Staremberg's army was now reduced to
nine thousand. His horses were either slain or worn out by fatigue. He
was consequently compelled to abandon all his artillery and most of his
baggage, as he again commenced a rapid retreat towards Barcelona. The
enemy pressed him every step of the way. But with great heroism and
military skill he baffled their endeavors to destroy him, and after one
of the most arduous marches on record, reached Barcelona with a feeble
remnant of but seven thousand men, ragged, emaciated and bleeding.
Behind the walls of this fortified city, and protected by the fleet of
England, they found repose.
We must now turn back a few years, to trace the progress of events in
Hungary and Austria. Joseph, the emperor, had sufficient intelligence to
understand that the rebellious and anarchical state of Hungary was owing
to the cruelty and intolerance of his father. He saw, also, that there
could be no hope of permanent tranquillity but in paying some respect to
the aspirations for civil and religious liberty. The troubles in Hungary
distracted his attention, exhausted the energies of his troops, and
deprived him of a large portion of his political and military power.
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