darkness and before they could concentrate upon any central or commanding spot. Repose and daylight were required before a prudent General would venture to risk the lives of his men and the success of his whole mission upon such a die.
Accordingly the army was halted; the dispersed recalled, the wounded succored, the dead prepared for burial, and the tired troops ordered to bivouack on the ground they had wrested from the enemy.
Meanwhile the greatest consternation prevailed within the city. When Santa Anna reached the Palace, he hastily assembled the Ministers of State and other eminent citizens, and, after reviewing the disasters of the day and their causes, he proclaimed the indispensable necessity of recurring to a truce in order to take a long respite. There was a difference of opinion upon this subject; but it was finally agreed that a suspension of arms should be negotiated through the Spanish Minister and the British Consul General. Señor Pacheco, the Minister of Foreign Relations, accordingly addressed Messrs. Mackintosh and Bermudez de Castro, entreating them to effect this desired result. During the night the