On the 30th we crossed the Jarama at a bridge near St. Fernando, which was already mined to blow up, and continued our retreat on Madrid. A slight affair also took place more to the right, at Puente Largo, between the van of the enemy and our troops, who had formed a junction with us from Cadiz. The General-in-chief, on the same day, made a movement to his left towards Ruêda, on the left of the Douro, causing the bridges to be destroyed, right and left, on that river, to guard his flanks, to enable him to keep open his communication with his right wing at Madrid, and to cover its rear and left flank while retrograding from that place, through Arevalo to Salamanca. Towards nightfall, as we approached Madrid, a slight rain fell, and when within a league of the town, the whole of the dismounted cannon taken from the enemy in the _Buén Retiro_ were blown up with a tremendous explosion, which quite convinced us that a retreat was decided on. We hastily traversed, by column of companies, the long walks of the _Prádo_, which reverberated with the tramping of the soldiers' footsteps, and on passing the last gate of the town without a halt, we observed the bright fires of a portion of our army in bivouac on the distant hills, on the road leading to the Guadarama, which sight completed the gloomy thoughts of many who had formed attachments, and had, until this moment, cherished hopes of once again passing a short time in the society of the fair objects who had captivated their hearts in Madrid. We filed to the summit of the comfortless bleak hills, and as our baggage did not reach us until two hours before daylight, we passed a tolerably uncomfortable night. At nine o'clock in the morning, with gladdened hearts, we received orders again to advance on Madrid, but our anticipations were of short duration, as we merely halted without the walls to cover the troops who had been marching all night from the direction of Arganda and Aranjuez. Many of the ladies came on the walks to take their last farewell, and just as we were moving off, forming the rear guard, in the afternoon of the 31st, a beautiful girl, lightly clothed, refused to leave her lover, an English officer in the Portuguese Caçadores, who dismounted, tied his silk handkerchief round her neck, and placed her sideways on his horse. Towards evening the wind blew keenly, and I saw her enveloped in a soldier's great-coat. Many females left their homes in a similar manner with the French officers, and travelled about with the army, on horseback, and astride, clad in uniform of the Polish lancers, or hussars, splendidly embroidered, with crimson trowsers, made very wide, in the Cossack fashion. The ladies of Spain frequently ride astride, with pantaloons and hessian boots, with a habit buttoning up before and behind, and, when they are on horseback, it is unfastened and hangs down on each side, to conceal their legs from view.