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 THE LIFE OF 
 
 DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
 
 T.IK DUKE OK WELLINGTON WHEN LIEUT. GEN. SIR ARTIIUU WELLESLET, K. B.
 
 THE LTFE OF 
 
 FIELD MAES HAL 
 
 THE 
 
 DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 (OONVUNTIOli OF OINTUA.) 
 
 By J. H. STOCQUELER, Esq., 
 
 Author of "The British Officer," "The Handbook of British India," "The Military 
 
 Encyclopaedia," " Travels in Persia, Turkey, Russia, Germany, &c.," 
 
 and other works. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES, WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVING-Sf. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PUBLISHED BY JAS. B. SMITH & CO., 
 
 NO. 146 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 1855.
 
 Btack 
 nex 
 
 
 V27 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The " Memoirs" and " Lives" of the great Duke of Welling- 
 ton already before tlie public are so numerous and so varied 
 in character, that some explanation may appear to be necessary 
 why another candidate for public favour should appear in the 
 field, and presume to hope for patronage. 
 
 In the first place, it is respectfiilly submitted that a complete 
 " Life" of the immortal Duke does not exist. Closing with the 
 Battle of Waterloo, the works of Maxwell, Moyle Sherer, and 
 of Jackson and Scott, embrace merely the military view of his 
 Grace's career, and offer but few elucidations of the adminis- 
 trative character of the mighty soldier. 
 
 In the second place, the greater portion of the abridgments 
 tell but very imperfectly the story of the eventful life here 
 minutely pourtrayed, while the larger works, deriving illustra- 
 tion from mihtary despatches, are too much fraught with tech- 
 nicahty to be intelligible to the general reader. 
 
 In the third place, no work hitherto extant contains 
 pictorial embellishments of a truthful character. The imagin- 
 ation of the artists, uncontrolled by experience, has been 
 suffered to revel in absurdity, and nothing has come of the exu- 
 berance of fancy but anachronism, falsehood, and incongruity. 
 
 In the fourth place, so entirely are the authors of contempo- 
 rary works absorbed in the subject of their biography, that the 
 multitudinous accessories important in the history of a man, 
 whose history is that of Europe, for the time, and of war in aU 
 its phases, are lost sight of. 
 
 These four objections point directly to the pecuhar features 
 of the work now offered to the public. With the second vol- 
 ume, the Life of the Duke of Wellington will be brought down 
 to the hour when his remains were conveyed to the tomb,
 
 vi PREFACK 
 
 amidst the lamentations of a grateful and sorrowing people. 
 The Work will thus offer, for the first time, a complete history 
 of the marvellous career of the unapproachable soldier and the 
 sagacious statesman. The numerous illustrations, some of 
 which (as Badajoz, Ciudad Eodrigo, Salamanca, &c.,) are con- 
 tributed by the graceful pencil of Colonel John Luard, author 
 of a " History of the Dress of the British Soldier," an actor in 
 the scenes delineated, and the remainder by Messrs G. and R. 
 Thomas, the eminent artists and engravers, have the unusual 
 advantage of truthfulness in the matter of scenery, costume, 
 and portraiture. The stories of battle are told with the shghtest 
 possible reference to official detail, that they may be rendered 
 famihar to unprofessional readers, and copious anecdotes of 
 military existence in the camp and the bivouac are supplied, 
 that just ideas may be formed of the quality of the " service" 
 to which a soldier is exposed. Finally, every hne which the 
 Duke wrote and published, every word which he pubUcly ut- 
 tered, illustrative of his character and his principles, has been 
 cited, referred to, or reproduced, that general inferences may 
 the more readily be drawn of the springs and motives of action 
 by which his public life was influenced, and that he may in a 
 great measure be made the interpreter, exponent, and apologist 
 of his own miraculous deeds. 
 
 It will be a satisfaction to the writer to find that, in all these 
 respects, he has contributed to supply a desideratum, and not 
 produced a work altogether unworthy of the exalted theme.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 TAOE 
 
 Birth, Parentage, and Education, of Arthur Wellesley — Enters the Army — 
 Serves in Holland with the 33rd Regiment — Proceeds to India — Capture 
 of Seringapatam — Becomes Governor of the place — Attacks Dhoondia 
 Waugh, the freebooter — Promoted to Major-General — Conducts the Cam- 
 paign against the Mahratta Chieftains — Gains the Victories of Assaye and 
 Argaum — Takes the Fortresses of Ahmednuggur, Asseerghur, and Gawil- 
 ghur — Created a Knight of the Bath — Receives Addresses and Rewards — 
 Returns Home 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Appointed to the StaflF as Commander of a Brigade — Becomes Secretary for 
 Ireland — Joins the Expedition to Denmark — Distinguishes himself at 
 Kioge — Proceeds to Portugal — Gains the Victories of Rori^a and Vimiero 
 — The Convention of Cintra — Returns to England. . . . . 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 French Invasion of Portugal — Occupation of Spain — Sir Arthur proceeds to 
 Portugal — Battles of Rori^a and Vimiero — Convention of Cintra — Sir 
 Arthur returns Home 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Sir John Moore in Spain, and Sir John Cradock in Portugal — Memorandum 
 on the Defence of Portugal — Departure for Portugal — Reception at Lis- 
 bon — Advance upon Oporto — Passage of the Douro — Battle of Talavera — 
 The British wounded — Lines of Torres Vedras — Massena's Advance — 
 Guerrillas — Battle of Busaco . . . . , 41
 
 viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 Massena before the Lines — ^His Retreat — Pursuit by the Allies — Af&iirs at 
 Redinha, Pombal, Foz d'Aronce, aud Casul Nova — WelliDgton's Corre- 
 fipoudeace « .73 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Affairs ia the South of Spain — Siege of Cadiz — Battle .of Barossa — Retreat 
 of Massena — Attempt on Almeida — Battle of Fuentes d'Ofioro — The 
 Wounded at Fuentes d'Ofioro 94 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Escape of the Garrison of Almeida — Contrast between "Wellington and 
 Napoleon — Caution to Officers to repress injudicious zeal — Marshal Beres- 
 f >rd — Investment of Badajoz — Battle of Albuera — Abandonment of the 
 Siege of Badajoz — The Spanish and Portuguese allies . . . .111 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Position at Guinaldo — Affair of El Bodon — Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo — Sur- 
 prise of the French at Arroyo del Moliuos — Character of Sir R. Hill — 
 Advice to Lord W. Bentinck — Winter Costumes — Defence of Tarif;i . 122 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Capture of Ciudad Rodrigo — Plunder and Conflagration — Death and Burial 
 of General Craufurd — General Mackinnon — The Napiera .... 137 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Honours and Rewards — Capture of Badajoz — Sir R. Hill at Almarez — Capture 
 of Almarez .... 152 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Resolution to advance into Spain — March towards Salamanca — Reception at 
 Salamanca — Capture of the Fortresses — Battle of Salamanca Character 
 of Marshal M.irmont — Retreat of the French 166
 
 CONTENTS. I ix 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 PAQB 
 
 Advance upon Madrid — Reception at Madrid — The French in the East, the 
 South, and the North of Spain — Departure for Burgos — Proclamation to 
 the Spaniards — Attack upon, and Retreat from Burgos — Hill and Soult at 
 Alba de Tormes — Circular on the subject of Discipline — Feeling excited by 
 the Circular 179 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Feeling in England regarding Salamanca and Burgos — Meeting of Parhament 
 — Speeches — Lord Wellington becomes Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish 
 Armies — Goes to Cadiz to meet the Cortes — Obtains the Colonelcy of the 
 Royal Horse Guards — Goes to Lisbon 199 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A Glance at Napoleon's Russian Campaign, and the State of Affairs in the 
 East of Spain 211 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Old Soldiers — Second in Command — Preparations for the ensuing Campaign 
 — Remonstrances addressed to the Spanish and Portuguese Governments 
 — Advance into Spain — Battle of Vittoria 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Reception of the News of the Battle of Vittoria in England — Failure of Sir 
 John Murray at Tarragona — Advance into the PjTenees — Reappearance 
 of Marshal Soult — His Proclamation 246 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 San Sebastian taken — Pampeluna capitulates . 272 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Battle of the Nivelle — Proclamation of Louis XVIH. — Lord "Wellington's 
 view of the French feeling in respect to a Successor to Napoleon — The 
 War in Germany — The Battle of Leipsic — Advance of the Northern Allies 
 to Frankfort — Declaration of the AlUes .296
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The FeeliDg in England — Canning's Speech — Passage of O'.e NIve — ^"■«n^ 't 
 of Barrouilhet, Arcangues, and St. Pierre — Battle of Orthea — Dor^lara'^ia 
 for the Bourbons — Remonstrances with the Due D'Angoclcme . . .30 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Dissolution of the Congress at Chatillon — Napoleon resist: 'he Alhes at 
 Craone, Laon, and Soissous — Revolution in Holland — Faif""" of Graham 
 at Bergen-op-Zoom — The Affair at Aire — The Battle of Toulou«, and In- 
 vestment of Bayonne 32.^ 
 
 CHAPTER/ XXI. 
 
 Lord Wellington created a 'Duke — Honours to his Generals, LorJs Comber- 
 mere and Hill — The Duke visits Paris and Madrid — Fresh P-uliamentary 
 Grants — The Allied Sovereigns and their Generals visit Englanc' — The Duke 
 of Wellington also returns to England 835 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Discussions on Shivery — The Duke moves Louis XVUI. to procure its aboli- 
 tion — The Congress at Vienna — Lord Castlereagh 356 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The news of Napoleon's Arrival in France received by the Congress at 
 Vienna — Project for meeting the new invasion — The Duke's plan of fortify- 
 ing the Netherlands ... 368
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 rAOB 
 THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON, "WHEN LIEUT.-GENERAL SIR ARTHUR 
 
 WELLESLET Frontispiece. 
 
 CONVENTION OF CINTRA VigneUe. 
 
 MAHRATTA SOLDIERS . . . . . . . . .11 
 
 MARCH OF A BRITISH ARMY IN INDIA. THE DROOG, 1803 . . . 15 
 
 ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH LINE AT ASSAYE. "WELLESLEy's HORSE 
 
 SHOT, SEPTEMBER, 1803 . . . . . . .18 
 
 A VIEW OF COPENHAGEN 33 
 
 MAP OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL ....... 35 
 
 RIFLEMAN AT RORI9A . . . . . . . . . 41 
 
 THE CONVENTION ......... 46 
 
 PASSAGE OF THE DOURO . . . . . . . . 53 
 
 MARSHAL VICTOR ......... 58 
 
 GENERAL CUESTA INSPECTING THE SPANISH ADVANCED POSTS, 1809 59 
 MARSHAL MOKTIER . . . . . . . . .67 
 
 BRITISH HEAVY DRAGOONS 70 
 
 GUERRILLAS CAPTURING A FRENCH PRISONER . . . .72 
 
 MARSHAL MASSENA . . . . . . . . . 75 
 
 BATTLE OF BUSACO. " CHARGE !" CRIED CRAUFURD. SEPT., 1810 . 76 
 
 LINES OF TORRES VEDRAS 78 
 
 REINFORCEMENTS ......... 79 
 
 ATTACK ON MASSENA's REAR . . . . . . . 100 
 
 NORMAN RAMSAY AT FUENTES d'oNORO ..... 105 
 
 LORD WELLINGTON IN THE TRENCHES BEFORE BADAJOZ . . . 119 
 GENERAL HILL 131
 
 xu. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 FAOB 
 
 CIUDAD RODRIGO AFTER THE SIEGE, JANUARY, 1812 . . . . 140 
 
 BADAJOZ AFTER THE ijIEGE, 1812 ...... IGl 
 
 SALAMANCA, 1812 1C9 
 
 TKIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO MADRID, 1812 179 
 
 SPANISH LADIES 180 
 
 RETREAT FROM BURGOS ..,.,... 193 
 
 PONTOON BRIDGE .......... 236 
 
 PLUNDERING BAGGAGE VITTORIA 243 
 
 MARSHAL JOURDAN VITTORIA 244 
 
 BOULT PYRENEES 253 
 
 PYRENEES 263 
 
 DESCENT FROM THE PYRENEES, NEAR THE BIDASSOA, 1813 . . 287 
 
 FRENCH SOLDIERS 298 
 
 LORD COMBERMERE 337 
 
 MARSHAL PRINCE BLUCHER .... ... 344
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth, parentage, and education, of Arthur Wellesley — Enters the Army — Serves in HoUantl 
 with the 33rd Regimentr— Proceeds to India— Capture of Seringapatam— Becomes Gov- 
 ernor of the place— Attacks Dhoondia Waugh, the freebooter— Promoted to Major-General — 
 Conducts the campaign against the Mahratta chieftains — Gains the victories of Assaye and 
 Argaun— Takes the fortresses of Ahmednuggur, Asseerghur and Gawilghur— Created a 
 Knight of the Bath— Receives addresses and rewards— Returns home. 
 
 T generally falls to tlie lot of a bio- 
 grapher to start with his subject from 
 an obscure point, and to enjoy the 
 satisfaction of travelling with him to 
 the eminence which has given his 
 early history a claim upon public re- 
 spect and curiosity. Nothing is more 
 agreeable than to track an adventurous 
 spirit through all the difficulties and 
 obstructions which beset the path of 
 the friendless, and to share, in imagi- 
 nation, in its honourable struggles, to 
 glide over its smoother passages, to 
 depict its patience and fortitude, and, 
 finally, to participate in its noble 
 triumphs. 
 
 The writer who should undertake 
 to narrate the history of Wellington is deprived of a portion of this 
 satisfaction, because the career of the great warrior and statesman 
 commenced under circumstances of peculiar advantage. Nobly 
 
 VOL. I. 1
 
 2 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1769. 
 
 born, carefully educated, and connected with people enjoying consid- 
 erable political influence, he was subjected to no early wrestlings 
 with fate. lie was launched upon the stream of life under the 
 most favourable auspices, tasting neither the bitterness of poverty 
 nor the humiliation of obscurity. His public life, from first to last, 
 was one uninterrupted chain of glory, each link more brilliant than 
 its predecessor, and unlike other great adventurers, whose course 
 from insignificance to splendour was broken, through a series of 
 mischances or their own unsteadiness of character, his progress 
 knew no culminating point — his fame no tarnish — his fortunes no 
 reverse. 
 
 But the even tenor of his career is no disparagement of the vast 
 merit of the Duke of Wellington. If his antecedents were less 
 humble than the public beginnings of other men, let it be remembered 
 that he reached a higher eminence than any personage of whom the 
 annals of England possess a record — always excepting John, Duke 
 of Marlborough, his prototype in all things but political virtue. Nor 
 has his upward path been free from a thousand obstructions, which 
 none but a gigantic mind and a firm heart could surmount. His diffi 
 culties begin with his direct responsibility. His triumphs followed a; 
 the results of his indomitable perseverance, his unflinching courage 
 and his amazing constancy. 
 
 Irrational and exacting must be the biographer who is not conten 
 with such materials for his story ! 
 
 It was in March, 1769, that Arthur Wellesley first saw the light. 
 Biographers difl'er as to the date and the locality ; but it appears 
 by the evidence taken before a Parliamentary Committee in 1791. to 
 inquire into a petition against his return for the borough of Trim, on 
 the ground of his being a minor, that he was really born at Dangan 
 Castle, in the county of Meath, Ireland, at the time alleged above. His 
 father was the second Earl of Mornington, who enjoyed much celebrity 
 for his nice musical taste ; his mother, Anne, the eldest daughter of 
 Viscount Duugannon. Early in life Arthur Wellesley was sent to Eton 
 College for his education, in conjunction with his afterwards distin- 
 guished brother llichard. Richard, at Eton, displayed an aptitude 
 for the acquisition of knowledge, and was gifted with good taste and 
 poetic fancy. There are extant several of his juvenile compositions, 
 and even to a late period of his life he did homage to the Muses in 
 the hours of leisure and retirement. The obvious bent of his genius 
 and inclinations led to his removal to Oxford. 
 
 Arthur, on the other hand, gave no promise of excellence, and was 
 therefore deemed fit for the army. In those days, younger brothers,
 
 1191.] PROMOTION AND PARLIAMENTARY DEBUT. 3 
 
 whose talent was slow in developing itself, were considered by 
 sagacious friends only adapted to professions in which, it was most 
 erroneously supposed, there was neither scope .nor necessity for 
 intellectual activity. They were sent into the army to acquire rank 
 and position without effort. But it was considered, in the case of 
 Arthur Wellesley, that he ought at least to have the advantages of 
 some military preparation, and he was therefore sent to the College 
 of Anglers, directed by Pignard, a celebrated French engineer, — for 
 England at that time did not possess such an institution as the Col- 
 lege at Sandhurst. 
 
 At the age of eighteen, after he had gone through a course of 
 French military instruction, Arthur Wellesley was gazetted to an 
 ensigncy in the 73d Regiment. This was in March, 1787. Nine 
 months later he was promoted to a lieutenancy in the 76th. Sub- 
 sequent exchanges carried him into the 41st Foot, and the 1 2th Light 
 Dragoons. 
 
 In 1791 (30th of June), being then twenty-two years of age, he 
 procured a company in the 58th Foot, whence, four months later, he 
 exchanged to a troop in the 18th Light Dragoons. Under the system 
 in force in the British army, officers, avid of rapid promotion, must 
 seek it in other regiments than their own, if their immediate seniors 
 are prepared to purchase advancement. As Arthur Wellesley had 
 had no opportunities of displaying zeal and gallantry in the field 
 during these four years of service, his quick progress may be fairly set 
 down to the combined action of ministerial favor, and a sufficiency 
 of pecuniary means. Neither at school, nor college, nor in the per- 
 formance of the easy regimental duty peculiar to a time of peace, and 
 incidental to five exchanges, did he display any of those qualities which 
 developed themselves in so remarkable a manner a few years later. 
 
 Previous to obtaining his company. Lieutenant Wellesley was re- 
 turned a member of the Irish parliament. He sat for three years, 
 during a portion of which time he was an aide-de-camp to the Earl of 
 Westmoreland, then Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. 
 
 The young member occasionally spoke, always in opposition to 
 liberal measures ; and his oratory was characterized more by a curt 
 and decided form of expression than by the efflorescence then popular 
 among the Grattans, Cuffs, Parnells, and other members of the 
 legislature. His opinions were of the Tory cast ; and, even at that 
 early period, he opposed himself to any consideration of the Catholic 
 claims, and to schemes of Parliamentary Reform. As an aide-de-camp, 
 and a member of a Protestant family, his sentiments were, of course, 
 colored by the opinions of the noblemen and statesmen with whom
 
 4 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1793 
 
 he continually associated ; but there can be little reason to suppose 
 that he was altogether under the dominion of partisanship. Freedom 
 of thought was an early habit with Arthur Wellesley. and he sought 
 CD all occasions the independence of action which was its proper ac- 
 companiment. 
 
 On the 30th of April, 1793, Captain Wellesley was gazetted Major 
 of the 33rd Foot. On the 30th of September, of the same year, he 
 succeeded to the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the corps. 
 
 It was as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 33rd that the military career 
 of Arthur Wellesley may be said to have fairly commenced. 
 
 In 1794, the French Republic was in arms to propagate the 
 opinions upon which its existence was based, and to meet the forces 
 of Austria and Prussia who had assembled to fight the battle of order 
 and legitimacy. Some parties in Holland, who had imbibed the 
 modern French doctrines, sought the aid of the Republicans in the 
 establishment of a system of government and institutions akin to 
 their own ; and the Directory, recognising the appeal, menaced the 
 Stadtholder with the invasion of his provinces. Alarmed for the 
 integrity of Holland, the Stadtholder sought the assistance of 
 England. Pitt, the British Minister, caught at the opportunity of 
 assisting to check the dissemination of principles which threatened 
 th^ social disturbance of Great Britain ; and an army was at once 
 equipped and dispatched to Holland under the orders of the Duke of 
 York, the second son of King George III. 
 
 While this army was operating in the Netherlands, a separate 
 expedition, under the Earl of Moira (afterwards Marquis of Hastings, 
 and Governor-General of India), was directed to make a descent 
 upon the coast of France. Of this expedition, the 33rd Regiment 
 formed a part, Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Wellesley commanding. The 
 troops had embarked on board the transports, and awaited a wind, 
 but the arrival of the intelligence of the failure of the Duke of York, 
 the surrender of Tournay, and the repulse before Oudenarde, induced 
 the Government to change the destination of the expedition, and to 
 direct Lord Moira to proceed to Ostend. 
 
 Lord Moira's aid encouraged the Duke of York to persevere in his 
 operations, but it did not in any way promote their success. 
 Wherever the French Republican troops encountered the British, the 
 latter, after a vain contest, were compelled to give way. At Mechlin, 
 the Duke was forced to retreat; first upon Antwerp, then upon 
 Breda and Bois le Due. Occasionally a stand was made, and the 
 French were attacked in their turn, but the result of the struggle was 
 invariably unfavorable to the British.
 
 1795.] SERVICE IN HOLLAND. 5 
 
 These episodical affairs, however, gave scope for the display of good 
 soldiership on the part of Lieutenanfr-Colonel Wellesley. At Schyndel, 
 Lieutenant-Generai (afterwards Sir Ralph) Abercrombie was engaged 
 with a large body of the Republicans, who had contrived to mask them- 
 selves, until the British, consisting of the two regiments of Guards, the 
 i?3rd and 44th Regiments of the line, and some squadrons of 
 Dragoons, were brought within the range of a deadly fire of artillery, 
 under cover of which the French Hussars prepared to make a despe- 
 rate charge. In the retrograde movement rendered necessary by the 
 cannonade, the British fell into some confusion, the Dragoons 
 mingling with the Guards. At this juncture, with the promptitude 
 which ever afterwards marked his movements, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Wellesley deployed the 33rd into line in rear of the household 
 troops, in order to occupy the road, and hold the French in check. 
 
 The Hussars continued to advance, with their usual impetuosity, 
 and when within a suitable distance furiously charged. The 33rd 
 reserved their fire until the cavalry came within one hundred yards; 
 then, delivering a murderous volley, they threw back the assailants, 
 and followed them, as they in turn retreated, with a succession of 
 destructive fusillades. Upon a subsequent occasion at Meteren, — 
 Walmoden having intermediately succeeded to the command of the 
 allied Hanoverian and British forces, — Lieutenant-Colonel Wellesley 
 did good service in forcing a confident body of Republican troops to 
 abandon an attack upon the position of Generals Dundas and DalwicL 
 
 Occupying Meteren with a wing of the o3rd, two field-pices, and 
 a squadron of Hussars, Colonel Wellesley was obliged fey superior 
 numbers to fall back upon the British lines, losing his cannon in the 
 Tetrogression. Reinforced by the other wing of his regiment, he, in 
 turn, beeamfi the assailant, regained the guns, and repulsed the 
 enemy ; then, falling back upon the post of Geldermalsen, he main- 
 tained himself with the 42nd and 78th Highlanders, and the 33rd, 
 until the French retired after repeated efforts to dislodge him. 
 
 Returning to lEngland at the close of the disastrous campaign in 
 Holland, the S3rd Regiment commenced recruiting, for what betweem 
 sickness, and the ordinary contingencies cf war, the corps had been 
 reduced to a skeleton. It had scarcely been reported effective, ere, in 
 the autumn of 1795, it was ordered to the West Indies as part of an 
 expedition, and 'had actually embarked. Stress of weather, however, 
 prevented the departure of the expedition, and the 33rd re-landed 
 under instructions to prepare for service in the East. 
 
 If the optimist wished for an elucidation of his doctrine that tout 
 <e&t pom- le omeux dans ce mcillcur des t7iondes, he mi^ht triumphantly
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON [1793, 
 
 point to the " ill-winds" which diverted the West Indian expedition 
 from its destined course. But for the happy accident of the return 
 of the 33rd to port, Wellesky would have lost the admirable oppor- 
 tunity for the display of his talents which India was shortly to open 
 to him. 
 
 In the month of April, 179G, the 33rd sailed for India, the Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel remaining for the moment in England, in ill health. 
 The regiment put into the Cape for provisions, and here it was joined 
 by Lieutenant-Colonel Wellesley, who proceeded with it to Calcutta. 
 
 In those days, voyages to the East Indies were tedious operations, 
 and they were not expedited by a stoppage at the Cape of Good 
 Hope. It was February, 1797, before the 33rd Eegiment disembarked 
 at Calcutta. 
 
 For nearly two years subsequent to his anrival in India, the time 
 of Colonel Wellesley was passed in the performance of garrison and 
 district duty, if we except the preparation for an expedition to 
 Manilla, which was abandoned before it was carried into execution. 
 At the close of 1798, however, Lord Mornington (Colonel Wellesley's 
 brother), who had become Governor-General of India, having acquired 
 information that Tippoo, the Sultan of Mysore, was negotiating with 
 the French Republicans at Mauritius (then called the Isle of France) 
 for the establishment of an offensive and defensive- alliance having for 
 its object the expulsion of the English from India, his lordship deter- 
 mined on assembling a large body of troops in the vicinity of Tippoo's 
 territories. 
 
 Colonel Wellesley was, on this occasion, appointed to a responsible- 
 command ; and in November, 1798, we find him at the head of all 
 the disposable troops assembled and encamped at Wallajabad. This 
 responsible duty he fulfilled until February, 1799, when General 
 Harris, who had been nominated to the chief direction of the opera- 
 tions which Tippoo's contumacy and treachery seemed to render ad- 
 visable, joined the army, and took the command. He immediately 
 addressed himself to the necessary preparations for the campaign. 
 Prom no individual in the army did he derive greater aid than from 
 Colonel Wellesley, as his first report of that officer's masterly arrange- 
 ments to the Governor-General expressed in the following letter : 
 
 "Camp, near Vellok-b, Shd Fibruary, 1799. 
 
 '• My Lord, 
 
 " Having had leisure since my arrival here to inspect the 
 division of the army which has been aince its formation under the
 
 1799.] seringapatam: 7 
 
 orders of the Honorable Colonel Wellesley, I have much satisfaction 
 in acquainting your lordship that the very handsome appearance and 
 perfect discipline of the troops do honor to themselves and to him ; 
 while the judicious and masterly arrangements in respect to supplies, 
 which opened an abundant free market, and inspired confidence into 
 dealers of every description, were no less creditable to Colonel 
 Wellesley than advantageous to the public service, and deservedly 
 entitle him to my thanks and approbation. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, with great respect, &c., 
 
 "G-. Harris." 
 
 Soon after General Harris had joined, the army, consisting of 
 upwards of 50,000 fighting men, formed into three large divisions, 
 one of which was placed under Colonel Wellesley, moved towards 
 Seringapatam.* Tippoo, confident in his own resources, and the 
 bravery of his troops, advanced to meet them. He had no alternative, 
 he considered, but to attack himself, or to remain in his capital to be 
 assailed. He adopted the former. At Sedaseer (6th March, 1799), 
 he encountered the Western or Cannanore army, under General 
 Stuart. Falling furiously upon a brigade of Sepoys, commanded by 
 Colonel Montresor, he hoped to annihilate it by the superiority of 
 his numbers. But Stuart coming to his aid, Tippoo's troops, after 
 a five hours' attack, gave way with great loss. Three weeks sub- 
 sequently, Tippoo afi'ronted the allied army under General Harris 
 at Mullavelly. The brunt of the battle was borne by the infantry of 
 the Nizam under Colonel Wellesley, supported by the cavalry under 
 General Floyd. The conflict lasted for some hours. At length the 
 elite of Tippoo's divisions came in contact with the 33rd, and halting, 
 coolly delivered its fire. The 33rd, Colonel Wellesley's regiment, 
 returned the volley, and charged with the bayonet. The enemy 
 wavered, broke, and fled ; General Floyd's cavalry pursued and 
 destroyed them. 
 
 Tippoo now retired to Seringapatam, whither he was followed by 
 the allied army. General Harris was not long in investing the c^ty, 
 and making arrangements for a siege. These siege operations com- 
 menced upon the junction of the Bombay army with that of the 
 Madras force on the 14th of April, 1799, and continued unceasingly 
 until the 4th of May, when breaches having been efiected, the general 
 assault was made, under the personal command of Sir David Baird. 
 Intermediately some minor operations had taken place, connected 
 
 > A fortified town in Mysore, then the capital.
 
 8 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1799. 
 
 ■with the occupation of villages, the attack upon the citadel, and the 
 repulse of sorties, and in all of these Colonel Wellesley displayed 
 great judgment, coolness, and gallantry. 
 
 In an attack upon a tope or grove, occupied by the enemy, Colone* 
 Wellesley was struck on the knee by a spent ball, and narrowly 
 escaped falling into the hands of the Sultan's troops. On the day 
 appointed for the attack on Seringapatam a circumstance occurred 
 ■which illustrated the habit so long conspicuous in Wellesley in after 
 life, of adhering rigidly to the orders of his superiors ; a principle of 
 action he was sedulous to inculcate when he came to exercise superior 
 command. When all was ready for the assault. Colonel Wellesley 
 was not present, and as General Harris had ordered that he should 
 command, he could not comprehend why the Colonel was absent, 
 especially when so much time had elapsed whilst the additional forces 
 were marching down to their allotted stations. After waiting a little 
 longer, and inquiring from his staff what could be the reason of 
 Colonel Wellesley's absence. General Harris became uneasy and 
 apprehensive that the favorable moment for the attack would be 
 lost ; and he directed General Baird, who was on the spot, to take 
 the command, and proceed to the attack. General Eaird immediately 
 drew his sword, and, turning his horse, rode towards the column for 
 this purpose. He had not moved many paces when General Harris 
 called him back, and said, " On further consideration I think that we 
 must wait a little longer for Colonel Wellesley," in which General 
 Baird expressed his hearty concurrence. Colonel Wellesley appeared 
 in a few moments afterwards, having, by an omission in the Adjutant- 
 General's Office, been only just then warned for the duty. He 
 instantly took the command of the troops, and proceeded to the 
 attack. 
 
 Seringapatam fell after a short but murderous conflict. 
 
 After the capture of Seringapatam, Colonel Wellesley was placed 
 in command of the fortress. In this responsible position it became 
 his duty to see to the interment of the dead, the stoppage of the 
 plunder of houses and the molestation of the inhabitants, and the 
 re-establisliment of bazaars throughout the city. 
 
 The inclination of the soldiery to indulge in every kind of 
 debauchery and violence compelled the Colonel to resort to measures 
 of severity, and it was not until several men had been executed 
 for marauding, that the plunder ceased. Colonel Wellesley then 
 applied himself to the task of conciliating the adherents of the 
 Sultan, and of restoring the general confidence of the Mussulman 
 population, a duty which he discharged with consummate sagacity.
 
 1799.] THE COMMAND OF SERINGAPATAiL 9 
 
 A commission having been appointed to partition the conquered 
 territories among the allies, in conformity to preliminary treaties, 
 Colonel Wellesley was named one of the commissioners. 
 
 As soon as the Hindoo family which had been displaced by the 
 Mussulmans was restored to the Musnud, or throne of Mysore, the 
 grand army was broken up, General Harris returned to Madras, 
 his head quarters, as Commander-in-Chief, and Colonel Wellesley 
 was left in command of the troops serving above the Grhauts, a 
 command with which were associated certain civil duties of an 
 important character. 
 
 The manner in which these military and civil functions were dis- 
 charged elicited the highest approbation. The " active superintend- 
 ence, discernment, impartiality, and decision," of the Colonel called 
 repeatedly for the especial commendation of the Government. There 
 were, however, not a few persons who objected that the selection of 
 Colonel Wellesley for the command was made at the instance of his 
 brother, the Earl. This led to some correspondence between General 
 Harris and the Governor-General, in the course of which the following 
 passages occurred. Lord Mornington, in writing to General Harris, 
 said — 
 
 " July nth, 1799. 
 
 " With respect to the language which you say people have held of 
 my brother's appointment to command in Seringapatam, you know 
 that I never recommended my brother to you, and of course never 
 even suggested how, or where, he should be employed ; and I believe 
 you know also, that you would not have pleased me by placing him in 
 any situation in which his appointment would be injurious to the 
 public service. My opinion, or rather knowledge and experience, of 
 his discretion, judgment, temper, and integrity, are such, that if you 
 had not placed him in Seringapatam, I would have done so of my 
 own authority, because I think him in every point of view the most 
 proper for that service. 
 
 " MORNINGTON." 
 
 No man who knows what was the nature of the service to be per- 
 formed by the permanent Commandant of Seringapatam at that 
 moment, will wonder that the Governor-General should have 
 declared thus distinctly to General Harris, " if you had not placed 
 Colonel Wellesley ,in command, I would." But General Harris 
 had been deeply sensible of the weighty responsibility which
 
 10 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. j^lYog 
 
 attached to him on the death of Tippoo, when the destinies of 
 an empire hung in the balance, and when he was the sole 
 guardian of the high interests involved in this momentous charge 
 until Lord Mornington should decide upon the future policy to 
 be pursued. With a full sense of the imperative necessity of 
 selecting as a commandant for Seringapatam one in whose talents, 
 integrity, and discretion, unbounded confidence could be placed, 
 he appointed Colonel Wellesley, and was, says his biographer, 
 proud of his choice to the last hour of his life. 
 
 An early proof of the devotion of Wellesley to the interests of the 
 service — his complete abnegation of self, when the public welfare 
 demanded the sacrifice — is presented to us about this time. The 
 Dutch, subdued by the French, had united with the Republic in its 
 aggressive measures against England and other states. It became, 
 therefore, a measure of policy to attack her principal possession in 
 India, Batavia, the capital of Java. Lord Mornington, accordingly, 
 prepared an armament for the reduction of the place, and in a just 
 confidence in the military merit of Colonel Wellesley, offered the 
 appointment to his brother. The probable advantages and credit to 
 be gained by it were great ; but Wellesley " left all that entirely out 
 of the question." He felt that the tranquillity of the country, then 
 under his military government, was a subject of primary importance ; 
 and, believing his continued presence calculated to insure it, he declined 
 the proffered command, with the qualification that if Lord Clive 
 the then Governor of Madras, chose to accept it for him, he would 
 not hesitate as to the course he should pursue, especially if the sailing 
 of the expedition could be delayed. Before the appeal to Lord Clive 
 could reach him, a letter from his lordship to Colonel Wellesley 
 crossed it. This letter directed the advance of tlie troops under 
 Wellesley into the Mahratta territory. The Colonel elected to refuse 
 the Bataviau command definitively. 
 
 Amongst the captives liberated from the dungeons of Seringapatam 
 after Tippoo's death, was one Dhoondia Waugh, a Mahratta trooper, 
 who had deserted from Ilyder Ali, and at the head of an armed 
 banditti committed depredations in Mysore. Tippoo seduced him to 
 his court, and then seizing an early pretest for quarrelling with him, 
 converted Dhoondia into a Mussulman, and plunged him into a 
 prison. Once more enlarged through the generosity of the British, the 
 ungrateful ruffian collected a body of miscreants, the greater part of 
 whom had been in the military service of Tippoo, and who were now, 
 by his destruction, cast upon the world. At the head of this band 
 of desperadoes Dhoondia ravaged the country of Bednore. His
 
 1800.] 
 
 DHOONDIA THE FREEBOOTER, 
 
 11 
 
 power increased each day. Thousands flocked to his standard. 
 Many of the Killadars (governors of fortresses) either surrendered 
 to him, or freely joined his plundering enterprise. At length he 
 became so formidable, that it was found necessary, for the sake of 
 the peace of the country, to send out troops to check his wild 
 career. The expedition was successful. Dhoondia, who called himself, 
 in the hyperbolie phraseology peculiar to the potentates of the 
 East, the " King of the Two Worlds," was driven from place to place 
 by the British force under Colonels Dalrymple and Stevenson, 
 and his camp ultimately dispersed. Dhoondia took refuge in the 
 Mahratta country. 
 
 In the year 1800, Dhoondia reappeared in the field, at the head 
 of a considerable army, and at this time also the Polygars, Nairs, 
 and other warlike people ia the south of India, began to threaten 
 
 MAHRATTA SOLDIERS. 
 
 the tranquillity and integrity of Mysore. It now became necessary 
 for Colonel Wellesley to assume the offensive in person, and to the 
 end that he might completely crush the daring marauder Dhoondia, 
 be declined the proffered command of an expedition to Batavia,
 
 12 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. (1800. 
 
 which George III. was anxious should be undertaken.' Joined by 
 the cavalry of Goklah, a Mahratta chieftain in the interest and 
 service of the Peishwa of Poonah, Colonel Wellesley set forth with 
 the 19th and 25th Dragoons, and a body of native cavalry and 
 infantry. 
 
 Dhoondia moved away on his approach, and for three months the 
 pursuit continued over a hilly country, dotted with hill-fortresses, 
 or droogs, and intersected by rivers. At length after several 
 successful assaults upon the hill -forts occupied by his partisans, and 
 the destruction af most of his baggage and equipage, Dhoondia 
 Waugh was overtaken at Conaligull with a body of 5000 horse. Here 
 Colonel Wellesley gave him battle, defeated and dispersed his force, 
 and obtained possession of his standing camp. In this encounter 
 Dhoondia was killed. The warfare was thus terminated ; happily 
 for Mysore, which would probably have been over-run by the free- 
 booter and his hordes had Colonel Wellesley permitted him to cross 
 the Toombuddra with the Pathan chiefs. 
 
 The expedition against Dhoondia Waugh was not merely creditable 
 to Colonel Wellesley's sagacity and soldiership ; it was honourable 
 also to his humanity. When the baggage of the brigand was over- 
 taken, his son, a child of four years of age, was found. He ran up 
 to the palanquin of the Colonel, and sought his compassion. The 
 appeal was not made in vain. Colonel Wellesley adopted him, and 
 supplied the means of his subsistence and education for some years." 
 
 The warfare against Dhoondia at an end, Colonel Wellesley 
 returned to his command at Seringapatam. He had in the recent 
 contest achieved more than the simple subjugation of a powerful 
 robber, and the annihilation of an extensive system of brigandage. 
 He had raised his reputation among the Mahrattas to a lofty pitch, 
 and, with the moral force thus created, was enabled to check any 
 intrigues in which the remaining discontented might indulge. At 
 this moment, however, the Mahrattas were too much engaged in 
 encroachments upon one another, to trouble themselves much about 
 the British. 
 
 The operations of the French did not cease to be a subject of 
 much solicitude with the Anglo-Indian authorities. Tippoo had 
 been destroyed, but Mauritius (then called the Isle of France) still 
 
 1 It was WeUeeley's principle that an officer should always forego prirate consideratioDs when 
 public duty was in question. In thia instance we have an illustration of the conformity of his 
 practice to his principle. 
 
 2 Tlie boy lived until his twenty-sixth year, when ho died of cholera, while in the service of 
 \ho Exgab of Mysore.
 
 1801.] WELLESLEY SUPERSEDED. 13 
 
 furnished a rendezvous for plotters, a depot for French troops and 
 ships, and a 2^oint cVajijnd for hostile movements against the British 
 possessions in India. Moreover, Egypt had now become the arena 
 of European warfare. Napoleon Buonaparte, eager to neutralise the 
 mischievous effects of the Battle of the Nile, by restoring the reputa- 
 tion of the French arms in Egypt, was engaged in reinforcing the 
 troops in the latter country. He had an ulterior object in view — the 
 invasion of India from Egypt — in which project he calculated upon 
 being assisted by Russia. To counteract this object, or to attack 
 Mauritius, was the motive of an armament now ordered by Lord 
 Mornington to assemble at Trincomalee, a harbor on the north-eastern 
 coast of Ceylon. 
 
 Colonel Wellesley was directed to assume the command of the 
 force. Early in 1801, we find him at Ceylon preparing to act accord- 
 ing to the orders he might receive. He believed that the destination 
 of the force would be to the Bed Sea ; and, under this persuasion, as 
 the season rapidly advanced, he sailed to Bombay en route, intending 
 there to re-victual his troops, and receive definite instructions from his 
 brother. But the Earl of Mornington had, in the meanwhile, deter- 
 mined to send the expedition to Batavia, and having, for certain good 
 reasons, resolved on placing General Baird at the head of the enter- 
 prise, Wellesley, on reaching Bombay, found letters superseding him 
 in the command. It has been conjectured that the Earl of Mornington 
 intended by this measure to mark his disapprobation of Colonel 
 Wellesley's procedure upon his own responsibility. The Earl himself 
 explained the act by reference to the relative rank of the officers. 
 He conceived that for such an enterprise a General Officer should be 
 employed. Be this as it may, the supercession was a subject of much 
 distress to Wellesley, and he expressed himself regarding it in terms 
 of annoyance most unusual with him when his own personal interests 
 were alone concerned: — 
 
 " I have not been guilty of robbery or murder, and he (Lord M.) 
 has certainly changed his mind ; but the world, which is always good- 
 natured towards those whose affairs do not exactly prosper, will not, 
 or rather does not, fail to suspect that both, or worse, have been the 
 occasion of my being banished. * * * * J ^[^ not look, and did 
 not wish, for the appointment which was given to me ; and I say that 
 it would probably have been more proper to give it to somebody else ; 
 but when it was given to me, and a circular written to the Govern- 
 ments upon the subject, it would have been fair to allow me to hold 
 it till I did something to deserve to lose it. I put private considera- 
 tions out of the question, as they ought (to have) and have had no
 
 14 LITE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1802 
 
 weight in causing either my original appointment or my supercession. 
 I am not quite satisfied with the manner in which I have been treated 
 by Government upon the occasion. However, I have lost neither my 
 health, spirits, nor temper, in consequence thereof. But it is useless 
 to write any more upon a subject of which I wish to retain no remem- 
 brance whatever." 
 
 It should be stated that this little explosion of wrath and disap- 
 pointment occurs in a private letter to the Hon. Henry Wellesley 
 (afterwards Lord Cowley), and does not form any part of an official 
 record. 
 
 By way of balm to his hurt mind. Lord Mornington appointed his 
 brother second in command under General Baird ; but it was not in 
 his destiny to fill an office for which, on subsequent occasions, he de- 
 clared he never could perceive the necessity. Fever seized him, and 
 he was incapable of proceeding with the expedition, which was now 
 ordered to Egypt. He nevertheless gave Baird, in an elaborate and 
 interesting memorandum on the operations in the Red Sea, the fruits 
 of his reflections and examination of the subject ; establishing in this 
 a magnanimity of character, and a zealous anxiety for the prosperity 
 of the public service, rarely found in men smarting under tlie pangs 
 of imaginary injustice. Nor was his philosophy less conspicuous than 
 his generosity. " I see clearly,'' he says to Colonel Champagne, " the 
 evil consequences of all this to my reputation and future views ; but 
 it cannot be helped, and to things of that nature I generally contrive 
 to make up my mind." 
 
 In April, 1801, Colonel Wellesley resumed his appointment in 
 Mysore. 
 
 A year elapsed, during which Colonel Wellesley continued to fulfil 
 his duties in the most exemplary manner, acquiring the confidence 
 of the people by his rigid love of justice, and his respect for their re- 
 ligious prejudices and social usages. In April, 1802, he was gazetted 
 a Major-Gemcral. 
 
 And here again we find cause of thankfulness to the mysterious 
 fate which had decreed the continuance of Wellesley in a sphere 
 where he was to achieve measures of far greater importance and 
 utility than, as the result established, could be accomplished by the 
 army sent into Egypt. 
 
 For a considerable time previous to the campaigns narrated above, 
 the great Mahratta cliieftains, Scindiah, Holkar, and the Peishwa, had 
 been at issue. J^ach had acquired possessions of immense extent in 
 the Deccan (or south), the country lying between the Nerbudda and 
 Kistna rivers, and the two former were ambitious of \a extension of
 
 1802.] THE MAHRATTA CHIEFTAINS. 15 
 
 their power. With this view, Scindiah had procured the military 
 services of a great many French and other European officers, who 
 were employed to drill and discipline his troops. Holkar, similarly 
 influenced, employed a similar agency. The clash of ambitious pro- 
 jects at length placed Holkar and Scindiah in an attitude of hostility 
 to each other. 
 
 The latter then formed an alliance with the Peishwa, but Holkar 
 * vigorously prosecuting hostilities, defeated the combined forces in the 
 territories of the Peishwa, and entered the Peishwa's capital, Poonah. 
 At this juncture the Peishwa sought the aid of the British, through 
 the Resident at Poonah. The application was favourably received, for 
 the Governor-General, now become Marquis of Wellesley, had viewed 
 with alarm the growth of the power of the different chieftains, each 
 of whom trenched more or less upon the territories of allies which were 
 contiguous to the British dominions, and was anxious to strengthen 
 his hands by a connexion which would interpose a barrier between 
 the Mysore country and the designs of the IM'ahrattas. Accordingly 
 an agreement was entered into with the Peishwa to procure the resto- 
 ration of his authority. 
 
 Offers were made to Scindiah to admit him a party to the treaty, 
 but as he had his own designs against the British, he declined to share 
 in the arrangement. 
 
 The course now taken by the Governor-General, in concert with the 
 governments of Madras and Bombay, was to order the assembly of a 
 corps cVarmee at all the points threatened by Holkar in the conduct 
 of his operations against the Peishwa. A corps of observation was 
 placed on the southern frontier of the Peishwa, to maintain the in- 
 tegrity of the British possessions, and the territories of the Nizam, 
 and the Mysore Rajah. 
 
 Another was established on the north-west frontier of Mysore, 
 while the Bombay government pushed troops to the eastern and 
 southern confines of the territory which it controlled. The Nizam 
 was not inactive. The subsidiary force at Hyderabad prepared for 
 service. 
 
 To Major-General Wellesley was entrusted the command of a 
 division of the Madras army. He had previously draw^n up a 
 memorandum for the guidance of any officer who might at any time 
 be called upon to conduct a war against the Mahrattas, and was 
 therefore deemed peculiarly competent to open a campaign in the 
 Mahratta country. His instructions were to advance upon Poonah 
 in concert with the subsidiary force of the Deccan, to drive Holkar 
 from the capital, and secure the return of the Peishwa. The march
 
 16 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1803 
 
 was successfully accomplished, the troops were received everywhere 
 with open arms, and Major-General Wellesley reached Poonah on the 
 20th of April, 1803. 
 
 The Peishwa soon afterwards entered his capital. But this did not 
 deter Scindiah from the prosecution of his designs. In conjunction 
 with the llajah of Berar he threatened the territories of our ally, the 
 Nizam, and was also discovered to be in active correspondence with 
 Holkar. Hereupon the Marquis of Wellesley resolved upon further 
 measures. 
 
 Lord Lake was appointed to the command of the army of Hin- 
 dostan, and high powers were entrusted to General Wellesley. His 
 campaign against Dhoondia, and his march to Poonah, had familiarised 
 him with the topography of the country ; and the admirable disci- 
 pline he had established inspired him with perfect confidence in bis 
 troops. The 74th were with him, and the 78th (Highlanders), and 
 bis European Cavalry comprised the 19th and 25th Light Dragoons, 
 ably commanded. The Sepoys bad learned to respect and confide in 
 him ; and although they had not attained any degree of efficiency for 
 which they are now remarkable, they knew the value of loyalty to 
 their salt. Every man prided himself in being nimmulaoallali^ of the 
 Company, for his pay was good, the pension was certain, and he had 
 profound faith in the care which the Government took of the families 
 of men who fell in action. The latter at once marched to the city 
 of Ahmcdnuggur, a fortified town of great strength, in the province 
 of the same name. He found the Pettah, or citadel, garrisoned by 
 about 3000 Mahrattas, and 1500 Arabs. No time was lost in at- 
 tacking it. It fell to an assault, in which the British sustained im- 
 portant losses, on the 8th of August. Two days afterwards an attack 
 was directed upon the fort, but the cannonade had not lasted very 
 long when the Killadar made proposals of surrender, and in effect the 
 fort was given ap on the 12th, and tlienceforth occupied by our troops. 
 The conquest of Ahmcdnuggur was of much importance. It secured 
 to the army the communication with Poonah, and became a very use- 
 ful depot. 
 
 The loss of Ahmcdnuggur, followed, as it was, by the occupation of 
 Aurungabad, — for General Wellesley sufi"ered very little time to elaps? 
 between one operation and another, — induced Scindiah and the Rajah 
 of Berar to quicken their movements upon Hyderabad. Their united 
 forces consisted of 88,500 cavalry, 18.000 infantry, some matchlock 
 
 1 Literally, "saU-fellow." To have eaten the salt of another, ia, in the flgurativo language ol 
 the E.ist, to have giren a pledge of loyalty.
 
 1803.] ATTACKS SCINDIAH. 17 
 
 men, 500 zambooruks (camel guns), and about 200 pieces of artillery, 
 35 of -which were of a heavy description of ordnance. French officers 
 commanded their troops. 
 
 With the view of protecting Hyderabad, and of securing certain 
 convoys on their route to join his army, General "Wellesley arranged 
 with Colonel Stevenson that they should divide their force, consisting 
 of 17,000 men, so as to reach the enemy with the greater rapidity and 
 ease, the former proceeding by a westerly, and the latter by an easterly, 
 route to Bolerdun, where the Mahrattas were encamped, and there 
 to co-operate an attack. Information which was brought to the 
 General, by the hircarrahs (messengers), on his reaching Naulniah 
 induced him to believe that the enemy had retired with their cavalry, 
 leaving their infantry to follow. It was added that the latter were 
 still encamped at a distance of two leagues from the division under 
 General Wellesley. Sending messengers to expedite the movements 
 of Colonel Stevenson, Wellesley hurried forward, and, after a severe 
 march, found himself to his great astonishment in the presence of the 
 whole of the armies of the confederate chiefs. They occupied a space 
 between Bolerdun and the village of Assaye, having the river Kaitna 
 in their front, and the Jouah in their rear. The Mahratta infantry 
 occupied the left and centre of the line, while the cavalry was on the 
 right. 
 
 Surprised but undismayed by this formidable array, General 
 Wellesley, after contemplating the enemy's position for a short time, 
 determined to attack the infantry. His force consisted at this mo- 
 ment of only 8000 men, 1600 of whom were cavalry. Of the en- 
 tire body of troops not more than 1500 were British — the 19th Light 
 Dragoons, the 74th and 78th Regiments of Foot. The artillery 
 consisted of seventeen guns. Colonel Stevenson's division had not 
 come up. 
 
 It is not venturing too much to say that any other man would have 
 doubted the propriety of attacking under such circumstances. He 
 would have halted to give Stevenson time to come up, or he would 
 have retreated. But Wellesley did not see with the eyes of other 
 men ; he did not reason with the faculties of ordinary soldiers. His 
 eagle glance discerned in an instant the point of vantage whence the 
 foe might be stricken. He had learned the value of a " dash " at the 
 natives when unprepared ; and this dash he was determined to 
 attempt. The Mahrattas were stationed between two rivers meeting 
 at a point. To gain a position near the angle formed by the conflu- 
 ence of the streams, and thus to offer a narrow but compact and well 
 flanked front to the enemy — to attack his infantry on ground where 
 
 VOL. I. 2
 
 18 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1803 
 
 his Cavalry could not manoeuvre — were the objects to which General 
 Wellesley at once directed his attention. And with him to conceive 
 was to execute. He instantly passed the river Kaitna, at a ford be- 
 yond the enemy's left flank, and, under cover of the Mysore Cavalry, 
 took up the coveted position. " My doing this" we have heard the 
 lamented Duke say, " has been called a stroke of genius. I call it 
 common sensed 
 
 Scindiah's army immediately changed its position, and occupying 
 the whole space between the Kaitna and Assaye, with a great number 
 of guns in front, commenced a murderous cannonade. The small 
 number of British guns was quite incapable of coping with this vast 
 battery. General Wellesley, therefore, directed his infantry to advance 
 with the bayonet. 
 
 With the determined courage which had given them victory at 
 Seringapatam, in the actions with Dhoondia Waugh, and on the walls 
 of Ahmednuggur, the line dashed forward, carried the guns on the 
 right, and approached Assaye. At this moment a cloud of Mahratta 
 horse, which had stolen round the village, fell upom them — sabre to 
 bayonet — with characteristic fury. The 74th wavered — the charge 
 was too much for them, cut up as they had previously been by the 
 grape shot from the guns. 
 
 Colonel Maxwell, of the 19th Light Dragoons, saw that the critical 
 moment had arrived. Forward ! was the word. Falling upon the 
 Mahratta cavalry, the Dragoons gave the British infantry time to rally, 
 cut up the Mahratta horsemen, pushed through the Scindiah's left, and 
 threw the whole of that part of the Mahratta army into confusion. 
 
 In the mean time, the enemy's centre, which had remained un- 
 touched, closed in upon the ground before occupied by their left wing, 
 and, uniting with such of their artillery and infantry as had been 
 passed over unhurt by the British cavalry, formed itself into a kind of 
 crescent, with its right horn resting on the river Jouah, and its left 
 on the village of Assaye ; thus presenting themselves in a fresh 
 position on the flank of our infantry, on which, having collected a 
 considerable number of their guns, they re-commenced a heavy fire. 
 The battle was now to be fought over again, with this difierence, that 
 the contending forces had exchanged sides ; and, had tlie enemy's 
 horse behaved with the least spirit, while our cavalry was absent in 
 pursuit of their broken battalions, there is no guessing what the con- 
 sequence might have been ; but, happily for General Wellesley, they 
 kept aloof To oppose the enemy in their new position, the Sepoy 
 battalion on the right was immediately advanced agalast them, but 
 without effect, being compelled to retire. Another wa. Hrought
 
 
 n 
 
 i! !'
 
 1803.] BATTLE OF ASSATE. jg 
 
 forward, and equally repulsed. The cavalry, having by this time 
 returned from the pursuit, and formed on the left, and the enemy's 
 horse having disappeared before them, the Greneral ordered the 78th 
 Kegiment and 7th Cavalry up to head a fresh attack against the 
 enemy's infantry and guns, which still defended their position with 
 obstinacy. No sooner, however, had he formed the 78th Regiment in 
 line, in directing which his horse's leg was carried off by a cannon 
 shot, than the enemy, without waiting the attack, commenced their 
 retreat across the Jouah, which they passed in tolerable order before 
 our troops could come up with them. Previously to this last attack, 
 Colonel Maxwell had requested and obtained permission to charge a 
 considerable body of infantry and guns, which, having formed part of 
 the reserve, were seen retiring in good order along the right bank of 
 the Jouah. 
 
 The 19th Dragoons were not long in coming up with the enemy, 
 who, having formed with their left to the Jouah, steadily awaited 
 their approach. The charge was sounded: the Dragoons advanced 
 with rapidity, amidst a shower of musketry and grape, and had alrea'dy 
 got almost within reach of the bayonets of the enemy, who still 
 gallantly stood their ground. " At this moment," writes an officer 
 engaged in the charge, " instead of dashing among their ranks, I 
 suddenly found my horse swept round as it were by an eddy torrent. 
 Away we galloped, right shoulders forward, along the whole of the 
 enemy's line, receiving their fire as we passed, till having turned our 
 backs upon them, we took to our heels manfully, every one calling 
 out, ' Halt ! Halt ! ' while nobody would set the example ; till at last, 
 a trumpet having sounded, we pulled up, but in complete disorder, 
 dragoons and native cavalry, pell-mell. On this occasion. Colonel 
 Maxwell fell, pierced by a grape-shot. He was gallantly leading the 
 charge, when he received his death-blow. Having involuntarily 
 checked his horse, and thrown his arm back, when he received his 
 wound, the soldiers immediately behind him, not knowing the cause, 
 mistook the gesture for a signal to retire, and did so accordingly. At 
 least, this was the reason afterwards assigned for the failure ; and, if 
 true, it shows how the fate of armies, and even of nations, may depend 
 upon the direction of a single shot." Recovering from their disorder, 
 the Dragoons renewed the charge with terrible effect, and the enemy 
 gave way in every direction. 
 
 Thus closed this memorable battle, one of the most bloody on 
 record to the victors. Out of about 4500 men in action; upwards of 
 2000 were either killed or wounded, the former amounting to more 
 than a third of the whole number.
 
 20 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1803 
 
 Nothing could be more complete than the diroute of Scindiah's 
 force. In broad mid-day he was the occupant of the ground with 
 50,000 men, — at sunset a small proportion of the British corps 
 (Parmee bivouacked on his position. 
 
 General Wellesley has been censured for fighting Scindiah with so 
 inferior a force. He had scarcely an alternative. He knew how much 
 discipline, order, coolness, and judicious movements might accomplish 
 against hordes of irregular or half-disciplined troops, and he likewise 
 knew that, if he did not attack the enemy, Scindiah would certainly 
 have availed himself of the absence of Colonel Stevenson's division to 
 become the assailant, with all the advantage of a good theatre for 
 cavalry operations. Be this as it may, the end justified the audacity 
 of General Wellesley's procedure. Never were skill, moral courage, 
 and sound discipline more brilliantly and more efi"ectively displayed. 
 In testimony of the high honour acquired by the army under the per- 
 sonal command of Major-General Wellesley at the battle of Assaye, 
 the Governor-General in Council ordered that honorary colours, with 
 a tievice properly suited to commemorate that signal and splendid 
 victory, should be presented to the corps of cavalry and infantry em- 
 ployed on that glorious occasion. The names of the brave officers 
 and men who fell at the battle of Assaye were commemorated, together 
 with the circumstances of the action, upon the public monument 
 erected at Fort "William, Calcutta, to the memory of those who had 
 fallen in the public service during the campaign. 
 
 Contemporaneously with General Wellesley's operations in the 
 Deccan, Lord Lake was destroying Scindiah's power in the centre of 
 Hindostan. He had taken the fortress of Allighur, and obtained 
 possession of Delhi, and defeated the IMahrattas under French leader- 
 ship at Laswarree. Meanwhile Colonel Ilarcourt attacked the pos- 
 sessions of the Bajah of Berar in the south of India, and Colonel 
 Woodington, with a part of the Bombay army, subdued Broach, Chum- 
 paneer, and other places belonging to Scindiah in the province of 
 Guzerat. Colonel Stevenson was dispatched to reduce Burhampoor 
 and Asseerghur, while Major-General Wellesley moved southerly to- 
 wards Aurungabad, from which direction, however, he diverged, when 
 within sixteen miles of the city, in order to go down the Ghauts, and 
 reinforce Colonel Stevenson. 
 
 Colonel Stevenson succeeded in the duty intrusted to him. He 
 gained possession both of Burhampoor and Asseerghur, with compara 
 tive ease.' ' 
 
 1 Sir Jasper Nicolls, aflerwarda Commander-in-Chief In India in 1840, Ml, '42, and '43 
 waa on the staff of General Wellesley during the Mahratta campai|]^. He preserved notes o*
 
 1803.] ADVICE TO COLONEL STEVENSON. 21 
 
 And here it may not be irrelevant to quote the instructions which 
 he received from General Wellesley, regarding the best methods of 
 proceeding against the Mahrattas. They demonstrate the aptitude 
 of Wellesley's genius to contend with the Mahrattas, and the talent 
 with which he could compress into a few words a volume of advice 
 upon a system of strategy suited to the exigencies of the time. 
 
 " Supposing that you determine to have a brush with them, I 
 recommend what follows to your consideration. Do not attack their 
 position, because they always take up such as are confoundedly 
 strong and difficult of access, for which the banks of the numerous 
 rivers and nullahs afford them every facility. Do not remain in your 
 own position, however strong it may be, or however well you may 
 have entrenched it ; but when you shall hear that they are on their 
 march to attack you, secure your baggage, and move out of your 
 camp. You will find them in the common disorder of march ; they 
 will not have time to form, which, being but half-disciplined troops, 
 is necessary for them. 
 
 " At all events, you will have the advantage of making the attack 
 on ground which they will not have chosen for the battle ; a part of 
 their troops only will be engaged; and it is possible that you will 
 gain an easy victory. Indeed, according to this mode, you might 
 choose the field of battle yourself some days before, and might meet 
 them upon that very ground." 
 
 Scindiah being nearly disposed of. General Wellesley now bestowed 
 his attention upon the Rajah of Berar. Having ascertained that he 
 had traversed the hill country on the borders of Candeish on his 
 route to the banks of the Godavery, the General, on the 25th of 
 October, 1803, ascended the Adjuntee Ghaut. 
 
 From this point he continued to press the Rajah back upon his own 
 territories. On his way, in an easterly direction, General Wellesley 
 encountered a Vakeel (Envoy) from Scindiah, who had retired to his 
 proper dominions, and now sought peace. 
 
 An armistice resulted, from which the Rajah of Berar was excluded. 
 
 tho campaign, and from these may be gathered some pleasing evidences of Wellesley's 
 humanity. After the taking of Asseerghur, late in October, 1803, Sir Jasper writes: — 
 
 " Visiting the sick officers and wounded, we heard of General Wellesley's liberality to 
 them. The evening we left Asseerghur, he sent in to every one a dozen of Madeira from his 
 stock, and that wine is neither cheap nor plentiful ; to-day he was in amongst them before 
 the camp was pitched, making inquiries which are as honorable to his feelings as they are 
 agreeable and gratifying to the poor invalids. The men have every comfort which can be 
 afforded from the camp, or procured here, which I fear are not very numerous ; indeed, the 
 refugees from the adjoining parts, and Scindiah's wounded men, are dying here every day in 
 want of the commonest and coarsest food."
 
 22 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1803, 
 
 The object of the armistice was to detach one chieftain from the 
 other, and to render unnecessary the pursuit of his horse to a distance, 
 which would interfere with other operations of consequence. 
 
 It was a condition of the armistice that Scindiah should retire 
 within his own dominions, which he affected to do. General 
 Wellesley, being now bent on the reduction of the fort of Gawilghur, 
 proceeded down the Ghauts to cover the investment which was to be 
 undertaken by Colonel Stevenson. But when he came within six 
 miles of the village of Argaum (28th November, 1803), he found 
 Scindiah's army drawn up in front of the village in a line five miles 
 in extent. Forming his own force in two lines, one of cavalry and 
 one of infantry facing the enemy, covered by the Mogul and Mysore 
 cavalry, he advanced to the attack, the enemy as usual commencing 
 with a terrific discharge of artillerj'. It was late in the day. Sufficient 
 light, however, remained to enable him to defeat and scatter the foe, 
 who were pursued by the cavalry by moonlight. From this defeat 
 Scindiah never rallied. 
 
 Continuing the movement upon Gawilghur, a fort situated in a 
 range of mountains between the sources of the rivers Poonah and 
 Taptee, it was reached early in December, and the place was at once 
 invested by the combined forces of Wellesley and Stevenson. The 
 walls were breached and rendered practicable by the 14th, and on 
 the morning of tlie 15th a storming party, consisting of the flank 
 companies of the 94th and of the native corps in Colonel Stevenson's 
 division, assaulted Gawilghur and carried it triumphantly. The 
 opposition was vigorous but brief. The garrison was extensive, 
 consisting of the refugee troops from Argaum, and their bravery 
 undeniable. Great numbers were killed, but the victors did not 
 disgrace their achievement by subsequent barbarities. So moderate 
 was the conduct of the soldiery as to call for the special commendation 
 of General Wellesley, who declared that he " never saw a storm in 
 which so little irregularitj^ was committed."* 
 
 1 A second rerercnce is made to the characteristic humanity of Wellesley, in General 
 NicoU's notes to the storming of Gawilghur. 
 
 "■December, 1803. 
 
 "When General Wellesley entered the fort, his first enquiry was for the Killadar, and ho 
 went immediately to his house ; his son, a fine lad of nine or ten years of age, said he did not 
 know where he was, that l»o liad gone out about two hours before, and had not returned. The 
 poor fellow was ignorant of his fate, perhaps; but when order was sufficiently restored to 
 admit the inhabitants who survived to venture out, a search was made, and his body, with 
 that of liery Sing, was found amidst a heap of slain, near the gateway. These two men, of 
 good Il.-ij])oot families, had delcrmincd to die in defence of their trust; and, according to the 
 custom of their country, to save their wives and daughters from destruction by putting them 
 to death before they went out to meet their own. From somo cause unknown to ua, this waa
 
 1803.] REWARDS AND HONOURS. 23 
 
 Two short days only elapsed between the fall of Gawilghur and the 
 ratification of a treaty of peace between the Rajah of Berar and the 
 East India Company. The Rajah ceded extensive territories in 
 Cuttack, near the western shores of the Bay of Bengal, and in the 
 Deccan renounced his connection with the Mahratta confederates, 
 and engaged never again to retain in his armies the natives of any 
 European state who might be at war with England. These cessions 
 were followed by Scindiah's formal submission, which conferred upon 
 the Company even still greater advantages than those obtained from 
 the Berar Rajah. 
 
 With these achievements the career of Major-Greneral Wellesley 
 in India may be said to have closed, although he continued for some 
 little time to wage a desultory war with the hordes, who, deprived by 
 peace of their regular means of subsistence, levied contributions on 
 the country. 
 
 The hour of recompense had now arrived, and if it had had to be 
 measured by the gratitude and admiration of the Europeans and 
 natives of India, General Wellesley received tributes and addresses 
 enough to have satisfied the most inordinate cravings. A sword of the 
 value of £1000 was voted to the General by the British inhabitants 
 of Calcutta ; the officers of his division presented him with a service 
 of plate ; fetes and addresses awaited him at Bombay, at Madras, 
 and at Seringapatam ; but the approbation — next to that of his own 
 pure mind — which Wellesley coveted, was unaccountably withheld. 
 No sign or token of thankfulness came from the Court of East India 
 Directors nor the Government of George III. The Order of the 
 Bath was, indeed, conferred upon the hero of Assaye and Argaum, 
 and there all reward stopped, for in those days the difiiculties of 
 Indian conquests were unappreciated, or their real value misunder- 
 stood. The noble generosity which in these days garnishes the 
 coronet of a Hardinge or a Gough with a valuable pension, and 
 recognises the deeds of a Pollock and a Nott with suitable annuities, 
 had no share in the councils of Leadenhall Street. Founded on a 
 trading charter, the government of the East India Company discerned 
 more merit in the voyage of a single commander of one of their 
 splendid 1400 ton vessels than in the brightest military achievement 
 which added a hundred thousand acres to their possessions. In 
 
 but imperfectly performed ; of twelve or fourteen women, but three, I think, were dead when 
 our men discovered them, and three or four more lay bleeding, having received two or three 
 cuts or stabs with a knife or dagger; probably these Rajpoots entrusted this shocking duty 
 to hands more humane than their own. General Wellesley visited them, and ordered every 
 respect and care to bo shown to them."
 
 24 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1805. 
 
 the fulness of liis chagrin, Wellcsley wrote to his friend, Major 
 Shawe, — 
 
 " I have served the country in important situations for many years, 
 and have never received anything but injury from the Court of 
 Directors, although I am a singular instance of an officer who has 
 served under all the governments, and in communication with all the 
 residents, and many civil authorities ; and there is not an instance on 
 record, or in any private correspondence, of disapprobation of any 
 one of my acts or a single complaint, or even a symptom of ill- 
 temper, from any one of the political or civil authorities in communi- 
 cation with whom I have acted. The King's ministers have as little 
 claims upon me as the Court of Directors. I am not very ambitious, 
 and I acknowledge that I never have been very sanguine in my 
 expectations that military services in India would be considered on 
 the scale on which are considered similar services in other parts of 
 the world. But I might have expected to be placed on the Staff of 
 India, and if it had not been for the lamented death of General 
 Frazer, General Smith's arrival would have made me supernu- 
 merary." 
 
 A similar degree of indifference to high claims marked the conduct 
 of the Government towards the Earl of Mornington. The King raised 
 him to the Marquisate of Wellesl-ey ; but it was not until thirty or 
 forty years subsequently that the Court of Directors repaired the 
 shameful omission of their predecessors by soothing his declining 
 days with a valuable gratuity. 
 
