The Sun.
London, England, 1808-08-20 00:00:00

FROM TRIE.S:I3.;ANISII.PAPEIiS.

Ovitno, AUGUST 4.—The soldiers of Asturias,
though novices in the art of war, are extygmeit_
eager to fight, and to come in conta& with the in-
Nuncibles of Marengo, Austerlitz, and Jena. The
signal valour with whic i a few of them, colle6ted in
the Pola de Gerdon, have/put to flight two parties of
French dragoons, has deserved the recommendation
of Signor VALESTEROS, through his Excellency the
Uaptain-General, to the Supreme Junta. That Su-
preme Tribunal has of course taken measures to re-
ward those valiant warriors according to the merit of
each individually, anti to publish in the Gazette the
following dispatch :

COI'-I OP THE OFFICIAL LETTER OF SIGNOi: VALESTE-

ROSS OF THE DATE OF JULY 3 I , TO THE MOST EX-
CELLENT SIGNOR DON VINCENT MARIA ACCORD°.
MOST EXCELLENT LORD—I communicate to
Your Excellency, as I had offered to 'make known to
YOU, the particulars of what has occurred to me in
tht Pola de Gerdon, between the Enernrr2nd a de-

tachment under the command of the SublLigiirenant

of the Royal Corps of Artillery, DON MATTHIAS
CARRASCON, consisting of a Serjeant, a Corporal,
and fourteen volunteers of Asturias, in the evening
of the 26th current. The tenor of my letter will
be conformable to the official communication made
to me to the following effeet
The party being at dinner in the street, eight
French dragoons entered the place, without the sen-
tinel having been able to give notice of their op-
. proach, he having advanced too far on account of the
citcumstance of the Enemy having been at a distance
of nine leagues on the preceding - day. Thos the
dragoons were at once upon the little troop sword in
-hand. There is no doubt that they were surprised,
but the confusion lasted but a moment ; starting tip
immediately on, CARRASCON'S crying to want they
made one discharge, and then chargedla!witli the
bayonet; upon which the Enemy fell laiek and re-
tired precipitately, our men pursuing them as far as'
Robla, when they received a reinforcement of fresh
cavalry, but our brave fellows persevered_i n. their
attack till they drove the Enemy from the' Aickets
of the mountains, having one killed and four wound-
. ed. We had two slightly woundeil. In this adlion,
though small in amount, ads of valotir have been
performed deserving of your Excellency's highest
-conlleration. There is no.. doubt, that .stie brave
fellows concerned will acquit themselves in the same
brilliant manner on occasions of greater importance.
I recommend, therefore, that the Supreme, Junta
should bestow appropriate rewards on each indivi-
dual, and publish their namesin the Gazette, tk give
etre4 to so good,an example.
FERROL, JULY 28.—8 y authentic letters: from
England, received at Corunna on the 24,. ated
the sth of the pcesent Month, we lear4,-,tl,,:at it! 'that.,
kingdom a very extensive subscription 1i5.4,be0 Set
on foot, in favour of the widows and orphriniAtaty
brave cumpanions who die in the holy vor, in
which we are engaged. 0 ! 'generous Englakid ! Our
hearts, full of gratitude, inspire our lips with endless
:songs in your honour and praise. Desolate widows,
deserted. orphans, 'comfort yourselves. If a cruel
death has deprived you of your dear husbands and
beloved fathers, these virtuous Wanders hgld out to
you a sticcouring hand. If deprived of your sweet
supports, you dread the wretchedness ciom which
their hands proteded you the gold collected by
'.teneficence -conies to comfort your distresses. If
our treacherous friends sack our towns, and kill our
brothers, thoSe who .were for a time compelled to be
'our Enemies, hasten to cure our wounds. Spaniards,
let us all swear eternal friendship and allieice 'with
'r-ingland, an alliance founded in justice, ggOerosity,
and gratitade. Eternal glory and prais'ebe to the
noble Patriots who die in so juSt a cause. Eternal
glory and praise to England, which i 0 worthily
sustains that cause. To conquer or dies be that our
device.
Marshal BESSIERES intended to have cut off the
`communication between the provinces of Castile and
Asturias, and with that view designed to occupy
Toro as well as Zamora. But being informed of the
transaaions in Andalusia, and recalled by expresses
'from
his Court, he fell back, evacuated Leon, and
inarched,
as report says, towards Madrid.
The Junta of Asturias, upon a representation of
the city of Oviedo, and a strong statement by the
yrocurator General, came to a Resolution, in its sit-
ting of Auguseni
police, t 2, to abolish the existing syst of
as being contrary to civil liberty, to the laws
of the kingdom,
of the principality. and to the authority of the justices
. • '

A Vessel, the Hopewell, Captain SHEtilt-tian, has.
arrived in the Downs from Cadiz, and tirotteit let-
ters thence to the Ist instant. The rejoicings' for
the viaory over Du PONT had cOntinued•for five suc-
cessive days. It. appears that the 'Junta of Seville
had declare :I its intention to assemble the Cortes of
the Spanish Nation.- The several towns of Anda-
luAta, and of the other provinces, are to send each a
IV 'tuber, as its Representative, to this General
Akssemt?ly. Biy the letters received by this convey,
44ce, we learn, that long :previous. to JOSEY,Ci buo-
le; Arum's quitting Madrid, all the Officers of the
Regiment Grenaderos del Egado, had found means
to escape, and one only had been taken in his
flight, and shot on, his being brought back to Ma-
drid. His name was _MELciffox ALVAREZ. By.
a Vessel -arrived from Oporto, we • learn AllittnGene-
ral CASTANOS had detached :0,000 of ais,.troops
to Estremadura, where they were to joitied by
15,000 men of that province, for the Dt'pose of as-
'fisting in the liberation of Portugal from4llo,Ft-ench
yokt".

A letter received at Falmouth, from an Officer of
his Majesty's Ship Plantagenet, dated off the Tagus,.
3d inst. states, that General WELLESLEY and Gene-
ral SPENCER were in full march for Lisbon, and that
our squadron were to attack the Forts from the water
Side, at the same time the.troops attacked on shore;
the attack was expeeted to%be made in a day or two
after the letter was written.—lt states, that nine
Russian Ships of the Line, two Portuguese. under
,French colours, with a great number of Danish Ves-
sels, and two Danish East Indiamen,, were in the
'Tagus, 6 which'our.tars hoped shortly to have posses-
sion of.
If JosErti BUONAPARTE had notstolen the C7;01472
PrOPer ty on his late Royal visit to I‘Aa'crrid, and
Should be intercepted on his return, he might have
been detained as a hostage, but he mier,now be pro-
perly punished as a thief: