Page:Life of the Duke of Wellington.pdf/10

10 the conquest of Portugal, and in a few days more, I shall drown the Leopard." His rash boasting was soon at an end; he left 5,000 men killed or wounded upon the mountains, and as many more were left disabled at Coimbra.

Ciudad Rodrigo surrendered after a brief defeneedefence [sic], during which the besiegers lost 9,000 men. Almeida was the next objeetobject [sic] of the FrenehFrench [sic]; it was expected to resist long, as it was well garrisoned and provided; but on the second day, the powder magazine blew up, and it was no longer tenable.

The fall of Almeida allowed the enemy to advance, and on the 16th of September, Massena commenced his march into Portugal. To meet him, Lord Wellington crossed the Mondego, and oeeupiedoccupied [sic] the Busaco range with his whole force, awaiting the French army in that strong position.

"The French Marshal was not ignorant of the strength of the position which the English General had now assumed, or of the perilous nature of the situation in which he was placed, for while lying at the foot of the ridge of Busaco, he received intelligence that Colonel Trant had, with ten regiments of militia, attaekedattacked [sic] the reserved artillery and military chest near Tojal, and captured the whole, with 800 prisoners; and already the communication by the Spanish frontier was entirely cut off by the Portuguese light parties. But the orders of thothe [sic] Emperor were pressing, and he was well aware that fight he must, at whatever disadvantage. Next day, colleetingcollecting [sic] therefore all his force, Massena commenecdcommenced [sic] a desperate attack upon the English position, at daybreak of the morning of the 27th. The British army, during the night, lay in dense masses on the summit of the mountain.

“As the first streaks of dawn were beginning to appear over the eastern hills, a rustling noise was heard in the wooded dells which ran up to the crest