Colonel Casabianca, whom Masséna had sent with despatches to the Emperor, had returned with the Count of Erlon, bringing information that Marshal Soult, who was in command of a powerful army in Andalusia, had received orders to enter Portugal and join the commander-in-chief.

Disquieted by our preparations, and wishing to know in what condition our works were, Wellington employed a strong measure which he had often found successful. One very dark night an Englishman, dressed in officer's uniform, got into a small boat on the left bank a little above Punhete, landed in silence, passed through the French outposts, and at daybreak walked boldly towards our workshops examining everything at his ease as if he had belonged to the staff of our army. Our artillerymen and engineers coming to their work in the morning perceived the stranger, arrested him, and brought him to General Eblé, to whom this scoundrel impudently declared that he was an English officer, and that, in disgust at a piece of favouritism which had been committed to his injury, he had deserted in order to take service in our Irish legion. On being taken before the commander-in-chief he not only repeated his story, but offered to give detailed information as to the positions of the English troops, and point out the places where we might with most advantage cross the Tagus. You will hardly believe that Masséna and Pelet, much as they despised the fellow, put faith in his tale, and wishing to profit by his advice, spent whole days over the maps with him, taking notes of what he said. We of the staff were not so much taken in, for nothing could persuade us that an English officer would have deserted, and we declared plainly that in our opinion the pretended captain was nothing but a clever spy sent by Wellington; but nothing that we could say shook Masséna's and Pelet's belief. Yet our conjectures were well founded, as it was soon proved, when General Junot came to headquarters, and his aide-de-camp recognized the so-called English officer as having acted the deserter once before in 1808, when the French army was occupying Lisbon. Junot also remembered him perfectly, although he was now wearing an infantry uniform instead of the hussar uniform which he wore at Lisbon, and advised Masséna to shoot him. But the stranger protested that he had never served in the cavalry, and to prove his identity showed a captain's commission with which Wellington had probably supplied him in order to enable him to pass for what he professed to be. Masséna therefore did not like to order his arrest, but his suspicions were aroused, and he ordered the commanding gendarme to have him closely watched. The spy got an inkling of this, and the following night got down very cleverly from a third-floor window and reached the neighbourhood of Tancos, whence he probably swam across the Tagus, for some of his clothes were found on the bank. Thus it was clearly shown that he was an agent of the English general, and that Masséna had been tricked. His wrath fell upon Pelet, and rose to fury when he discovered that the sham deserter, who had been so imprudently admitted into his study, had walked off with a small note-book in which the effective strength of each regiment was entered. Later on we learnt that this clever scamp was no officer in the English army, but a captain of Dover smugglers, who, to abundant resource and audacity, added the power of speaking several languages and of wearing every kind of disguise.

Meanwhile time passed and brought no change in our position, for although the Emperor had thrice bidden him to reinforce Masséna, Soult, imitating the attitude of Marshal Victor towards himself in 1809, had stopped on the way about the end of January to besiege Badajos. We could hear the firing distinctly, and Masséna regretted much that his colleague should be wasting precious time on a siege instead of marching towards him just when we were about to be compelled by scarcity of provisions to abandon Portugal. Even after the capture of Badajos, the Emperor blamed Marshal Soult's disobedience and said, 'He captured me a town, and lost me a kingdom.'

