of the south. But the Spaniard's
egregious pride took fire at the notion of being directed by an
Englishman, and he suffered Soult to break up the siege of Cadiz, and
retire with all his army undisturbed towards the Sierra Morena. Lord
Wellington, incensed at this folly, was constrained to divide his army.
Leaving half at Madrid under Sir R. Hill, to check Soult, he himself
marched with the other for Burgos, by taking which great city he judged
he should have it in his power to overawe effectually the remains of the
army of Marmont. He invested Burgos accordingly on the 19th of
September, and continued the siege during five weeks, until Soult, with
a superior force, began to threaten Hill, and (Marmont's successor)
Clausel, having also received great reinforcements, appeared ready to
resume the offensive. Lord Wellington then abandoned the siege of Burgos
and commenced his retreat. He was joined in the course of it by Hill,
and Soult and Clausel then effected their junction also, in his
rear--their troops being nearly double his numbers. He retired leisurely
and deliberately as far as Ciudad Rodrigo--and thus closed the
Peninsular campaign of 1812. But in sketching its progress we have lost
sight for a moment of the still mightier movements in which Napoleon was
personally engaged upon another scene of action.

It has already been mentioned, that before the year 1811 reached its
close, the approach of a rupture with Russia was sufficiently indicated
in an edict of the