Cuesta had by this time advanced to St. Olalla. He there learnt that Victor had turned off towards Toledo; and so far was he from divining the obvious intent of such a movement, that he supposed the French were in full retreat, and that he had nothing to do but to pursue them. From some strange misconception, too, he supposed the English were about to follow him; they were very short of provisions and means of conveyance, he informed his own government, but he was doing all in his power to persuade them of the necessity of putting themselves in motion. He thus deceived himself and his government, instead of making efforts to supply the wants of the English army, or assisting them with his own means of transport. These he possessed in sufficient quantity; and it was discovered when too late, that food in abundance might have been procured, had proper means been used for obtaining it. In the morning of the 25th Cuesta dispatched intelligence that he was in pursuit of the French; in the evening he discovered that he was in some danger of being attacked by them, and on the following day his outposts were assailed in Torrejos, and driven in. General Zayas advanced with the vanguard to meet the French; he was attacked by Latour Maubourg, with the French advanced guard, and suffered considerable loss; but Zayas was a good officer, and maintained his ground against superior numbers while he sent to require support. ♦ALBURQUERQUE SAVES CUESTA FROM DEFEAT.♦ Alburquerque had requested that his division might be the first to support the vanguard, either in case of its attacking the enemy or being attacked. While Cuesta made arrangements for the retreat of the whole army beyond the Alberche, the Duque advanced time enough to save Zayas from complete rout, and the army from that utter defeat which must necessarily have resulted. The vanguard was flying at the moment when he arrived; he charged the enemy, checked them, and gave the van time to re-form, and fall back in good order. But for this timely success the army would have been dispersed, for all the artillery and baggage were in the streets of St. Olalla, carts of bread were there also blocking up the way, the commissaries had taken flight, and the men, catching that panic which want of order in an army never fails to occasion on the first approach of danger, had begun to throw away their arms, that they might neither be incumbered with them in running away, nor supposed to be soldiers if they were overtaken. ♦CUESTA RETREATS TO THE ALBERCHE.♦