o guard the mouth of the
valley with one brigade, to threaten Hill with the other, and to
make another attempt to carry it. He was to be aided by half the
division of Lapisse, while the other half assisted Sebastiani in
his attack on the British centre. Milhaud's dragoons were placed on
the main road to Talavera, so as to keep the Spaniards from moving
to the assistance of the British.

The battle began with a furious attack on the British right, but
the French were withstood by Campbell's division and Mackenzie's
brigade, aided by two Spanish columns; and was finally pushed back
with great loss, and ten of their guns captured; but as Campbell
wisely refused to break his line and pursue, the French rallied on
their reserve, and prepared to renew the attack.

In the meantime Lapisse crossed the rivulet and attacked
Sherbrooke's division, composed of the Germans and Guards. This
brigade was, however, driven back in disorder. The Guards followed
hotly in pursuit; but the French reserves came up, and their
batteries opened with fury and drove the Guards back, while the
Germans were so hotly pressed, by Lapisse, that they fell into
confusion. The 48th, however, fell upon the flank of the advancing
French; the Guards and the Germans rallied, the British artillery
swept the French columns, and they again fell back. Thus the
British centre and right had succeeded in finally repelling the
attacks made upon them.

On the left, as the French advanced, the 23rd Light Dragoons and
the 1st German Hussars charged the head of Ruffin's column. Before
they reached them, however, they encountered the ravine through
which the rivulet here ran. The Germans checked their horses when
they came upon this almost impassable obstacle. The 23rd, however,
kept on. Men and horses rolled over each other, but many crossed
the chasm and, forming again, dashed in between the squares into
which the French infantry had thrown themselves, and charged a
brigade of light infantry in their rear. Victor hurled two
regiments of cavalry upon them and the 23rd, hopelessly over
matched, were driven back with a loss of 207 men and officers,
being fully half the number that had ridden forward. The rest
galloped back to the shelter of Bassecour's division.

Yet their effort had not been in vain. The French, astonished at
their furious charge, and seeing four distinct lines of cavalry
still drawn up facing them, made no further movement. Hill easily
repulsed th