The king begins his journey to Madrid, and Peterborow to Valencia- Sad accident at St. Jago-Peterborow leaves Valencia-Savage cruelty of the Spaniards at Campilio-Amours of two English officers with -Saint Vincent's procession-Curious customs of the Valencians Alicant besieged by General Gorge-Remarkable feat of a Scotch dragoon -Messenger to Alicant-Letter from the king of Spain to the queen of England-The siege of Carthagena--Signal defeat of the English before Villena-Comic appearance of Major Boyd on his journey to Venissa- Denia a garrison, by order of King Charles-Extraordinary storm of locusts-Singular mine explosion at Alicant-Sainte Clemente de la Mancha, rendered famous by the renowned Don Michael Cervantes- Interesting accounts-Surprising flight of eagles-The Inquisition 399 Bull-fight at La Mancha-Temperance and bigotry of the Spaniards- Reserve custom of gentlemen in company with ladies-Wretched music, except at Valencia-Music at executions-Singular appeal of a clergy- The shade of Don Quixotte-Concise account of Madrid-Anecdote of Mahoni and General Stanhope-The Escurial-Account of the Convent Brief description of Biscay and other towns-Isle of Conference, and interview between the kings of France and Spain-Narrow escape from being drowned-Tempest in the Bay of Biscay, and miraculous de- MEMOIRS OF A CAVALIER. Advertisement to the Edinburgh Edition of 1809. WHETHER this interesting work is considered as a romance, or as a series of authentic memoirs, in which the only fabulous circumstance is the existence of the hero; it must undoubtedly be allowed to be of the best description of either species of composition, and to reflect additional lustre, even on the author of Robinson Crusoe. There is so much simplicity and apparent fidelity of statement throughout the narrative, that the feelings are little indebted to those who would remove the veil; and the former editors, perhaps, have acted not unwisely in leaving the circumstances of its authenticity in their original obscurity. The Memoirs of a Cavalier, have long, however, been ascertained to be the production of DANIEL DE FOE. Both the first and second editions were published without date; but, from other evidence, the work appears to have been written shortly after Robinson Crusoe, in 1720-1. A few Notes have been added to the present edition, collected from the periodical publications of the time (now rare and curious), to exhibit the exact coincidence of the facts themselves, with the transactions narrated in these Memoirs. Edinburgh, 1809. THE PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. As an evidence that it is very probable these memorials were written many years ago, the persons now concerned in the publication, assure the reader, that they have had them in their possession finished, as they now appear, above twenty years. That they were so long ago found by great accident, among other valuable papers, in the closet of an eminent public minister, of no less figure than one of King William's secretaries of state. As it is not proper to trace them any farther, so neither is there any need to trace them at all, to give reputation to the story related, seeing the actions here mentioned have a sufficient sanction from all the histories of the times to which they relate, with this addition, that the admirable manner of relating them, and the wonderful variety of incidents, with which they are beautified in the course of a private gentleman's story, add such delight in the reading, and give such a lustre, as well to the accounts themselves as to the person who was the actor, that no story, we believe, extant in the world ever came abroad with such advantage. It must naturally give some concern in the reading, that the name of a person of so much gallantry and honour, and so many ways valuable to the world, should be lost to the reader. We assure them no small labour has been thrown away upon the inquiry; and all we have been able to arrive to of discovery in this affair is, that a memorandum was PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. xiii found with this manuscript, in these words, but not signed by any name, only the two letters of a name, which gives us no light into the matter; which memoir was as follows: MEMORANDUM.—1 found this manuscript among my father's writings, and I understand that he got them as plunder, at, or after, the fight at Worcester, where he served as major of 's regiment of horse on the side of the parliament. I. K. As this has been of no use but to terminate the inquiry after the person, so, however, it seems most naturally to give an authority to the original of the work, viz., That it was born of a soldier; and, indeed, it is, through every part, related with so soldierly a style, and in the very language of the field, that it seems impossible anything, but the very person who was present in every action here related, could be the relator of them. The accounts of battles, the sieges, and the several actions of which this work is so full, are all recorded in the histories of those times; such as the great battle of Leipsic, the sacking of Magdeburg, the siege of Nuremburg, the passing the river Leck in Bavaria; such also as the battles of Keynton, or Edge-hill; the battles of Newbury, Marstonmoor, and Naseby, and the like. They are all, we say, recorded in other histories, and written by those who lived in those times, and, perhaps, had good authority for what they wrote. But do those relations give any of the beautiful ideas of things formed in this account? Have they one half of the circumstances and incidents of the actions themselves that this man's eyes were witness to, and which his memory has thus preserved? He that has read the best accounts of those battles will be surprised to see the par |