 In March, 1805, Sir Arthur Wellesley embarked in the Trident 
 frigate for England. He left behind him an imperishable reputation. 
 For long years afterwards the name of Wellesley was synonymous in 
 India with truth, justice, humanity, and good faith. The natives of 
 Mysore had found in him a firm and honest friend, and the army 
 recognised in AVellesley the general who was always sure to conduct 
 them to victory. His unceasing activity in procuring supplies, his 
 stern reprehension of infractions of discipline, his excellent example 
 of patience and endurance when long and forced marches tried the 
 spirits and strength of his companions, his assertion of the interests 
 and regard for the comforts of the soldiery, all tended to raise the 
 character and condition of the army, and render it an efficient agent 
 in the accomplishment of the important objects he was called upon 
 to accomplish. Although he had suffered from severe attacks of 
 illness both in India and before his arrival in the country, and found 
 incessant occupation in an extensive correspondence which regulated 
 distant affairs, in the presence of formidable enemies, or the necessity
 
 iS05.] CHARACTER AND HABITS. 25 
 
 for conciliating and overawing doubtful friends, yet he never betrayed 
 anxiety of mind or exhaustion of body. On the contrary, writes an 
 eloquent biographer, "not a man in his army seemed more devoid of 
 care. Full of animation and urbanity, no reproving look checked 
 the joke or suppressed the laugh of those about him. ' Come away!' 
 he would call out, and off he went at full speed after his gallant grey- 
 hounds, who commonly obtained much of his attention during a. 
 march, and game abounding, the general, and any officers not required 
 to be with their regirn'onts, who felt disposed to enjoy the coursing, 
 were able to beguile the time with the exhilarating sport. With an 
 astonishing facility of getting through business, aided by a rapid pen, 
 he found leisure for everything, and the ordinary hours of employment 
 past, was ready to give his opinion on the shape or qualities of a dog 
 or horse with all the acumen of a connoisseur. He was temperate in 
 his habits, especially as regarded the pleasures of the table, and 
 appeared to suffer but little from the power of a tropical sun. In 
 person he was a little above the medium height, well limbed, and 
 muscular, with little encumbrance of flesh beyond that which gives 
 shape and manliness to the outline of the figure, with a firm tread, 
 an erect carriage, a countenance strongly patrician both in feature, 
 profile, and expression, and an appearance remarkable and distinguished. 
 Few could approach him on any duty, or on any subject requiring his 
 serious attention, without being sensible of something strange and pen- 
 etrating in' his clear, light eye." 
 
 However great the advantage which he gained from his subsequent 
 experience in European warfare, it must be obvious to all who have 
 studied the "Despatches" written during the Indian campaigns, that 
 very much of the renown acquired by Wellesley was the fruit of his 
 natural sagacity. We trace in these despatches, and in the records 
 of the time preserved by others, the prompt development of all the 
 qualities on which his subsequent greatness was built — the immediate 
 sources of his marvellous success — the key to the confidence with 
 which he alike inspired those who employed and those who served 
 under him. His leading characteristic was his devotion to the public 
 service. By no means destitute of ambition, and having private 
 objects to attain, he invariably treated them as secondary to the duty 
 imposed upon him, even when the opportunity was given him of 
 doing just as he pleased. In a letter to the Hon. H. Wellesley, 
 of March, 1801, he says: " I have never had much value for the 
 public spli-it of any man who does not sacrifice his private views and 
 convenience when it is necessary." And that this was an ingrianed 
 prmciple was apparent in 1800, when he declined to take the command
 
 26 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLDTGTOX. [1805. 
 
 of the troops intended for Batavia, because it would remove from 
 the Mahratta country, where he might be more usefully employed. 
 '■'I cannot think," he wrote to Lord Clive, "of relinquishing the 
 command with which your lordship has entrusted me at this interesting 
 period for any object of advantage or credit to be gained in another 
 place." 
 
 Of his quick appreciation of the military character of the Mahrattas 
 and the organisation of their forces, no better proof can be afforded 
 than the battle of Assaye and his instructions to Colonel Stevenson. 
 He discovered that they were unwary — loose in their discipline — and 
 liable to be thrown into confusion by a sudden attack upon the march 
 or in a position in which they believed themselves to be secure. The 
 tactics of his great contemporary Napoleon, who had taught the 
 Austrians to respect an enemy who moved with promptitude and 
 assaulted with vigor, were practised by Wellesley — from the same 
 intuitive perception of their value — in the Indian campaign. Time 
 was, in the opinion of both commanders, enenjthing in military 
 operations. 
 
 The ju.stice and moderation of "Wellesley were conspicuous in his 
 management of the affairs of Scringapatam, and his protestations 
 against appointments of officers whose merit lay rather in their 
 family connections than their capacity. He evinced no irritability 
 in his commerce with the natives, who were new to British rule ; 
 on the contrary, he always practised and recommended patience and 
 forbearance. Speaking of the new Hindoo government of Seringa- 
 patam, he said, " We have never been hitherto accustomed to a native 
 government : we cannot readily bear the disappointments and delays 
 which are usual in all their transactions ; prejudices are entertained 
 against them, and all their actions are misconstrued, and we mistrust 
 them. I see instances of this daily in the best of our officers, and I can- 
 not but acknowledge that, from the delays of the natives, they have 
 sometimes reason to complain ; hut ilteyhave none to ill use any manP 
 
 The quickness of General Wellesley in acquiring a knowledge of 
 the topography and resources of the country in which he was to carry 
 on operations was the theme of admiration amongst the officers who 
 had spent their lives in India. Nothing escaped him — nothing was 
 left unsaid in his instructions to his subordinates, or his applications 
 to the local government, which could contribute to the completeness 
 of his equipments, and the success of the service on which he was 
 engaged. Of his kindness and humanity, Sir Jasper Nicolls has 
 supplied proofs, which are already before the reader.
 
 1806.] 
 
 SECRETARY FOR IRELAND 
 
 27 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Appointed to the Staff as Commander of a Brigade— Becomes Secretary for Ireland— Joins the 
 Expedition to Denmark— Distinguishes himself at Kioge— Proceeds to Portugal— Gains the 
 victories of Rorica and Vimiero— The Convention of Cintra— Keturus to England- 
 
 OON after his return to England, in March, 
 1805, Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley 
 was appointed to the StaJf as Commander of 
 a brigade of troops stationed at 
 """■ / Hastings, in Sussex, upon their 
 
 return from Hanover. His 
 descent from the command of 
 an army to a comparatively in- 
 ferior trust did not in any way 
 weaken his zeal or diminish his 
 interest in his professional 
 duties. The order and superior 
 discipline of the brigade while 
 under his direction were equally 
 conspicuous with the fine state of the troops he had elsewhere led to 
 victory. 
 
 The Colonelcy of the 33rd Regiment having fallen vacant through 
 the demise of the Marquis Cornwallis in India, the King bestowed it 
 upon Major-General Wellesley. Previous, however, to this occurrence 
 he married the Lady Catherine Pakenham, daughter of the Earl of 
 Longford, by whom he had issue, Arthur, (born 3rd February, 1807), 
 and Charles (born 16th January, 1808.) 
 
 When the Duke of Richmond became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 
 in 1807, Sir Arthur Wellesley accepted the appointment of chief 
 secretary, upon* the understanding that it was not to interfere with 
 his military promotion or pursuits. In this new office, Sir Arthur 
 displayed all the courage and perseverance which characterized his 
 eaxeer in India. The condition of Ireland at the time rendered it
 
 28 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLES^GTON. ri306. 
 
 necessary to place large powers ia the hands of the secretary, and 
 these were exercised with firmness, discrimination, and temper, in 
 spite of the violent opposition which they experienced from the liberal 
 party. 
 
 It would interfere too much with the course of the narrative to 
 trace the career of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose great jealousy of the 
 power of England, had now begun to take a formidable shape. A 
 few words must, however, be employed to establish the connection be- 
 tween the future military operations of Sir Arthur and those of the 
 French Emperor, against whose armies he was afterwards to be so 
 much, and so successfully, employed. 
 
 Passing through the gradations of power, during the existence of 
 the Republic of France, until he had attained the office of First Con- 
 sul in perpetuity. Napoleon, in 1804, pi-ocured himself to be elected 
 Emperor of the French. Defeated at sea by Nelson, Jervis, Calder, 
 and Collingwood, Napoleon, after the rupture of a brief treaty with 
 England in 1801, directed the arms of France upon Austria, Prussia, 
 and Russia ; and obtaining great successes over the Prussians es- 
 tablished himself in the Prussian capital. Here he gave full latitude 
 to his hostility to England, and published a Decree for the blockade 
 of the British Isles ! This proceeding. — which was intended to de- 
 stroy the commerce, and by terminating the prosperity eventually 
 to crush the power of England ; but which, in operation, recoiled 
 upon Napoleon, and accelerated, if it did not produce, his overthrow, 
 — was dated on the 21st November, 180G. After setting forth that 
 England would not consent to regulate naval warfare by the laws 
 and amenities which were established on land, but had introduced 
 new customs into her maritime code, and revived those of a bar- 
 barous age ; that she refused to recognise the distinctions of private 
 property and the rights of foreigners not serving in war, but seized 
 on merchant vessels and made their crews prisoners as if they had 
 been armed and sent out by their respective governments against 
 an enemy, and that the British declaration of blockade extended 
 to places not actually blockaded — thus extending the evils of war 
 to peaceful and unarmed citizens, — the British isles were declared 
 by the Decree to be in a state of blockade. All commerce and 
 correspondence with them were strictly prohibited. All English 
 subjects found in countries occupied by the troops of France were 
 declared to be prisoners of war. All merchandize or property of 
 any kind belonging to British owners, and all articles of British 
 manufacture, or the produce of British colonics, were declared to be 
 lawful prize. Half of the proceeds of all confiscations were to be
 
 18(H).] BERLIN AND MILAN DECREES. 29 
 
 applied to the relief of those merchants whose ships had been cap- 
 tured by English cruisers. No vessel from England or the English 
 colonies was to be admitted into a continental port, but every one 
 entering a foreign harbor was to be seized and forfeited. Two Prize- 
 Courts were to be established ; one at Paris for the French Empire, 
 and the other at Milan for the kingdom of Italy. 
 
 The system thus established had, there is no doubt, been for some 
 time in contemplation, but Napoleon had not deemed the tim^e 
 favorable for its promulgation till he was master of nearly all the 
 
 line of coast round Europe The habits of two or three 
 
 centuries of unrestricted commerce had placed many of the articles 
 sought to be prohibited, among the absolute necessaries of life ; to 
 dispense with which would have occasioned great and universal 
 distress and inconvenience. It was, therefore, a proclamation of war 
 with the feelings, tastes, and wishes of mankind — an attempt to force 
 civilisation backward for three centuries, which the most tyrannic 
 and absolute power could not have succeeded in effecting. One blow 
 in one place was useless ; to exclude commerce it required a constant 
 tension of watchful energy in every port of the Contineni, not only 
 at the known ports and harbors, but at every creek, cove and islet 
 by which the shore of ocean was indented ; and while Napoleon was 
 thus employing his ascendancy, the British government was exerting 
 all its energies to defeat the powers arrayed against its commerce. 
 It began by endeavoring to create a new species of commerce where 
 none had previously existed, and where the simple wants of the 
 inhabitants were supplied by the produce of the land. Two -expe- 
 ditions were sent (one in 1806 and another in 1807) against Buenos 
 AyreS; to compel the natives to deal in British merchandise, but the 
 sturdy semi-barbarous population, not only resolutely refused to 
 purchase what it did not require and had no money to pay for, but 
 took up arms in defence of its national independence, and speedily 
 defeating the British troops, drove them from the insulted coast. 
 The Government of England next despatched an armament against 
 Turkey, to compel the Sultan to abandon an alliance he had formed 
 with Napoleon, dismiss the French ambassador from Constantinople, 
 and surrender all his ships of war to the English until a general 
 peace. Sir Thomas Duckworth, who commanded the expedition, 
 passed the Dardanelles and urged the demands contained in his 
 instructions, but with so little effect and under such increasing dis- 
 advantages and dangers, that after negotiating for a week, the 
 admiral precipitately retired from before the Turkish capital. Petty 
 expeditions, however, constituted at this period the British system
 
 30 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1807 
 
 of warfare. Accordingly, in March, a small army was sent against 
 Egypt under General Frazer, which easily obtained possession of 
 Alexandria, but being subsequently pressed hard on all sides by the 
 Turks and Mamelukes, was compelled, after losing more than a fifth 
 of its number, to capitulate and wholly to evacuate the Egyptian 
 territories. As a set-off against these disasters, the small Dutch 
 island of Curasao and the Cape of Good Hope — a really important 
 acquisition, were conquered. But the general policy of the English 
 cabinet was too narrow to accomplish any great object, or to operate 
 with effect in bringing the war to a close. At length the people of 
 England began to complain of the imbecile conduct of the ministry, 
 and this, echoed by the press, eventually stimulated the Government 
 to bolder action. 
 
 In the beginning of August, an expedition consisting of twenty- 
 seven sail of the line and a great number of frigates and smaller 
 vessels, carrying upwards of 20,000 soldiers under the command 
 of Lord Cathcart, was despatched to the Baltic, secretly commis- 
 sioned to demand from Denmark, the only northern power which 
 still possessed what might be justly called a fleet, the delivery 
 of its ships and naval stores to Great Britain, to be held in 
 trust till the proclamation of peace. Sir Arthur Wellesley accom- 
 panied the expedition as commander of a division. Between the 
 Danes and the English at this period the truest friendly relations 
 were subsisting. Extensive mercantile dealings were mutual, and 
 ambassadors resided at their respective courts. No intimation was 
 given of the hostile intentions of Great Britain. No complaint of 
 misconduct on the part of Denmark, or hint of apprehensions as to 
 her ulterior designs, was suffered to transpire even after the expedition 
 had sailed. Admiralty licenses were granted to British merchants 
 trading to Denmark, and Danish ships were encouraged to enter 
 English ports as those of friends and allies. Hence the object of 
 the armament was unsuspected, when Admiral Gambler, with his 
 armed freight, passed the Sound and the Great Belt, and entering 
 the Baltic, blockaded the island of Zealand, on which Copenhagen, 
 the capital of the kingdom, is situated. It was not until ninety 
 pennons were flying around these unprepared shores that Mr. Jackson, 
 the British Minister, thought fit to communicate to the Crown Prince 
 the requisitions of his government, which were then stated to have 
 originated in a fear that the French Emperor would not long permit 
 Denmark to remain neutral, but would seize and employ her fleet in 
 his meditated attempt to subjugate England. The Danish Prince, 
 with just indignation, repelled the demand as an unwarrantable
 
 1807.] EXPEDITION TO DENMARK 31 
 
 attempt to deprive his country of its independence, and prepared to 
 offer "what resistance he could to the unprovoked aggression of his 
 pretended friends. The British, however, were too numerous, and 
 their course of proceeding had been too well organised for a hasty and 
 ill-arranged defence to be availing. The troops were disembarked, and 
 preparations made for bombarding Copenhagen, which, after a gallant 
 resistance for three days, during which many public buildings, churches, 
 libraries, and an immense number of private habitations, and great 
 part of the population were destroyed, was compelled to surrender its 
 citadel and forts. ^ 
 
 Shortly after Copenhagen had been invested by the British forces. 
 Sir Arthur Wellesley was detached with 4000 or 5000 men to march 
 against the Danish Lieutenant-General Castenskiold, who was then 
 encamped near Rochild, with an army composed of 14,000 men. As 
 the British commander advanced, the Danish retreated, endeavouring 
 by all means to avoid a battle. After Sir Arthur had passed through 
 Rochild with his forces, he hesitated for some time which of the two 
 roads he should take, either that towards Kioge, or that towards 
 Holbeck ; he ultimately determined upon the latter ; and in the 
 evening he fixed his head-quarters at an inn not far distant from 
 the mansion of the Count of Holstein, named Leigre or Lethraborg, 
 the former residence of the ancient kings of Denmark. On his 
 march thither Sir Arthur observed that the Danish army had re- 
 cently been encamped in a very advantageous situation on a steep 
 hill, near Gjeoninge : he expressed his surprise that the enemy 
 should have quitted a place, where it would scarcely have been possi- 
 ble for him to have dislodged them or attacked them with any chance 
 of success. Inquu-ing into the strength and disposition of the 
 Danish army, he was informed that the enemy consisted of about 
 14,000 men; and so inveterate were they against the invaders of 
 their country that they had unanimously intreated their commander 
 in the most earnest manner, to lead them directly against the British, 
 a request with which General Castenskiold did not think proper to 
 comply. 
 
 Sir Arthur Wellesley without the least altering his countenance, 
 and without changing the plan he had already laid down for himself 
 to proceed upon, turned round to the officers near his person, and in 
 his usual laconic way, coolly observed, " Then, gentlemen, I suppose 
 we shall have pretty hot work of it." The Danish army debouched 
 towards Riogo : the British general had no sooner intimation of this 
 manceuvre, than he crossed the country and followed the enemy close 
 
 1 Bussy's " Life of Napoleon."
 
 32 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [18o7. 
 
 up. General Castenskiold made a stand near Riogo. Sir Arthur 
 immediately attacked the Danish forces, which he defeated after a very 
 short action, and dispersed in all directions over the country. Sir 
 Arthur then returned to his former head-quarters, and it was now 
 that he exercised that humanity, and displayed that generosity 
 towards the adjacent inhabitants, which always formed such a con- 
 spicuous feature in his character. He preserved the utmost regularity 
 and order among his men ; no complaint preferred, even by the 
 poorest peasant, against any man, of whatever rank, who had either 
 injured or insulted him, went unnoticed ; and the country people, 
 who had been taught to look upon the British as monsters of iniquity, 
 loudly exclaimed that they were better treated by their enemies than 
 they had been by their own people : the former paid for all they had 
 with the utmost liberality ; the latter compelled them to furnish 
 them with whatever they required, without oflFering the least indem- 
 nification. The men had been taken away from their homes to fill 
 up the ranks in the militia ; thus labourers were wanted to gather 
 in the harvest ; distress and ruin would have been the sure con- 
 sequences, had not Sir Arthur permitted the British troops to assist 
 the farmers. It was a sight not less curious than grateful to see 
 soldiers placed in almost every house, to guard the inhabitants from 
 the insults of such stragglers as might stray from the British camp, 
 from a desire of plunder ; nor would Sir Arthur permit his troops 
 to receive any reward for their services in this respect, though the 
 gentlemen, farmers, and peasants, were willing to be liberal towards 
 men whom they looked upon as their protectors ; in fact, so attached 
 had they become to our troops, that they anticipated with much 
 uneasiness the day which, by the capitulation of Copenhagen, was 
 fixed upon for the evacuation of Zealand by the British forces. Theft 
 of any kind was punished by Sir Arthur with the utmost severity ; 
 but it is just to state that only two complaints of this nature were 
 ever made against any British soldier in Zealand, and then, by the 
 exertion of their officers, the property was restored to its owners. 
 Such was the magnanimous conduct of the subject of this memoir 
 during his stay with the army in Zealand. 
 
 In the siege of Copenhagen not more than 200 were killed and 
 wounded out of an army 20,000 strong. Late in September, 1807, 
 the expedition returned to England, carrying with it the Danish fleet 
 of sixteen sail of the line, nine frigates^fcurteen sloops, and many 
 smaller vessels. 
 
 Some diflference of opinion prevailed in England upon the justice 
 and necessity of the expedition, though its policy obtained almost
 
 1807.] 
 
 THANKS OF PARLIAMENT. 
 
 33 
 
 universal concurrence. A vote of thanks to the forces employed was 
 not obtained without some resistance in the House of Commons, 
 but it was at length ultimately carried by a majority of eighty-ono. 
 
 A VIEW OF COPENHAGEN. 
 
 r>e^ 
 
 The Speaker, in communicating the vote, thus expressed himself with 
 regard to Sir Arthur Wellesley : — 
 
 " But I should indeed be wanting to the full expression of those 
 sentiments which animate this House, and the whole country, if I 
 forbear to notice that we are, on this day, crowning with our thanks 
 one gallant officer, long since known to the gratitude of this House, 
 who has long trodden the paths of glory, whose genius and valour 
 have already extended our fame and empire ; whose sword has been 
 the terror of our distant enemies, and will not now be drawn in vain 
 to defend the seat of Empire itself, and the throne of his King. I am, 
 Sir Arthur Wellesley, charged to deliver the thanks of this House 
 to you ; and I do accordingly thank you, in the name of the Commons 
 of the United Kingdom, for your zeal, intrepidity, and exertion, 
 displayed in the various operations which were necessary for con- 
 ducting the siege, and effecting the surrender of the navy and 
 arsenal of Copenhagen." 
 
 Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley replied as follows : — 
 " Mr. Speaker, — I consider myself fortunate that I was employed 
 by his Majesty on a service which this House has considered of such 
 importance, as to have marked with its approbation the conduct of 
 those officers and troops who have performed it. The honour which 
 this House has conferred upon my honourable friends and myself, 
 is justly considered by the officers of the navy and army, as the 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1808. 
 
 highest which this country can confer ; it is the object of the 
 ambition of all who are employed in his Majesty's service ; and to 
 obtain it has doubtless been the motive of many of those acts of 
 valour and good conduct which have tended so eminently to the 
 glory, and have advanced the prosperity and advantage of this 
 country. I can assure the House that I am most sensible of the 
 great honour which they have done me ; and I beg leave to take this 
 opportunity of returning you, Sir, my thanks for the handsome terms, 
 respecting myself, in which your kindness to me has induced you to 
 convey the resolution of the House." 
 
 Early in the year 1808 Sir Arthur resumed his duties as Irish 
 Secretary, which, however, he only continued to fill for about five 
 months. A new field was now opening to his honourable military 
 ambition, and Europe was about to receive the benefits of those 
 cervices which had hitherto been rendered to England alone.
 
 1808.") 
 
 FRENCH mVASIOI^' OF PORTUGAL. 
 
 35 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 French inrasion of Portugal — Occupation of Spain — Sir Arthur proceeds to Portugal— Battles 
 of Roria and Vimiero — Convention of Cinira — Sir Arthur returns home. 
 
 N the execution of his design for annex- 
 ing Spain to the dominions of France, 
 and punishing Portugal for refusing 
 to obey the Berlin decree, Napoleon 
 Bonaparte had covered the former 
 countries with his troops, and usurped 
 the government of the kingdoms. 
 
 To counteract his purposes, and to 
 expel the French from Portugal, the 
 British Government, in virtue of the 
 obligations imposed upon England by 
 treaty, resolved to despatch a large 
 force to the Peninsula. 
 
 This force, consisting of eleven 
 battalions of infantry, the 29th Foot, 
 a body of dragoons, a detachment of 
 the Royal Staff Corps, and a propor- 
 tion of artillery, was confided to the command of Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley, who had now obtained the rank of Lieutenant-General. 
 
 A reserve force of 10,000 men was, in the meantime, held in hand 
 in England, until it should be required in Portugal. 
 
 Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley embarked with the expe- 
 dition in July, 1808, quitting it, in pursuance of his instructions, in 
 the " Crocodile" frigate, and making immediately for Corufia, where 
 he would obtain the means of learning the actual state of things in 
 Spain and Portugal before the arrival of the army. 
 
 To understand the magnitude of the task which now devolved upon 
 Sir Arthur Wellesley, it may be as well to glance at the position
 
 36 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 11808. 
 
 which Bonaparte had acquired in Europe, and the events which 
 preceded the despatch of the Expedition. Prussia, beaten, humbled, 
 and dismembered, existed only by his suflferance. Austria, after three 
 lamentably misconducted and disastrous struggles with Revolutionary 
 France, found herself despoiled of the Netherlands, the Tyrol, all her 
 Italian territories, and other possessions. " Denmark was in alliance 
 with France ; the government rather than the nation, co-operating 
 with Bonaparte. Sweden, with an insane king and a discontented 
 people, maintained against him a war which was little more than 
 nominal. Russia, the only country which seemed Secure in its 
 distance, its strength, and the unanimity of its inhabitants, — the only 
 continental state to which the rest of Europe might have looked as to 
 a conservative power, — Russia appeared to be dazzled by Bonaparte's 
 glory, duped by his insidious talents, and blindly subservient to his 
 ambition. Spain was entirely subject to his control ; its troops and 
 its treasures were more at the disposal of the French government 
 than of its own. Portugal had hitherto been suffered to remain 
 neutral, because Bonaparte, from time to time, extorted large sums 
 from the court as the price of its neutrality, and because the produce 
 of the Spanish mines found their way safely through the British 
 cruisers under the Portuguese flag. England alone perseveringly 
 opposed the projects of the ambitious conqueror, and prevented the 
 possibility of his accomplishing that scheme of universal dominion 
 which, had it not been for her interference, he believed to be within 
 his reach." ' 
 
 Spain having been duped into a secret treaty with France, by which 
 Portugal was to be partitioned, and the elite of the Spanish army, 
 amounting to 16,000 men, placed at the disposal of Napoleon, and 
 drafted to the north of Germany, steps were taken to obtain military 
 possession of Portugal, and, if possible, secure the persons of the 
 Braganza family. By way of pretext for these iniquitious acts, the 
 French and Spanish ambassadors communicated to the Court of Lisbon 
 Napoleon's demands, to which Portugal was desired to submit. Her 
 ports must be closed against England, any subjects of that power 
 resident in the country were to be arrested, — all English property 
 confiscated, — and these stipulations were to be acceded to within three 
 weeks, or war with both powers denounced as the alternative. 
 
 Before the time allowed to the Portuguese Court for taking these 
 demands into consideration had elapsed, Napoleon commenced his 
 aggressions. All Portuguese vessels in his harbours were seized, and 
 an army of 25,000 infantry, with 3000 cavalry, was ordered to march 
 
 I Southoy.
 
 1808.] INVASION OF PORTUGAL. 37 
 
 directly on Lisbon, to be joined on the frontier by a Spanish corps, 
 Junot, a favourite aide-de-camp of Napoleon, to whom the occupation 
 of the devoted kingdom had been entrusted, moved immediately from 
 Salamanca. Junot had risen from the ranks. He was a man of great 
 courage, but nosscssed neither judgment nor moral principle. 
 
 In a few days he reached Alcantara, and by forced marches was 
 witliin ninety miles of Lisbon before the authorities in that city were 
 apprised that the enemy had crossed the Spanish frontier. 
 
 Spain joined readily in the aggression, because she could not help 
 herself Every soldier in the Spanish army was put in requisition to 
 make up the force auxiliary to the French invading corps. 
 
 To avert the hostility which suddenly threatened to overwhelm her, 
 Portugal yielded without a blow ; and the British minister removed 
 himself on board a man-of-war forming part of a squadron which now 
 blockaded Lisbon, the more strictly that a Russian fleet, unable to 
 reach the Baltic before the winter would set in, had anchored in the 
 Tagus. 
 
 Junot continued to advance. With promises of friendship on his 
 lips, and declarations of peaceful intentions in his proclamations, he 
 permitted his army to practice every kind of spoliation on its way. 
 Houses and churches were plundered, orchards robbed of their 
 produce.' Alcantara, Castello, Bramo, Santarem, were given up to 
 sack and ruin. None of the inhabitants escaped insult, even though 
 they received the invaders with kindness. Reaching Lisbon, Junot 
 formally took possession of that capital, and the royal family at once 
 threw itself upon the protection of England, and emigrated to the 
 Brazils. 
 
 The conduct of the French, when at Lisbon, has been thus forcibly 
 described : — " The French were scarcely rested in Lisbon until the 
 true character of the invaders displayed itself Nightly, and without 
 beat of drum, reinforcements poured in, and they were quartered in 
 such parts of the capital as were best calculated to overawe the 
 citizens, and secure a safe communication between the troops. The 
 great convents were converted into barracks, their former occupants 
 
 1 When the British troops subsequently occupied Lisbon after the expulsion of the French 
 (in 1808), they entered their various hutted camps across the river, which were found arranged 
 ■with comfort and taste. Their army had found the ripe wheat standing, and, regardless of its 
 value, had not only thatched, but made whole huts, with the corn in the ear, which, hanging 
 down, shed the grain on the ground. They had built with boughs of trees an immense Salle de 
 Spectacle, and formed, by putting down and removing the largest olive-trees, and sticking their 
 pointed ends into the ground, an avenue leading up to it, of some length— an act more wanton 
 and reprehensible than that of takmg the imthrashed com, as the fruit of the olive is not pro- 
 duced imder several years' growth.
 
 38 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTOK [1S08 
 
 having been unceremoniously ejected ; while the houses of the noblesse, 
 and the wealthier of the merchants, were taken from their owners and 
 occupied by the general ofl&cers and their staff. Edicts were issued 
 for the confiscation of English property, the use of arms strictly pro- 
 hibited, and the inhabitants were not only obliged to afford lodgings, 
 but subsistence, to the unwelcome inmates forced upon them by their 
 pseudo-deliverer. Even when persons abandoned their homes, and re- 
 tired to the country, they were required to support the establishment, 
 and answer all the demands the intruders chose to make. 
 
 " Continued insults and exactions at last inflamed the people to 
 resistance ; riots ensued, and lives were lost on both sides. Junot 
 easily suppressed the tumult, and took effectual means to prevent its 
 recurrence. 
 
 " New works were thrown up around the castle by which the city 
 might at any time be laid in ruins ; the provincial militia were dis- 
 banded ; to prevent alarm, the French commander ordered that the 
 church bells were never to be rung at night, while the host itself, 
 during its circuit, was to be restricted to the accompaniment of a hand- 
 bell, and that only was permitted to be sounded thrice. 
 
 " The effect of French oppression was soon apparent ; trade and 
 industry altogether ceased, and a kind of national despondency per- 
 vaded every class. The merchant abandoned himself to despair, and 
 the peasant refused to till the ground. Suicide, a crime unfrequent 
 among the Portuguese, occurred daily in the city, while fields unsown, 
 and vineyards running wild, told that the peasant had become as reck- 
 less as the trader. 
 
 '• Such was the state of Portugal — such the immediate consequences 
 of her military occupation by the French, assisted by their faithless 
 and imbecile confederates, the Spaniards. The latter, indeed, ap- 
 peared to have entered fully into the spirit of aggression, and imitated 
 the example of the ' emancipating' army. Caraffa, who commanded 
 a division at Porto, raised on his march a contribution of 4000 
 cruzados at Thomar, and plundered the depository at Coimbra of 
 10,000 more. But while aiding in the oppression of their neighbours, 
 and abetting the robbery of an ancient ally, the Spaniards little 
 dreamed that the chain was secretly and swiftly winding round them- 
 selves, and that the spoilers were soon to be within the gates of their 
 own capital." 
 
 Napoleon had despatched a second army of observation under 
 Dupont, and another under Moncey, across the Pyrenees, with the 
 ostensible purpose of strengthening the hands of Junot. This raised 
 the French force in Spain to 50,000 men. With Moncey 's corps
 
 1808.] DfVASIOll OP SPAIN. 39 
 
 was Murat, the Grand Duke of Berg, who crossed the Somosierra 
 and advanced upon Madrid. In the meanwhile the feeble old King 
 of Spain, alarmed at a state of things which he could not control, 
 abdicated the crown in favor of his son Ferdinand, who was 
 proclaimed the sovereign of the Spanish people on the 20th of 
 March, 1808; but Ferdinand was not permitted to hold the sceptre 
 many days. The French Commander refused to recognise him, and 
 Charles, the ex-king, interpreting this into Napoleon's espousal of 
 his own cause, revoked his abdication, and implored the direct 
 assistance of the French Emperor. Ferdinand then fled to France, 
 appointing a Junta, with his uncle Don Antonio at its head, and 
 Blurat a member thereof His example was followed by his demented 
 and senile father. Soon afterwards I^apoleon caused Don Antonio 
 to be re-called from the lieutenancy of the kingdom ; Murat being 
 appointed sole Regent. This last measure roused the anger of the 
 Spanish people to the highest point of exasperation. A mob used 
 violent means to prevent the departure of the remaining members of 
 the royal family of Spain — the traces of the carriages were cut, and 
 Murat's officers insulted. The Regent wished for no better excuse 
 for placing the French troops in an attitude of hostility to the 
 populace. The alarm was beaten, a bloody conflict ensued. Madrid 
 was filled with French guards. The Spanish citizens, aided by a 
 large body of the peasantry, fought with amazing resolution under a 
 hundred disadvantages ; but they were borne down by disciplined 
 and well-organised battalions, and many of those who escaped 
 butchery in the streets were seized, tried by a military commission, 
 and-- were immediately executed, in groups of forty, in the public 
 squares and parades. 
 
 The news of the wholesale massacres of Madrid flew like wildfire 
 through the country. Shocked at the state of degradation to which 
 they had been reduced by the imbecility of their rulers, the people 
 rose en masse^ resolved to deliver their country at all hazards from 
 the ruthless and perfidious invader. 
 
 A national government was formed at Seville, under the denomi- 
 nation of the Supreme Junta, and subordinate Juntas were appointed 
 in the remainder of the towns and districts. 
 
 It is beyond the purpose and the proposed compass of this rapid 
 narrative to describe at length the episode of the general insurrection 
 which created for Spanish patriotism an almost universal sympathy. 
 ' The murders of the governors who were favorable to French 
 domination ; the elevation of Joseph Bonaparte to the monarchy of 
 Spain ; the proclamation of " war to the knife" in the Asturias,
 
 40 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1808 
 
 trallicia, Estremadura, Catalonia, Valencia, and Andalusia ; the noble 
 defence of Saragossa ; the vigorous measures taken by Napoleon tc 
 crush the rebellion ; the defeat and surrender of Dupont's corps ; 
 and the appeal of Spain to Great Britain for intervention and 
 assistance, arc historical events with which every tyro is familiar. 
 
 The spirit of resistance originating in Spain communicated itself to 
 Portugal, and led to the defection of the national troops who formed 
 part of the force under Junot's orders. The vigilance, however, of 
 that astute soldier prevented any general outbreak, and he and the 
 25.000 Frenchmen at his command, continued to trample upon the 
 unhappy inhabitants of Lisbon. 
 
 Sir Arthur Wellesley reached Coruaa in due course, and after 
 communicating with the Gallician authorities proceeded to Oporto, 
 where the Supreme Junta of Portugal had assembled. To that body 
 he expounded his plans. He was convinced that nothing effectual 
 could be accomplished towards the deliverance of Spain and Portugal 
 until Lisbon was occupied by a friendly force. He therefore 
 proposed to land his troops, and with the aid of the collected patriots 
 of Portugal march at once upon the capital. This proposal was, 
 however, negatived, and Sir Arthur set sail for Mondego Bay, to the 
 northward of Lisbon, because that place afforded a better landing 
 place than any part of the coast lower down. 
 
