With but little difficulty the Cubans crossed two other trochas, and finally entered the Province of Matanzas, which Campos had felt positive could never be invaded; the Spaniards meanwhile constantly retreating, nearer and nearer to the capital. At last, Campos determined to force an open conflict. He told his lieutenants where they were to meet him. This was in December, 1895. Campos lay in wait for Maceo's forces at a point between Coliseo and Lumidero. It seemed at first as if the insurgents were caught in a trap, and would be forced to accept a battle in the open, which could not fail to be disastrous to them. But a happy thought came to Maceo, and, in connection with this plan, he issued his orders. Suddenly, the cane-fields which surrounded the camp of the Spaniards burst into flame, and on each side was a great blazing plain. Campos knew that he had once more been foiled, and he gave the order to retreat at once. This battle, if battle it can be called, had important results. It enabled Gomez to reach Jovellanos, a city which commanded the railroad lines of Cardenas, Matanzas and Havana. These lines Gomez destroyed as well as every sugar plantation upon his route. As to the destruction of the sugar fields and the reason therefor, we shall have something to say later on. Campos, completely outwitted and vanquished in his attempts to stop the onward progress of the insurgents, now fell back upon Havana, which he reached Christmas Day. His reception in the capital was anything but a pleasant one. The Spaniards there had clamored from the very beginning for revenge without mercy, and they looked upon the successive checks which the army had received as little less than criminal. They demanded of the governor-general the reason for his repeated defeats, and even threatened him personally. There were three political parties in Cuba, the Conservatives, the Reformists and the Autonomists. Campos met the leaders of these parties in an interview, and asked for their opinions. The consultation was very unsatisfactory, and as a result Campos proposed his resignation to which the ministry made no objection. Shortly after, his resignation was sent in and accepted. He sailed for Spain the 17th of January, his place being temporarily filled by General Sabas Marin. In spite of Martinez Campos' failure to subdue the insurrection, nothing but the greatest sympathy and respect can be felt for him, at least out of Spain, where, speaking in a general manner, humanity has no place, and gratitude is an unknown quantity. Campos' services to his country had been great, including, as they did, the pacification of Cuba in the Ten Years War, the quelling of a revolt in Spain itself, and the restoration and support of the Spanish monarchy. At an advanced age, when he should have been enjoying a well deserved rest, he was sent away to fight a difficult war, and to risk the tarnishing of his laurels as a military commander.