General Foy, with 6000 infantry and 1200 horse, part of Marmont’s army, now under his command, moved from the neighbourhood of Valladolid with the intent of raising the blockade of Toro and Zamora, and the siege of Astorga. The garrison at Tordesillas, consisting of 250 men, had previously surrendered to ♦AUGUST 17.♦ Santocildes. The Spaniards retired from before Toro at their approach, in good order and with little loss; the enemy bringing off their garrison, were then joined by another body of equal force, and proceeded towards Astorga; 300 of their cavalry were sent forward to that city, but when they entered it they found that the Spaniards had withdrawn, and had marched the garrison, consisting of 1200 men, prisoners towards Coruña: for Castaños knowing that a force was advancing which his army was in no condition to meet, had successfully employed the easy artifice of representing to ♦AUGUST 18.♦ the commander that relief was impossible, and resistance hopeless, and thus he had induced him to ♦AUGUST 21.♦ surrender. Foy was at Baneza, half way between Benevente and Astorga, when he received this mortifying intelligence; he then turned back to the Ezla, and marched upon Carvajales, thinking to surprise the Conde de Amarante, who with the militia of Tras-os-Montes, then serving voluntarily beyond their own frontier, was blockading Zamora; the Conde retreated ♦AUGUST 29.♦ without loss, and the French general bringing off the garrison marched for Tordesillas. Some of the traitors who had made themselves conspicuous in the Intruder’s service, fell into the hands of ♦MEASURES OF POLICE AT MADRID.♦ their countrymen at Guadalaxara; others who were conscious that they had been weak rather than wicked, and that in submitting to him for their own good, they had not aggravated the crime by injuring those who had persisted in their duty, presented themselves voluntarily to the newly constituted authorities in Madrid, thinking it better to take the chance of mercy, than to fly they knew not whither, without resources, without friends, and without the consolation which those who act righteously find in their own hearts. There were writers on this occasion who cried for vengeance in a most ferocious spirit. They called upon the people of Madrid to prepare graves for their guilty countrymen who had thus presented themselves at the foot of the gallows! They advised them to go to the governor, and with one voice require justice upon these wretches, as what the nation was entitled to demand; ... the sword for some, chains for others, and strict confinement till the conclusion of the war for those who were suspected, and who, if they were left at large, might act as secret agents for the French. This atrocious language failed of its intended effect, for the presence of the allied troops maintained order; and a vigilant police had been established, not for the oppression of the people, but for their security.