Scarcely had Palamos fallen when Wimphen and the Milans, arriving near Hostalrich, began to harass Souham’s outposts at Santa Coloma, hoping to draw St. Cyr’s attention to that side, while a reinforcement for the garrison of Gerona should pass through the left of his line into the city. The French general was not deceived; but the Spaniards nevertheless sent fifteen hundred chosen men, under the command of one Marshal, an Englishman, to penetrate secretly through the enemy’s posts at Llagostera. They were accompanied by an aide-de-camp of Alvarez, called Rich, apparently an Englishmen also, and they succeeded on the 9th in passing general Pino’s posts unobserved. A straggler, however, was taken, and St. Cyr being thus informed of the march, and judging that the attempt to break the line of investment would be made in the night and by the road of Casa de Selva, immediately placed one body of men in ambush near that point, and sent another in pursuit of the succouring column. As the French general had foreseen, the Spaniards continued their march through the hills at dusk, but being suddenly fired upon by the ambuscade, hastily retired, and the next day fell in with the other troops, when a thousand men were made prisoners: the rest dispersing, escaped the enemy, yet were ill used and robbed of their arms by the Somatenes. St. Cyr says that Mr. Marshal, having offered to capitulate, fled during the negotiation, and thus abandoned his men; but the Spanish general Conpigny affirmed that the men abandoned Marshal, and refused to fight, that Rich ran away before he had seen the enemy, and that both he and the troops merited severe punishment. It is also certain that Marshal’s flight was to Gerona, where he afterwards fell fighting gallantly. This disappointment was sensibly felt by Alvarez. Sickness and battle had already reduced his garrison to fifteen hundred men, and he was thus debarred of the best of all defences, namely, frequent sallies as the enemy neared the walls. His resolution was unshaken, but he did not fail to remonstrate warmly with Conpigny, and even denounced his inactivity to the Supreme Junta. That general excused himself on the ground of Blake’s absence, the want of provisions, and the danger of carrying the contagious sickness of Taragona into Gerona; and finally adduced colonel Marshal’s unfortunate attempt, as proof that due exertion had been made. Yet he could not deny that Gerona had been invested two months, had sustained forty days of open trenches, a bombardment and an assault without any succour, and that during that time, he himself remained at Taragona, instead of being at Hostalrich with all the troops he could collect.