 The " Sepoy-General," as Napoleon, in his assumed contempt for 
 the British leader, was wont to call him, landed with his small 
 compact force between the 1st and 5th of August, 1808. As the 
 last brigade was leaving the transports for the shore, General Brent 
 Spencer's division most opportunely came to anchor. By the 8th of 
 the same month, General Spencer, with his 4000 or 5000 men, was 
 by the side of Sir Arthur, and the latter, without waiting for any one 
 of the three or four expected senior officers who might at any moment 
 wrest the chief command from his capable hands, commenced opera- 
 tions. Anything more interesting than the march from Mondego 
 Bay,' considered with reference to its then expected results, is not to 
 be found in the page of history. Junot, alarmed at the news of 
 his approach, instantly despatched General Laborde and General 
 Loison to arrest his progress. We trace, in our mind's eye, the 
 anxious progress of Loison and his cohorts, in order to effect a 
 junction with Laborde and repel the English intrusion : we watch 
 with equal interest the movements of Wellesley and Spencer : with 
 nervous apprehension we read of the outpost affair at Obidos, where 
 
 1 A bay to the north of Lisbon. It ia the oiJy part of the coast contiguous to the mouth of 
 (he Tagus which offered security In landing.
 
 1808.] 
 
 BATTLE OF RORigA, 
 
 41 
 
 the impetuosity of the British Rifles carried them into the lion's 
 jaws : and then we come upon the rencontre at Roriqa. As Laborde 
 snters to take up a better position — as Fergusson and the Portuguese 
 
 BIFLEMEN AT EORigA. 
 
 move forward and find themselves checked by ravines — we hold our 
 breath ; the issue hangs upon a thread. At length, the indomitable 
 29th Foot and the daring 9th advance under a shower of bullets ; 
 the 29th is foremost ; it nearly reaches the crest of the mountain. 
 Lake, its colonel, cheers it on to the attack — the French rush forward 
 in masses — the 29th staggers — gives ground — the men fall off by 
 sections — Lake is killed. But the 9th are at hand ! Hurra ! both 
 corps renew the attack with increased vigour. " Forward !" is still the 
 word. Stewart, the Lieutenant-Colonel of the 9th, falls, mortally 
 wounded. Again a terrific concussion — the French retire — the 
 table land is gained and held by the British infantry — Laborde grows 
 desperate — the 5th Foot and Hill's flank companies now scale the 
 heights — the French are obstinate in their attacks — Fergusson's 
 column appears — Laborde commands a retreat — his cavalry sup- 
 port it with their charges. No matter — the British are resolute
 
 42 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [180 
 
 — the cavalry are discomfited — the French retire to Zambugeira — • 
 they rally and deploy : it is of no use ; Spencer is at them with his 
 division : one gallant charge/ and the enemy fly ; the British are 
 masters of the field ! 
 
 Sir Arthur Wellcsley lost 480 men in killed, wounded, and missing 
 on the heights of llori<^a ; but had not Lake been amongst the killed, 
 he would have considered his first victory cheaply purchased. 
 
 The heroic attack at Roriqa, and the perseverance which distinguish- 
 ed the British troops, satisfied the French that they had now an 
 enemy to contend with who could be as formidable on land as he had 
 proved himself at sea. The moral influence of the victory in Portugal 
 and Spain was immense. At the same time it pointed out to the 
 French leaders the necessity of increased exertion. 
 
 It was the intention of Sir Arthur Wellesley to press the retreat 
 of the French even to the very gates of Lisbon. Intelligence, how- 
 ever, reached him that General Anstruther, with a fresh brigade and 
 a fleet of store ships, had arrived from England and was anchored off 
 Peniche. Sir Arthur, therefore, moved on Lourinha to secure the 
 safe landing of this welcome accession. A second brigade under 
 General Acland soon afterwards arrived, and with the united forces, 
 now amounting to 16,000 men, and eighteen pieces of artillery, Sir 
 Arthur Wellesley took up a position near the village of Vimiero. 
 Thence he intended to march to Lisbon. The arrival of Sir Harry 
 Burrard, an ofiicer senior to himself, however, prevented the execution 
 of this intention. Sir Harry Burrard was on board a frigate in 
 Maceira roads, contiguous to the little river Maceira, which runs 
 through the village of Vimiero, and did not immediately land. Sir 
 Arthur visited him. Sir Harry did not consider the army sufficiently 
 strong and efiective for such an enterprise as the march to Lisbon : 
 he wished to delay operations until Sir John Moore should reach 
 the coast with reinforcements. Like the Cunctator of old, he was all 
 for delay, while Wellesley knew that success depended upon taking 
 time by the forelock. Finding that no impression could be made 
 upon him. Sir Arthur Wellesley returned to his quarters ; but the 
 
 1 The military character of Sir Brent Spencer was marked by an ardent zeal, an inflexible flrm- 
 nc83, and a devotion to the perforraanco of the trusts reposed in him, almost unparalleled. Th« 
 charge, and the use of the bayonet, were his constant and favourite mode of warfare. In the 
 numerous actions in which he was afterwards engaged, ho, on all occasions possible, adopted 
 It, with the most powerful effect ; and he must be considered to have been particularly instru- 
 mental in establishing a practice which has in all our military movements given a decided 
 Buperlority to our arms ; and in restoring to the British soldier that mode of fighting the most 
 consonant to the national character, and by which the victories and conquests of former agea 
 ■were gained.
 
 1808] BATTLE OF VIMIERO. 43 
 
 very next morning an event occurred which gave him the opportunity 
 he sought of striking another blow at the power of the French in 
 Portugal. 
 
 Junot, the Duke d'Abrantes, feeling that after the terrible repulse 
 at Rori9a, safety was not to be found in remaining at Lisbon, pushed 
 forward with the whole of his disposable force. Reaching the heights 
 on the road to Lourinha, in the vicinity of Vimiero, on the morning 
 of the 21st of August, he descried the British, and at once gave 
 battle. Dividing his army into two parts, one wing under Laborde 
 assailed the advanced brigade of Sir Arthur's position on an eminence 
 near the village of Vimiero, and General Solignac, with the other divi- 
 sion, attacked the British left. The contest was most desperate — the 
 attacks, though separate, were simultaneous, but only one-half the 
 British force was engaged. In less than four hours the French were 
 completely routed, and driven from the field in disorder. Nearly 
 3000 of their number lay dead upon the heights, and in the valley ; 
 one general officer (Brennier) was wounded and made prisoner, and 
 not less than thirteen pieces of cannon, twenty-three ammunition 
 waggons with 20,000 rounds of ammunition, powder, shells, and stores 
 of all kinds, were taken from them. The loss of the British amounted 
 to nearly 800 men and officers. Flushed with their signal victory, 
 the British pursued the scattered French columns, the dragoons 
 cutting them up in their flight, when an order was given for a lialt. 
 Sir Harry Burrard had assumed the command ; and, obstinate in his 
 determination to impede the movement sugge'sted by Wellesley, 
 checked the troops in their victorious career ! The consternation and 
 bitter vexation of Sir Arthur at this untimely interference may be 
 imagined. But true to his principle of obedience, he confined his 
 dissatisfaction to simple remonstrance. 
 
 "Within twelve hours of the fatal halt. Sir Hew Dalrymple arrived, 
 and assumed the direction of afiairs. 
 
 Satisfied with the course, and applauding the victory, of Sir Arthur 
 at Rori9a, it was his wish that the latter should continue his course of 
 proceeding uninterruptedly. This intention did not, however, reach 
 Sir Arthur until too late to be of use ; the French had had time to 
 recover their order and to effect a retreat in a regular and soldier-like 
 manner. 
 
 Sir Hew Dalrymple, on taking the command of the army, issued 
 orders for an advance in conformity with the original plan of Sir 
 Arthur. An unexpected incident prevented the fulfilment of this 
 intention. 
 
 General Kellerman, with an escort of cavalry, appeared in the
 
 44 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1808 
 
 British camp. He came to propose an armistice as a preparatory 
 step to the evacuation of Portugal by the French army. 
 
 The armistice was agreed to, and negotiations were entered 
 upon, which terminated in what is called the Convention of 
 CiNTRA, although C intra was at some distance from the scene of 
 discussion. 
 
 This Convention was so exceedingly indulgent towards the French, 
 conceding to them so many points which the British generals were in 
 a position to refuse, that Sir Arthur Wellesley protested vehemently 
 against it, but failing to prevent its conclusion, he drew up a 
 paper (dated Ramahal, 23rd of August, 180S), which involved several 
 subsidiary stipulations calculated to neutralise, in some sort, the 
 mischievous eifects of the concession. 
 
 To the Home Government, a few days subsequently, he communi- 
 cated his sentiments respecting the Convention, and the prospects of 
 the British in Portugal, and expressed his anxious desire to quit the 
 army. The officers and men he had led to victory deeply regretted 
 with himself the unnecessary suspension of operations, and the 
 Generals Spencer, Hill, Fergusson, Nightingale, Bowles, Fane, and 
 Catlin Crawford, who had commanded brigades and divisions under 
 his orders, presented him with a piece of plate value one thousand 
 guineas, as a testimony of their esteem and respect. 
 
 From Vimiero, the British army proceeded to Torres Vedras, and 
 quartered there and in the vicinity of Lisbon. That Sir Arthur 
 could feel himself at his ease under Dalrymple was not to be expected 
 after all that had occurred, and though he was unremitting in his 
 co-operation with that officer, when his advice and assistance were 
 called for, it is no subject of marvel that we find him writing to 
 Captain (afterwards Admiral Sir Pulteney) Malcolm in these 
 terms : — 
 
 " I am afraid that I am so much connected with the credit of this 
 army that I cannot remain with it, without falling as it will full. If 
 I could be of any use to men who have served me so well, I wduld 
 stay with them for ever ; but as matters are situated, I am sure that 
 I can be of no use to them ; I am convinced that they cannot render 
 any service, and I am determined to go home immediately." 
 
 And again, addressing Lord Castlereagh, on the 30th of August, 
 he says — 
 
 '• I assure you, my dear Lord, matters are not prospering here ; 
 and I feel an earnest desire to quit the army. I have been too suc- 
 cessful with this army ever to serve with it, in a subordinate situation, 
 with satisfaction to the person who shall command it, and of course
 
 1808.] THE CONVENTION AT CINTRA. 45 
 
 not to myself. However, I shall do whatever the Government may 
 wish." 
 
 On the 11th and 12th of September, the French army embarked 
 under the protection of a brigade of British troops. The inhabitants 
 of Lisbon were so much incensed by the conduct of the French, and 
 so little pleased with the Convention, that they had previously perpe- 
 trated numerous assassinations in the streets and houses. Without 
 the protection afforded, the French could not have left the city. On 
 their departure, the people gave way to tumultuous joy which lasted 
 for nine days. 
 
 Five days subsequent to the embarkation of the French, Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley obtained leave to return to England. He had pointed out 
 a course of conduct to Sir Hew Dalrymple which Sir Hew did not 
 choose to adopt, and the just pride and patriotism of the hero of 
 K,ori(ja and Vimiero were offended that Lord William Bentinck should 
 Lave been selected as the medium of communication between the 
 British commander and the local Junta. 
 
 Not long after Sir Arthur Wellesley's return. Sir Hew Dalrymple 
 was recalled, and Sir Harry Burrard, who temporarily succeeded him, 
 resigned. The command of the army then devolved upon Sir John 
 Moore. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the sorrow and indignation of the people of 
 England at this issue to a victory they had been tumultuously 
 celebrating. * Byron, in some unpublished lines in " Childe Harold,' 
 thus summed up the national feeling post and ante the battle and the 
 Convention : — 
 
 " Dull victory ! baffled by a vanquished foe, 
 Wheedled by conynge tongues of laurels due, 
 Stood worthy of each other in a row — 
 Sir Arthur, Harry, and the dizzard Hew, 
 Dalr)'niple, secly wight, sore dupe of t'other tew. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 — Well I wot when first the news did come, 
 That Vimiero's field by Gaul was lost, 
 For paragraph no paper scarce had room. 
 Such Pseans teemed for our triumphant host, 
 In Courier, Chronicle, and eke in Morning Post. 
 
 But when Convention sent his handywork, 
 Pens, tongues, feet, hands, combined in wild uproar; 
 Mayor, Aldermen, laid down the uplifted fork ; 
 The Bench of Bishops half forgot to snore ; 
 Stem Cobbett, who for one whole week forbore 
 To question aught, once more with transport leapt, 
 And bit his devilish quill again, and sworo 
 With foe such treaty never should be kept. 
 Then burst the blatant beast, and roared, and raged, and slept."
 
 46 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. 
 
 ['808 
 
 Upon the arrival of Sir Hew Dalrymple and Sir Harry Burrard, a 
 board of general officers was ordered to investigate the circumstances 
 attending upon the (so called) Convention of Cintra. During the 
 sitting, public opinion was loudly expressed against the measure. At 
 its conclusion, "at which nothing was concluded," the King ex- 
 pressed a vague opinion upon the armistice and the negotiations, 
 which certainly did not imply satisfaction at their terms and 
 conditions. 
 
 THE CONVENTION.
 
 ISOfi.l 
 
 SIR JOHN MOORE IN SPAIN. 
 
 47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 sir John Moore in Spain, and Sir Johu Craa<N»'< in Portugal— Memorandum on the Defence of 
 Portugal— Departure for Portugal— Recep»- -n at Lisbon— Advance upon Oporto— Passage 
 of the Douro— Battle of Talavera— The ^ ^tish wounded— Lines of Torres Vedras— Maa- 
 sena's advance — Guerrillas— Battle of Bus»-«o. 
 
 m ARTHUR WELLESLEY re- 
 sumed his duties as Chief Secretary 
 of Ireland. Parliament met in 
 January. 1 809. He took his seat 
 upon the occasion, and then re- 
 ceived the thanks of the House of 
 Commons for his " distinguished 
 valour, ability, and conduct " at 
 the battle of Vimiero. 
 
 The gallant and skilful, but 
 ultimately unfortunate attempt of 
 Sir John Moore to perpetrate Spain, and rescue her from the domina- 
 tion now consolidatir-g under the personal exertions of Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, forms an ippropriate episode in a memoir of the Duke of 
 Wellington. The l>mits, however, which we have prescribed to our- 
 selves in this sketch, forbid more than a passing reference to occur- 
 rences in which his Grace was not either an actor, or over which he 
 did not exercise an immediate personal control. Moreover, the 
 Btory of the retreat to Coruna has been so vividly related by a hun- 
 dred eloquent writers, and lives so freshly in the memory of all who 
 have read the biography of Moore, that its repetition would be almost 
 a work of supererogation. Let it suffice that, though the retreat was 
 in all respects a victory, reflecting the highest honour upon the talents 
 and bravery of Sir John Moore, and the noble fellows he commanded, 
 its effects were disastrous in the extreme to Spain. Her cause was 
 virtually lost. " Her armies " (I quote Napier) " were dispersed^
 
 48 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. |1S09 
 
 her government bewildered, and her people dismayed ; tlie cry of 
 resistance had ceased, and, in its stead, the stern voice of Napoleon, 
 answered by the tread of 300,000 veterans, was heard throughout the 
 land." 
 
 To command the small body of British troops, which remained in 
 the Peninsula, Sir John Cradock was despatched to Lisbon. He 
 found the government in a state bordering upon imbecility, — the 
 people unreflecting, oblivious of past service, in an attitude of hostility 
 to their recent protectors, — the whole country in a state of confusion, 
 and the army disorganised. From the Minho to the Tagus, the dis 
 tressing picture was unvaried, and it was quite obvious that nothing 
 •which Sir John could do to restore order and confidence would possi- 
 bly succeed with the limited means then at his disposal. In these 
 circumstances, the English Ministry thought of abandoning the Penin- 
 sula, but before they came to any final decision upon the subject it 
 •was deemed advisable to consult Sir Arthur Wellesley. 
 
 The opinion given by this matchless soldier is contained in a 
 Memorandum, dated London, 9th March, 1809. The subjoined ex- 
 tract will sufficiently disclose his views : — 
 
 " The British force employed in Portugal should not be less than 
 30,000 men, of which number 4000 or 5000 should be cavalry, and 
 there should be a large body of artillery. 
 
 " The extent of force in cavalry and artillery, above required, is 
 because the Portuguese military establishments must necessarily be 
 deficient in these two branches ; and British or German cavalry and 
 artillery must be employed with the Portuguese infantry. 
 
 " The ■whole of the army in Portugal, Portuguese as well as 
 British, should be placed under tlie command of British officers. 
 The staff of the army, the commissariat in particular, must be British, 
 and these departments must be extensive in proportion to the strength 
 of the whole army which will act in Portugal, to the number of detached 
 posts which it will be necessary to occupy, and in a view to the diffi- 
 culties of providing and distributing supplies in that country. In 
 regard to the detail of these measures, I recommend that the British 
 army in Portugal should be reinforced as soon as possible with some 
 companies of British riflemen, with 3000 British or German cavalry ; 
 that the complement of ordnance with that army should be made 
 thirty pieces of cannon, of which two brigades should be nine pounders . 
 that these pieces of ordnance should bo completely horsed ; that 
 twenty pieces of brass (twelve pounders) ordnance, upon travelling 
 carriages, should be sent to Portugal, with a view to the occupation 
 of certain positions in the country ; that a corps of engineers for an
 
 1809.] DEFENCE OF PORTUGAL. 49 
 
 army of 60,000 men should be sent there, and a corps of artillery for 
 sixty pieces of cannon. 
 
 " I understand that the British army now in Portugal consists of 
 20,000 men, including cavalry. It should be made up to 20,000 
 infantry, at least, as soon as possible, by additions of riflemen and 
 other good infantry, which by this time may have been refitted after 
 the campaign in Spain. 
 
 " The reinforcements may follow as the troops shall recover from 
 their fatigues. 
 
 " The first measures to be adopted are to complete the army in 
 Portugal with its cavalry and artillery, and to horse the ordnance as 
 it ought to be. As soon as this shall be done, the general and staff 
 officers should go out ; as it may be depended upon, that as soon as 
 the newspapers shall have announced the departure of officers for 
 Portugal, the French armies in Spain will receive orders to make 
 their movements towards Portugal, so as to anticipate our measures 
 for its defence. "We ought, therefore, to have everything on the 
 spot, or nearly so, before any alarm is created at home, respecting our 
 intentions. 
 
 " Besides the articles above enumerated, 30,000 stands of arms, 
 clothing and shoes, for the Portuguese army, should be sent to Lisbon, 
 as soon as possible." 
 
 This " memorandum," from such a source, was not to be disre- 
 garded. Lord Castlereagh instantly resolved upon the adoption of 
 the suggestions, provided the consent of the Junta of Portugal 
 could be obtained. The intention to assist Spain in her prostrate 
 condition, was not immediately contemplated, but it was not con- 
 cealed that the success of Sir Arthur's scheme in Portugal would 
 sooner or later operate beneficially upon the interests of the sister 
 kingdom. 
 
 Upon the receipt of the acquiescence of the Portuguese in the 
 proposals, the command of the Portuguese army was offered to Sir 
 Arthur, and on his declining its acceptance, the appointment was 
 conferred on General Beresford, who was subsequently assisted by 
 General Hill. At the same time the force of Sir John Cradock was 
 augmented. Under Beresford's excellent system of discipline, the 
 Portuguese battalions rapidly acquired an efficient character, and 
 were about to take the field, in conjunction with the troops under 
 Cradock, when Napoleon's generals made a dash upon the territory, 
 seizing Oporto under circumstances of cruelty,' and establishing 
 
 1 Soult, who commanded, issued an order, upon his entry into Spain, commanding that. aD 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1809 
 
 themselves in positions which compelled Sir John Cradock to 
 restrict himself to an arrangement by which he could cover Lisbon 
 and the Tagus. 
 
 The British Government now saw the necessity of employing the 
 master spirit whose genius had devised the new scheme of defence. 
 At this distant period it appears unaccountable that any hesitation 
 should have'i existed to entrust to one so highly gifted the execution of 
 a project which he alone could conceive. 
 
 Accepting the trust, Sir Arthur embarked on board the Surveillante^ 
 with his staff, left Portsmouth on the IGth of April, 1809, and after a 
 dangerous, but quick passage, anchored in the Tagus on the 22nd. 
 
 " The effect produced upon the British army in Portugal, by the 
 arrival of their favorite cJiief, seemed magical. Into every depart- 
 ment his presence seemed to infuse new life and confidence. Men 
 Bpoke no longer of defensive security, or speculated on the probable 
 period of their departure from the Tagus ; but all looked forward to 
 active service, as a thing consequent on the appearance of a victorious 
 commander ; and the general question which was asked was, ' when 
 shall we be in readiness to move forward ? ' The delight of the 
 Portuguese was unbounded, and they welcomed Sir Arthur Wellesley 
 ' as if conquest and his name were one.' * 
 
 '• All day long the streets were crowded with men and women 
 congratulating one another on the happy event ; and at night the city 
 was illuminated, even in the most obscure and meanest of its lanes 
 and alleys. 
 
 " In the theatres pieces were hastily got up, somewhat after the 
 fashion of the masks anciently exhibited among ourselves, in which 
 Victory was made to crown the representative of the hero with laurels, 
 and to address him in language as far removed from the terms of 
 ordinary conversation as might be expected from an allegorical 
 personage. But it was not by such exhibitions alone that the 
 Portuguese nation sought to evince its confidence in its former 
 deliverer and its satisfaction at his return. Sir Arthur Wellesley was 
 immediately nominated Mar.shal-Gcneral of the armies of Portugal ; 
 by which means, whilst the care of training and managing the whole 
 of the interior economy rested still with Beresford, the fullest 
 authority to move the troops whithersoever he would, and to employ 
 them in any series of operations in which he might desire to embark, 
 devolved upon him." 
 
 persons found with arms in their hanUa should bo treated as gangs or banditti, having no other 
 object tlian robbery and murder, and condemned and shot immediately. This sanguinary edict he 
 carried into Portugal.
 
 1809.] MARCH TO OPORTO. Si 
 
 The eagle glance of Wellesley at once took in a view of the position 
 of the French armies, and the condition of Portugal, and with 
 characteristic decision he resolved to march to the northward, with 
 the whole of the British troops, and 6000 Portuguese. The conviction 
 of success which seemed to possess him is visible in a passage of his 
 despatch to the Foreign Minister of the 27th of April, 1809 : — 
 
 " As S0071 as the enemy shall have evacuated the north of Portugal^ 
 it is iny intention to return to the eastern frontier of the kingdom, and 
 to co-operate with the Spanish General Cuesta against the army of 
 Marshal Victor." 
 
 On Sir Arthur's way to Coimbra, the greatest demonstrations of 
 joy were made by the people. The towns were illuminated, and his 
 entrance into Coimbra was distinguished by the most extravagant 
 excesses of delight. The balconies were thronged with ladies, who 
 covered the General " with roses and sugar plums." 
 
 On the 4th of May the army was fresh brigaded. It was divided 
 into eight brigades of infantry and one of cavalry. The latter, 
 commanded by Major-General Stapleton Cotton, consisted of the 14th, 
 16th, and 20th Light Dragoons, and the 3rd regiment of the King's 
 German Legion. The infantry was composed of two battalions of 
 Guards, the 3rd, or Buffs, the 7th Fusileers, 9th Foot, 27th, 29th, 31st, 
 45th, 48th, 53rd, 66th, 83rd, 87th, 88th, and 97th, the 5th battalion of 
 the 60th rifles, and a battalion of detachments. Intermingled with 
 these were several Portuguese battalions, and the brigades were 
 commanded by Major-Generals Hill, Tilson, and M'Kenzie ; Brigadier- 
 Generals H. Campbell, Cameron, Steward, Sontag, and A. Campbell. 
 In addition to this force were four regiments (two brigades) of the 
 infantry of the King's German Legion, respectively commanded by 
 Brigadier-Generals Langworth and Dribourg, which were again com- 
 manded by Major-General Murray. The whole army was subsequently 
 divided into wings under Lieutenant-Generals Sherbrooke and Paget, 
 and the cavalry placed under Lieutenant-General Payne. 
 
 On the 6th of May Sir Arthur Wellesley inspected the troops, 
 and was gratified with the appearance of the disciplined Portuguese, 
 although of course they were every way inferior to the British. On 
 the 9th of the month the Commander-in-chief quitted Coimbra with 
 the last brigade, the remainder having preceded him in two columns 
 on the main roads between Oporto, by Adiga on the Vouga, and by 
 the Bay Tilson's brigade and some cavalry under the orders of 
 General of Aveiro to Ovar. Previous to this, a corps, consisting of 
 Marshal Beresford, had been sent forward to move on the enemy's left 
 flank and rear.
 
 52 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1809. 
 
 The advance of the French, under General Francheschi, was on the 
 Vouga, and arrangements were made for surprising it. This, however, 
 failed from want of sufficient precaution on the part of the Portuguese 
 cavalry and the guides. On the 11th of May the army came upon 
 a strong body of 4000 or 5000 infantry of the division of Mermet, 
 posted upon a height over the village of Grijon. The 16th Portuguese 
 regiment and the German Light Infantry were in front acting as 
 shirmishers on the left and right of the road. As the enemy showed 
 himself the skirmishing became very sharp, and the 29th regiment 
 was forced to support the Portuguese, who were once obliged to fall 
 back. At the moment of this retrogression the French pushed a 
 column of infantry down the road through the village, which being 
 reported to Sir Arthur, he replied in the most quiet manner, '• Order 
 the battalion of detachments to charge them with tJie bayonet if they 
 coine any further.''^ 
 
 The officers of the staff, many of them at that time young soldiers, 
 could not help evincing strong feeling on hearing the simple and 
 distinct manner in which the order was given ; but before some 
 mouths had passed over their heads they had opportunities of not 
 only hearing similar orders repeated, but of seeing them carried into 
 execution. 
 
 The French retired from their position. The cavalry, under 
 Brigadier-General Stewart pursued them for some distance, making 
 some gallant charges and capturing one hundred prisoners. The 
 French fell back on Ovar, where, finding Major-General Hill, they 
 withdrew, after some skirmishing, to Oporto during the night. 
 
 Approaching Oporto, Sir Arthur Wellesley received intimation that 
 the bridge of boats over the Douro had been destroyed by the enemy. 
 At Villa Nova, where Hill's brigade had previously arrived, Sir 
 Arthur took a reconnaissance of the country in his front. Taking 
 post upon an elevated spot, the garden of the Convent of Sierra, he 
 found the whole city visible like a panorama ; nothing that passed 
 within it could be hidden from his view. The French guards and 
 sentries were at their posts, but they did not appear to notice the 
 proximity of the British. 
 
 The passage of a river in front of an enemy is allowed to be the 
 most difficult of military operations ; and when it became obvious, 
 from the collection of boats on the other bank, that precautions had 
 been taken to secure them from the English, the barrier appeared 
 insurmountable. General Murray had been directed to march in the 
 morning to try and cross the river, about five miles up at Avintas 
 but having only four battalions and two squadrons, unless he could
 
 1809.] 
 
 PASSAGE OF THE DOURO. 
 
 5S 
 
 be aided in his successful passage, he would lie open to defeat ; and 
 in consequence, Sir Arthur's anxiety was very great to establish his 
 army on the opposite bank. In the meanwhile, Colonel Waters, of 
 the Quartermaster General's Department, had passed up the left bank 
 
 PAS.S.\GE OK THE DOURO. 
 
 of the river, searching for means to cross it, and about two miles 
 above the city found a small boat lying in the mud partially concealed 
 among some reeds. The peasantry demurred at going over to the 
 other side to procure some larger boats seen on the opposite bank ; 
 hut the Colonel (from speaking Portuguese like a native), learned that 
 the Prior of Amarante was not distant from the spot, and hoped by 
 his influence to attain his object. This patriotic priest, on learnmg 
 the desire of the British, joined with Colonel Waters in inducing the 
 peasants, after some persuasion, to accompany the Colonel across, who 
 brought back four boats. 
 
 When the doubts and fears of the army were at the highest, this 
 agreeable information arrived, and was received by all with the great- 
 est satisfaction. The moment the first boat reached the bank, the 
 circumstance was reported to Sir Arthur. " Then," said he, " let
 
 54 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1809. 
 
 the men cross." Three companies of the Buffs, accompanied by 
 General Paget, were immediately conveyed to the other side. 
 
 The spot at which they passed over and landed was about half a 
 mile above the city, at the foot of a steep cliff, up which a zigzag road, 
 or wide path, led to a vast unfinished brick building, called the semi- 
 nary, standing on the brink. This was intended for a new residence 
 for the bishop, and placed in the Prado, being surrounded by a wall 
 with a large iron gate, opening on the road to Vallonga. It was a 
 strong post, and the three companies, on gaining the summit, threw 
 themselves into it, as it at once covered the place of disembarkation, 
 and was for themselves a good means of defence. The British Artil- 
 lery was posted on the high bank, on the other side, completely com- 
 manding the Prado and the Vallonga road. 
 
 Soult had his quarters on the side of the city, near the sea, and hav- 
 ing collected all the boats, as he supposed, on the right bank, consid- 
 ered himself in perfect security. He thought if the British made any 
 attempt to cross, it would be in conjunction with the ships lying off the 
 bar, and all his attention was devoted to that quarter. He even 
 turned into ridicule the first report of their having crossed, and dis- 
 credited the fact to the last, until it was incontestably proved by the 
 firing. The boats had made more than one trip before any one in the 
 town appeared to notice it. General Foy instantly ordered the drums 
 of the nearest battalion to beat the generale. Nearly the whole of 
 the Buffs had crossed, and the French regiments began forming on 
 their parades. This was an anxious moment, and just as the whole of 
 the Buffs had landed, a battalion was observed moving down a road 
 towards them. This was the 17th Infanteric de la Ugne^ brought 
 down by Foy, and which was quickly supported by the 70th. The 
 first made an attack on the Buffs, who stood their ground, giving a 
 tremendous fire, while the artillery from the opposite side killed and 
 wounded a great many of the enemy. 
 
 More boats, in the mean time, were carried across, and more 
 troops ; the 48th, GGth, and a Portuguese battalion, landed, and not 
 only defended themselves successfully, but even drove the enemy 
 from the walls, between the town and the bishop's palace. This 
 petty success was seen by Sir Arthur and his staff, who cheered the 
 soldiery as they chateed the enemy from the various posts. The 
 enemy's troops now came through the town in great numbers, and 
 obliged our troops to confine themselves to the enclosure.' They 
 
 1 A Tisitor to the scene of action, speaking of \,h& sequel to tlie flglit, says : "Willi difBcuIty 
 we pushed our way through the dense mob, as we turned our steps toward the seminary. 
 We feit naturally curious to see the plnce where our first detachment landed, and to examin*
 
 1809.] BATTLE OF OPORTO. U5 
 
 continued running along the road towards and beyond the irou-gate, 
 while the shells and shot were whizzing through the trees and 
 between the houses into the road as they passed. They brought up 
 a gun through the gate to batter the house ; but this proved an un- 
 fortunate experiment, as the British troops increasing in number by 
 fresh disembarkations, though G-eneral Paget was wounded, charged 
 and captured it. The enemy also brought some guns to bear from 
 the open spaces in the town, but they were tamely, if not badly served 
 But General Murray had made good his position on the north bank 
 of the river, and was soon descried making as much show as possible, 
 marching with his ranks open towards the Vallonga road, thus 
 threatening the communication of the enemy with Loison. He was 
 cot, however, strong enough to interrupt the retreat of 10,000 desper- 
 ate men ; for the French now began to think of nothing else, and 
 directed their march towards Amarante. On their deserting the 
 quays, the Portuguese jumped into the boats, which soon transported 
 across (amidst the cheers of the people and the waving of pocket 
 handkerchiefs by the women from the windows) the Guards and Gen- 
 eral Stewart's brigade, who proceeded through the town with the 
 greatest speed. 
 
 The Buflfs, in the mean time, had dashed into the city and cut off a 
 battery of Light Artillery in retreat, which becoming jammed be- 
 tween that regiment and the 29th, received the fire of both, and was 
 captured. 
 
 The flight of the enemy was continued, but they were overtaken by 
 the two squadrons which had passed with General Murray, led by 
 Brigadier-General Stewart, who charged the rear and made 200 
 prisoners. Major Hervey, who commanded the Dragoons, lost his 
 arm. The enemy collected their scattered troops at some distance, 
 but continued their retreat towards Amarante in the night. The 
 loss of the British did not exceed 120 men, while the enemy, besides 
 
 the opportunities of defence it presented. The building itself was a large and irregular one, of 
 an oblong form, surrounded by a high wall of solid masonry, the only entrance being by a heavTr 
 iron gate. At this spot, the battle appeared to have raged with violence ; one side of the massive 
 gate was torn from its hinges, and lay flat upon the ground ; the walls were breached in many 
 places, and pieces of torn uniforms, broken bayonets, and bruised shakos, attested that the 
 conflict was a close one. The seminary itself was in a falling state ; the roof, from which Paget 
 had given his orders, and where he was wounded, had fallen in. The French cannon had 
 fissured the building from top to bottom, and it seemed only awaiting tlie slightest impulse to 
 crumble into ruin. When we regarded the spot, and examined the narrow doorway which, 
 opening upon a flight of a few steps to the river, admitted our first party, we could not help feel- 
 ing struck anew with the gallantry of that mere handful of brave fellows who thus threw them- 
 selves amid the overwhelming legions of the enemy, and at once, without waiting for a single 
 reinforcement, opened a fire upon their ranks."
 
 56 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1809 
 
 killed and wounded, left on hand 500 prisoners and 1000 sick in the 
 hospitals, and several pieces of cannon. The city of Oporto was 
 illuminated at night, and Sir Arthur, without allowing himself any 
 rest, the same evening gave out an order of thanks to the army, after 
 eating the dinner which had been prepared for Soult. The operations 
 of the three preceding days had been most gratifying, and the quick- 
 ness with which the enemy had been forced from his various posi- 
 tions and pursued, seldom equalled. The army had advanced eighty 
 miles in four da3's, three of which were in constant presence of the 
 enemy. 
 
