The defeat of the Spanish horse settled the day, which had for a moment looked doubtful. At the sight of the French hussars breaking, and the advance of their own line, the garrison of Saguntum, who had the whole field in view from their lofty perch, had lined their walls, cheering and waving their shakos in the air--despite of the shells from the siege-batteries which continued to play upon them. The cheers died down as the changed fortunes of the day became visible, and hearts sank in the fortress. But the fighting was not yet concluded. [Illustration: SAGUNTUM] The rout of Loy’s and Caro’s horse had not directly affected Lardizabal’s infantry, for the victorious cuirassiers had galloped straight before them after the fugitives, though they had also ridden over and captured a Spanish battery on the right of the line of deployed battalions. The decisive blow in this quarter was given by Saint Paul’s Italians, who, issuing from olive groves behind Harispe’s left, came in upon the unprotected flank of Lardizabal’s troops, which they rolled up, driving away at the same time a few squadrons which had not been affected by the charge of the cuirassiers. These last rode in among their own infantry, which was already hotly engaged with Harispe’s battalions, and carried confusion down the line. The division, which had hitherto fought most gallantly, gave way, and retired in confusion towards the bridge over the Picador, and the Cartuja where Lardizabal hoped to sustain himself by means of the battery and the Valencian reserve battalions which he left there. Meanwhile Blake, from the summit of the knoll of El Puig, had witnessed with impotent grief the rout of his right centre. He had placed himself so far to the rear that no orders which he sent reached Lardizabal in time, and the reserve which he had kept under his own hand, three raw Valencian battalions and a battery, would have been too weak to save the day, even if it had not been so far--two miles--from the central focus of the fight as to make its arrival in time quite impossible. The General, from the moment that he had given the original order to advance, exercised no influence whatever on the operations; one of his staff says that he sat on his horse in blank and stupid amazement at the rout, and that some of those who watched him thought him wanting in personal courage no less than in decision[36]. But at last he roused himself to issue orders for the retreat of his broken left and centre towards Valencia, and for the instant withdrawal of his still intact right wing. [36] Schepeler, p. 473.