On February 5 Foy rejoined the army, bringing up a reinforcement of 2,000 men. He came from Paris, where he had held long conferences with the Emperor, and announced afresh that Soult was soon coming to join us. But as the whole of February went by and he did not appear, the Count of Erlon, whom by an inexplicable blunder the Emperor had not placed under Masséna's orders, declared that his troops could not live any longer at Leyria, and that he was going to march back to Spain. Marshal Ney and General Reynier seized this opportunity to set forth again the misery of their cause in a country which was completely ruined, and the commander-in-chief was obliged at last, after several months of obstinate resistance, to consent to a retreat towards the frontier, hoping to find there the means of supporting his army without entirely abandoning Portugal, and to invade again as soon as the reinforcements arrived. Our retreat began on March 6th. General Eblé had with much regret employed the previous days in destroying the barges which he had taken so much trouble to build, but in the hope that part of his preparations might one day be of use to a French army he had all the iron-work secretly buried in the presence of twelve artillery officers, and drew up a report which must be in the Ministry of War, showing the place where this precious depository is to be found. Its position will probably remain unknown for many centuries. The preparations were kept so secret and executed during the night of March 5 in such good order, that the English, whose outposts were only separated from ours by the little stream of the Rio Mayor, did not discover our movement till the morning of the next day, by which time General Reynier's troops were five leagues away. Lord Wellington, in his uncertainty whether the object of our movement was to cross the Tagus at Punhete or really to retire towards Spain, lost twelve hours in hesitation; and by the time he resolved to follow, which he did without energy and at some distance, the French army had gained a march upon him. Meanwhile, General Junot, having gone prancing imprudently in front of the English hussars, was struck on the nose by a bullet; but the wound did not hinder him from retaining the command of the 8th corps during the rest of the campaign. 1The army moved in several columns on Pombal, Marshal Ney with the 6th corps forming the rear-guard, and valiantly defending his ground foot by foot. As for Masséna, roused at length from his torpor, he gained between the 5th and 9th of March three days on the enemy, and completely organized his retreat—one of the most difficult operations of war. Contrary to his usual custom, also, he was so cheerful as to surprise us all.

The French army, continuing its retreat with regularity and in compact order, was leaving Pombal when the rear-guard was briskly attacked by the advanced guard of the enemy. Marshal Ney drove them back; and in order to bar their passage completely and save our baggage wagons, he set fire to the Town. The English historians 2have cried out against this as a cruel action—as if a general's first consideration should not be the safety of his army. Pombal and its neighbourhood forming a long and narrow defile through which the enemy must pass, the best way to stop them was to burn the town. It was an extreme measure, but one which in similar cases the most civilised nations have been compelled to take, and the English themselves have often acted in the same manner.

On March 12 there was a smart engagement before Redinha. Marshal Ney having found a defensible position, decided to halt there, and Lord Wellington, taking this as a challenge, sent forward a strong body. After a hot action Ney repulsed the enemy, and continued his retreat briskly, but with the loss of two or three hundred men. The enemy lost more than a thousand, 3our artillery having played on his masses for some time, while he had only two light guns in position. This engagement was of as little use to the English as to us. Why should Wellington, knowing that Ney had orders to retire, and that the French were in declared retreat be in such a hurry to attack merely in order to make Ney resume his march a little sooner than he would otherwise have done? I was present at this affair, and deplored the false pride of the two generals which cost so many brave men their lives with no result.

The main French army took up a position between Condeixa and Cardaxo. The critical moment of our retreat had arrived. Masséna, not wishing to leave Portugal, had resolved to cross the Mondego at Coimbra, and await orders and reinforcements from the Emperor in the fertile district between that town and Oporto; but Trant had cut the bridge of Coimbra, and the Mondego was so much swollen as to be unfordable. The only course open was, therefore, to reach Fuente de Murcelha, and there cross the rapid torrent of the Alva. Accordingly, on the 13th the headquarters started in that direction. We ought to have reached Miranda de Corvo the same day; but for some unknown reason the marshal established himself at Fuente-Cuberta, where, believing himself covered by the divisions which he had ordered Ney to post at Cardaxo and Condeixa, he had with him only a guard of thirty grenadiers and twenty-five dragoons. But Ney, under plea of an attack by superior forces, had abandoned these points; giving notice to Masséna so late that he did not get the letter till some hours after the execution of the movement, and might have been captured with all his staff. In fact, believing that he was under the safeguard of several French divisions, and finding the place agreeable and the weather fine, he had ordered his dinner to be served in the open air. We were sitting quietly at table under the trees near the entrance of the village, when suddenly there appeared a detachment of fifty English hussars, less than a hundred yards away. The grenadiers surrounded Masséna while the aides-de-camp and the dragoons mounted and rode towards the enemy. As they fled at once, we supposed they were some stragglers, seeking to rejoin their army; but we soon saw an entire regiment, and perceived that the neighbouring hillsides were covered with English troops who had almost completely surrounded Fuente-Cuberta. The imminent danger in which the headquarters were placed was due to a mistake on the part of Ney. Thinking that the commander-in-chief had had his letter, he ordered all his divisions to evacuate Cardaxo and Condeixa, thus uncovering Fuente-Cuberta. The enemy had come up in silence, and you may judge of our astonishment; but luckily night was at hand, and a thick fog rising. The English never dreaming that the French commander would be thus separated from his army, took our group for a rear- guard, which they did not venture to attack; but it is certain that if the hussars had made a resolute charge, they would have carried off Masséna and all who were with him. Naturally when the English heard of Masséna's narrow escape they made the most of it; and Napier avers that he only escaped their hussars by taking the feathers out of his hat. Unfortunately for this story, marshals did not wear plumes.