 Sir Arthur had completely surprised in his quarters one of the 
 most distinguished French Marshals, and consummated in his face the 
 most difficult operation in war, that of crossing a deep and rapid river 
 before an enemy. The rapidity of Sir Arthur's own movements had 
 been wonderful : for within twenty-six days of leaving Portsmouth, 
 Oporto was captured, and the enemy in full retreat. Captain Fitzroy 
 Stanhope, one of the Commander of the Forces' aides-de-camp, was 
 sent to England with the despatches containing the report of this suc- 
 cess by one of the ships cruising off the port, whose crews from the 
 sea had seen the smoke of the firing during the actions of the 11th 
 and 12th of April. 
 
 The Duke of Dalmatia, Marshal Soult, was overwhelmed with aston- 
 ishment at the audacity and success of the passage of the Douro. 
 But he was too experienced and collected a soldier to regard the re- 
 verse as final. 
 
 Falling back by the Vallonga road he restored his battalions to 
 their just organisation, and retreated with great regularity in order to 
 unite witli Loison and Amarante. He was not aware at the time that 
 Beresford had forced Loison to abandon the bridge and move towards 
 Oporto. This news came upon him like a thunder-clap. He saw 
 that his intended retreat was cut off, and that his army could only be 
 saved by the desperate expedient of abandoning artillery, ammunition, 
 and baggage, and rapidly marching over the mountains to the Braga 
 road. 
 
 The object to be attained was worth the sacrifice ; and the sacrifice 
 was accordingly made. After encountering innumerable perils con- 
 sequent upon a mountain march, over almost impassable paths, 
 and in the midst of the most tempestuous weather, pursued by the 
 British, encountering everywhere blazing or deserted villages, and 
 suffering a variety of obstructions from the indignant Portuguese 
 people, Soult reached Orcnse with 19.000 men, having lost since he 
 crossed the frontier, nearly one third of his force, and sixty pieces of
 
 1809.1 THE SPANISH GENERAL. 57 
 
 artillery ! His renown, however, was far from tarnished by this bold 
 movement ; on the contrary, it gained in the estimation of military 
 men, and above all in that of the astute British Commanuer. 
 
 Intimation now reaching Wellesley that a menacing movement 
 had been made on Estremadura, he determined to return immediately 
 to the Tagus. He accordingly proceeded thither by easy marches. 
 Sickness had broken out among his troops, and of those who continued 
 in the vigour of health so many were guilty of excesses as they passed 
 through the towns and villages that it became necessary to make 
 examples of some of the most flagrant offenders, and this involved 
 halts and^delays. The Provost Marshal had continual employment. 
 Sir Arthur was compelled to execute some of the heaviest culprits. 
 
 Nor was the ill health of some, and the misconduct of others, the 
 only obstruction to rapidity of movement. 
 
 Money was wanting. The remittances from the Home Govern- 
 ment were inadequate to the necessities of the hour, and the 
 Portuguese Government and merchants doled out loans reluctantly, 
 and in small sums. Over all these difficulties Sir Arthur ultimately 
 rode triumphantly. But valuable time was consumed in the struggle, 
 and in the meanwhile the French Marshals, Soult and Victor, were 
 enabled leisurely to take up good positions, or to retreat towards the 
 frontier. 
 
 If the enforced pause in Sir Arthur's operations was in one respect 
 detrimental and vexatious, it had its advantages in giving him time 
 to arrange his future plans. Several were open to him, and he select- 
 ed that which held out the prospect of cutting off the retreat of the 
 enemy. He resolved to unite himself to the Spanish General Cuesta, 
 and to march by Plasencia and Almaraz towards Madrid. 
 
 The Fi'ench at this time were tolerably strong upon the Spanish 
 frontier. Marshal Victor, Duke of Belluno, had 28,000 men stationed 
 at Merida ; General Sebastian! was at Ciudad Rodrigo with 16,000. 
 The plan suggested by Sir Arthur was calculated either to force 
 Victor to give him battle or retire, and Cuesta might have acted 
 separately against Sebastiani, for the latter general was not able 
 with facility to form a junction with Victor. Unhappily for the 
 interests of Spain, her Commander was an obstinate, ignorant, vain, 
 and indolent man. Advanced in years, incapable of physical exertion, 
 and unwilling to admit the great intellectual superiority of his 
 collahorateur^ he seemed rather to take a pleasure in thwarting the 
 designs and wishes of Sir Arthur Welleslej^ In dealing with this 
 incapable and impracticable soldier, Sir Arthur evinced wonderful 
 patience and forbearance, and felt his talents for war called into
 
 £8 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1809. 
 
 redoubled exercise to avert the evils which Cuesta's perverseness 
 would have precipitated. 
 
 Pending Sir Arthur's arrangements, Joseph Bonaparte, who was 
 King of Spain, crossed the Tagus, and reinforced Sebastiana and 
 
 MARSHAL VICTOR. 
 
 Victor. The force of the latter now consisted of 35,000 men, and 
 was concentrated in the vicinity of Talavera del Reyna and on the 
 Alberche. Sir Arthur resolved to attack it, and arranged with 
 Cuesta to execute his plan of operations on the 18th of July, '-if 
 the French should remain so long in their position." But Cuesta 
 had his own projects. Eager to reap the honour of driving the 
 French single-handed out of the Peninsula, he forsook his position, 
 followed a French corps into a net, was surrounded, and compelled 
 with heavy loss, and in great disorder, to retrace his steps. Upon 
 his return Sir Arthur, with some difficulty, placed him on the right
 
 1809.J CUESTA'S BIVOUAC. 59 
 
 of the l5riteish iinc, in a position of some security in front of the town 
 of Talavera down to the Tagus, protected by olive trees, walls, fences. 
 and embankments. The British line occupied two miles of open 
 ground commanded by a hc?ight on which was placed a division of in- 
 fantry under Major-General Hill. 
 
 The Bivouac of Cuesta was on the road to Madrid, about three- 
 quarters of a mile from the Alberche, where, on the cushions taken 
 out of his carriage, he sat the picture of mental and physical inability. 
 Two soldiers stood near to aid or support him in any little necessary 
 operation, and the scene would have been ridiculous had it not been 
 painful, as the British officers saw the tide, which, " when taken at its 
 flood," might, nay, would " lead on to fortune " and victory, fast ebbing 
 without advantage being taken of it. After considerable suspense, it 
 was universally reported throughout the army, that on being pressed 
 and driven to his last excuse, Cuesta pleaded that it was Sunday, at 
 the same time promising to attack at daylight the next morning, and 
 the troops were in consequence ordered back to their bivouacs. It 
 may be fairly considered that pride had considerable weight on this 
 occasion. Cuesta vfas a true Spaniard, and disliked suggestions from 
 an English General in his own country, and, with the recollections of 
 two hundred and fifty years before him, could not bring his ideas down 
 to present changes and circumstances. These feelings were national 
 and constantly evinced, and it was only very late in the war, after the 
 Spaniards found they had not an officer to lead their armies, and they 
 despaired of finding one, that they consented to place Sir Arthur at 
 their head. 
 
 Though sorely annoyed by Cuesta's determination, the officers could 
 not let pass without ridicule the incongri^y they had observed with- 
 in a few days in the old gentleman's proceedings. It was impossible 
 not to notice the Spanish Greneral going out to battle, to within half-a- 
 mile of the advanced posts, in a carriage drawn by nine mules, and 
 the precautions to preserve him from rheumatism, like those taken by 
 delicate ladies, in our humid climate at a/ete champetre, in placing 
 the carriage cushions on the grass. To these the Spanish Command- 
 er-in-Chief was supported by two grenadiers, and on which he was let 
 drop, as his knees were too feeble to attempt reclining without the 
 chance, nay, certainty of a fall. Yet this was the man to whom the 
 Cortes had entrusted their armies, but who ought (if he did not him- 
 self feel his own inability) to have been removed without a moment's 
 delay after the first trial. 
 
 The French army, commanded by Joseph Bonaparte, was admirably 
 posted, and in great strength. It consisted of upwards of 60,000
 
 CO LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1809. 
 
 men, formed into corps severally commanded by Marshals Victor and 
 Jourdan and General Sebastian!. The British army and the German 
 legion did not exceed 20,000 cavalry and infantry, with 30 guns. In 
 subordinate commands in the French army were Generals Ruffin, 
 Villatte. and Lapisse. The British brigades were led by Hill, Camp- 
 bell, Tilson, McKenzie, and Colonel Donkin. 
 
 On the night of the 26th July, Sir Arthur, surrounded by his staff, 
 slept, wrapped in his cloak, on the open ground, in rear of the second 
 line, about the centre of the British army. A hasty doze was occa- 
 sionally taken, as more continued rest was disturbed by alarm of dif- 
 ferent kinds, while the reflections of others kept them waking. 
 
 " We could not but feel," wrote one of the young combatants new 
 to such scenes, " that here was to be another trial of the ancient 
 military rivalry of England and France ; that the cool, constitutional, 
 persevering courage was again to be pitted against the more artificial, 
 however chivalrous, though not less praiseworthy, bravery of the 
 latter. This view of the relative valour of the two nations cannot 
 be questioned, if we consider that the reminding the British of this 
 moral quality is wholly unnecessary, and instead of language of 
 excitement being constantly applied to our soldiery, that of control, 
 obedience, and composure is solely recommended ; while our ancient 
 opponents are obliged incessantly to drive into the ears of their men 
 that they are nationally and individually the bravest of the human 
 race Hearing nothing else so flattering to their unbounded vanity, 
 they become so puffed up by this eternal stimulant, as to be fully 
 convinced of its truth, which, in consequence, makes their first attack 
 tremendous." 
 
 It was on the 27th and^Sth of July, 1809, that the Battle of 
 Talavera was fought. It was a terrible trial. The odds were 
 greatly against the British — three to one, at least, and most of the 
 latter were raw soldiers.' 
 
 True, there was the Spanish army of 34,000 men, with 70 guns, 
 pseudo allies of the English ; but when it is remembered that no 
 dependence was to be placed upon the fidelity of their adherence, 
 and that they were commanded by a senile dotard, whose soi-disant 
 co-operation had been a fruitful source of vexation and perplexity to 
 Sir Arthur for some time previously, 4,hey are scarcely to be counted 
 
 1 " We could not hide from ourselves," says an officer writing soon afterwards, " th.it our ranks 
 were filled with young soldiers, being principally the second battalions of those Enjjiish regiments 
 who h:id embarked at Corufia, and consisting of draughts from the Militia, thai had never seen 
 an enemy, .i'ith the exception of the Guards and a few others, there were more knapsacks with 
 Oic names of Militia regiments upon them, than of numbered regular regiments." This was a 
 force scarcely to be relied upon.
 
 1809] BATTLE OF TALAVERA. 61 
 
 as augmenting the British strength. And, in effect, they did nothing 
 during the whole of the two eventful days of the battle, although they 
 afterwards claimed a portion of the honor. We may, then, in all 
 fairness, consider Wellesley to have been opposed by a disciplined 
 and highly effective force, nearly treble the numerical extent of his 
 own army. This was a difficulty of sufficient magnitude to appal 
 generals of other nations ; but from the days of Henry V., English- 
 men have never stood upon ceremony in that respect. Marlborough 
 revived the practice of beating the French with an inferior army, after 
 four or five centuries of comparative peace, and Wellesley adopted 
 it from his first entrance upon the Peninsula. This was a feature of 
 the battle of Talavera, calculated to give it importance in the eyes of 
 the world ; but there were other circumstances of interest in the 
 operation. The opposite tactics of the two greatest generals of the 
 age had now to be tried on a grand scale. The French attacked in 
 dense column, sending out clouds of skii'mishers in the first instance, 
 and supporting the advance with a heavy cannonade from heights in 
 the rear. The English commander received them in line, delivering 
 volley upon volley, then charging with the bayonet,' assisted by the 
 cavalry of the German Legion. The contest was long and doubtful ; 
 
 1 Thr(Jughout the campaigns in the Peninsula, Lord Wellington adopted this method of resisting 
 the French attack in column, and as ho was almost always successful, he expresses his surprise, 
 in one of his despatches, that they should persevere in such a system. It has, however, 
 been demonstrated by able military writers that it requires certain qualities in soldiers to 
 act in line which are seldom found imited in any but the British. Success is also in some 
 measure dependent upon the nature of the ground. " In line, the greater part of the officers 
 and non-commissioned officers are either in the rear or in the ranks ; the soldier is, therefore, 
 not animated by the example of his superiors ; the enemy's grape-shot and musketry-fire may 
 cause blanks in the ranks, which can only be repaired by the rapidity of the march ; it may 
 be requisite to halt, and re-establish order, and then all impulse is at an end. The natural 
 uistinct of the soldier induces him to make use of his weapon at the sight of danger; hence, 
 firing begins in spite of all the orders of the officers, and the charge fails. This frequently 
 occurs when the enemy, not allowing himself to be intimidated, awaits the charge with 
 coolness, and only begins to fire within short range. Besides, the defeat of one battalion, 
 exposing the flank of the one next to it, might cause a general rout."— (Jenxi's Manual of 
 Field Operations.) 
 
 This found its illustration at Toulouse, where the Spaniards attacked a horn work in line, 
 and were driven back in great disorder. At Albuera, also, Colborne'3*%rigade was exposed to 
 heavy loss by General Stewart's attempt to deploy into line within range of the enemy's fire. 
 The advantages of the column, when not too deep, are, that impulse is given to the men by 
 tlieir confidence in the support they possess ; the leading division, finding itself supported, 
 advances more boldly ; those that follow fancy they are protected by the one in front ; the 
 sharpshooters make up for the deficiency of the fire of the columns, and in this formation 
 they can be more numerous without inconvenience, as they have large intervening spaces 
 to retire into. Besides, the sharpshooters protect the deployment of columns, who can, thus 
 protected, continue, according to circumstances, their charge in line, or halt and begin firing. 
 This is so obviously rational, that the continual failure of the French is only to be ascribed to 
 the fact of their columns being too deep, exposing them to great loss from the fire of artillery,
 
 62 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1809 
 
 but British resolution ultimately succeeded in maintaining the 
 position ■which had been taken up, and the enemy retired to the 
 ground they had occupied before the battle, leaving 10,000 men dead 
 upon the field. Never, perhaps, were the characteristic coolness and 
 decision of Sir Arthur put to a severer test than in the battle of 
 Talavera del Reyna. 
 
 From his point of observation in a tower, and afterwards on the 
 summit of a hill he was continually witnessing scenes which would 
 have alarmed less gifted men. The flight of 5.000 Spaniards, almost 
 immediately after the " order of battle" had been formed ; the 
 turning of the left of Donkin's brigade ; the night charge of Rufl&n's 
 division ; the announcement next day that " Cuesta was betraying 
 the English army ;" the check given by the ravines to Anson's 
 Dragoon charge, just as the French were commencing their attack 
 upon the whole British line — all conspired to try the British 
 General's nerves to the utmost. The greater, therefore, the 
 achievement. 
 
 Few victories excited greater emotion in England than this of 
 Talavera. The good old King was peculiarly pleased with the success 
 of Sir Arthur Wellesley's operation, and the Duke of York, .always 
 prompted to the generous expression of his sentiments, put forth 
 the following general order : — • 
 
 " The Commander-in-Chief has received the King's commands to 
 notify to the army the splendid victory obtained by his troops in 
 Spain, under the command of Lieutenant-General the Right Hon. 
 Sir Arthur Wellesley, on the 27th and 28th of last month (July 1809), 
 at the battle of Talavera de la Reyna. 
 
 '■ His Majesty is confident that his army will learn with becoming 
 exultation that the enemy, after escaping by a precipitate retreat 
 from the well-concerted attack with which Sir Arthur Wellesley, in 
 conjunction with the Spanish army, had threatened him on the 24th 
 of July, concentrated his force by calling to his aid the corps under 
 the French General, Sebastiani, and the garrisons of Madrid ; and 
 thus re-inforced, ^ain approached the allied army on the 27th of 
 July ; and, on this occasion, owing to the local circumstances of its 
 position, and to the deliberate purpose of the enemy to direct his 
 whole eflforts against the troops of his Majesty, the British army 
 
 and the lapping Arc of the nritish infiinlry wheeled upon their flanks. Tho best order of 
 attack is a combination of the two systems — making one portion of the troops march in line, 
 while the other is formed in columns at tho winsa. It was tried with success by Lord 
 VVelliagton in 1812.
 
 1809.] THE DUKE OF YORK'S GENERAL ORDER. 63 
 
 sustained nearly the whole weight of this great contest, and has 
 acquired the glory of having vanquished a French army double it? 
 numbers, not in a short and partial struggle, but in a battle obstinately 
 contested on two successive days (not wholly discontinued even 
 throughout the intervening night), and fought under circumstances 
 which brought both armies into close and repeated combat. 
 
 " The King, in contemplating so glorious a display of the valour 
 and prowess of his troops, has been graciously pleased to commana 
 that his royal approbation of the conduct of the army serving under 
 the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley shall be 
 thus publicly declared in General Orders. 
 
 " The Commander-in-Chief has received the King's commands to 
 signify, in the most marked and special manner, the sense his 
 Majesty entertains of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley's 
 personal services on this memorable occasion, not less displayed in 
 the result of the battle itself, than in the consummate ability, valour, 
 and military resource with which the many difficulties of this arduous 
 and protracted contest were met, and provided for, by his experience 
 and judgment. 
 
 " The conduct of Lieutenant-General Sherbrook, second in com- 
 mand, has entitled him to the King's marked approbation. His 
 Majesty has observed with satisfaction the manner in which he led 
 on the troops to the charge with the bayonet — a species of combat, 
 which, on all occasions, so well accords with the dauntless character 
 of British soldiers. 
 
 " His Majesty has noticed with the same gracious approbation the 
 conduct of the several generals and other officers. All have done their 
 duty ; most of them have had occasions of eminently distinguishing 
 themselves, the instances of which have not escaped his Majesty's 
 attention. 
 
 " It is his Majesty's commands, that his royal approbation and 
 thanks shall be given in the most distinct and most particular manner 
 to the non-commissioned officers and private men. In no instance 
 have they displayed with greater lustre their native valour and 
 characteristic energy, nor have they on any former occasion more 
 decidedly proved their superiority over the inveterate enemy of their 
 country. 
 
 " Brilliant, however, as is the victory obtained at Talavera, it is 
 not solely on that occasion that Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley, and the troops under his command, are entitled to his 
 Majesty's applause. The important service eflFected in an early part 
 of the campaign by the same army, under the command of the same 
 
 P
 
 64 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1809. 
 
 distinguished General, by the rapid march on the Douro, the passage 
 ef that river, the total discomfiture of the enemy, and his expulsion 
 from the territory of one of his Majesty's ancient and most faithful 
 allies, are circumstances which have made a lasting impression on his 
 Majesty's mind ; and have induced his Majesty to direct that the 
 operations of this arduous and eventful campaign shall be thus 
 recorded, as furnishing splendid examples of military skill, fortitude, 
 perseverance, and of a spirit of enterprise calculated to produce 
 emulation in every part of his army, and largely to add to the renown 
 and to the military character of the British nation. 
 
 " By order of the Right Honorable the Commander-in-Chief 
 
 "Harry Calvert, Adjxitant-Geiieral. 
 
 " IIORSK-GUARDS, 13tA Mugust, 1809." 
 
 In the battle of Talavera, General McKenzie was killed. Sir 
 Arthur had also to lament the loss of Brigadier-General Langworth 
 of the German Legion, and Brigade-Major Beckett of the Guards. 
 The battle of the 27th began at two in the morning, and was continued 
 until night. Renewed at day-break on the 28th, it raged until nine 
 o'clock, when a pause of two or three hours took place. In this 
 interval a signal illustration of the absence of personal vindictiveness, 
 on the part of rival French and English soldiers, was presented. A 
 small stream, tributary to the Tagus, flowed through a part of the 
 battle-ground, and separated the combatants. During the pause, the 
 respective armies removed their dead from the scene of action, and 
 then it was, as Lord Castlereagh observed, when moving a vote of 
 thanks to tlie army and its leader, that " those whose arms were 
 before uplifted for mutual havoc met at the stream which intervened 
 between their mutual positions, and shook hands in token of their 
 reciprocal admiration of the bravery, skill, and firmness displayed on 
 both sides.'" 
 
 1 Tlicse civil passages, so characteristic of civilised w.irfarc, were of frequent occurrence 
 during llie IVniusular War. An interesting article in a popular Magazine, contained, about 
 tweuty-livc years ago, the subjoined description of the friendly understanding subsisting 
 between the rival armies: — 
 
 " I liave known several Instances of right feeling evinced by the enemy, wortliy of gentle- 
 men wlio are above turning into individual strife llic ([uarrcls of the two coiiiitries. While 
 the light division was at Uallegos, some grcyhoiujds belonging to an ofliccr strayed into the 
 enemy's lines, and an opportunity was found, by means of the first flag of truce, to request 
 their being returned. Tlio answer wa.s favourable, stating that they sliould be sent in on the 
 first opportunity. A day or two after, llic greyhounds were seen in couples in tlio rear, and 
 on the (Irsl carabine being fired, they were let slip (the dogs of war?) and came curveting 
 Jbrougli the whistling balls to llieir old master. 
 
 "Theae recollections revive others. On the day the French retired from Fuentes.
 
 1809.] AMICABLE ENEMIES. 65 
 
 On the day following the battle of Talavera, the light brigade 
 under Major-General Robert Craufurd, consisting of the 43rd, 52nd, 
 and 95th (Rifles) reached Talavera. They had marched sixty miles 
 in twenty-six hours. With this reinforcement, it was the intention 
 
 d'Onore, the last troops they withdrew from our front were some squadrons of cavalry. 
 Accompanied by a friend of mine, we quietly followed their retrograde movement, and, secure 
 in the speed of our horses, and the open plain, gradually neared the rear-guard. When we 
 came within a few yards, an ofllcer rode out, and begged that we would not encroach so much, 
 or otherwise he should be obliged, but with regret, a f aire charger les tirailleurs ; it is need- 
 less to say that we did not further obtrude upon his good nature or civility. I have witnessed 
 some remarkable instances, on a momentary suspension of arms, even during a general action, 
 of almost a mi.\ture of the armies. At Buasco, when the baggage of General St. Simon, who 
 had been loft in the midst of our ranks on the repulse and overthrow of the enemy's attack, 
 was sent for, the light division and the enemy's troops opposed to them fairly mingled iu 
 plundering the dead, and Lord Wellington became desirous of checking if, as some of their 
 soldiery had strolled up (I spoke to several of them) to the very summit of the hill, even be- 
 yond where their advance had penetrated in their previous attack. 
 
 " A similar occurrence took place in front of our lines that covered Lisbon. Before we fell 
 back upon our redoubts, we held the ground near the village of Santa Quintina, opposite our 
 centre, for several days. The 71st, under Ciolonel Cadogan, were here posted behind a little 
 bank they had thrown up, and were only divided from the enemy, equally covered by a wall, 
 by a small field, about a hundred yards across. Under Loison's direction, the enemy stormed 
 our post, and were beat back by Colonels Cadogan and Reynell, at the head of two companies, 
 literally with the bayonet, as one of their men was stabbed as he was crossing the parapet of 
 the breastrwork. The whole skirmish and the repulse were speedily over, and when all firing 
 had ceased, they called across for permission to carry off their killed and wounded men, who 
 were strewed over the little field in front. To this we assented, and they sent a party, 
 accompanied by an officer, who commenced their removal. Whilst they were so employed, 
 the officer came up to Reynell, and with some flippancy, mingled with mortification, said, 
 '• Apres Paffaire nous sommes de bans amis.' Colonel Reynell replied with great quickness, 
 pointing to a shot he had just received through his blue cloth light infantry cap, ' Sans doute; 
 cependantje vous remercie pour cette marque de voire bonte.' 
 
 " I only know of one accident arising from similar communication, and that, I have under- 
 stood, arose from a mistake, though its efibcts were fatal. During the time Colonel Cadogan 
 occupied the town of Fuentes d'Onore, when no firing was going on, though a portion of the 
 village was in the hands of the enemy, he was called to by a French officer to approach, having 
 eomething to communicate. He accordingly descended, with a sergeant and a man, to the 
 banks of the little rivulet that runs through the village to meet him, and at that instant some 
 of their nearest men, seizing their muskets (it is believed not being aware of what had passed), 
 fired, and shot the sergeant through the body, and the private (one of his best men) through 
 the ear into the head. Considering that we are always playing with edge tools, it is surprising 
 that more accidents do not occur. At Oporto, in 1809, to be sure, we commenced by cannonading 
 a few Portuguese, whose blue jackets we mistook for French ; at Talavera we had some pitiable 
 Instances of the light infantry in our front being killed and wounded by our own fire during the 
 night ; and Sir S. Cotton being wounded by a Portuguese sentry after Salamanca ; but beyond 
 these, I do not recollect any similar mishaps. 
 
 '' Civilities have at all times passed between the two armies, softening much the rigours of 
 war, and baggage and money have ever been received on both sides for officers who have had 
 the misfortune to be made prisoners. Lord Wellington generally received the enemy's officers 
 ^of rank at his table ; and on one occasion, at Celorico, the pertness of a Colonel of gens-d'armes 
 drew forth from a Spanish Colonel attached to head-quarters a keen repartee. Lord Wellington 
 VOL. I. 5
 
 66 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. fl809 
 
 of Sir Arthur Wellesley to have maintained his ground. But newa 
 reached him of the advance of Soult, and as Cuesta refused until too 
 late to send a Spanish corps to defend Banos, the point to which 
 Soult directed his steps, and supplies of every kind were with difficulty 
 obtained at Talavera, Sir Arthur Wellesley resolved on moving with 
 the British army to Plasencia in the hope of encountering Soult, 
 Ney, and Mortier. This resolution was carried out on the 3rd of 
 August, arrangements having been made that the Spanish General, 
 Cuesta, should remain at Talavera to check Victor, secure the rear of 
 the British army, and protect the numerous sick and wounded who 
 were unavoidably left in the hospitals. A few hours subsequent to 
 the departure of the British, Cuesta violating his promise and utterly 
 regardless of consequences, abandoned Talavera, and followed upon 
 the footsteps of Sir A. Wellesley, to his great consternation and 
 embarrassment. 
 
 Sir Arthur's thoughts immediately reverted to the wounded. He 
 wrote at once the following note to General Kellerman : — 
 
 "TO GENERAL KELLERMAN. 
 
 "Deleytosa, 0th August, 1809. 
 
 " The fortune of war has placed the officers and soldiers of the 
 British army who were wounded in the recent battle of Talavera in 
 the hands of the Commander-in-Chief of the French army. 
 
 " I wrote to the Commander-in-Chief of the French army to com- 
 mend these soldiers to him, and to request him to permit me to send 
 to Talavera to attend to those officers who will not be considered 
 as prisoners of war, and to whom their return to the army may be 
 granted when their wounds are healed. I requested, also, to be 
 allowed to send a small amount of money to the officers. 
 
 " Having the honour of being known to you, I venture to engage 
 your kind offices with the Commander-in-Chief of the French army, 
 and to recommend my wounded to you. If it were Marshal Soult 
 who commanded, he owes me all the care which can be given to my 
 brave soldiers, for I saved his (whom the fate of warfare placed in my 
 power) from the fury of the Portuguese populace, and took care of 
 them. Besides, as the two nations are always at war, we ought to 
 reciprocate those attentions which I claim for my wounded, and 
 
 asked if the Duchess of Abrantes (.Madame Junot) was not at Salamanca, to which he replied 
 in the affirmative, and added, ^ ElU a Cintenlion iTaccouchcr dans sun L>u:he^ — Abrantes 
 being at that time two hundred miles to our rear, and into which place, as i', hap{>ened, the 
 French never entered. This brought upon him the happy and neat remark to which I allude— 
 ^Peut-ctre la Duchesse aura une fausse coucheP " •
 
 1809.J 
 
 COURTESY AND HUMANITY. 
 
 61 
 
 which I have always bestowed upon those whose lot cast them 
 on me." 
 
 Happily for the interests of humanity, the French Marshals, who 
 occupied Talavera upon its evacuation by the besotted Spaniards, 
 took every care of the British wounded ! Victor, who, more than any 
 other French general, embodied the characteristics of the preux 
 chevalier of old, on his entrance into the town, sent soldiers to every 
 house with orders to the inhabitants to receive and accommodate the 
 wounded English, as well as the wounded French, and he expressly 
 directed that, in the care and attention bestowed on them, preference 
 should be given to the English. On his being relieved by Marshal 
 Mortier, Duke de Bulluno, the latter continued the humane offices 
 of his gallant predecessor, and would not permit his own soldiers, 
 
 MARSHAL MORTIEE. 
 
 although suffering severe privations themselves, to receive rations 
 until the hospitals were first supplied.
 
 68 LIFE JF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1809 
 
 Mortier was a man of great humanity of character. In the Russian 
 war of 1812, he gave several proofs of the excellence of his heart. It 
 is said that his conduct towards the wounded at Talavera arose from 
 the fact of one of his old friends and schoolfellows of the English 
 army being amongst them, but those who have tracked him through 
 other campaigns are aware that humanity was a feature of his 
 character. 
 
 The idiotic (to call it by no worse jiame) proceeding of Cuesta 
 forced Sir Arthur to change his plan of operations. He felt com- 
 pelled to give up the movement upon Plasencia, and retire to the left 
 bank of the Tagus. 
 
 On the 11th of August he withdrew his troops over the bridge of 
 Arzobispo, with the view of covering Seville and the south of Spain, 
 and at the same time preserve his communication with Lisbon, and 
 reached the valley watered by the Elevante on the 1 1 th of August. 
 After his troops had had time to repose, finding that it would be im- 
 possible to prosecute the war in Spain with any chance of success 
 against the French forces, which had now greatly augmented, and were 
 preparing to enter Portugal by Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida, Sir 
 Arthur Wellesley determined to move into Portugul. He therefore 
 fell back, and in September, 1809, took up the line of the Guadiana, 
 and established his head-quarters at Badajoz. In this position he 
 expected to secure the province of Andalusia, as the enemy could not 
 venture to penetrate across the Sierra Morena with the British army 
 on their right flank ; to give confidence to the army of La Mancha, 
 and finally to encourage the people to persevere in the cause, by 
 afi"ording the Spanish nation an opportunity of reforming its govern- 
 ment, and of choosing new men to direct their measures in the* cabinet 
 and conduct their armies in the field. 
 
 While in this position a variety of circumstances occurred, calculated 
 to produce an alternation of hope and despair, ultimately terminating 
 in the destruction of Sir Arthur Wellesley' s plans. The British 
 Minister, Frere, who had caused much annoyance to the British 
 commander, was withdrawn, and replaced by the Marquis of Wellesley, 
 the sagacious brother of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had destroyed 
 the Mysore power and the Mahratta confederacy in India. Cuesta 
 was removed from the command of the Spanish army, and in recom- 
 pense of the very distinguished gallantry and profound skill which 
 bad marked Sir Arthur Wellesley 's operations at Talavera, the 
 King raised him to the peerage, by the titles of Baron Douro of 
 Wellesley, and Viscount Wellington of Talavera, and of Wellington 
 in the county of Somerset ; and a grateful country, by its repre-
 
 1809.] LINES OF TORRES VEDRAS. 69 
 
 sentatives in Parliament, voted him a pension of two thousand pounds 
 per annum. 
 
 On the other hand, all the Spanish generals who held out against 
 the French in different parts of Spain endured serious reverses, the 
 British troops, suffering intensely from privations and sickness, daily 
 diminished in numbers ; dissatisfaction arose among the officers ; a 
 large political party in England assailed Lord Wellington with every 
 species of misrepresentation and acrimonious abuse ; the Spanish Junta 
 continued to torment the General with their indecision and imbecility, 
 and Napoleon, having humbled Russia, Prussia, and Austria, sent hia 
 cohorts, 110.000 strong, under Marshal Massena, to attempt the re- 
 conquest of Portugal. 
 
 After a stay of a month or so at Badajoz, Lord Wellington set out 
 for Lisbon upon a journey, leaving the army in its quarters. The 
 object of this journey, which he kept a profound secret as long as it 
 was possible, excited a great deal of speculation among the troops, 
 and throughout the Peninsula. By many it was expected that he 
 meditated arrangements for the evacuation of Portugal, but he, 
 hoping against hope, confident while all others despaired, was. on the 
 contrary, devising means for defending Lisbon against any army the 
 French could bring into the field. Lord Wellington's purpose was 
 to examine the ground personally, and to plan those famous lines 
 which were to give a fatal check to the progress of Napoleon's armies. 
 The lines of Torres Vedras, which brought the Peninsular struggle 
 to a crisis, are a monument of power and perseverance which '• neither 
 the Romans in ancient, nor Napoleon in modern times" ever reared, 
 vast as was their military genius. When completed, these works 
 formed a double and nearly parallel chain of redoubts and other en- 
 trenchments. The outer or advanced lines extended from the mouth 
 of the small river Zinandro, on the ocean through the mountain points 
 of Torres Vedras and Monte Agraqa, the keys of the position, to Al- 
 handra, on the Tagus, and, following the trace of its defensive features, 
 this outer line measured twenty-nine miles. In rear of this, the sec- 
 ond, or principal, line of defence across the Peninsula had its left on 
 the sea, at the mouth of the little river St. Lorenzo (in front of Eri- 
 ceira), and its right on the Tagus at Via Longa ; occupying on its 
 trace the strong mountain passes of Mafra, Montachique, and Bucellas, 
 through which run three of the four great roads to Lisbon, while the 
 fourth skirts the river. The principal line, in its sinuosities, measured 
 twenty-four miles, the direct breadth of the neck of the Peninsula be- 
 tween the flanks of the two lines being, however, twenty-five and 
 twenty-two miles respectively.
 
 70 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLxNGTON. 
 
 [1809. 
 
 In the month of December, 1809, Lord Wellington withdrew his 
 army from Spain, and in the course of three weeks the whole of his 
 force was placed on a new and extended position along the frontier of 
 Portugal, the head-quarters being in the city of Viseu. Here they 
 remained for six months. 
 
 BRITISU HEAVY DRAGOONS. 
 
