The battle of Vittoria was attended with the most important results. The scattered remains of the French army were driven through the rugged passes of the Pyrenees, and the British army advanced rapidly in the direction of France. The enemy sometimes endeavoured to rally in their retreat, but were successfully driven from the positions they occupied by the impetuosity of the Welshmen and Highlanders, whose early training specially fitted them to excel in this mountain warfare. The constant success of the British army led many to expect that France would yield, and allow Wellington to cross the frontier without further resistance; but Napoleon, elated with his recent successes in Germany, appointed Soult to the command of the army of the Pyrenees, and that able general displayed such vigour and skill that there was some danger at first of the British losing all the fruits of the great victory of the 20th of June. On the 25th of July, 15,000 French troops attacked the British, about 3000 in number, at the pass of Maya, and for ten hours our men maintained the conflict, notwithstanding their inferiority in numbers. When their ammunition was exhausted they hurled stones at their assailants, who were arrested by the mass of dead and dying by which the pass was blocked, and were at length repulsed by the aid of some reinforcements. The pass of Maya will long be remembered in the annals of the British army; our soldiers fought as bravely there as the Greeks did at Thermopylæ. We must omit the other stirring events of the Pyrenees, in all of which the Royal Welsh acted a distinguished part, and enjoyed many advantages over others unaccustomed to a mountainous country. They had many extraordinary adventures, being sometimes enveloped in the mists that shrouded the summits of the mountains, and brought into fierce collision with the enemy, who were ignorant of their approach. After the two battles of Lauroren, the tide of success turned against Soult, who was almost taken prisoner at St. Estenau. Such were the skilful arrangements of the English general here, that the French army would have had to surrender had not three marauding British soldiers crossed the ridge which concealed their comrades, and thus warned the enemy of their danger. On such small causes do great events hinge! The cupidity of three Englishmen saved the whole French army. On the 1st of August Soult abandoned the Spanish territory, with the loss of 15,000 men; and on the 7th of September Wellington planted the victorious standard of Britain on the soil of France. Seven thousand of the allies were buried among the mountain passes of the Pyrenees, and the different regiments engaged were allowed to preserve the remembrance of this campaign on their colours.