That evening the headquarters left Fuente-Cuberta very quietly, though several regiments of the enemy were close by; one posted on some rising ground which our road crossed. To get it out of the way, the marshal employed an artifice of which the enemy, to whom French was familiar often made use against us. Knowing that my brother spoke English well, he gave him instructions; and Adolphe, advancing towards the foot of the hill and keeping in shadow, called out to the commanding officer that Lord Wellington ordered him to bear to the right, and take up a position which he indicated, in another direction than that which we were following. The colonel, unable to see my brother's uniform, took him for an English aide-de-camp, and obeyed. When he was out of the way, we passed on quickly, glad to escape a new danger, and joined the 6th corps before daylight.

During this long and toilsome march, Masséna's attention was much occupied with the danger to which Mme N—— was exposed. Several times her horse fell over fragments of rock invisible in the darkness, but although cruelly bruised, the brave woman picked herself up. After several of these falls, however, she could neither remount her horse nor walk on foot and had to be carried by grenadiers. What would have happened to her if we had been attacked, I do not know. The marshal, imploring us all the time not to abandon her, said repeatedly: 'What a mistake I made in bringing a woman to the war!' However, we got out of the critical situation into which Ney had brought us.

On the following day, March 14, after beating back a smart attack upon his rear-guard, Masséna posted the mass of his troops in a strong position in front of Miranda de Corvo, in order to give the artillery and baggage wagons time to pass the defile beyond the town. Seeing the French army halted, Lord Wellington brought up a strong force, and everything promised a serious engagement when Masséna summoned his lieutenants to receive his instructions. All but Ney came at once, and as he did not arrive the commander-in-chief ordered Major Pelet and me to go and ask him to come quickly. This errand, which seemed an easy one to discharge, nearly cost me my life.