 During this interval Napoleon put an immense force in motion. 
 Besides the 100,000 men mentioned above, 20,000 of the Imperial 
 Guard were marching on the Bidassoa, a corps of Poles and Italians 
 had entered Catalonia, and a powerful siege-train, and nearly 800 
 carriages with stores and ammunition, were moving by the Burgos 
 road. The grand total of the French army actually within the 
 Pyrenees amounted to 365,000 men. From the elite of this enormous 
 force two grand armies were formed, each comprising three distinct 
 corps. The first, under the command of the Duke of Dalmatia, was 
 composed of the corps of Victor, Mortier, and Sebastiani, with a 
 reserve under General Dessoles. The second comprised the corps of 
 Ncy, Junot, and part of Victor's, and was especially intended to be 
 employed by Massena, the Prince of Essling. The first corps (V armee,
 
 1809.] POSITION IN PORTUGAL. 7l 
 
 collected at the foot of the Sierra Morena, mustered 65,000 men, and 
 was intended to overrun Andalusia. The second, concentrated in the 
 valley of the Tagus, amounted to 80,000 effective soldiers, and was 
 destined to reduce Ciudad Rodrigo in the onset, and finally to expel 
 the English from Portugal, and thus achieve the conquest of the 
 Peninsula. 
 
 On the 11th of June, 1810, the enemy invested the fortress of 
 Ciudad Rodrigo with 30,000 infantry, and 5000 cavalry. The gar- 
 rison, despairing of being able to hold out against so large a force, 
 deputed the Marquis of Romana to entreat Lord Wellington to 
 advance to its relief ; but this his lordship refused to do. It did 
 not appear to him that it was safe to risk the general cause of the 
 Peninsula for the sake of saving a small garrison. He, therefore, 
 held his ground, and on the 16th of July the fortress surrendered by 
 capitulation to Marshal Ney. Foreseeing the line of attack medi- 
 tated by the French upon Portugal, Lord Wellington had taken up a 
 fresh position. His army, organized into six divisions, and respect- 
 ively commanded by Generals Spencer, Hill, Picton, Lowry Cole, 
 Robert Craufurd, and Stapleton Cotton, formed the segment of a 
 circle of which the convex part was opposed to Beira and the Alem- 
 tejo. Guardo, Celerico, Pinhel, and the west bank of the Coa with 
 its tributary streams flowing in front of the line along the greater 
 part of its extent. 
 
 The fortresses of Almeida, Elvas, and Valenca, Peniche, Abrantes, 
 and Setuval, were garrisoned by the Portuguese regulars and militia. 
 Baceller held the provinces beyond the Douro with native troops. 
 The country between Penamacor and the Tagus was similarly de- 
 fended. Four regiments of militia occupied the Alemtejo ; three gar- 
 risoned the fortresses of the Algarves ; while twelve remained in 
 reserve, quartered upon both banks of the Tagus, and chiefly about 
 Setuval. 
 
 By this masterly arrangement the extremes, of the defensive line 
 were entrusted to the militia and ordenanza, while the whole of the 
 regular troops occupied the central positions ; thus enabling Lord 
 Wellington, in two marches, to concentrate 40,000 splendid soldiers, 
 either at Guarda, or between that place and the Douro. 
 
 The tenure of this position, and the general operations of the 
 war at this time, were distinguished by a very gallant affair on the 
 river Coa occasioned by General Craufurd's movement in aid of the 
 besieged at Ciudad Rodrigo ; by the fall of the fortress of Almeida, 
 and by the growth, activity, intelligence, and determination of the 
 Spanish Guerillas, Without discipline, but acting always in concert;
 
 72 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1809. 
 
 and with a fierce determination to exterminate the French, the.se 
 daring men, often headed and encouraged by the priesthood, 
 assembled in bands at a brief notice, and from the rocks above the 
 mountain passes, in forests skirting the roads, on the banks of rivers, 
 in towns and in villages, assailed the eneni}', committed the most 
 barbarous cruelties upon the persons of the French in retaliation of 
 the wrongs done to themselves and their families, and intercepted 
 the provisions and stores which were sent from France across the 
 Pyrenees. 
 
 OUEKILLAS CAPTURING A FRENCH rRISONEtt. 
 
 Mina, a chief possessing great authority and ability, had under his 
 command 3000 of these men, who, divided into small parties, from 
 their knowledge of the country dispersed and assembled in a few 
 hours' time. One instance of their activity and courage is sufficient 
 to furnish an idea of what they could accomplish, when regularly 
 organised Mina was a member of the Spanish University : a 
 nephew of his commenced this destructive method of weakening the 
 enemy, with his companions, most of them young men of education. 
 The nephew was killed in a skirmish, and the uncle took the lead ;
 
 1809.] THE GUERILLAS. 73 
 
 and of so much importance was he considered by the enemy, that a 
 plan was formed by four French generals, to entrap him and his fol- 
 lowers, particularly as a large quantity of stores were expected from 
 Bayonne, which they apprehended would fall into the clutches of this 
 daring leader and his hardy companions. By four different routes 
 they imagined he might be surrounded, and, by closing, take himself 
 and party. The wily Mina, however, was not only aware of this plot 
 laid for him, but also was on the watch to attack the convoy, amount- 
 ing to 2000 men. 
 
 By the mode of dispersing his troops in small parties, he soon got 
 clear of the French forces, and by re-assembling at an appointed 
 place on the Pyrenees, he was enabled to attack the convoy, of which 
 he killed 900, took 600 prisoners, and all the stores : King Joseph's 
 secretary, disguised as a peasant, was killed. Thus the skill, courage, 
 and dexterity of Mina, with a band of undisciplined men, defeated a 
 body of 2000 French soldiery, and took an immense quantity of 
 stores. 
 
 Many like feats were performed by the other Guerilla chiefs, and as 
 a convincing proof of their activity, the French could not send a bag 
 of letters, but under a guard of 250 horse and foot ; nor could this 
 Guerilla force be readily destroyed ; for, acquainted as they were with 
 the different passes in the mountains, and the by-roads through the 
 country, they could assemble at any given point, or disperse, without 
 the possibility of defeat. 
 
 As this description of warrior was self-appointed, and acknowl- 
 edging no control, although at all times found prepared to conform 
 to the chieftain's orders, no exact account could be taken of their 
 numbers : they were, however, very generally esteemed at 15,000 
 men : they lived by rapine, of course were no expense to the state : 
 they were dressed as each man could afford, and armed as they could 
 obtain weapons ; some mounted, some on foot, but all equally ferocious 
 and hardy. 
 
 The following extract from the notes of an officer who served 
 the campaign of 1809-14, illustrates the feeling and acts of the 
 Guerillas : — 
 
 " Though the large towns had become accustomed to the French, 
 still the peasantry felt to the last, hatred and vengeance. These 
 became blended in all their acts and ideas, and were even introduced 
 in their national songs. Little couplets of four lines, or of two, 
 with a senseless chorus, imitating the crowing of a Gallic cock, 
 sounding like kokaroo^ kokaroo, koo^ were chaunted by the very girls 
 during the evening dances, and accompanied by their tambourines.
 
 74 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1810 
 
 One, I recollect, amused me much, putting in fair contrast the oaths 
 of their friends and their enemies : 
 
 " ' Viva los Ingleses qui dicen 
 God damn you ! 
 Mueran los qui dicen 
 Sacre nom de Dieu P 
 
 " The inhabitants of the Peninsula thought the French who invaded 
 and insulted their houses could deserve no mercy ; and the peasantry, 
 who found a fit opportunity to shoot one of them, felt no more com- 
 punction than in destroying a pole-cat, or other vermin. The mili- 
 tary ideas of the French only tolerated as a legitimate enemy those 
 in uniform, and considering all others they found armed as brigands, 
 put them to death without mercy. These diflferent views produced 
 retaliation, leading on both sides to horrid atrocities, and for a long 
 while no quarter was given or received between the Guerillas and the 
 enemy. 
 
 " General Franceschi, one of the most active officers of the French 
 Light Cavalry, having most imprudently declined an escort, was 
 taken near Zamory, early in 1809, and aftewards died at Granada, 
 in prison. The Guerillas, posted in countries difficult of access, as 
 much actuated by hope of plunder as patriotism, were constantly on 
 the alert ; and the corps under the enterprising Mina, established in 
 the valley of Arragon and Biscay, at the very threshold of France, 
 interrupted all supplies not accompanied by a little army. Large 
 supplies of clothes and stores fell occasionally into their hands, and 
 in 1813-14, the infantry of Mina were in French uniforms. An 
 officer of Guerillas, on one occasion, brought his plunder for sale to 
 head-quarters, which we conceived to be, from the choice and number 
 of patterns, the travelling stock of a tailor. "We were shown several 
 badges of embroidery and beautiful cyphers (several with that of 
 Marie Louise), intended for collars, cuffs, and skirts of coats, besides 
 some splendid sashes. The Guerilla captain understood so well to 
 marchander^ and remained so long at head-quarters, that we were 
 all satisfied he was less patriotic than mercenary. Do not suppose 
 that we give the like credit to the Guerillas as you have done in 
 England ; for, however they may have annoyed and even distressed 
 the enemy, and rendered neces.sary the employment of large bodies 
 of troops to keep up communication, they never could nor would 
 have liberated their country. Tlieir petty mountain warfare could 
 not lead to great results, while their miserable armies only entered 
 the plains to be dispersed, and, but for our forces, all the best
 
 1810.] 
 
 MARSHAL MASSENA. 
 
 75 
 
 and accessible countries of every province were permanently sub- 
 dued. 
 
 Towards the middle of the month of September, 1810, the Prince 
 of Essling (Massena) made a feint of moving down upon the left bank 
 of the Mondego. 
 
 MARSHAL MASSENA. 
 
 Wellington retired behind the Alva. By the 20th of September, 
 Massena had crossed the river below Celerico, and was advancing 
 upon Coimbra by the way of Vizeu. This movement was counteract- 
 ed by Lord "Wellington with his usual prescience. The intentions of 
 the enemy being very apparent, the second division of the army under 
 the orders of Lieutenant-General Hill made a parallel movement 
 with Regnier's corps d'arjnee, when the whole of the combined army, 
 with the exception of General Fane's division of cavalry, and Le Cor's 
 brigade of Portuguese infantry, " was placed upon the right bank of 
 the Mondego with a celerity which set all ordinary calculation at de- 
 fiance." 
 
 The mountain road north of the Mondego runs over a high ridge
 
 •76 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1810. 
 
 called the Sierra de Busaco. Towards this it was evident Marshal 
 Massena's force directed its steps en route to Coimbra. At this 
 point, therefore, Wellington was resolved to stop him. Accordingly, 
 at day-break on the 26th of September (1810), the several divisions 
 of British and Portuguese troops ascended the heights of Busaco, 
 where the whole of the enemy's force, consisting of 60,000 infantry, 
 and a very large body of cavalry, could distinctly be seen from a 
 convent which Sir Arthur occupied. Colonel Leith Hay, in his 
 '• Narrative of the Peninsular War," vividly describes the scene that 
 presented itself " Nothing could be conceived more enlivening, more 
 interesting, or more varied, than the scene from the heights of Bu- 
 saco. Commanding a very extensive prospect to the eastward, the 
 movements of the French army were distinctly perceptible ; it was 
 impossible to conceal them from the observation of the troops station- 
 ed along the whole range of the mountain ; nor did this appear to 
 be the object of the enemy. Rising grounds were covered with troops, 
 cannon, or equipages : the widely-extended countr}'^ seemed to contain 
 a host moving forward, or gradually condensing into numerous 
 masses, checked in their progress by the grand natural barrier on 
 which the allies were placed, and at the base of which it became ne 
 cessary to pause. In imposing appearance as to numerical strength, 
 there has been rarely seen anything comparable to that of the enemy's 
 army from Busaco ; it was not alone an army encamped before us, 
 but a multitude : cavalry, infantry, artillery, cars of the country, 
 tribes of mules with their attendants, sutlers, followers of every de- 
 scription, crowded the moving scene upon which Lord Wellington 
 and his army looked down." 
 
 Towards evening, the French pickets made an attack upon the Por- 
 tuguese Caqadores, who returned the fire with great, steadiness and 
 effect. At night the troops bivouacked in their several positions. 
 "The veterans," says Alison, in his admirable "History of Europe," 
 " accustomed to similar scenes of excitement, slept profoundly on 
 their stony beds ; but many of the younger soldiers, who were now to 
 witness a battle for the first time, were kept awake by the grandeur 
 and solemnity bf the scene around them." 
 
 At dawn of day the fight began by the French making two des- 
 perate attacks upon the right and centre of the allied army. Gen- 
 eral Simon's brigade led the assault. The fire of the light troops 
 and the horse artillery scattered death among the leading columns, 
 but did not check their advance — they reach the summit — they de- 
 ploy into line. " Charge !" cried Craufurd, who watched the up- 
 ward progress of the French brigade — the 43rd, 52ud, and 95th
 
 1810.1 BATTLE OF BUSACO. 77 
 
 rush forward with the bayonet — the French give way — their columns 
 are overlapped by the light troops — they break — retreat — volley after 
 volley is poured into them, tumbling them down the hill, whence 
 they escape covered by the fire of Ney's guns from the opposite side 
 of the hill. Previous to this an attack was made on the right of the 
 British line, but was repelled with equal gallantry by Colonel Mac- 
 kinnon's brigade, directed by Major-General Picton, supported by 
 Generals Leith and Lightburne. The battle lasted great part of the 
 day, but with unvarying success on the part of the British. 
 
 Every effort of the French troops, however daring and skilful, was 
 foiled by the indomitable British line and the Portuguese levies. The 
 British force engaged in the battle of Busaco consisted of 24,000 men. 
 The French army was not less than 55,000 strong. The British 
 artillery was used with great effect from the heights, and the Portu- 
 guese Ca^adores made a most successful debut in the field. 
 
 On the morning of the 28th, Marshal Massena made a feint attack 
 with his light troops, and towards mid-day marched on the road from 
 Mortagoa, over the mountains towards the Vouga. Inferring from 
 this movement, that it was the Prince of Essling's intention to gain 
 the Oporto road, and the position of Busaco having been actually 
 turned, on the 29th Lord Wellington recrossed the Mondego, and 
 retreated to the position he had previously determined on in front of 
 Lisbon, with his right at Alhandra on the Tagus, passing by Torres 
 Vedras, and his left on the sea. 
 
 Lord Wellington's army entered the lines of Torres Vedras on the 
 8th of October, and by the 15th the allies finally took up their 
 ground. Shortly afterwards they were joined by the Marquis de la 
 Romana with about 5000 effective men. Lord Wellington was now 
 to reap the advantage of his admirable foresight. Girdled by im- 
 pregnable works, strengthend by Nature, the allied army remained 
 within the Lines for five months, laughing to scorn the futile efforts of 
 Massena to penetrate its strongholds.
 
 78 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, 
 
 [1810. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Uiissena before the Lines— His Retreat— Pursuit by the Allies— Affairs at Redinha, Pombal, 
 Foz d'Aronce, and Casal Nova— Wellington's Correspondence. 
 
 ASSENA— baffled in his 
 endeavours to force the 
 Lines — of the existence 
 of which he had only 
 heard five days before 
 he approached them — 
 retired on the 1 4th of 
 November, 1810, to 
 Santarem — a place ad- 
 mirably adapted for a 
 defensive post agamst an assailant moving from the side of Lisbon. 
 Whether he hoped to lure Lord Wellington from his fastnesses to 
 attack him, or whether he really wished to maintain the position 
 against any possible attack, it is certain that he took great pains to 
 entrench himself What nature had left unfinished to render the 
 position formidable, Massena endeavoured to accomplish. Field- 
 works of various kinds crowned the eminence, while the face of the 
 hill was studded with innumerable breast-works, from which thousands 
 of Frenchmen frowned defiance upon the allies. 
 
 When Massena moved to Santarem, Lord Wellington concluded 
 that he was about to retreat into Spain. The grounds of this 
 supposition were natural. By the retreat, IMassena would have been 
 able to supply his army with plenty of food during the winter, and 
 put them into good and quiet cantonments ; he could have procured 
 medical attendance and medicines for his numerous sick ; he would 
 have been able to clothe and re-equip his troops, aff'ord the people 
 of the country the means of cultivating their ground, and at any
 
 p. 78.
 
 1811.] 
 
 MASSENA AT SANTAREM. 
 
 19 
 
 time have resumed his position in greater strength. Acting then 
 upon the belief that a retreat was intended, Lord Wellington dis- 
 patched Major-General Hill to cross the Tagus and attack Santarem, 
 while his lordship moved the head quarters to Cartaxo. When 
 General Hill was near enough to reconnoitre the positions, it was 
 evident that the crafty Massena had no such object as an immediate 
 retreat in view. The whole of his force was brought up in the 
 vicinity of Santarem. From this circumstance, and the fact of the 
 roads and rivulets being impassable, owing to heavy rains, it was deemed 
 unadvisable to attempt the attack. Immense loss must have ensued, 
 and the British General ran a risk of having some of his detachments 
 insulated and cut off from all communication with others. 
 
 It was late in November when General Hill crossed the Tagus and 
 stood in the path of the French Marshal, who obviously meditated an 
 attempt on Lisbon. From that time until the 5th of March, 1811, 
 neither army stirred. Lord Wellington was not inactive, as we shall 
 
 EEINF0RCEMENT8. 
 
 presently show, but his antagonist made an effort to disturb his 
 repose. In fact, during January and February, 1811, the weather
 
 80 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [ISll. 
 
 was so bad that military operations upon either side were quite out 
 of the question. With an uninterrupted communication with the 
 sea, Lord Wellington was enabled to receive reinforcements and 
 considerable supplies from England during this interval, though the 
 latter came not by any moans in the proportion expected or desired. 
 The British Prime Minister, Percival, oscillating between the fear of 
 increasing the power of the opposition, who continued steadily to 
 oppose the Peninsular War on financial grounds, and the apprehension 
 of weakening his own position with the Prince Regent, almost 
 starved the troops, notwithstanding the arguments of the Marquis 
 of Wellesley at home, and the indignant remonstrances of Lord 
 Wellington abroad. Massena's position grew every day more 
 perilous. It was the practice of the French armies to make the 
 countries through which they passed support them. Every man 
 foraged for himself when the columns came to a halt, and, as a 
 necessary consequence, much violence was practised if the villagers 
 and townspeople did not in their alarm burn and forsake their 
 dwellings, and drive away their flocks before th& enemy arrived.* 
 This abominable and most unwise usage had converttjd the country in 
 Massena's rear into a desert. To feed his army at Santarem, he was, 
 therefore, obliged to send out strong foraging parties to scour the 
 country to the very confines of the British positions. Several 
 important captures of cattle and grain were* made in this way. But 
 
 1 "The French plundered after the most scientific and approved methods; they used to throw 
 water on suspected places, and watch its absorption, judging the spot where it dried the 
 quickest had been lately disturbed. No qualms of conscience prevented the orthodox Catholic 
 soldiery of the French army from rifling the most sacred places. The communion plate and 
 silver lamps and candlesticks even vanished in the twinkling of an eye. Not content with 
 wb.1t the churches afforded above-ground, or from a zeal for antiquarian research, they 
 despised a superficial or traditional account of the former modes of burial, and investigated 
 the point by breaking open the tombs. At Jericejo (a word by-the-by, no one but a native 
 ever pronounced), when they turned Cuesta's flank, in 1809, by the bridge of Arzo Dispo, 
 they tore open a sarcophagus, let into the wall, containing the mortal remains of some great 
 hidalgo, who had been buried (the date w.ns the 10th centurj-) near three liuiidred years 
 before. Finding the body, though not absolutely embalmed, w.is dried into a sort of mummy, 
 they took it out, and stuck it up against the door as a bugaboo, with a musket in his hand ! 
 However chivalrous and warlike this contemporary Don of Charles or the Philips, he could 
 never have surmised, had he even believed in the metempsychosis (which would not have 
 been prudent in those times for a good Citholic), that after being comfortably buried two 
 hundred and fifty years, he should do duly as a Factionnaire Scarecrow at the door of his own 
 church! The thoughtlessness of the French character was often shown in similar practical 
 Jokes. Wljen they retired from before the lines, they j)laced the bodies of their de.id comrades 
 in cupboards and again.st closed doors, insuring the fall of these grim memento maris on the 
 first inquisitive searcher. At Cartaxo, with a view, no doubt, to improve the water, or to 
 leave us ingredients to prepare a soup maigrt on a largo scale, they dropped a dead donkey into 
 one of the finest wells in the place. This was not detected mitil it was possible for a regiment of 
 the Ist Division to report upon the flavour of soup a Pane." — United Strvice Journal,
 
 1811.] MASSENA'S RETREAT. 81 
 
 the cavalry of Lord Wellington was always upon the alert, and the 
 cattle and corn were often recovered, while the French foragers, 
 thrown into a frightful state of indiscipline, were frequently cut off 
 and made prisoners. The cupidity of some of the people of Lisbon 
 was likewise a material source of supply to Massena. " Under the 
 pretence of selling sugar at Thomar and Torres Novas, the agents of 
 certain fidalgos in Lisbon passed by the road of Celdas and through 
 the mountains of Pedragoa." This failed in time, as discovery in- 
 creased Wellington's surveillance, and Massena, early in March, 1811, 
 found it necessary to break up his camp and abandon in despair the 
 hope of reaching Lisbon. 
 
 It is a rule in war that a retreat shall always, when practicable, be 
 followed by a pursuit. Massena quitted his position on the 4th of 
 March. He had continued at Santarem longer than was justifiable 
 by the state of his magazines and the health of the troops, in the ex- 
 pectation of being joined by Marshal Soult with 14,000 men — an 
 expectation defeated by the vigilance of the foe. Moving away with 
 the apparent intention of proceeding to Thomar, he was followed in 
 a day or two by Lord Wellington's army, every now and then checking 
 his pursuer by a movement which appeared to be directed on the lines 
 of Torres Vedras, thus gaining four marches upon his adversary. 
 
 There are many tales extant in the history of war of disastrous 
 retreats — retreats in which the sufferings of the retiring force have 
 even awakened the compassion of their pursuers — but the world's 
 annals do not produce a parallel to the cruelties and abominations 
 which marked the progress of the French when quitting Portugal. 
 With the double purpose of satisfying the cravings of hunger, and 
 avenging the hostility of the Portuguese, who had rendered their 
 stay at Santarem a bitter trial, they burnt, plundered, devastated, and 
 murdered without remorse. Sif William Napier, always just, often 
 indulgent, towards a gallant enemy, truthful to a point offensive to 
 prejudice, says : — 
 
 " The laws of war, rigorously interpreted, authorise such examples,' 
 when the inhabitants take arms, yet it can only be justly done to over- 
 awe, and not to revenge defeat ; but every horror making war hideous 
 attended this dreadful retreat ! Distress, conflagration, death in all 
 modes ! — from wounds, from fatigue, from water, from the flames, from 
 starvation, on every side unlimited ferocity ! I myself saw a peasant 
 hounding on his dog to devour the dead and dying ; and the spirit of 
 cruelty once unchained smote even the brute creation, for, on the 
 
 I He is referring to the "harsh and ruthless spirit" with which Massena burnt towns and 
 
 VOL, I.
 
 82 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 15th, Massena, to diminish the incumbrances, ordered the destruction 
 of some beasts of burthen, and the inhuman fellow charged with the 
 execution hamstringed 500 asses and left them to starve. Being 
 thus found by the British army, the mute yet deep expression of pain 
 and grief visible in their looks, wonderfully aroused the fury of the 
 soldiers, and so little weight has reason with the multitude when op- 
 posed by a momentary sensation, that no quarter would have been 
 given to any prisoner at that moment, and a humane feeling would 
 have led to direct cruelty. The French have, however, been accused 
 of crimes which they did not, and could not, commit ; such as the 
 driving of all women above ten years of age into their camp at 
 Redinha, near which there were neither men nor women to be driven ! 
 The country was a desert ! They have been also charged, by the same 
 writer, with the mutilating of John the First's body in the convent of 
 Batalha during MassenVs retreat ; whereas the body of that monarch 
 had been wantonly pulled to pieces and carried off by British officers 
 during the retreat to the lines !" 
 
 Colonel Jones, in his work on the sieges in Spain, quotes from a 
 French military writer a distinct statement, in contradiction of part 
 of the foregoing, that in Massena's army detachments sent out to 
 forage had orders to bring all girls between twelve and thirty years 
 of age for the use of the soldiery. " I saio tvith my own eyes" writes 
 an officer in the " Quarterly Review " of 1839, " when Massena had 
 retired from before the lines of Torres Vedras, forty or fifty of these 
 wretches in a state of disease, famine, and insanity beyond all con- 
 ception." This was making war support war (Napoleon's theory) 
 with a vengeance ! 
 
 Vigorously following the baffled French Mai-shal, Lord Wellington's 
 troops came up with him several times. Massena turned, showed his 
 teeth, and again moved on with a still diminishing force. He was 
 making for the Mondego river, when the Light Division, the German 
 Hussars, and the Portuguese Casqadores, under Brigadier Pack, came 
 up with him at Pombal, drove the French from the castle and town, 
 and took several prisoners. On the 12th of March, the French 
 having, during the previous night, reached a strong position at the 
 end of a defile between lledinah and Pombal, with their right in a 
 wood, Redinha on their rear, and their left extending towards some 
 high ground above the river of Redinha, the British army again 
 assailed them. Sir W. Erskine led the Light Division, and forced 
 the wood in gallant style. Lord Wellington, in his despatch, 
 bore personal testimony to the dashing facility with which the 
 operations were performed. The 3rd Division — which acquired,
 
 1811.] AFFAIRS OF REDINHA AND FOZ D'ARONCE. 83 
 
 during the Peninsular war, the soubriquet of the " fighting division " 
 — was headed by Major-General Picton : Major-General Cole took 
 the 4th Division into action ; and Lieutenant-General Sir Brent 
 Spencer led the line against the enemy's position on the heights. 
 Two days after this affair the British came up with a strong corps of 
 the enemy, under Marshal Ney, an oflScer of the rarest courage and 
 determination — intrepid in attack — resolute in defensive retreat. 
 TTuaware of the strength of the position Ney had taken up at 
 Casel Nova, owing to the density of the fog on the mountains, 
 Erskine sent forward the 52nd Light Infantry to attack him. 
 Isolated, opposed by a daring and superior foe, the Oxfordshire 
 Regiment was in peril, but it manfully held its ground until succour 
 came in the shape of the residue of the glorious Light Division. 
 The combat then became general. The 6th Division under General 
 Campbell, supported the Light Division, assaulting the front of the 
 French. The 3rd and 4th Divisions, under Cole and Picton, tm-ned 
 their left and right. The enemy, after a sharp struggle, abandoned 
 all their positions in the mountains, and the cw^js d'armee^ composing 
 the rear guard, were flung back upon the main body, at Miranda de 
 Corvo, upon the river Deira, with considerable loss of killed, 
 wounded, and prisoners. 
 
 The first contest in the retreat is graphically described by 
 the historian of the Peninsular war. " The French right rested 
 on wooded and rugged ground, their left upon the village of 
 Foz d'Aronce. The weather was obscure and rainy. The allies 
 reached the Ceira at four o'clock on the 15th, and, expecting no 
 action, kindled fires ; but Wellington having rapidly scanned Ney's 
 division, directed the Light Division and Pack's Brigade to hold the 
 right in play, and sent Picton against the left, while the horse 
 artillery, galloping forward to a rising ground, opened with a great 
 and sudden effect. Ney's left, overthrown by the first charge, fled in 
 confusion towards the river, and some missing the fords, rushed into 
 the deeps and were drowned ; others crowding to the bridge, were 
 crushed to death. On the right, the ground being rugged and close, 
 the action resolved itself into a skirmish, and Ney was enabled to use 
 some battalions to check the pursuit of his left ; but darkness came 
 on, and the defeated troops in their disorder fired on each other. 
 Four officers and sixty men fell on the side of the British. The 
 French lost five hundred, one half being drowned, and an eagle was 
 afterwards found in the river. Massena had gone behind the Alva, 
 yet Ney, notwithstanding this disastrous combat, kept his post on 
 the left bank of the Ceira until every incumbrance had passed, and
 
 S4 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 then, blowing up seventy feet of the bridge, sent his corps on, 
 remaining himself with the llear-Gruard." ' 
 
 Lord "Wellington, never slow to recognise the good services of 
 troops, though wanting perhaps in the fervour of expression which 
 has characterized other Generals, speaks of the 43rd, 52nd, 95th, and 
 the 3rd Portuguese Caqadores (Light Infantry) as having particu- 
 larly distinguished themselves in this last affair. He also named with 
 honour Colonels Drummond and Beckwith, Lieutenant-Colonels 
 Ross, Elder, and others. Particularly to mark his sense of the 
 services of the three regiments, he recommended a Serjeant of each 
 regiment for promotion to an ensigncy. 
 
 The account of the close of the operations in the pursuit of 
 Massena must be given in Lord Wellington's own words : — 
 
 "The result of these operations has been that we have saved 
 Coimbra and Upper Beira from the enemy's ravages; we have 
 opened the communications with the northern provinces ; and we 
 have obliged the enemy to take for their retreat the road by Ponte 
 da Murcella, on which they may be annoyed by the militia acting in 
 security upon their flank, while the allied army will press upon their 
 rear. The whole country, however, affords many advantageous 
 positions to a retreating army, of which the enemy have shown that 
 they know how to avail themselves. They are retreating from the 
 country, as they entered it, in one solid mass, covering their rear on 
 every march by the operations of either one or two corps d'armee in 
 the strong positions which the country affords, which corjys d'armee 
 are closely supported by the main body. Before they quitted their 
 position they destroyed a part of their cannon and ammunition, and 
 they have since blown up whatever the horses were unable to draw 
 away. They have no provisions, excepting what they plunder on the 
 spot, or, having plundered, what the soldiers carry on their backs, 
 and live cattle. 
 
 " I am concerned to be obliged to add to this account, that their 
 conduct throughout this retreat has been marked by a barbarity 
 seldom equalled, and never surpassed. Even in the towns of Torres 
 Novas, Thoraar, and Pernes, in which the head quarters of some of 
 the corps had been for four months, and in which the inhabitants had 
 been invited by promises of good treatment, to remain, they were 
 plundered, and many of their houses destroyed on the night the 
 enemy withdrew from their position ; and they have since burnt 
 
 I As a further and a striking illiLstration of the indomitable perseverance of Marshal Ney ia 
 covering a retreat, the reader is recommended to peruse Scgur's and De Fezeuaac's description of 
 Uw retreat from Moscow to the west of the Niemcn.
 
 1811.] PLUNDERING. 85 
 
 every town and village through which they have passed. The convent 
 of Alcobaqa was burnt by order from the French head-quarters. 
 The Bishop's palace, and the whole town of Leyria, in which General 
 Drouet had had his head-quarters, shared the same fate ; and there is 
 not an inhabitant of the country of any class or description, who has 
 had any dealing or communication with the French army/who has 
 not had reason to repent of it, and to complain of them. This is the 
 mode in which the promises have been performed and the assurances 
 have been fulfilled, which were held out in the proclamation of the 
 French Commander-in-Chief, in which he told the inhabitants of 
 Portugal that he was not come to make war upon them, but with a 
 powerful army of 11 0,000 men to drive the English into the sea. It i« 
 to be hoped that the example of what has occurred in this country will 
 teach the people of this and of other nations what value they ought to 
 place on such promises and assurances ; and that there is no security 
 for life, or for anything which makes life valuable, excepting in de- 
 cided resistance to the enemy." 
 
 It has been observed above, that Lord Wellington was not inactive 
 during the period of his occupation of the Lines of Torres Vedras. 
 His correspondence at this period conveys the best evidence of the 
 grasp and activity of his mind. Ranging discursively over fifty sub- 
 jects of deep interest, we find him calmly and dispassionately examining 
 questions of high political importance, ofi'ering advice deferentially, 
 yet with a conviction of its utility, and then descending to small 
 matters of regimental economy with equal zeal and earnestness. 
 Nothing seems to have been too high for his judgment — nothing too 
 low for his generosity. His orders between October, 1810, and 
 March, 1811, embrace manifold subjects bearing reference to the 
 good order and safety of the army, and the integrity of its conduct 
 in its relations with the Portuguese country people. He was most 
 anxious to prevent straggling, plundering,' and the employment of 
 
 1 The following General Order was issued at Leyria, on the 3rd of October, 1810 : — 
 
 "Leyria, 3rd October, 1810. 
 
 "The Commander of the Forces is concerned to have been under the necessity of carrying into 
 execution the determination which he has bo long announced, of directing the immediate ei- 
 ecution of any soldiers caught plundering ; and that a British and a Portuguese soldier have con- 
 sequently been hanged this day, for plundering in the town of Leyria, where they were, contrary 
 to order, and for this criminal purpose. 
 
 " He trusts that this example will deter others from those disgraceful practices in future ; 
 and the troops may depend upon it that no instance of the kind will be passed over. They are 
 well fed, and taken care of, and there is no excuse for plunder, which could not be admitted on 
 any account. 
 
 " Once more, the Commander of the Forces calls upon the commanding officers of regimenU 
 to oblige their men to march in a regular manner, with their companiea.
 
 86 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1811 
 
 the men as servants and orderlies ; he regulated the issues of rice and 
 salt meat ; directed that the soldiery be supplied with blankets ; 
 took measures to check desertion ;' enjoined the careful clearing of 
 houses, which the French might have occupied, before they were 
 slept in by British officers or men ; prohibited the destruction of 
 olive and other fruit-trees for fire-wood ; forbade deer-shootiug in 
 the private parks near the cantonments ; regulated the leave of 
 absence of officers ; revived the proceedings of Courts Martial ; and 
 did a hundred other things to conduce to regularity, health, and 
 discipline. His correspondence for the same period shows how alive 
 he was to the responsibility which had devolved upon him ; how 
 resolute to maintain his authority ; how solicitous for the welfare of 
 the Portuguese ; how careful not to compromise the safety of his 
 position by any premature attack upon the French ; how admirably 
 informed of the strength, the resources, and the intentions of his 
 enemies ; how desirous that no rules should stand in the way of the 
 promotion of officers of merit ; how indignant at the alternate 
 interference and supineness of the Spanish and Portuguese govern- 
 ments ; how punctual in keeping the British Ministry apprised of 
 all his movements, impressions, and views ; how angry with the 
 Portuguese authorities for attempting to deprive British soldiers of 
 their billets ; how enraged with the misrepresentations of newspapers 
 at home and abroad (and yet how nobly independent of their lies 
 and strictures !) ; how enlarged his views on the subject of recruiting 
 for the army; how just and truthful, frank and uncompromising 
 
 1 " GENERAL ORDERS. 
 
