the enemy,
who on our nearing them fired briskly at us, for a long time standing
their ground and trying hard to retain their charge; but they soon
found they had sharp taskmasters to deal with, for our troops of the
Fourth division under General Cole poured in on them like lions, and
forced them after a violent resistance to start out of the place and
take refuge on their strong heights.

We followed them up, but found that there they were for a long time
more than a match for us, as they had such an advantage in the ground.
We rushed up the formidable heights, but were again and again driven
back by the fearful play of the enemy's artillery, the position being
only accessible in a few places, and those so narrow that only a small
body could move on them at once. But even with these disadvantages and
the enemy's cannon playing on them our men, after receiving fresh and
strong reinforcements, carried the heights; and not only this, but the
whole of the army having been similarly engaged on the right, had
meanwhile succeeded in driving the enemy from their lines there,
capturing a great number of prisoners in their retreat, the cavalry
pursuing them closely; and some field-pieces were likewise taken.

The enemy then fell back on the River Adour, the allied army soon
following and engaging them in slight attacks in various parts of the
line, till at last the French again took up a position on the heights
near the town of Tarbes, on the said river; but they did not stay long
there, being soon driven away by the Allies and retreating towards St.
Gaudens. Thence they were again driven with great loss to themselves
and a very trifling one to the Allies, this time to Toulouse on the
Garonne, where they stood on the defensive on some more heights on the
right bank of the river with every assailable part strongly fortified.

Some difficulty was met with in our march, owing to the chief of the
bridges being destroyed and having to be replaced by pontoons, and
those that were not destroyed being strongly fortified. One of these
was guarded by some French cavalry, whom we annoyed very considerably
by our fire as we approached them, having in case of their making an
attack on us a fine artificial ditch to fall back into where it was
next to impossible that they could get at us; our fire was made more
daring by our knowing there was a body of hussars waiting out of their
sight, ready to fall on them if they moved on us. We soon ent