The French army was drawn up on ground descending gently in the form of an amphitheatre towards a large crook lying between two broad hills, over the summits of which passed country roads, leading to Miranda. At the moment when Pelet and I galloped off to execute the marshals order, the English skirmishers appeared in the distance, coming up to attack the two hills. In order to be more certain of finding Marshal Ney, my companion and I separated. Pelet took the road on the left, I that on the right, passing through a wide clearing, in which were our outposts. Hearing that Marshal Ney had passed by, less than a quarter of an hour before, I felt bound to hasten to meet him, and just as I hoped to come up with him, I heard several shots, and bullets whistled past my ears. I was no great distance from the enemy's skirmishers, posted in the woods surrounding the clearing. Although I knew that Marshal Ney had a strong escort, I was uneasy on his account, fearing that the English might have cut him off, until I saw him on the other side of the brook. Pelet was with him, and both were going in the direction of Masséna. So, being sure that the orders had been conveyed, I was about to return, when a young English light infantry officer trotted up on his pony, crying, 'Stop, Mr. Frenchman; I should like to have a little fight with you!' I saw no need to reply to this bluster, and was making my way towards our outposts, 500 yards in arrear, while the Englishman followed me, heaping insults on me. At first I took no notice, but presently he called out, 'I can see by your uniform that you are on the staff of a marshal, and I will put in the London papers that the sight of me was enough to frighten away one of Masséna's or Ney's cowardly aides-de-camp!' I admit that it was a serious error on my part, but I could no longer endure this impudent challenge coolly, so, drawing my sword, I dashed furiously at my adversary. But just as I was about to meet him, I heard a rustling in the wood, and out came two English hussars, galloping to cut off my retreat. I was caught in a trap, and understood that only a most energetic defence could save me from the disgrace of being taken prisoner, through my own fault, in sight of the whole French army, which was witness to this unequal combat. So I flew upon the English officer; we met; he gave me a slash across the face, I ran my sword into his throat. His blood spurted over me, and the wretch fell from his horse to the ground, which he bit in his rage. Meanwhile, the two hussars were hitting me all over, chiefly on the head. In a few seconds my shako, my wallet, and my pelisse were in strips, though I was not myself wounded by any of their blows. At length, however, the elder of the two hussars, a grizzled old soldier, let me have more than an inch of his point in my right side. I replied with a vigorous backhander; my blade struck his teeth and passed between his jaws, as he was in the act of shouting, slitting his mouth to the ears. He made off promptly, to my lively satisfaction for he was by far the braver and more energetic of the two. When the younger man found himself left alone with me, he hesitated for a moment, because as our horses' heads were touching, he saw that to turn his back to me was to expose himself to be hit. However, on seeing several soldiers coming to my aid, he made up his mind, but he did not escape the dreaded wound, for in my anger I pursued him for some paces and gave him a thrust in the shoulder, which quickened his speed. During this fight, which lasted less time than it has taken to tell it, our scouts had come up quickly to set me free, and on the other side the English soldiers had marched towards the place where their officer had fallen. The two groups were firing at each other, and I was very near getting in the way of the bullets from both sides. But my brother and Ligniville, who had seen me engaged with the English officer and his two men, had hastened up to me, and I was badly in want of their help, for I was losing so much blood from the wound in my side that was growing faint, and I could not have stayed on my horse if they had not held me up. As soon as I rejoined the staff, Masséna said, taking my hand, 'Well done; rather too well done! A field officer has no business to expose himself in fighting at the outposts.' He was quite right but when I told him the motives which had led me on, he blamed me less, and the more fiery Ney, remembering his own hussar days, cried, 'Upon my word, in Marbot's place I should have done the same!' All the generals and my comrades came to express their concern, while Dr. Brisset was attending to me. The wound in my cheek was not important; in a month's time it had healed over, and you can scarcely see the mark of it along my left whisker. But the thrust in my right side was dangerous, especially in the middle of a long retreat, in which I was compelled to travel on horseback, without being able to get the rest which a wounded man needs. Such, my children, was the result of my fight, or, if you like, my prank at Miranda de Corvo. You have still got the shako which I wore, and the numerous notches with which the English sabres have adorned it prove that the two hussars did not let me off. I brought away my wallet also, the sling of which was cut in three places, but it has been mislaid. As I said, at the moment when I was sent in search of Ney, the French army was drawn up in its position, commanding Miranda de Corvo, expecting an attack. However, Wellington, deterred no doubt by his losses on the previous days, checked the march of his troops, and Masséna, seeing this determined under cover of the approaching night to pass through the town and long defile of Miranda. I was in a painful position, having been on the march for two days and a night, and now severely wounded and weakened by loss of blood, being obliged to pass another night on horseback. The roads were fearfully crowded with baggage and artillery wagons and numerous columns of troops, against which I was always running in the pitchy darkness. To crown our disasters, we came in for a heavy storm. I was soon wet through, and sat shivering on my horse, for I knew that if I got off the warm myself, I should not have the strength to mount again. Meanwhile my wound caused me acute pain; so you may judge how I suffered during the cruel night.

