These letters were dated at Truxillo; for the junta, not thinking themselves safe at Badajos, had proceeded so far on their way to Seville. On that side the French had continued to advance, the remnants of the Spanish armies to fly, and every thing bore the most gloomy appearance. Mr. Frere knew this. In a subsequent letter he acknowledged that the enthusiasm was extinguished, and a general panic commencing, at the moment when he was penning these offensive passages. He was utterly ignorant of the numbers, the situation, and the resources of the enemy, but he formed hypotheses, and upon the strength of them insulted sir John Moore, and compromised the interests of his country; and in this manner the British general, while struggling with unavoidable difficulties, had his mind harassed by a repetition of remonstrances and representations in which common sense, truth, and decency were alike disregarded. On this occasion he furnished a remarkable instance of the control he exercised over his personal feelings, when the public welfare was at stake. As Mr. Frere had acknowledged the receipt of a letter of the 10th, it was probable that he had also received the general’s answer (written before the 10th) to the communication made through Charmilly; but as he did not say so, Sir John Moore took advantage of the omission, and with singular propriety and dignity thus replied to him: “With respect to your letter delivered to me at Toro by Mr. Stuart, I shall not remark upon it. It is in the style of the two which were brought to me by colonel Charmilly, and consequently was answered by my letter of the 6th, of which I send you a duplicate; that subject is I hope at rest!” [Sidenote: Sir John Moore’s Papers. Col Symes’ Corresp^{ce}.] [Sidenote: Gen. Leith.] [Sidenote: Appendix, No. 13, section 5.] [Sidenote: Appendix, No. 13, Section 7.]