The Sun.
London, England, 1808-10-22 00:00:00

SP_J J y.

A t RIVATE 'LETTER PRO's A VDLITNTERI3 WITF4, TIT,/
ARMY IN GALICIA, DATED AT, HgAD7di.,AII.I:.OIS,
ASPADERNE., sRPT. 1803.
• • •
It will not, I trust, be imp:easing to vim
hear frotri, an old .friend and brot';er toilet ,
although my letter, I am aware,' eanoot b other -
wise interesiing,achan, trom the a'rs'e • anees it eiees
you of thet'sinci-.-re regard and esteem
but a truce with compliments--eas we Sparrzartis say;
" entre amigos y soldados."
I joined this army on the 27th July, at artzana,.•
near Astore,;a: Our operations have hitherto been vt
little military importance : however, the plot beeins
et; thicken, and I tru4 this enthusiastic and formi-
dable Arthy or Patrioti. will, ere. long, net a di-ehe-
guished part in the theatre of this Most just and
glorious war, than which nothing can be aueee no-
ble-in its motive, or more interesting add imeoreinv
in its result. • It is a contest for the yree rvatiott of
religien, liberty, and every thing ihat is hl.l sai'r
and most d6ar to man. We have noe:, got dote td
the erieMy, and the grand and lofty• enterprize hai
•
already commenced.
I had the satisfaction, on our arrival et Triag; Qlt
the Igth inst. of seeing eleved of those light-tioted
and light-fingered- gentry that follmy 45E.4, take
a somerset eptietumble front the hiiisclose to nee
mere: three quarters of a hill td the west OfTriaS,
At, day-break on. the 20th a strong picket of th 6.!
enemy appeared on the heights opposite to-Tria4,
and comnienced a randdm tire. The regiment.of
Navarre tiocin prevailed upon the enemy towith..
draw their visit. FOur of the nuntlrr, however; -
appeared disinclined to accompany their companions
in their flight ; and on examination they were •
lcinnd to have good around 4 for prolongireg their
visit—they were dead I-omitted to mention to -
you, that in the slight attitir oil the evening-df the. •
lgrh, at the village of Itamere, there were tlO of .
the enemy', •and only (i of the regiment of I‘..la-
varre opposed to them. Of the enemy eleven were
killed, one stejeant taken prisoner ; and on the pint _
bf the Spaniards only-one wan was WOLltlat'l belif
in the thigh. This little prelude. -has pot the Spa-
niards on their'tnettle ; nothing- cuull be More gra-
tifying than to see the ardour and enthusiastic eager-
ness of the ParriOts to come to' close quarters with
the enemy. Without pretending to any Allireen
ma! skill in divination, I predia," that Whenever [he
Gallegqs shall come within reach of the ethenv, the
most aaeourable results may he expected. I know
the Spanish character au fond, and am persuaded,
that the more they are bled, the better and more
desperately they will tight. Their ehe-rgies incfease
io a ten-tclri ratio to the eesistance they (11,.'e1.
TO view the Galician, tither as a peasant to his
five mountains, or as a soldier in quiet quarters, you
would consider him as a heavy,• inactive, honest
rustic; but behold him when the ". blast of war
-blows in his ears," when he expeAs to weet,the
enemy of his Country-and of his Religiose, and yonwill find him all life, all fire, all enthu•iastic ener-
gy ; naive .aShtbelight-footed Frenchman, and
strong and undaunted as the roused lion. If we
loOk back to the. history of remote periods, we
shall read what the Spaniards were in the days of
the Romans, and be enabled to form an idea of the •
alatlonalehara6tereof the present race.
The enemy, whO are fond 'of playing at long
-bullets, avoid a general ae.non. I believe they are
retreating, and about to concentrate themselves
somewhere about St. Estevan. This.is mere vonjec-
pyre, We are now about to more than feel for them.
enclose you, a list of the posts occupied- on one
side, by the 's.nemy and by us. Their force we
know. not -cxatly, but it is not very considerable.
. This army amounts to about 35,000, and new. IQv:es
are forming in Galicia.
• The plan of rescuing the .10,500 Spaniards in the
Nerth, was a first-rateenancenvee, and Atte executiOti
equal to the plan.., Our Ministers have immor4ede„
' ized themselves, and gained the' greatest creait for
. our country, by their late 'measures. They 'cer.;
tainly have aced, with an open, manly, end liberel
policy towards this nation, end ages unborn will en--"
joy the benefit of their generosity and friencinhipe
The Dons •contemplate the exertions of England'
with au astonishment bordering on superstition, and'
think her gifted with the attribute of Omnipoteinee
Several,Gentiemen, who ought from the rank and
situation in life to be well informed, have inquired
with peculiar eagerness whether the English had it
not in contemplation to send a fleet and army to
rescue FERDINAND the Vllth from imprisonment,
and restore him to his Country?. Wh'en I read into
Spanish The London Gazette Extraordinary of the
24th of August•(relative to Ilieliberation (34 the Sp 4.
nisi] troops in the Island of Funen, &c..) the Spa-
niards literally begged rrie to express their mo-I
grateful acknowledgments to theipeople of Engiatel,
The Fren6Vouruals claimed a decisive vi'ekefy at
Rio Seco. -- I. Wish,they had two or, three such ,vjer
tonics now—they. would soon decamp from Spain.
The truth is, they had double the number of men
.in that action.eand had it not been for their cavalry,
a force to which the Galiciaus were strangers, they .
would have been cut to pierces. The Gallegos
are -now more prudent, and know the use of the

bayonet:
. In ,order to •obtain a perfea knowledge of the
country, I rode on horseback from Corunna to Man-
zanel, thence to Astorgo, Leon, Carrion, Herrera,
Aguilar, Reynosa,- Villareaza, and Ttitis, and took
collateral' eittirsions
.visit. the rivers 'and strong
posts. I trust, however, that this was but a mei e
examination of curiosity, never to be turned to any
practical account, as from every thing I see, I led a
confidence that the theatre of our operations
forward to-wards the frontiers, in countries that 14 i:ace
not Visited. A knowledge of the country in t!tt reay
is useful only in a retreat, and we think of not ir‘..l.
but'advancing. The word is, Forward. n(To!fjours
avutzt is the only raott9 fora volunteer. LCt,