On the morning of the 15th the army reached the banks of the Ceira, opposite Foz de Arunce, a small town on a hill commanding the river and the level ground on the left bank. Cross the bridge, I settled myself for a moment in a house, hoping to get a little rest; but the terrible scene which was passing before my eyes prevented this. Reynier's and Junot's corps were already in Foz de Arunce, Ney's still on the other side of the river; but the commander-in-chief, knowing that the enemy was close upon us, and not wishing his rear-guard to fight with the Ceira in its rear, ordered Ney to bring all his troops across, cut the bridge, and strongly guard the neighbouring ford, so that the men might rest undisturbed. Ney, however, supposing that the enemy, tired by the labours of the two last days, were still at a distance, and deeming it pusillanimous to abandon the left bank wholly, left on that side two divisions of infantry, Lamotte's brigade of cavalry, and several guns, and did not cut the bridge; a fresh piece of disobedience which went near to cost us dear. As it happened, while Masséna was gone off to Ponte Murcelha to superintend the restoration of another bridge which was to secure the passage of the river Alva on the next day, and Ney, full of confidence, had just given General Lamotte leave to cross the Ceira by the ford, in order to forage on the right bank, Lord Wellington suddenly appeared, and instantly attacked the divisions left so imprudently on the hither bank. Ney himself, at the head of the 39th, bravely repulsed with the bayonet a charge of English dragoons, but their colonel, Lamour, having been killed by a bullet, the 39th, losing their heads, flung themselves back on the 59th and carried them away. At the same moment, one of our batteries inadvertently sent a shot in their direction, and our men, thinking they were surrounded, fled in a panic to the bridge. Lamotte, who could see all this from the other bank, tried to bring his cavalry across in support; but instead of coming by the difficult ford where he had gone over, he took the shortest way, and so blocked the bridge with his brigade just as the fugitives came up from the opposite direction. No one could pass, and a good many men, seeing the bridge thus blocked, made for the ford and threw themselves in. Most got over, but several missed their footing and were drowned. Meanwhile Ney, exhausting every effort to repair his mistake, succeeded at length in collecting a battalion of the 27th, and making his way to the divisions of Mermet and Ferey, who were holding their ground manfully, put himself at their head, and attacking on his side drove the English back to their camp. Astounded at this vigorous attack, and hearing the shouts of our men who were struggling to cross the Ceira, they imagined that the whole French army was upon them. Panic-stricken in their turn they flung down their arms, left their guns, and took to head long flight. We on the right bank then witnessed a sight unusual in war: two sides flying each from the other in complete disorder! Finally the panic on both sides was checked, and English and French returned to the abandoned ground to pick up their muskets; but both sides were so much ashamed of themselves that though they were quite close to each other not a shot was fired nor any challenges exchanged, and they retired to their positions in silence. Wellington did not even venture to oppose Ney's retreat; and he recrossed the river and cut the bridge. In this queer engagement the English had some 200 men disabled, and killed 50 of ours; but we lost 100 by drowning, and unhappily the 39th lost its eagle. The best divers failed to recover it at the time, but it was found by Portuguese peasants in the following summer, when part of the river bed was dry.

Ney visited on General Lamotte his wrath for the check he had received, and withdrew from him the command of his brigade. Lamotte was, however, a good and brave officer, and in after times the Emperor did him justice. Next, eager to have his revenge, he waited on the banks of the Ceira throughout part of the 16th in the hope of attacking Wellington when his turn came to cross, and Masséna had to send four or five aides-de-camp before he could induce him to follow the retreat. On the 17th, we crossed the Alva at Porte Murcelha, and marched for five days, reaching Celorico unmolested.

