Both armies now reoccupied pretty nearly the same positions which they held previous to the attack of July 25th; and thus terminated the fighting commonly called the battles of the Pyrenees; and never were battles more fierce or harassing. The principal encounters were at the point of the bayonet. We and they charged alternately up and down the sides of rugged and rocky mountains, exposed to the excessive summer heat of July and at the same time to the cold of winter. Dripping with perspiration from hard fighting and scorching sun in the valleys, we had immediately to clamber up to the tops of high mountains and face the extreme cold naturally to be found there and dense fogs, which soaked through us and are more penetrating and oppressive than heavy rain; and this change we suffered more than once in the day, our constitutions thus undergoing a similar ordeal to that which I have heard is resorted to in perfecting chronometers, which, to prove their qualities of compensation, are moved in rapid succession from an oven to an ice-house and _vice-versâ_. During these combats we, with the Spaniards and Portuguese, lost between killed, wounded, and taken seven thousand three hundred officers and men. The enemy on their part lost upwards of thirteen thousand and about four thousand prisoners. This short but bloody campaign lasted but nine days, one of which, the 29th, was dedicated to rest and peace; on the other eight days ten distinct battles were fought and hotly contested. I cannot enter into or attempt a full description of those combats, fought along positions always intersected by lofty mountains which generally confined the view of regimental officers to their respective corps. Even staff officers scarcely knew what was passing beyond the limits of their brigades or divisions; and consequently the information necessary to furnish accurate detail must depend on the narratives of many, and thus would far exceed the just limits of these modest Memoirs. Throughout those combats the Spanish fought with the greatest bravery, as did the Portuguese. It was remarked at the time that had Picton with the two divisions under his command continued to retreat for two hours longer on the morning of the 27th, Soult would inevitably have gained the double object which he had in view, the relief of Pampeluna and the animation of his drooping troops; for although he might have been compelled to retreat immediately afterwards, he could have boasted of beating back the allies and succouring the beleaguered fortress, and averred that his subsequent retreat was preconcerted to guard the French frontier. And this renewal of the spirit and confidence of his troops might have been attended with double disadvantage; for it may be remarked of opponents throughout animated nature that as one becomes elated by success, the other in equal ratio becomes depressed; and though physical strength remain intact, moral influence is shaken.