The Sun.
London, England, 1825-09-22 00:00:00

GENERAL BESSI

General BESSIERES was born in the South of
France, of low and obscure parentage. his youth, it is gene-
rally asserted, was not without its errors, and it was generally
reported that he fled his native country to escape the hand of
justice. He chose Spain as his asylum, entered into the military
service, and held the rank of Captain, when he was arrested on
suspicion of forming one of a secret society for establishing a
Republic in the Peninsula. Being convicted, he was condemned
to death by the Tribunal of Barcelona, but his life was preserved
from the following circumstance :—By the laWs of Spain, when
an individual is condemned to death, he prepares for the execu-
tion of the sentence. by three days' prayers and confessions, in a
chapel where he is confined, and from which lie is led to the place
of execution ; but if by any extraordinary circumstance the
prisoner remains in the chapel of expiation beyond the tam
fixed, he is pardoned. Bessieres had this happiness ; he
afterwards solicked the clemency of the King, and upon a re-
port made to Ferdinand by M. Bardoxi, the then Minister
of the Interior, was pardoned ; but his name was erased
from the army lists,• and he was ordered to quit the Spanish
territory. Whether Bessieres was fearful of his native
country, or whether he still preserved some hope in Spain,
is not certain, but he took refuge on the frontiers, where lie
led a miserable existence. It was here he resided in 1820,
when the events which took place gave him an opportunity
of raising and disciplining a number of troops, and with them
repaired to the environs of Madrid, in the province of
Cuenca. He assumed the rank of Field-Marshal, and wore
the uniform, and in this quality commanded the troops under
his orders. Towards the end of the campaign, Bessieres had
established his head-quarters at Huete, a small town, 20 miles
from Madrid. It was here that he struggled against tht Con-
stitutionalists, and by. his intrepidity astounded their Govern-
ment. He displayed great firmness and prudence, and suffer-
ed no violence to be done by his soldiers in the towns and vil-
lages which he occupied. He was excessively rigid in his mode
of life : slept but seldom, and trusted no one, having been seve-
ral times on the point of being betrayed to the Constitutionalists.
The removal of the Government to Seville, then to Cadiz, `and
the arrival of the French troops, put a stop to or deranged all the
projects of Bessieres ; but lie held out his position at Huete till
the entry of the French into Madrid. The king, on his return,
received Bessieres, and confirmed his former rank. Since that
time he constantly resided at Madrid, and always appeared at
Court, where, however, 're was little noticed, undoubtedly on
account of his origin, and became very discontented with the
state of things, and at seeing men preferred before him, but
still always appearing devoted to Ferdinand, and accompanied
his Majesty in 1824 to the waters of Sacedon. Perhaps Bes-
sieres had secret motives in making this voyage. The King
traversed a part of the province of Cuenca, the theatre of lies-
sieres' efforts in the Royalist cause, and the populace spoke of
him with enthusiasm. All this assiduity on the part of 13es-
sieres towards the King, and his conduct at the head of the
Royalist party apparently meritP'l grentcr
lnroui
than tie enjoyed. But erdinand did net even besosur ,szs blot
the cross of St. reitlinand ; and there is little doubt but dis-
content and ambition were the cause of the revolt of this in-
veterate Itoyalist, for which lie suffered, and which Ferdinand
might have avoided, had he, by an act of common generosity,
bestowed on him those honours which his attachment to his
person and his services undoubtedly merited.—(FrenchPaper.)

A DUEL, which terminated fatally, took place
on Saturday,
at College-hill Green, two miles
from Epping,
on the Chelmsford-road. The
parties were unknown at the place of meeting,
but the deceased turned out to be a Gentleman
of the name of AGLINGTON, who was conveyed
to the Half Moon, towards Chelmsford, where
he died on Monday. Ile was attended by Dr.
Hughes, of St. George's-fields, who was on a
shooting visit at Mr. Iloldsworth's near the spot.
The survivor is not known, or at least his name
is a secret. The deceased came to the ground with
a friend a post-chaise, and the survivor and
another in a gig, and the affair was seen by some
labourers only. The wound was on the left side,
below the breast, and the ball had passed through
slantingly.