 " Pkro Nsoro, 10th JVov., 1810. 
 
 " The Commander of the Forces is concerned to have received reports from some of the regi- 
 ments of the desertion of the British soldiers to the enemy ; a crime wliicli, iu all his experience 
 in the British service, in diffcreut parts of the world, was till lately unknown in it ; and the 
 existence of which at the present moment he can attribute only to some false hopes held out to 
 those unfortunate criminal persons. 
 
 "The British soldier cannot but be aware of the difference between their situation, and that 
 of the enemy opposed to them; and the miserable tale told by the half-starved wretches whom 
 they see daily coming into their linc^, ought alone, exclusive of their sense of honour and patriot- 
 ism, to be sufficient to deter them from participating in their miserable fate. 
 
 " However, although the Commander of the Forces lamenLs the fate of the imfortunate soldiers 
 who have committed this crime, he is determined that they shall feel the consequence of it 
 during their Uves, and that they shall never return to their friends or their homes. 
 
 "He accordingly requests that the commanding officers of regiments from which any 
 soldier has descrtc-d to tlie enemy will, as soon as possible, send to the AdJu-'ant-Gcneral's office 
 a description of bis person, together with an account when he was enlisted wltb the rogiment, 
 where born, and to what parish he belongs, in order that the friends of these eo'd'eni may be 
 Blade acquainted with the crime which they have committed ; may be prepared to cous.tler them 
 t* lost for ever, and may deliver them up to Juslica ia case they should ever return to their 
 BatiTe country."
 
 1811.] LECTURE TO THE PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT, 87 
 
 upon every point which concerned or affected the public interest in 
 any way. 
 
 So much of the character of the subject of this biography is to be 
 deduced from his letters, that no better elucidation of the great 
 strength of his mind, his determination of purpose, his jealousy of 
 unprofitable interference, his candour, and his highly becoming self- 
 respect, can be offered than the four following extracts supply : — 
 
 "TO CHARLES STUART, ESQ. 
 
 "Rio Mayor, (Jth Oct., 1810. 
 
 " I BEG that you will do me the favour to inform the Regency, 
 and, above all, Principal Sousa, that his Majesty and the Prince 
 Regent having intrusted me with the command of their armies, and 
 exclusively with the conduct of the military operations, I will not 
 suffer them, or anybody else, to interfere with them ; that I know 
 best where to station my troops, and where to make a stand against 
 the enemy, and I shall not alter a system, framed upon mature 
 consideration, upon any suggestion of theirs. 
 
 " I am responsible for what I do, and they are not ; and I recom- 
 mend them to look to the measures for which they are responsible, 
 which I long ago recommended to them, viz., to provide for the 
 tranquillity of Lisbon, and for the food of the army, and of the people, 
 while the troops shall be engaged with the enemy. 
 
 " As for Principal Sousa, I beg you to tell him, from me, that I 
 have had no satisfaction in transacting the business of this country 
 since he has been a member of the Grovernment ; that being embarked 
 in a course of military operations, of which I hope to see the suc- 
 cessful termination, I shall continue to carry them on to their end ; 
 but that no power on earth shall induce me to remain in the Peninsula, 
 for one moment, after I shall have obtained his Majesty's leave to 
 resign my charge, if Principal Sousa is to remain either a member of 
 the Government, or to continue at Lisbon. Either he must quit the 
 country or I shall ; and, if I should be obliged to go, I will take care 
 that the world, in Portugal at least, and the Prince Regent, shall be 
 made acquainted with my reasons. 
 
 " From the letter of the 3rd instant, which I have received from 
 Dom M. Forjaz, I had hoped that the Government were satisfied 
 with what I had done and intended to ; and that, instead of 
 endeavouring to render all further defence fruitless, by disturbing the 
 minds of the populace at Lisbon, they would have done their duty by 
 adopting measures to secure the tranquillity of the town.
 
 88 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 '• But I suppose that, like other weak individuals, they add duplicity 
 to their weakness, and that their expressions of approbation, and 
 even gratitude, were intended to convey censure. I request you to 
 communicate this letter to the Regency ; and to transmit it to tho 
 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 
 
 " P. S. All I ask from the Portuguese Regency is, tranquillity in 
 the town of Lisbon, and provisions far tJieir own troops^ while they 
 shall be employed in this part of the country. 
 
 " I have but little doubt of success ; but as I have fought a sufficient 
 number of battles to discover that the result of any one is not certain, 
 even under the best arrangements, I am anxious that the Government 
 should adopt preparatory arrangements to take out of the enemy's 
 way those persons and their families who would suffer if they were to 
 fall into his hands." 
 
 " TO THE EARL OF LIVERPOOL. 
 
 " Pero Nkoro, ^th Oct^ 1810. 
 
 " Your Lordship has been apprised of the measures which had 
 been adopted to induce the inhabitants of Portugal to quit that part 
 of the country through which the enemy was likely to pass, or which 
 it was probable would become the seat of his operations, carrying off 
 with them their valuable property, and everything which could tend 
 to the enemy's subsistence, or to facilitate his progress. 
 
 " There is no doubt that these inhabitants had sufficient knowledge 
 from former experience, of the treatment they would receive from the 
 enemy : and there is no instance of those of any town or village 
 having remained, or of their having failed to remove what might be 
 useful to the enemy, when they had sufficiently early intimation of 
 the wishes of government, or of myself, that they should abandon 
 their houses and carry away their property. 
 
 " All those who are acquainted with the nature of military operations, 
 with their dependence upon the assistance of the country to supply 
 the wants of the army, and particularly with the degree to which the 
 French armies depend upon this assistance, must be aware of the 
 distress which this system has occasioned to the enemy ; and the 
 official and private letters which have been intercepted, arc filled with 
 complaints of its effects, which have been repeated in the official 
 papers published in the Moniteiir at Paris. 
 
 " It happened, unfortunately, that the Indian corn harvest, which is 
 the principal support of the inhabitants of a large part of Portugal, 
 was on the ground at the moment of the enemy's invasion. This, of 
 course, could not be carried off: the enemy's troops have, as usual,
 
 1811.] APPEAL ON BEHALF OF THE PORTUGUESE.— BILLETS. 89 
 
 destroyed what they could not move, and nothing remains. If 
 therefore, the result of the campaign should be to oblige the enemy 
 to withdraw from Portugal, it is much to be apprehended that the 
 greatest distress will be felt in those districts through which the 
 enemy's troops have passed, which there are no means whatever in 
 this country of relieving. 
 
 " Upon former occasions, the wealthy inhabitants of Great Britain, 
 and of London in particular, have stepped forward to assist and re- 
 lieve the distresses of foreign nations, whether suflfering under calami- 
 ties inflicted by Providence, or by a cruel and powerful enemy. This 
 nation has received the benefit of the charitable disposition of his 
 Majesty's subjects, and there never was a case in which their assist- 
 ance was required in a greater degree, whether the sufierings of the 
 people, or their fidelity to the cause they have espoused, and their at- 
 tachment to his Majesty's subjects, be considered. 
 
 "I declare that I have scarcely known an instance in which any 
 person in Portugal, even of the lowest order, has had communication 
 with the enemy inconsistent with his duty to his own Sovereign, or 
 with the orders he had received. 
 
 "I would, therefore, beg leave to recommend the unfortunate 
 portion of the inhabitants who have eufiiered from the enemy's inva- 
 sion to your lordship's protection ; and I request you to consider of 
 the mode of recommending them to the benevolent disposition of his 
 Majesty's subjects, at the moment which I hope may be not far 
 distant, that the enemy may be under the necessity of evacuating 
 the country." 
 
 « TO CHARLES STUART, ESQ., 
 
 " Cartaxo, 31st Dec, 1810. 
 
 "I HAVE received your letter of the 30th December. I have 
 already had great difficulty in arranging the business of quartering 
 the officers of the army at Lisbon, and have given orders upon this 
 subject, in respect to that town and other parts of Portugal, of which 
 I enclose copies. I cannot be certain that these orders have in every 
 instance been obeyed ; but it is difficult to have orders obeyed by the 
 officers which afiect their own convenience, when the inhabitants of 
 the towns do not attend to any regulations upon the same subject ; 
 and I receive innumerable complaints, particularly of the conduct of 
 the inhabitants of Lisbon. 
 
 " In respect to Dom M. Forjaz's regulations, they look very well 
 upon paper, but who will attend to them ? The officers of the British 
 army in England are not billeted upon private houses, but upon inns.
 
 90 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [181i 
 
 There is not an inn in Portugal in which an officer could be billeted, 
 and it would follow that, owing to the deficiency of inns, the officers 
 must go into the streets. The soldiers also, where there are no 
 convents to cover them, must be exposed to the open air, because 
 there are no public-houses in which they can be billeted : but Dom 
 M. Forjaz will probably have no objection to their being billeted 
 where we like in the ^ountry, contrary to the proposed regulation 
 and our own law, which is to be introduced here, provided Lisbon ia 
 not disturbed by either officers or soldiers ! I do not see what 
 further steps I can take in the business ; and I only desire that when 
 my order is disobeyed complaint may be made, stating the name of 
 the person, and that the complainant may be prepared to prove his 
 story before a court martial. 
 
 " I declare that I think it disgraceful to the Portuguese government, 
 and to the people of Lisbon in particular, that such a proposition 
 should have been made as has come from Dom M. Forjaz. They 
 have now part of one battalion in Lisbon, and some convalescents at 
 Balem, some of the officers attached to whom must be lodged in the 
 town. They have besides some sick and wounded officers there, and 
 occasionally a regiment passes a night or two in Lisbon, when it 
 lands from England or from Cadiz. Are the people of Lisbon so 
 inhospitable that the officers of these corps must be put, on their 
 landing, into cold, damp, and dark empty houses, without the chance 
 of getting anything to eat? Is there an inn or tavern at Lisbon to 
 which an officer can go in such circumstances ? 
 
 " But I forgot, the general officers of the army, those upon the 
 staff, the officers of the Guards (for the others can but ill afford the 
 expense), do occasionally go to Lisbon for a day or two for their 
 amusement. Is Dom M. Forjaz serious in expressing a wish that 
 officers of this description should go into empty houses, or into the 
 street? Is this the mode in which the cause of Portugal is to be 
 made popular in the British army? Is every consideration to be 
 sacrificed to the caprice and ease of the people of Lisbon? Are 
 officers of this class, and I and Marshal Beresford, to be provided 
 with a lodging upon billet ; but the others who go there upon duty, 
 and who can less afford to bear the hardships, be put into the empty 
 houses or into the streets ? For my part, I do not go often to Lisbon ; 
 but if the rule is made for one class it must for all, and I will have no 
 lodging upon billet any more than any other officer of the army. 
 The circumstances stated by Dom M. Forjaz, respecting the mode of 
 lodging the British officers formerly, suit neither the circumstances 
 of the army nor of the times. I declare that I have no patience with
 
 1811.] STATE OF THE SPANISH ARMY. 91 
 
 the constant efforts which I see made by the Government to indulge 
 the caprice and ease of the people of Lisbon, at the expense of every 
 otuer consideration; and they prefer to have recourse to any expe- 
 dients rather than oblige them to do what they dislike, which is, 
 when they make a complaint of an officer, to appear before a court 
 and prove it." 
 
 " TO MARQUIS WELLESLEY. 
 
 " Cartaxo, 26th Jan., 1811. 
 
 " It may also be asked, why we should spend our money, and why 
 these troops should not go on as the French troops do, without pay, 
 provisions, magazines, or anything? The answer to this question is 
 as long as what I have already written. The French army is certainly 
 a wonderful machine : but if we are to form such a one, we must form 
 such a Government as exists in France, which can with impunity lose 
 one-half of the troops employed in the field every 3'ear, only by the 
 privations and hardships imposed upon them. Next, we must com- 
 pose our army of soldiers drawn from all classes of the population 
 of the country — from the good and middling, as well in rank as in 
 education, as from the bad ; and not as all other nations, and we in 
 particular, do, from the bad only. Thirdly, we must establish such a 
 system of discipline as the French have — a system founded upon the 
 strength of the tyranny of the Government, which operates upon an 
 army composed of soldiers, the majority of whom are sober, well-dis- 
 posed, amenable to order, and in some degree educated. 
 
 " When we shall have done all this, and shall have made these 
 armies of the strength of those employed by the French, we may 
 require of them to live as the French do, viz., by authorised and 
 regulated plunder of the country and its inhabitants, if any should 
 remain ; and we may expose them to the labour, hardships, and priva- 
 tions which the French soldier suffers every day ; and we must expect 
 the same proportion of loss every campaign, viz., one-half of those 
 who take the field. 
 
 "This plan is not proposed for the British army, nor has it yet 
 been practised in any great degree by the Portuguese ; but I shall 
 state the effect which, in my opinion, the attempt has had upon the 
 Spaniards. 
 
 " There is neither subordination nor discipline in the army, among 
 cither officers or soldiers ; and it is not even attempted (as indeed it 
 would be in vain to attempt) to establish either. It has, in my 
 opinion, been the cause of the dastardly conduct which we have so 
 frequently witnessed in the Spanish troops; and they have become
 
 92 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1^1 1 
 
 odious to their country ; and the peaceable inhabitants, much as thej 
 detest and suffer from the French, almost wish for the establishment 
 of Joseph's Government, to be protected from the outrages of their 
 own troops. 
 
 " These armies, therefore, must be paid and supported, if any ser- 
 vice is expected from them ; and at present, at least, I see no chance 
 of their being paid, except by British assistance. 
 
 " There is but little that is new in this letter ; but the subject to 
 which it relates requires the early consideration, decision, and inter- 
 ference of the British Government, or the cause must suffer." 
 
 "TO CHARLES STUART, Esq. 
 
 " Cartaxo, 28th Jan., 1811. 
 
 " I THINK the Portuguese Government are still looking to as- 
 sistance from England, and I have written to the King's Govern- 
 ment strongly upon the subject in their favour. But I should 
 deceive myself if I believed we should get anything, and them if I 
 were to tell them we should. They must, therefore, look to their 
 own resources. I shall not enter upon the political crisis now 
 existing in England ; but I believe you will agree with me that if 
 the change which is probable should be made, the chance is less than 
 it was. 
 
 " It is quite nonsense their quarrelling with me, whether the system 
 of operations I have followed was the best or not. I believe I am 
 not only the best, but the only friend they have ever had, who has 
 had the power of supporting them for a moment in England ; and 
 I now tell them that the only chance they have is to endeavour to 
 bring their revenue equal to their expenses. It is ridiculous to talk 
 of the efforts they have made. They have, hitherto, produced neither 
 men in proportion to their population, nor money in proportion to 
 their commerce and riches, nor by any means in proportion to their 
 gains by the war. They talk of the war in their country : was Portu- 
 gal ever involved seriously in any war without having it in the heart 
 of the country? I think I can save them from their enemy, if they 
 will make an exertion to maintain their army ; but they are now come 
 to that situation between the enemy, the people, and us, that they 
 must decide either to raise an adequate revenue from the people, in 
 earnest, or to give themselves over to the enemy. 
 
 '• Now, upon this point, I can only tell them one thing ; and that is, 
 that although they may find causes for not levying a revenue upon 
 the people to continue the contest against the enemy, the enemy will 
 
 /
 
 ISll.r NECESSITY FOR PORTUGUESE EXERTION. 93 
 
 allow of none for not raising every shilling that can be drawn from 
 the people, when they may come into possession. They should have 
 thought of the miseries endured by the people, which they describe 
 so feelingly, before they commenced the war ; though, by the by, I 
 would observe upon these miseries, that the enemy occupy only a 
 part of one province, and that they had only passed through another : 
 this is bad enough, God knows ! but is better than that the whole 
 should be in their possession, as it was, and as it will be, if a real 
 effort is not made."
 
 M 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 nsis. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AO^'iTS in the South of Spain — Siege of Cadiz— Battle of Barossa— Retreat of Massena— Attempt 
 on Almeida— Battle of Fuentea d'Ofioro — The wounded at Fuentes d'Onoro. 
 
 preserve a connection be- 
 tween the events which oc- 
 curred immediately under 
 Lord Wellington's own eye 
 and those which transpired at 
 a distance, but which, at the 
 same time, formed part and 
 parcel of the system adopted 
 for expelling the French from 
 the Peninsula, we must now 
 retrace our steps a little. 
 
 While Lord Wellington, in- 
 tent upon the Preservation of 
 Portugal, was forced to disengage his attention from the afiairs of 
 Spain, the French, late in 1810, made great efforts to obtain possession 
 of Cadiz (one of the three great naval ports of Spain on the southern 
 coast), in which they were opposed by the Spanish patriots. Anxious 
 to afford the latter every assistance in their resolute defence of the 
 place, the British Government sent Major-General Graham, who had 
 previously been appointed second in command to Wellington, to take 
 the command of the troops in the fortress. General Graham was a 
 soldier of ability, who had served first at Toulon under Lord Mulgrave, 
 as a volunteer — obtained rank in the army by raising two regiments at 
 his own expense — and then proceeded to join the Austrian army when 
 engaged with the French Republican forces in Italy. lie next served 
 in the Mediterranean under Sir Charles Stuart, at the attack of 
 Minorca, the blockade of Malta, &c. — was in Egypt, in Ireland, in 
 Sweden with Sir John Moore, and under that fine soldier at Coruna.
 
 1811.] SIEGE OF CADIZ. 95 
 
 He subsequently served at the siege of Flushing, in the island of 
 Walcheren, and was then sent to assist Lord Wellington in the 
 Peninsula. 
 
 The office of second in command of an army in the field is one of 
 small importance, where the head is endowed with much activity and 
 feels the entire weight of the responsibility. In truth, to use the 
 words of Wellington himself, '• the office is not only useless, but in- 
 jurious to the service. A person without defined duties, excepting 
 to give flying opinions from which he may depart at pleasure, must be 
 a nuisance in moments of decision." He declared more than once 
 that, whether he had a second in command or not, he was determined 
 always to act according to the dictates of his own judgment. It was 
 therefore of no consequence to him that a separate field was found 
 for Graham's talents, and Graham himself rejoiced at the opportunity 
 of independent action. He was " a daring old man, and of a ready 
 temper for battle." 
 
 The only point from which it was easy for the French to annoy 
 the garrison of Cadiz was Fort Matagorda. The post was dismantled 
 at their approach, but when it was perceived that they began to 
 reconstruct it, Graham determined to dispossess and even endeavour 
 to maintain it against them. This was accordingly done under his 
 direction. The fort was defended by Captain Maclaine,' with a degree 
 of bravery which excited the highest admiration of the Spaniards, 
 dismayed the French, and received the approbation of the British 
 Government. 
 
 Soult commanded in the operations against Cadiz, and stubbornly 
 urged the siege. Graham had, however, rendered the town almost im- 
 pregnable, and Soult made little progress. Yet it was tedious work 
 to act only on the defensive ; the blockade was becoming irksome, 
 and the garrison tired of inaction. General La Pena, who command- 
 ed in chief, resolved therefore, in concert with Graham, upon making 
 an attack upon the rear of the French army. Ten thousand men 
 were straightway embarked in Cadiz Bay for the purpose of forming 
 a junction with General San Roche. They disembarked at AIgesira.s, 
 (a fortified city in the Gulf of Gibraltar.) and uniting at Tarifa, a 
 town on the coast, west of Gibraltar, moved thence on the 28th of 
 February, 1811. 
 
 The Spanish van-guard having opened a communication with the 
 Isla de Leon, by attacking the rear of the enemy's lines near the 
 
 > Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Maclaine, K.CB, an officer who had seen service in India, 
 and in different parts of the Peninsula.
 
 96 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811 
 
 Santi Petri river, General Graham, at the head of 3000 British troops, 
 was ordered by La Pena to move to Bermeja, a position about half- 
 ^yay between Barossa (a low ridge, rising gradually from the coast up 
 a mile and a half, four miles from the river, and on which Graham 
 was halted) and the Santi Petri. Leaving Major Brown with the 
 jSank companies of two regiments on Barossa ridge, Graham moved 
 down, but he had not proceeded very far when intimation reached him 
 that the enemy were in force in the plains, and advancing towards 
 the heights of this position. He instantly faced about and regained 
 the plains, expecting fully to find La Pena, with the Spaniards and 
 the cavalry, on the Barossa hill. But, to his consternation, he beheld 
 General Ruffin's brigade with other French troops near the summit 
 on one side, the Spanish van-guard and baggage flyiug towards the 
 sea on the other, pursued by the French cavalry. There was no sign 
 of La Peiia ! 
 
 " In this desperate situation, feeling that a retreat to Bermeja 
 would bring the enemy pell-mell with the Allies on to that narrow 
 ridge, and must be disastrous, Graham resolved to attack, although 
 the key of the field of battle was in the enemy's possession. Ten 
 guns, under Major Duncan, instantly opened a terrific fire against 
 Laval's column, and Colonel Andrew Barnard, running vehemently 
 out with his riflemen and some Portuguese companies, commenced 
 the fight, while the rest of the British troops, without any attention 
 to regiments or brigades, so sudden was the affair, formed two masses, 
 with one of which General Dilkes marched against Kufiin, while 
 Colonel Wheatley led the other against Laval. Duncan's guns 
 ravaged the French ranks ; Laval's artillery replied vigorously ; 
 Ruffin's batteries took Whcatley's column in flank, and the infantry 
 on both sides pressed forward eagerly and with a pealing musketry. 
 But when the masses drew near, a fierce, rapid, prolonged charge of 
 the 87th Regiment overthrew the first line of the French, and though 
 the latter fought roughly, they were dashed violently upon the second 
 line, and both being broken by the shock went off, the reserve bat- 
 talion of grenadiers, hitherto posted on the right, alone remaining to 
 cover the retreat. 
 
 " Meanwhile Brown, having received Graham's laconic order,' fell 
 headlong upon Ruffin, and though nearly half of his detachment went 
 down under the enemy's first fire, he maintained the fight until Dilkes' 
 column, which had crossed a deep hollow, and never stopped even to 
 re-form the regiments, arrived, with little order indeed, but in a 
 flighting mood, and then the whole ran up towards the summit ; there 
 
 > "ri((ht !" was all that Graham replied in Kosynr to an applicatton for iostructions.
 
 1811.] BATTLE OF BAROSSA. gt 
 
 was no slackness on either side, for at the very edge of the ascent 
 their gallant opponents met them, when a dreadful, and for some time 
 a doubtful, combat raged. Finally, Ruffin and Chaudron Rousseau, 
 who commanded the chosen grenadiers, fell, both mortally wounded ; 
 the English bore strongly onward, and their slaughtering fire forced 
 the French from the hill, with the loss of three guns and many brave 
 soldiers. 
 
 •' The discomfitted divisions, retiring concentrically from the differ- 
 ent points of battle, soon met, and, with infinite spirit, endeavoured to 
 re-form and renew the action ; but the play of Duncan's guns, rapid 
 and murderous, rendered the attempt vain. Victor then quitted the 
 field of battle, and the British, having been twenty-four hours under 
 arms without food, were too exhausted to pursue. 
 
 " While these terrible combats of infantry were fighting. La Pena 
 looked idly on, neither sending his cavalry, nor his horse artillery, 
 nor any part of his army to the assistance of his ally ; nor yet 
 menacing Villatte, who was close to him, and comparatively weak. 
 The Spanish Walloon Guards, the regiment of Ciudad Real, and 
 some Guerilla cavalry, turned indeed without orders, and came up 
 just .as the action ceased ; and it was expected that Whittingham, an 
 Englishman, commanding a powerful body of Spanish horse, would 
 have done as much ; but no stroke in aid was struck by a Spanish 
 sabre that day, although the French cavalry did not exceed two hun- 
 dred and fifty men ; and it is evident the eight hundred under 
 Whittingham might, by sweeping round the left of Rufiin's division, 
 have rendered the defeat ruinous. So certain, indeed, was this, that 
 Frederick Ponsonby, drawing off his hundred and eighty German 
 hussars belonging to the English army, reached the field of battle, 
 charged the French squadrons in their retreat, overthrew them, took 
 two guns, and even attempted though vainly, to sabre Rousseau's 
 chosen battalions. .This was the fight of Barossa. Short, for it lasted 
 only one hour and a half ; violent and bloody, for fifty ofiicers, sixty 
 sergeants, eleven hundred British soldiers, and more than two 
 thousand French, were killed and wounded. Six guns, an eagle, two 
 generals, both mortally wounded, together with four hundred other 
 prisoners, fell into the hands of the victors." 
 
 Little can be added to the vigorous picture of the fight at Barossa 
 drawn by the master hand of Napier. It will suffice to state, that the 
 French force was numerically double that of the English. The 
 regiments of the enemy were the flower of the army, and had receivea 
 honorary distinctions from the Emperor, in record of their previous 
 services and gallantry. Graham's troops had not even the advantage 
 
 VOL. I. 1
 
 98 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811 
 
 of experience in the field. The position of the English, too, was seri- 
 ously disadvantageous. The enemy had been able to choose his own 
 ground, and the ground had been also previously selected by Graham, 
 for the command it afi"orded. 
 
 Many officers who became eminent in after life for their intrepidity 
 and professional skill, reaching high rank and distinguished command, 
 behaved nobly on the heights of Barossa. Colonel Barnard, after- 
 wards Sir Andrew, the leader of the Rifles, — Gough, the commanding 
 officer of the 87th, who rose to be Lord Gough, and a mighty soldier 
 in China and in India, — Wheatley, who died Sir Henry, Privy Purse 
 to his Sovereign, — John Macdonald, who lived to be Adjutant-General 
 of the British array, — all cropped honours from the enemy, to weave 
 a garland for themselves. 
 
 Parliament voted its thanks to General Graham, his officers, and 
 troops, not forgetting the German cavalry and Portuguese infantry, 
 who served under his orders. The 87th Regiment,' which captured 
 the eagle of the French corps, was thenceforth called the Prince of 
 "Wales's Royal First Fusileers. A medal was struck in honour of the 
 battle ; and, not long afterwards, Graham, to whom it was presented, 
 received the Military Order of the Bath, for services of which 
 Barossa was by no means deemed the least. 
 
 The Spaniards, who, by their leaders, made a point throughout the 
 Peninsular War, of claiming every victory, and repudiating every de- 
 feat, were so loud at Cadiz in extolling their own bravery, and detract- 
 ing from Graham's merit, that the veteran rejected with contempt 
 some empty honours voted to him by the Cortes, and, after resenting 
 the conduct of General La Pena, resigned his command, and hastened 
 to join Lord Wellington. 
 
 In the opinion of Lord Wellington, Graham, to whom his 
 lordship addressed a cordial and complimentary letter, peculiarly 
 gratifying to the old man's feelings, had saved the allied army by his 
 prompt and vigorous attack. Tlicre is no doubt that the siege of 
 Cadiz could have been raised had the Spaniards co-operated zealously, 
 yielding to the superior judgment of the British general. The 
 vulgarly proud spirit of the degenerate descendants of Don Roderick 
 was ever in the way of the consolidation of a success. The leaders 
 were bad soldiers,' in all but absolute fighting, when " every man is 
 
 1 This regiment is called llic Favgh a BaJlaghs, or " Clear the Way." Tlic origin of the Celtic 
 term is not Icnown. 
 
 2 " They march the troops night and day, without provisions or rest, and abusing anybody 
 who proposes a moment's delay, to afford either to the famished and fatigued soldiers. They 
 reach the enemy in such a state aa to bo unable to make any exertions, or to execute any
 
 1811.] THE FRONTIER FORTRESSES. 99 
 
 brave." and gave immense trouble by their incapacity to command, 
 and their disinclination to obey. 
 
 Let us return to Lord Wellington's operations. 
 
 The necessity under which the British chief found himself of 
 leaving the fortresses upon the frontier of Spain and Portugal to 
 their fate, while he concentrated his troops in the lines of Torres 
 Vedras, and hemmed in Massena with the corps under Sir William 
 Beresford and Sir Rowland Hill, had led to the capture of those 
 fortresses by the French, and at the time when he issued from his 
 fastness to follow the " enfant gate^'' no longer enjoying the unbroken 
 prestige of victory, Almeida and Ciudad Rodrigo were in the pos- 
 session of the enemy, and Badajoz soon followed. To recover these 
 fortresses became now the object of the Commander of the Forces ; 
 for, without them, Portugal would not be free from the risk of inva- 
 sion, nor the expulsion of the French from Spain practicable. 
 
 A brief glance at the geographical positions of the fortresses and 
 the adjacent country, the course of the rivers, and the direction of the 
 ridges, will the better assist to an understanding of what follows. 
 
 Almeida is a very strong town standing upon the river Coa, an 
 affluent on the left of the Douro, which comes down from the Sierra 
 de Esta, and flows into Portugal. It is situated in advance of the 
 Estrella. The spur which separates the Coa from the Agueda, en- 
 closes the plateau of Fuentes d'Oiioro. 
 
 Ciudad Rodrigo is another place of great strength — one of the 
 defences of Spain against Portugal. It stands on the river Agueda, 
 another issue from the Sierra de Esta, and closes the road from 
 Madrid to Lisbon. The Agueda forms, during parts of its course, 
 the frontier of Portugal. Both this river and the Coa form very 
 precipitous banks, and flow in a very mountainous basin. They are 
 advanced defences of Portugal, backed by the spurs of the Estrella. 
 
 Badajoz is a formidable place, defended by nine bastions, two 
 advanced works, and the castle of San Cristoval. It rises 400 feet 
 above the river Guadiana (the ancient Aras), which rises to the 
 north of the Sierra Alcaraz, among lagunes. After crossing a marshy 
 country for about ten miles, the stream disappears among rushes and 
 flags near Tornelloso, on the road from Madrid to Ubeda. About 
 thirteen miles further on, at a place called the Eyes of the Guadiana, 
 the water gushes from the earth in large boiling jets, and forms 
 
 plan, even if any plan had been formed : and then, when the moment of action amves, they 
 are totally incapable of movement, and they stand by to see their allies destroyed, and after- 
 wards abuse them, because they do not continue, unsupported, exertions to which human nature 
 is not equal."— Z,e»er of Lord Wellington to General Graham.
 
 100 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTOK 
 
 [1811. 
 
 almost iniincdiately a magnificent canal, which is the Guadiana re- 
 stored to the light. Traversing an almost desert countr}', it washes 
 the walls of Calatrava, and passes on within two miles and a half 
 of Ciudad Real. Beyond this part of its course, the river winds a 
 great deal, by reason of the small chain of mountains that bar its 
 progress, and laves Medellin, Merida (a place where many roads 
 meet), and Badajoz. After this, the Guadiana turns at a right angle, 
 forms the frontier between the two kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, 
 as far as Mourao, washes Juramenta, a strong town belonging to 
 Portugal, and leaves upon the left, Olivenqa, a Spanish post. At 
 Mourao, the river flows entirely in Portugal. 
 
 A glance at the map will show the relative positions of the three 
 fortresses. Almeida is in lat. 40° 55' north, long. 7^ 10' west; 
 Ciudad Rodrigo is nearly the same latitude, and about fifteen miles 
 further east. Badajoz is in lat. 38^ 50' north, and long. 7° 20' west. 
 
 It was the opinion of Wellington that all the fortresses might 
 
 ATTACK ON MASSENA 8 EEAE. 
 
 have been held if the Spanish garrisons had been true to them- 
 Belves. The surrender of Badajoz was peculiarly unaccountable. The
 
 1811.] PROCLAMATION TO THE PORTUGUESE. 101 
 
 garrison was not deficient in either ammunition or provisions ; it 
 was 9000 strong, and the besieging army did not number more than 
 11.600 men, including 2000 cavalry. Nothing but treason could have 
 caused its surrender. 
 
 Continuing his pursuit of Massena, Lord Wellington had some 
 affairs with his troops at Celorico, Sabugal, and on the Coa, driving 
 them before him as on the previous days, with still increasing loss on 
 the side of the enemy. At length, on the 4th of April, 1811, 
 Massena entered the Spanish frontier, and on the 8th, '• the last of 
 the French crossed the Agueda." 
 
 On the 10th of April, in the full pride of success, or, to speak as 
 Wellington habitually spoke — in the pleasant consciousness of 
 having done his duty, and done it well — Lord Wellington issued 
 a Proclamation to the Portuguese people : — 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 " lOth ^pril, 1811. 
 
 " The Portuguese nation are informed that the cruel enemy who 
 had invaded Portugal, and had devastated their country, have been 
 obliged to evacuate it, after suffering great losses, and have retired 
 across the Agueda. The inhabitants of the country are therefore at 
 liberty to return to their occupations. 
 
 " The Marshal-General refers them to the Proclamation which he 
 addressed to them in August last, a copy of which will accompany 
 this Proclamation. 
 
 " The Portuguese nation now know by experience that the Marshal- 
 General was not mistaken, either in the nature or the amount of the 
 evil with which they were threatened, or respecting the only remedies 
 to avoid it; viz., decided and determined resistance, or removal and 
 the concealment of all property, and everything which could tend to 
 the subsistence of the enemy, or to facilitate his progress. 
 
 " Nearly four years have now elapsed since the tyrant of Europe 
 invaded Portugal with a powerful army. The cause of this invasion 
 was not self-defence — it was not to seek revenge for insults offered 
 or injuries done by the benevolent Sovereign of this kingdom — it was 
 not even the ambitious desire of augmenting his own political power, 
 as the Portuguese Government had, without resistance, yielded to all 
 demands of the tyrant ; but the object was the insatiable desire of 
 plunder, the wish to disturb the tranquillity, and to enjoy the riches 
 of a people who had passed nearly half a century in peace. 
 
 " The same desire occasioned the invasion of the northern provinces
 
 102 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 of Portugal in 1809, and the same want of plunder the invasion of 
 1810, now happily defeated ; and the Marshal-General appeals to the 
 experience of those who have been witnesses of the conduct of the 
 French army during these three invasions, whether confiscation, 
 plunder, and outrage, are not the sole objects of their attention, from 
 the General down to the soldier. 
 
