stic acclamations. Joseph fled to the left bank of the Tagus to
rally his army between Aranjuez and Toledo, leaving a garrison in
the Retiro palace. The troops found in the Retiro, however, were made
prisoners of war on the 14th of August, so that Lord Wellington had
complete possession of the Spanish capital. He appointed Don Carlos de
Espaha Governor of Madrid, and the new constitution which the Cortes had
made at Cadiz was proclaimed with great exultation. The air resounded
with the shouts of "Long live the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo! long live
Wellington!" Subsequently a deputation waited upon his lordship with a
congratulatory address, to which he wisely replied: "The events of the
war are in the hands of Providence."

In consequence of the capture of Madrid Soult raised the blockade of
Cadiz, abandoned the whole of Western Andalusia, and concentrated his
forces in Grenada. His retreat to Grenada was very disastrous: his army
suffered greatly from the attacks of the allied force of the English
and Spanish, the occasional attacks of the armed peasantry, and from the
excessive heat and famine. In the meantime General Hill advanced from
the Guadiana to the Tagus, and connected his operations with those of
Wellington. On his approach, Joseph Buonaparte abandoned the line of the
Tagus, and fell back to Almanza in Murcia, that he might preserve the
line of communication with Soult in Granada, and Suchet on the borders
of Valencia and Catalonia. By the close of August General Hill occupied
all the places on the south of Madrid, and which occupation enabled him
to cover the right of the allied army. These successes, however, were
far from completing the recovery of Spain, and the situation of Lord
Wellington in the Spanish capital was yet very critical. So ineffective
was the aid which the natives afforded, and so great the military power
which yet remained to be subdued, that a triumphant result was still
uncertain. In a little time, indeed, Lord Wellington saw himself menaced
by the three armies of the south, the centre, and the north, and he was
compelled to retreat from Madrid. Before he commenced his retreat he
made an attempt to capture Burgos: an attempt which failed chiefly
from want of the requisite means of success. Lord Wellington now
moved towards the Duero, and marched upon Salamanca, where he hoped
to establish himself; but Soult having united his forces with those
of Souham, which had advanced from Burgos, oblige