The valley between the Mondego and the Estrella is exceedingly fertile, and we lived in comfort. Thus, on finding ourselves again at Celorico, whence Masséna had had the unlucky idea of turning aside from this fertile region on our outward march, and taking to the mountain district of Busaco, the army blamed him afresh, feeling that his mistake had cost many thousands of lives, and brought the campaign to failure. The marshal now—unable to make up his mind to re-enter Spain—resolved to hold his ground at any cost in Portugal. His plan was to regain the Tagus by way of Guarda and Alfayates, and having rebuilt the bridge of Alcantara, to join the French troops under Soult before Badajos, with them to enter the Alemtejo, and at once march upon Lisbon. He hoped thus to force Wellington to march back at once for the defence of the capital, which, being unfortified on the left bank of the Tagus, would have very little means of resistance. To relieve the march, the marshal sent all sick and wounded into Spain, but I declined to go with them, preferring to remain with my brother and my comrades. Masséna having communicated his plan to his lieutenants at Celorico, Marshal Ney, who was burning with desire to recover his independence, opposed the idea of a new campaign, declaring that he was going to take his troops back to Spain because they could no longer get any bread in Portugal. This was true, but the army had been accustomed to live without bread for the last six months, each soldier receiving several pounds of meat and plenty of wine. This fresh disobedience on Ney's part roused Masséna's wrath, and he replied by a general order, removing Marshal Ney from the command of the 6th corps. This act of vigour, just and necessary as it was, had been too long delayed; he should have done it at the first sign of insubordination. Ney at first refused to go away, saying that as the Emperor had given him the command of the 6th corps he should not resign it but by his direction; but on the order being repeated, he returned to Spain, and thence went to Paris. The command of the 6th corps fell by right of seniority to General Loison. Ney's dismissal produced an impression upon the army which was all the stronger that the principal cause of it was known, and that, insisting on a return to Spain, he had expressed the general wish of the troops.

On the 24th, the army began to move back upon the Tagus, and occupied Guarda. Of all towns in the Peninsula, this is in the highest situation. Several men died from the cold, and my wound in the side became very painful. Here Masséna received several despatches from Berthier, nearly all two months old; which shows what a mistake Napoleon had made in thinking that from Paris he could direct the movements of an army in Portugal. These despatches reached the commander-in-chief in a manner which up to then had been unknown in the French army. Prince Berthier had entrusted them to his aide-de-camp, M. de Canouville, but that young officer, who was one of the beaux of the army, seeing the difficulty of reaching Masséna's army, was satisfied with depositing them at Cindad Rodrigo, and returned to Paris. Now Paris was the very place from which, on account of a notorious freak on his part, he was desired to keep away. The story is as follows: it carries us back to the time when General Bonaparte was commanding the Army of Italy, and several ladies of his family joined him at Milan. One of them married one of his most attached generals, and, as in the fashion of the time, she used, when riding, to wear a hussar pelisse over her habit, Bonaparte gave her one, handsomely furred and with diamond buttons. Some years afterwards, this lady, having lost her first husband, married a foreign prince. In the spring of 1811, the Emperor, when reviewing the guard in the Place du Carrousel, noticed among Berthier's staff Canouville, wearing the pelisse which he had formerly given to his kinswoman, the identity of which was established by the fur and the diamonds. Napoleon recognised them, and displayed much annoyance. The lady, it was said, was severely reprimanded, and one hour later the imprudent captain received an order to carry despatches to Masséna, who was enjoined in them to keep that officer with him for an unstated time. Canouville had his suspicions' and, as I have just related, took advantage of the chance which prevented him from entering Portugal. But hardly had he got back to Paris, when he was packed off again to the Peninsula, where he arrived very much ashamed at his discomfiture. The conversation of this modern Lauzun amused us, as he gave us the latest news of what had been taking place in the Paris drawing-rooms during our absence, and we laughed much at the contrast between his elegant costume and the dilapidations of our uniforms after a year's campaigning. Canouville, who at first was much astonished by his rapid transition from Parisian boudoirs to a bivouac among the rocks of Portugal, soon resigned himself to the change. He was a man of good wit, and of courage, and in the following year fell bravely in the battle of the Moskowa.