Excerpt from The Spanish Journal of Elizabeth, Lady Holland During the stay of the Hollands in Seville they were in close communication with many members of the Central Junta. Naturally, their views on the situation carried much weight, and Lady Holland's remarks are frequently tinged. With a thoroughly Spanish flavour. This is especially noticeable in her comments on Moore and his campaign. Frere was at her elbow, despatches were continually arriving from La Romana - the two men who had considered themselves slighted by the British general; and it was as yet too early for the inhabitants of the South to realise the debt of gratitude which in reality they owed to Moore for his strategic retreat. It is curious to note in contemporary records of the war the complete spirit of self-satisfaction in which the Spanish leaders were accustomed to pencil their despatches, whatever was the nature of their contents. Defeat was often described on paper as victory, and the truth of a report was sometimes only to be judged in the light of subsequent events. It can be no matter Of surprise that on the spot it was difficult to differentiate between fact and fancy. Even in dealing with letters from British commanders a remarkable divergence of Opinion is manifest. This is well illustrated by those from Lord Paget and Sir Robert Wilson, which are included in the Appendix. Though operating only a few hundred miles apart, their ideas of the Spanish character and disposition will be found to be entirely different. The one mistrusted every action, report, or emissary of the Spaniards; the other praised their perseverance and their ardour in the cause of liberty. The Journal is thus valuable as a sidelight upon the history of the war, and as evidence of the contradictory rumours and petty jealousies which were so common at the time. I have taken the Opportunity of inserting a number of unpublished letters in the Appendix, which may be of some interest to students of these early campaigns. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.