battalion who were guarding the mills at S. Sadurni, and occasioned them a loss of 200 men. Sarsfield joined on the 11th. But as the appearance of the allies before Tarragona prevented the garrison from demolishing the works, so on the other hand it gave Marshal Suchet time for bringing together as large a force as he thought the occasion required. The British general, like Generals Maitland and Murray before him, felt all the difficulties of his situation; he was conscious that his ill-composed army was far from being efficient in proportion to its numerical strength; he had no means of feeding the Spanish part of that army if the enemy should manœuvre upon his flank, so as to cut off the supplies which they obtained from the country; he had found it impracticable to throw a bridge over the Ebro; and should he be compelled in his present situation to retreat, the ships could not take off more than a third of his forces. But while the prudence of remaining in that situation became a serious question, preparations for breaking ground were carried on. ♦SUCHET RAISES THE SIEGE.♦ Suchet meantime acting as if he were opposed to a much greater force, had waited till Generals Decaen, Maurice Mathieu, and Maximien Lamarque could join him with 8000 men belonging to the army of Catalonia; with this accession his numbers were estimated at from 27,000 to 30,000. They effected their junction at Villafranca on the 14th. The first attempt was by the coast road; but Admiral Hallowell effectually checked this movement, by stationing his troops as close as possible to the low sandy shore in front of the Torre del Barra. On the ensuing morning Lord William was informed that a large body of the French were advancing through the inland country by the Col de Santa Christina; and in the evening a sharp skirmish took place between the advance of hussars and the cavalry under Colonel Lord Frederick Bentinck, which he sent forward to observe their motions: in this the Brunswick hussars distinguished themselves, repulsing the enemy and making several prisoners. Suchet advanced rapidly beyond the Gaya that day, while Decaen advanced upon Valls and the Francoli. Lord William did not deem it prudent to risk a general action before Tarragona; at nightfall, therefore, he commenced his retreat, and when day broke the whole army was out of sight of the city; the British, Germans, and Sicilians, covering the road towards Tortosa, took up a position near Cambrils. Sarsfield occupied Reus; and the Duque del Parque was directed to proceed to the Col de Balaguer, where, if Suchet should push the retreating army so as to make a general action necessary, it was intended to await his attack. But the French commander had no such ♦THE FRENCH ABANDON TARRAGONA.♦ purpose; his present object was to bring off the garrison from Tarragona, and to demolish its fortifications, so that they might afford no support to the allies. On the night of the