The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-04-26

IN so encouraging r.
alton - sAat VII ao,.. ,s.xh,,
. struaeisdf ran n,.cao in a ,rr,no
Ahs 0i oh poin,s to others who
'sA trough similar difficulties, and
.srvy and resolution come ont vic
For the purpose Of cheering onr citi-
10 the preesnt criss-our soldisrs are in
reed Of no euch etimulant-we alluded yester-
dsy 70 The desperate straits to which Rome
va reduced BY the victories of Hannibal, the
nagranimity with which she encountered
them. and the powerful force Of viii, and de-
termination, which enSbssd he. to triumph
over them.
There 10 . modern sxAmpis-an example o.
Ne pressn. sensury-mors striking even than
that Of Rome, from which the heart Of the
patriot mast draw courage when be eontsn'.
plates It An old aud proud nation, which but
Two centuries ago had threatened to impose
her yoke upon one half Of Europe-which had
enjoyed the glory Of giving . new world to
nankind-whose banner had hoatsd over the
Eastern - we'll as the Western isles of the
Ocaan''-whese sons had boasted proudly and
ions-had fallen int premature decay. Her
colonies had been torn from her-hsr navy
had been dsstroyed-hsr docks and arsenals
were rotting-her commerce was gone-her
army had become an undsciplined rabble-she
lay, apparently, helpless, cursed with the fatal
eife Of beauty, a temptation TO the spoiler.
without the strength to rests. HIS enterprises
- bap be~ aa1
the eupidity Of the hrst Napoleon, and lured
hin on TO destruction.
There 10 scarcely q record, in all history, Of
Q more terrible iavaeion than that which SWEET
over Spain In the months OF November snd
December, 1905. The whole Spanish army
scarcely amour ted to $50 900 men. They were
Ill disciplined, Ill armed turbulent, factous,
obedience TO their officers, and these officers
were little better than their men. In strict
accordance with their prominent national
characteristics, they were full Of presumption,
snd constantly spoke of driving the French
back to Paris, following on their footsteps.
and dsthroning the Emperor. Against this rab-
bic, Napoleon was Oh the point of letting loose
three hundred and thirty thousand veterans,
eighty thousand cavalry, and nearly thou
sand pieces Of artillery, at the very time their
arrogance induced them to judge from pause
In the operations that he had become alarmed
n the magnitude of the enterprise, and was
on the return TO Paris. The tornado at last
burst upon the devoted Spanisrds with ell its
fury This enormous armv, divided into six
corps, commenced its march simultaneously
upon SIX different routes. Five Of them kept
dirsstly forward. A sixth passed diagonally
through the country, before the heads of the
other columns, to take In the rear and capture
al enemies they might engage. Everywhere,
wherever they presented Themselves, the
halfarmsd lsviss Of Spain were scattered like
shaH before the iron legions of Napoleon
As passed on 10 Madrid with the rapdity of
. whirlwind. There was but q single obsta
Gle Mat presented itself to his arms; but that
N the end proved fatal to him. One of his
viesorieus corps pursued the flying enemy to
RAragossa The citixens had prepared the
Hla>s for = siege. Its thick walls and innu-
meraAls eonvenia and oh urches rendered IL
stsong ~ the strongest fort. II is not worth
while here to recount the incidents OF the
Wonderful siege which ensued The world
has them by heart, and they will never cease
20 be remembered while invasion Is tolerated
BY the inscrus able wisdom Of Providence,
0araxosse fell-feIl after 81 900 of her people
had bAen inundated upon ths altar Of pstriot
ism Bat her glory died not with her. She
was the Thermopys. ~ spain Her heroic
reair.Anss rJSsed The blood Of the Span iards,
and Taught them to emulate her example. The
army had been defeated, but the psopls took
the matter iptn their own hands.
The uprsins Of the Spanish people At this
psI1Sa--sftsr eli their own armies had been
sostisred 10 tbs winds and that of EnK land had
boon chased from the eounuy-is one Of the
most memorable, a. 1t 10 one Of the most In
tsrssans. incidents Of history. Gusriilas I'm
nsdiatsly sprrc9 es on every mountain
Bonnatesss were CONCEALED in every thiekss.
The French generally held the ground On
which they We're encamped, bu: rot 8 foot be-
yond It. Their 81 amunications were cut on,
thsi. supplies captured, their stragglers MUIR
dared, their ANAL parties surprised and put to
the sword. No quarter was given to tho in
vadsrs, and the patriots neither expected nor
asked ii The whole nation had be
come an army. The French could turn no.
where without eneountering an enemy, In
this way, through untold miseries, did the
Spaniards assert their Independence, and with
the assistance of the powerful Euccors sent
them from England, they won it at last.
With suoh an example before them, who can
dasn1nd7