Chapter XLI: Section 4: Captain Codrington to sir E. Pellew

“_12th July, 1811._

“General Milans is collecting a mixture of troops, consisting of those who have escaped the enemy.”

“He speaks loudly of his indifference to a command, while he boasts that if he were captain-general he would raise forty thousand men and clear the country of the enemy! But in the midst of this disgusting rhodomontade it is not difficult to see that self-interest is the main spring of all his actions, and that instead of raising an army he is more likely, by the system he has adopted, to shake the stability of that which is still left for the defence of the principality.”

_Captain Codrington to sir H. Wellesley._

“_September 1, 1811._

“The affair of general Milans” (namely, the sending of corn to Barcelona under his passport) “which I mentioned to you in my last private letter, is still involved in mystery, which I hope however to penetrate upon my return to Arens de Mar. The Mataro papers reported that two soldiers were shot and a serjeant flogged at Arena for suffering corn to pass their guard at Mongat on its way to Barcelona. The _fact_ of the punishment is I believe truly stated, but the _cause_ no less falsely, enterely as I suspect with the view of terminating my investigation into this nefarious traffic. General Lacy, instead of answering my letter, refers me by word of mouth to the junta, and the deputation from the junta, who went to Mataro (as they assured me) purposely to investigate the business, now tell me that it is an affair purely military, and refer me to general Milans himself.”