he gave under circumstances that allowed him most coolness and freedom of judgment.—­The Spaniards then were wanting in enthusiasm.  Now what is meant by enthusiasm?  Does it mean want of ardour and zeal in battle?  This Sir J. Moore no where asserts; and, even without a direct acknowledgement of their good conduct in the field (of which he had indeed no better means of judging than we in England), there is involved in his statement of the relative numbers of the French and Spaniards—­combined with our knowledge of the time during which they maintained their struggle—­a sufficient testimony to that; even if the events of the first campaign had not made it superfluous.  Does it mean then a want of good-will to the cause?  So far from this, we have seen that Sir J.M. admits that there was, in that class where it was most wanted, ‘a great deal’ of good-will.  And, in the present condition of Spain, let it be recollected what it is that this implies.  We see, in the intercepted letter to Marshal Soult (transmitted by Sir J.M.), that the French keep accurate registers of the behaviour of the different towns; and this was, no doubt, well known throughout Spain.  Therefore to shew any signs of good-will—­much more to give a kind welcome to the English (as had been done at Badajoz and Salamanca)—­was, they knew, a pledge of certain punishment on any visit from the French.  So that good-will, manifested in these circumstances, was nothing less than a testimony of devotion to the cause.

Here then, the reader will say, I find granted—­in the courage and the good-will of the Spaniards—­all the elements of an enthusiastic resistance; and cannot therefore imagine what more could be sought for except the throwing out and making palpable of their enthusiasm to the careless eye in some signal outward manifestations.  In this accordingly we learn what interpretation we are to give to Sir J.M.’s charge:—­there were no tumults on his entrance into Spain; no insurrections; they did not, as he says, ‘rally round’ the English army.  But, to determine how far this disappointment of his expectations tells against the Spaniards, we must first know how far those expectations were reasonable.  Let the reader consider, then,

First; what army was this round which the Spaniards were to rally?  If it was known by the victory of Vimiera, it was known also to many by the Convention of Cintra; for, though the government had never ventured to communicate that affair officially to the nation, dark and perplexing whispers were however circulated about it throughout Spain.  Moreover, it must surely demand some superstition in behalf of regular troops—­to see, in an army of 20,000 men, a dignity adequate to the office here claimed for it of awakening a new vigour and enthusiasm in such a nation as Spain; not to mention that an English army, however numerous, had no right to consider itself as other than a tributary force—­as itself tending to a centre—­and attracted rather than attracting.