 " Those countries which have submitted to the tyranny have not 
 been better treated than those which have resisted. The inhabitants 
 have lost all their possessions, their families have been dishonoured, 
 their laws overturned, their religion destroyed, and, above all, they 
 have deprived themselves of the honour of that manly resistance to 
 the oppressor of which the people of Portugal have given so signal 
 and so successful an example. 
 
 '• The Marshal-General, however, considers it his duty, in an- 
 nouncing the intelligence of the result of the last invasion, to warn 
 the people of Portugal, that, although the danger is removed, it is not 
 entirely gone by. They have something to lose, and the tyrant will 
 endeavour to plunder them ; they are happy under the mild govern- 
 ment of a beneficent Sovereign, and he will endeavour to destroy their 
 happiness ; they have successfully resisted him, and he will endeavour 
 to force them to submit to his iron yoke. They should be unremitting 
 in their preparations for decided and steady resistance : those capable 
 of bearing arms should learn the use of them ; or those whose age or 
 sex renders them unfit to bear arms should fix upon places of security 
 and concealment, and should make all the arrangements for their easy 
 removal to them when the moment of danger shall approach. 
 Valuable property, which tempts the avarice of the tyrant and 
 his followers, and is the great object of their invasion, should be 
 carefully buried beforehand, each individual concealing his own, and 
 thus not trusting to the weakness of others to keep a secret in which 
 they may not be interested. 
 
 " Measures should be taken to conceal or destroy provisions which 
 cannot be removed, and everything which can tend to facilitate the 
 enemy's progress : for this may be depended upon, that the enemy's 
 troops seize upon everything, and leave nothing for the owner. By 
 these measures, whatever may be the superiority of numbers with 
 which the desire of plunder and of revenge may induce, and his 
 power may enable, the tyrant again to invade this country, the result 
 will be certain ; and the independence of Portugal, and the happiness 
 of its inhabitants, will be finally established to their eternal honour." 
 
 After the flight of the enemy into Spain, Lord Wellington 
 cantoned his army along the river Dos Casas and on the sourcep
 
 1811.] BATTLE OF FUENTES D'ONORO. 103 
 
 of the Azova, placing the Light Division at Gallegos and Espeja. His 
 object was to blockade the fortress of Almeida, which was then well 
 supplied with provisions for its garrison. The blockade was esta- 
 blished ; but on the 2nd of May the whole of the army of Massena 
 re-crossed the Agueda at Ciudad Rodrigo with the evident intention 
 of raising the blockade of Almeida. In proportion as the enemy 
 advanced, the British division fell back and were collected at the 
 little hamlet of Fuentes d'Oiioro.' The French force had been ma- 
 terially increased. Napoleon had sent Marshal Bessieres, with 8,000 
 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, to join Massena. They had thus 80,000 
 men wherewith to attack the allied army of 30,000 British and 20,000 
 Portuguese. 
 
 On the 3rd of May, shortly after thay had formed on the ground 
 on the right of the Bos Casas, the enemy attacked, with a considerable 
 force, the village of Fuentes d'Onoro, which was gallantly defended 
 by some Light Infantry battalions. The latter maintained their 
 position with great valour, but as the enemy were bent upon attain- 
 ing possession of a place which would be of so much advantage to 
 them in their subsequent operations, the British Commander rein- 
 forced the village with the 76th and 79th Highlanders. The contest 
 continued during the night, the British remaining in possession of the 
 ground. 
 
 On the following day the French made a reconnoissance of the 
 whole of the British position, and on the 5th of May appeared 
 in great force to renew the struggle. Some changes in Lord 
 Wellington's dispositions had thus been rendered necessary : the 
 army was extended on some high ground from the Turones to the 
 Dos Casas, covering the communication with the Coa, and preventing 
 that of the enemy by the road between the Turones and that river, 
 Fuentes d'Onoro, however, being still held by the Highland regiments. 
 The French commenced their attack by a tremendous cannonade and 
 several charges of cavalry upon the right of the British position. 
 
 1 Fuentes de JN'ora is, perhaps, the proper orthogrraphy of the place, but it saves confusion to 
 adopt the commonly corrupted method of spelling. JVoria in Spanish, and JVora in Portuguese, 
 signify the apparatus to raise water which is often seen in those countries (carried thither, 
 doubtless, by the Moors), and which we call the " Persian wheel." Both words are nouns femi- 
 nine in their respective languages, though the name of the village has found its way into our maps 
 as Fuentes de Onora, which is the Portuguese noim feminine with an article masculine before it 
 (0 JVora). This appears to have led to niunerous mistakes in the manner of writing and pro- 
 nouncing the name, which, as the village is within the Spanish boundary, should be written 
 Fuentes de JVoriu, vhe Fountains of the A''oria, or Persian wheel. This etymology and orthogra- 
 phy were given, twenty-two years ago, by an accomplished traveller in Spain and Portugal, an<i 
 there seems to be no good reason for hesitating to adopt them.
 
 104 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [181L 
 
 But their principal eifort was directed throughout the day against 
 Fuentes de OTioro, of which they at one time obtained possession, to 
 hold it for a very brief period, for the light infantry battalions of the 
 1st and 3d Divisions, the 6th Portuguese Cac^adores, and the light 
 companies of some Portuguese brigades came to the rescue, with the 
 74th and the 1st battalion 88th Regiment, and drove the enemy 
 through the village. Again and again the French gallantly renewed 
 their efforts, and always with the same results. The British were 
 invincible. 
 
 On the night of the 7th of May, Massena commenced retiring from 
 liis position, and fell back with such haste that he could not even 
 communicate with Almeida, which he left to its fate, one single soldier 
 only contriving to get in with the orders to the governor to blow up 
 and abandon the fortress. 
 
 In this action, or succession of severe actions, the British troops 
 covered themselves with glory. Lieutenant-Colonels Williams, 
 Cameron, and Cadogan, Colonel Mackinnon, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Kelly (24th Regiment), received honourable mention in the dispatches 
 of the Commander-in-Chief; and his Lordship called attention to the 
 gallant conduct of Major Macintosh of the 85th, and Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Nixon, of the Ca^adores ; Lieutenant-Colonel Eustace, of the 
 Chasseurs Britanniques (who behaved most steadily in repelling the 
 charges of the advanced guard of the enemy's cavalry), and Lord 
 Blantyre. 
 
 But there was one man, whose intrepidity was the admiration of 
 the field, — a soldier who had acted from a noble impulse, forgetful 
 for the moment of the instructions he had received to occupy a par- 
 ticular position, — and his name was omitted in the despatches. His 
 momentary disobedience had neutralised his amazing gallantry. It is 
 understood that had Captain Norman Ramsay held to his instructions 
 he would not have been exposed to the serious risk which enforced his 
 display of intrepidity. Let the story be told in the nervous language 
 of Napier. Montburn, a first-rate cavalry general, turned the right 
 of the 7th Division and charged the British cavalry which had moved 
 up to its support. 
 
 " The combat was unequal, for by an abuse too common, so many 
 men had been drawn from the ranks as orderlies to general officers, 
 and for other purposes, that not more than a thousand English 
 troopers were in the field. The French, therefore, drove in all the 
 cavalry out-guards at the first shock, cut off Ramsay's battery of 
 horse artillery, and came sweeping in upon the reserves of cavalry 
 and upon the 7th Division. Their leading squadrons, approaching \n
 
 1811.] 
 
 BATTLE OF FUENTES D'ONORO. 
 
 105 
 
 a disorderly manner, were partially checked by fire ; but a great 
 commotion was observed in their main body, men and horses were 
 seen to close with confusion and tumult towards one point, where a 
 thick dust and loud cries, and the sparkling of blades and flashiuo- of 
 pistols, indicated some extraordinary occurrence. Suddenly the 
 multitude became violently agitated, an English shout pealed high 
 and clear, the mass was rent asunder, and Norman Eamsay burst 
 forth, sword in hand, at the head of his battery, his horses, breathing 
 
 NOEMAN EAMS.W AT FUENTES D ONOEO. 
 
 fire, stretched like greyhounds along the plain, the guns bounded 
 behind them like things of no weight, and the mounted gunners 
 followed close, with heads bent low and pointed weapons, in desperate 
 career. Captain Brotherton, of the 14th Dragoons, seeing this, in- 
 stantly rode forth, and with his squadron shocked the head of the 
 pursuing troops, and General Charles Stewart, joining in the charge, 
 took the French Colonel Lamotte, fighting hand to hand ; but then 
 the main body of the French came on strongly, and the British 
 cavalry retired behind the Light Division, which was immediately 
 thfown into squares. The 7th Division, which was more advanced^
 
 106 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 did the same, but the horsemen ■were upon them first, and some were 
 cut down. The mass, however, stood firm, and the Chasseurs Britan- 
 niques, ranged behind a loose stone wall, poured such a fire, that their 
 foes recoiled, and seemed bewildered." 
 
 Amongst the officers mortally wounded at Fuentes d'Oiloro, none 
 were more lamented than Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron, of the 79th. 
 The regiment was devotedly attached to him. Young, ardent, pat- 
 riotic, courageous, his whole soul was in the cause in which Wel- 
 lington was engaged — the deliverance of Portugal. At one time, 
 his regiment was the only one in the village of Fuentes. The 
 French column, 1500 strong, advanced sternly and resolutel}' to 
 occupy the place. Had the Highlanders been a light-infantry regi- 
 ment, or accustomed to street fighting, Cameron would have found 
 the advantage of distributing them in the houses, the chapel, and 
 other buildings afi"ording cover. But he seems not only to have 
 been unaware of the superiority this would have given his men, but 
 reluctant to fight in any other than the old method of closing upon 
 the foe with the bayonet. Forming the regiment into three divisions, 
 and allotting to each the business of opposing a separate French 
 column, he ordered them to charge, and waved his bonnet as a signal. 
 At that instant he was struck down by a musket shot. The regiment 
 for an instant halted, paralyzed by sudden grief Twice did Major 
 Petrie, in the agony and peril of the moment, repeat the last order 
 of the intrepid Cameron. He now stood aghast. On came the 
 French columns massed for mischief Petrie rushed to the ensigns, 
 seized the colours, and exclaiming, " There are your colours, my lads, 
 follow me !" dashed forward. As if by one sudden instinct, the 
 Highlanders recovered from their stupor, raised a wild shriek, and 
 threw themselves upon the enemy. 
 
 Lord Wellington much regretted Cameron's fall ; and addressed an 
 affecting letter of condolence to his father. General Cameron : — " I 
 am convinced," he wrote, '• that you will credit the assurance which 
 I give you, that I condole with you most sincerely upon this misfor- 
 tune, of the extent of which no man is more capable than myself of 
 forming an estimate, from the knowledge which I had, and the just 
 estimate which I had formed, in my own opinion, of the merits of 
 your son. 
 
 " You will always regret and lament his loss, I am convinced ; but 
 I hope that you will derive some consolation from the reflection that 
 he fell in the performance of his duty, at the head of your brave 
 regiment, loved and respected by all that knew him, — in an action in 
 which if possible, the British troops surpassed everything they had
 
 1811.] THE WOUNDED AT FUENTES. lOY 
 
 ever done before, and of which the result was most honourable to his 
 Majesty's arms. 
 
 " At all events, Providence having deprived you of your son, 
 I cannot conceive a string of circumstances more honourable and 
 glorious than those under which he lost his life, in the cause of his 
 country. Believe me, however, that, although I am fully alive to all 
 these honourable circumstances attending his death, I most sincerely 
 condole with you upon your loss." 
 
 The body of Colonel Cameron was carried from the spot where he 
 fell, at Fuentes, across the frontier, into Portugal, and interred facing 
 the church door at a village called Villa Formosa, between Almeida 
 and Fuentes. The Portuguese refused him Christian burial, by not 
 suffering his remains to repose within the walls of the church ; but 
 they have, nevertheless, respected the monument which records his 
 fall. It was raised before the church door ; and the Portuguese look 
 upon it as identified with their own achievements. 
 
 The number of British officers and men killed in the battle of 
 Fuentes d'Onoro was only 235, of whom 11 were officers; but the- 
 amount of wounded was very heavy ; they amounted to no less than 
 1234. Lord Wellington computed the enemy's loss at between 
 4000 an(J 5000, of whom 400 were said to have been slain in the 
 village of Fuentes. This latter statement, however, has been contra- 
 dicted by Sir W. Napier, who having had charge to bring the carcases 
 immediately about the village, "found only 130, one-third being 
 British." 
 
 The state of the wounded at Fuentes d'Onoro was fearful. A 
 tragically picturesque detail of the scene which followed upon the 
 battle has been given by an officer who was an actor in the stirring 
 event, and a spectator of its melancholy sequel. Unconsciously he 
 illustrates the advantage derivable to the medical man from the hours 
 spent in the dissecting-room. No surgeon could perform such duties 
 as unfortunately devolve upon those attached to regiments, had not 
 " custom made it a property of easiness in them." It is a wise pro- 
 vision of Nature, that the sense of sympathy should be blunted, the 
 better to facilitate the operations essential to the relief of suffering 
 humanity: — 
 
 " The next day, the 6th, we had no fighting, each army kept its 
 position, and Villa Formosa continued to be the receptacle for the 
 wounded. This village is beautifully situated on a craggy hill, at the 
 foot of which runs the little stream of Onore. Its healthful and 
 tranquil situation, added to its proximity to the scene of action, 
 rendered it a most desirable place for our wounded. The perfume of 
 
 I
 
 108 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 several groves of forest trees, was a delightful contrast to the smell 
 that was accumulating in the plain below, and the change of scene, 
 added to a strong desire to see a brother officer who had been 
 wounded in the action of the 5th, led me thither. On reaching the 
 village, I had little difficulty in finding out the hospitals, as every 
 house might be considered one, but it was some time before I dis- 
 covered that which I wished for. At last I found it ; it consisted 
 of four rooms ; in it were pent up twelve officers, all badly wounded. 
 The largest room was twelve feet by eight, and this apartment had 
 for its occupants four officers. Next the door, on a bundle of straw, 
 lay two of the 79th Highlanders ; one of them shot through the 
 spine. He told me he had been wounded in the streets of Fuentes 
 on the 5th, and that although he had felt a good deal of pain before, 
 he was now perfectly easy, and free from sufi"ering. I was but ill 
 skilled in surgery, but nevertheless I disliked the account he gave of 
 himself I passed on to my friend ; he was sitting on a table, his 
 back resting against a wall. A musket ball had penetrated his 
 right breast, and passing through his lungs, came out at his back, and 
 be owed his life to the great skill and attention of Drs. Stewart and 
 Bell of the 3d Division. The quantity of blood taken from him was 
 astonishing : three, and sometimes four, times a day they would bleed 
 him, and his recovery was one of those extraordinary instances 
 seldom witnessed. In an inner room was a young officer, shot 
 through the head ; his was a hopeless case : he was quite delirious, 
 and obliged to be held down by two men ; his strength was astonish- 
 ing ; and more than once while I remained he succeeded in escaping 
 from his attendants. The Scotch officer's ^servant soon after came in, 
 and stooping down inquired of his officer how he felt, but received no 
 reply. He had half turned on his face, the man took hold of his 
 master's hand ; it was still warm but the pulse had ceased. He was 
 dead. The suddenness of this young man's death sensibly affected 
 his companions, and I took leave of my friend and companion 
 Owgan, fully impressed with the idea that I should never see him 
 again. I was on my return to the army when my attention was 
 arrested by an extraordinary degree of bustle, and a kind of half 
 stifled moaning in the yard of a quinta, or nobleman's house. I 
 looked through the grating, and saw about 200 soldiers wounded, 
 waiting to have their limbs amputated, while others were arriving 
 every moment. It would be difficult to convey an idea of the frightful 
 appearance of those men ; they had been wounded on the 5th, and 
 this was the 7th ; the limbs were swollen to an enormous size, and the 
 smell from the gun-shot wounds was dreadful. Some were sitting
 
 1811.] SURGICAL OPERATION'S. 109 
 
 upright against a wall, under a shade of a number of chesimt trees, 
 and many of those were wounded in the head, as well as limbs ; the 
 ghastly countenances of these poor fellows presented a dismal sight ; 
 the streams of gore which had trickled down their cheeks were quite 
 hardened by the sun, and gave their faces a glazed and copper- 
 coloured hue ; their eyes were sunk and fixed, and what between the 
 effects of the sun and exhaustion of despair, they resembled more a 
 group of bronze figures than anything human ; they sat silent and 
 statue-like waiting for their turn t6 be carried to the amputating 
 tables. At the other side of the yard lay several whose state was too 
 helpless for them to sit up ; a feeble cry from them occasionally to 
 those who were passing, for a drink of water, was all they uttered. 
 A little further on, in an upper court, were the surgeons ; they were 
 stripped to their shirts, and bloody ; curiosity led me forwards ; a 
 number of doors placed on barrels, served as temporary tables, and 
 on these lay the different subjects upon whom the surgeons were 
 operating; to the right and left were arms and legs flung here and 
 there without distinction, and the ground was dyed with blood. 
 Dr. Bell was going to take ofi" the thigh of a m.an of the 50th, and 
 he requested I would hold down the man for him ; he was one of the 
 best-hearted men I ever met with, but such is the force of habit, he 
 seemed insensible to the scene that was passing around, and with 
 much composure was eating almonds out of his waistcoat pockets, 
 which he oflfered to share with me, but if I got the universe for it 
 I could not 'have swallowed a morsel of any thing. The operation 
 upon the man of the 50th was the most shocking sight I ever 
 witnessed; it lasted nearly half an hour, but his life was saved- 
 Turning out of this place towards the street I passed hastily on near 
 the gate ; an assistant-surgeon was taking off the leg of an old German 
 sergeant of the 60th ; the doctor was evidently a young practitioner, 
 and Bell, our staff-surgeon, took much trouble in instructing him. 
 It was a pretty generally received opinion, that when the saw passes 
 through the marrow, the patient suffers most pain but such is not 
 the case, and taking up the arteries is the worst ; while the old 
 German was undergoing the operation, he seemed insensible to pain ; 
 when the saw was at work, now and then he would exclaim in broken 
 English, if wearied, " Oh I mine Gott^ is she off stilly" but he, as well 
 as all those I noticed, felt much when the knife was first introduced, 
 and all thought that red hot iron was applied to them when the 
 arteries were being taken up." 
 
 If the continual presence of danger, and occasional personal 
 suffering, did not really beget an indifference to both, it certainly
 
 110 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1811 
 
 imparted to the oflBcers and naen a looseness of sentiment that was 
 not without wholesome influences in habituating men to be ready for 
 the worst that could befall. An officer of the Adjutant-General's 
 Department, whose love of fun was independent of circumstances and 
 situation, is known to have describled to his camarados the sensation 
 of being wounded (while bullets were flying about the group) in 
 these terms : — 
 
 " Astonished at finding oneself overturned by a sharp blow on the 
 breast, and on evincing an inclination to rise, being convinced, by 
 the total diminution of your strength, that some very unpleasant 
 accident has occurred to you. Thus satisfied as to your incapacity 
 of movement, you lie quietly on the ground with certain very unplea- 
 sant forebodings in your mind, till one of your friends brings you a 
 surgeon, who, opening your coat, finds you are shot through the lungs, 
 and to satisfy himself (not you) says ' Spit, sir, spit.' In the attempt 
 your mouth fills with blood, which your medical friend (no longer, 
 alas ! your adviser) wished to ascertain, who, putting a bit of lint on 
 the wound, shrugs up his shoulders, and leaves you to be sufi'ocated, 
 while he goes to congratulate your juniors on their promotion."
 
 1811.1 
 
 ESCAPE OF THE GARRISON OF ALMEIDA. 
 
 in 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 EfiC&pe of the garrison of Almeida— CJontrast between Wellington and Napoleon — Caution to 
 Officers to repress injudicious zeal — Marshal Beresford — Investment of Badajoz — B attle of 
 Albuera — Abandonment of the siege of Badajoz — ^The Spanish and Portuguese allies. 
 
 HE defeat of Massena at Fuentes 
 d'Onoro destroyed the hopes of 
 relief entertained by the garri- 
 son of Almeida. Brennier, who 
 commanded the fortress, heard 
 the firing at Fuentes, and cher- 
 ished a conviction that Massena 
 would repel the English, and 
 " raise the blockade. The hopes 
 of his sturdy little band of 400 
 men rose with each cannonade. 
 and they almost ventured to 
 name the very hour when the 
 cordon of red coats, which 
 barred their egress, should be 
 rent asunder. When the French soldier passed the line of sentries, 
 and making his way into the fortress, disclosed the intelligence that 
 the English remained the victors, hope gave way to desperation. To 
 surrender to General Campbell, whose divisions carelessly encircled 
 the fortress, or to cut away through and join Massena, were the 
 only alternatives left to Brennier. Napoleon was impatient of sur- 
 render : his view of the duty of the governor of a garrison extended 
 to his dying at his post, Brennier elected to march out and trust to 
 fortune for his forcing a passage. The choice was happy in its results. 
 Fate smiled upon the courageous enterprise. Blowing up the works 
 and cannon with so ingenious an appearance of firing upon the 
 blockading party that his proceedings were never for one moment
 
 112 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 suspected, he availed himself of the brilliancy of the moon-light on 
 the second night succeeding his operations, and retired with his men 
 in their usual order of march. The advanced guards bayoneted the 
 sentinels of the besiegers. The garrison made for Barba de Puerco 
 on the Agueda. The bridge at this place was totally unguarded. 
 Aware of the certainty of their escape if they reached this spot unop- 
 posed, General Campbell and Brigadier Pack hastened thither with 
 the 3Gth regiment and the light battalion of the 5th Division. 
 They came up with the enemy, but were unable to prevent them 
 effecting the passage of the Agueda. Some fighting took place, in 
 which the French suffered, but by far the greater number of the 
 garri.son effected their escape. It was a gallant achievement, and it 
 deserved to succeed. Lord Wellington was much annoyed at the 
 occurrence, on account of the advantage that he justly thought 
 would be taken of the circumstance by Massena, and the partisan 
 press at home, to convey erroneous impressions to all Europe. Still 
 we do not find him giving loose to temper in his despatches to Lord 
 Liverpool — he was always more ready to quarrel with himself for an 
 oversight than blame his generals.' 
 
 And here we cannot avoid contrasting the generous and indulgent 
 character of Wellington with the unforgiving and uncharitable dispo- 
 sition of his great rival. Napoleon. While the British General 
 seized every occasion for cordially applauding the skill of his com- 
 panions in arms, and palliating errors if they did not arise from a 
 wilful disobedience of orders, Napoleon gave loose to the violence of 
 his rage if success did not crown the efforts of his Marshals, and in 
 the hurricane of passion he forgot all the former services which he 
 had recompensed with titles and commands. Success with Napoleon 
 hallowed every action performed by his own troops, though he could 
 not admit the same excuse for the achievements of his enemies, if 
 they were founded on a departure from the acknowledged principles 
 of war. Failure, on the other hand — that is to say French failure — 
 
 1 The escape of the garrison was a subject of bitter mortification willj tlie 2nd (Queen's 
 
 Royals) and the 4lh Foot, who happened to be on picquet when the French made their way 
 
 through the investing force. Lampoons and pasquinades were composed impromptu, and 
 
 levelled at the devices of the two corps. The badge of the Queen's is a Lamb, and that of 
 
 the 4th a Lion. In Costello's entertaining " Adventures of a Soldier," one of these squibs ha» 
 
 been preserved : — 
 
 "The Lion went to sleep, 
 
 And the Lambs were at play, 
 
 The Eagle spread his wings 
 
 And from Almeida flew away." 
 
 rhe Ck>lonel of the 4th, stung to the quick with sorrow and mortiflcatioa. commiltod suicide shorU) 
 after the Almeida affair.
 
 1811.] CHECKS TO IMPETUOSITY. 113 
 
 could only, in his opinion, result frona carelessness and ignorance. 
 He allowed nothing to the superiority of the prowess or position of 
 the English — they always, he pretended, gained a battle by an acci- 
 dent! What Talleyrand predicted of somebody else. Napoleon 
 practically affirmed of his unlucky Marshals — '■'•lis sont pires que les 
 criminds — ils out commis cles erreurs ! " Witness his reproaches of 
 Dorsenne for the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo — his acrimonious reprehension 
 of Marmont for his manner of conducting the war in 1812 — his 
 treatment of Suchet — his temporary withdrawal of all confidence 
 from Soult after the fight at Albuera. All of these Generals 
 solicited their recall on the ground of the unworthy censures lavished 
 upon them while they did their best. A more accurate and impartial 
 estimate of the vast military genius of Wellington, and the quality of 
 his soldiers, would probably have made the French Emperor more 
 tolerant of the disasters of his chosen lieutenants. 
 
 After the battle of Fuentes d' Onoro, Lord Wellington, for a time, 
 fixed his head-quarters at Villa Formosa. Massena, retreating with 
 Ney, Junot, and Loison, who got tired of the war in Spain and 
 Portugal, and of one another, proceeded towards the Pyrenees, en 
 route to France, leaving Marshal Marmont, Duke de Ragusa, in 
 command of the army of Portugal, on the river Tormes. 
 
 It was the anxious desire of the British troops to follow the enemy ; 
 and Lord Wellington found it necessay to check their impetuosity 
 by interposing grave remonstrances. In a letter addressed to Major- 
 General Alexander Campbell, we find him exercising that wonderful 
 prudence which, if it sometimes made the irreflective and impotent 
 imagine that golden oportunities had been suifered to slip, always 
 proved, in the long run, the guarantee of future permament success. 
 He did not doubt, he said, the readiness of the officers and soldiers to 
 advance upon the enemy ; but he held it to be his duty to regulate 
 that spirit, and not to expose the soldiers to contend with unequal 
 numbers in situations disadvantageous to them. He would not allow 
 them to follow up trifling advantages to situations in which they 
 could not be supported, from which their retreat was not secure, and 
 in which they incurred the risk of being prisoners to the enemy they 
 had before beaten. He was most anxious to see the officers at the 
 head of the troops possess a cool, discriminating judgment in actions, 
 which would enable them to decide with promptitude how far they 
 could and ought to go with propriety, and to convey their orders and 
 act with such vigour and decision that the soldiers would look up to 
 them with confidence in the moment of action, and obey them with 
 alacrity. Lord Wellington further endeavoured to impress upon the 
 
 VOL. I. 9
 
 114 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON [1811 
 
 officers that the enemy to whom they were opposed was not less 
 prudent than powerful. He rejected, upon the testimony of expe- 
 rience, the idea that small bodies, unsupported, could be successfully 
 opposed to large, and laughed at the stories current, of whole armies 
 being driven by a handful of light infantry or dragoons. After the 
 affair at Celorioo, in the pursuit of Massena, Lord Wellington found 
 it necessary to instruct Marshal Beresford to call together the officers 
 of the dragoons, and point out to them the folly and danger of 
 following the enemy with " undisciplined ardofur." He compared 
 the conduct of some cavalry regiments to that of a rabble galloping 
 as fast as their horses could carry them, over a plain, after an enemy 
 to whom they could do no mischief after they were broken, and the 
 pursuit had continued to a limited distance ; and sacrificing substan- 
 tial advantages, and all the objects of the operation, by their want of 
 discipline. 
 
 That no time might be lost in clearing the frontier of the French, 
 Lord Wellington, while he operated upon Almeida, had entrusted to 
 Marshal Sir William Beresford the reduction of the fortress of 
 Badajoz. 
 
 Marshal Beresford was an officer of considerable distinction, earned 
 by bravery and professional ability. He had seen much, service in 
 many parts of the globe : as a Subaltern at Nova Scotia ; as Captain 
 at the sieges of Toulon and Bastia ; as Lieutenant-Colonel in India 
 and in Egypt (under Sir David Baird), in Ireland, at the Cape of 
 Good Hope, and in America. Finally, he had fought under Moore at 
 Coruila, covering the embarkation of the troops with distinguished 
 firmness and skill. His merit was not unperceived by Lord 
 Wellington — always prompt to discern professional superiority. 
 When the Grovernment had determined upon carrying out the plan 
 for the defence of Portugal, suggested in the Memorandum of 
 9th March, 1809, Beresford was pointed out by Wellington as the 
 officer most adapted to the serious duty of organizing and drilling the 
 Portuguese army. Accordingly, after assisting in the operations 
 in the north of Portugal, crossing the Douro considerably above 
 Oporto, in sight of General Loison's division, forcing him back upon 
 Amarante, and pursuing him in his retreat, Beresford entered upon 
 the great task which had been assigned to him. To facilitate the 
 execution of his purposes, the Portuguese Government dignified him 
 with the title and rank of Field-Marshal, and appointed him General 
 issimo, the British Government, through the Commander-in-Chief, 
 naving previously brevetted him as Lieutenant-General. Marshal 
 Beresford, carrying out the principle of selection adopted in his own
 
 1811.] SIR WILLIAM BERESFORD. 115 
 
 case by Lord Wellington, made choice of many excellent oflScers to 
 aid him in organizing and disciplining the Portuguese army. The 
 names of Gough, Pack, Bradford, and Robert Arbuthnot attest the 
 lustioe and prudence of his choice ; and the conduct of the Portuguese 
 Ca^adores, at the battle of Busaco, demonstrates how rapidly the 
 system of discipline prospered. Those young troops had never before 
 been in front of the enemy. 
 
 It was to this officer (Beresford) that the capture of Badajoz was 
 entrusted ; and in order to prevent, if possible, the raising of the 
 siege by the enemy, Lord Wellington had detached the 3rd and 7th 
 divisions, and the 2nd Hussars, into the Alemtejo, and had further 
 directed the Spanish troops, under General Blake, to approach the 
 frontier of Estremadura. 
 
 Sir William Beresford invested Badajoz on both sides of the 
 Guadiana, on the 8th May, 1811, and, on the same night, broke 
 ground on both sides. There is a strong outwork, or castle, called 
 San Cristoval, on the right bank of the Guadiana, against which the 
 besiegers were to direct their earliest operations. To prevent their 
 occupying the ground whence the attack was to be directed, the 
 garrison made a sortie, but were driven in with loss. On the 10th 
 May, they made a second sortie, and were a second time driven in, 
 the impetuosity of our troops carrying them to the very glacis of San 
 Cristoval, and to a situation in which they were exposed to the fire 
 of musketry and grape from the outwork, as well as from the body of 
 the place. The British casualties were numerous. On the 1 1 th of 
 May, Beresford opened his fire upon the fortress. 
 
 While these operations were in progress, Marshal Soult was at 
 Seville, and, from the works going on there, it was supposed that he 
 intended occupying the place for a considerable time, the more espe- 
 cially as he was using every exertion to assemble a large body of 
 troops around him. Soult had far different views. The relief of 
 Badajoz was his ulterior end. And, in fulfilment of this object, he 
 moved away on the 1 0th May with 15,000 men, forming a junction, 
 in his descent into Estremadura, with General Latour Maubourg, 
 who was at the head of 5000 more. 
 
 No further question now of Badajoz. To hurl back Soult became 
 the leading object of Sir William Beresford. Instantly raising the 
 Biege, he proceeded to Valverde with the infantry, leaving General the 
 Hon. Lowry Cole to follow with the ordnance and stores, convoyed 
 by 2000 Spanish troops. But as the occupation of Valverde left 
 Badajoz open to the enemy, Beresford changed his position to 
 Albuera, south of Badajoz, and was there joined by the corps of
 
 116 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811 
 
 General Blake, the troops under Cole, and the Spanish Brigade under 
 Don Carlos de Espana, on the 15th of May. 
 
 On the afternoon of the same day Soult's army appeared in front 
 The British force was immediately placed in position. On the 
 morning of the 16th of May, Soult commenced his movement for 
 breaking through the obstacle thus suddenly interposed to his expe- 
 dition. He advanced upon the right of the English with the full 
 design of cutting them off from Valverde. He gained the heights 
 occupied by the Spanish troops. Major-General the Hon. W. Stewart 
 rushed with his division to retake and maintain those heights. 
 Failing to shake the columns of the enemy with fire, the division 
 employed the bayonet. A body of Polish Lancers attacked the 
 division in the rear, broke it, and inflicted great slaughter. The 31st 
 Foot alone remained unshaken. The third brigade, under General 
 Houghton, now came to the rescue, and Houghton fell, pierced by 
 wounds. Soult persevered ; his artillery committing great havoc in 
 the British ranks ; the French infantry showered mitrailles in mur- 
 derous succession ; the cavalry was held in check by General 
 Lumley's allied dragoons. The battle was for some time doubtful ; 
 but Cole perceiving the danger to which Stewart's division was 
 exposed, dashed up the heights with the Fusilier Brigade. Still the 
 cannon spat forth their deadly opposition, and Soult deemed victory 
 in his grasp. Concentrating its terrific energies, bearing itself as 
 only British infantry ever can and ever did in the midst of the pitiless 
 iron storm, the brigade came to the charge, and in spite of the 
 terrible obstructions of the ground, and the determined attitude of 
 the enemy, bore onward with the force of a hurricane. Staggering 
 beneath the irresistible shock, the French now give way, they 
 waver — they break — they fly. The Fusiliers press onwards — the 
 British huzza mingling with the discordant cries of the scattered foe. 
 Hundreds still fight with fierce desperation, but fall at length beneath 
 the terrific pressure. The heights are cleared — the enemy are in 
 confusion — and Soult, discomfited and crest-fallen, abandons his 
 attempt, and recrosses the Agueda. 
 
 A sanguinary battle was the battle of Albuera. Fifteen thousand 
 men fell in four hours. Of these, eight thousand were Frenchmen, 
 and seven thousand English.' The loss of the Spanish and Portu- 
 
 1 " About six o'clock, a. m^ we came in sight of our troops on the field of battle, at 
 Albuera ; the French were discerned near a wood about a rnilo and a half in their front. We 
 now advanced in subdivisions, at double distance, to make our numbers as fonnidable as 
 pos.sible, and, arriving on the field, jjiled our arms, and were permitted to move about. With 
 awful astonishment we gazod on the terrific sccuo before us; a total suspension took place of
 
 1811.] BATTLE OF ALBUERA. 11 V 
 
 guese was light, though it is admitted on all hands that they fought 
 with surprising valour when called upon to do so. Marshal Beresford 
 was no niggard of his praises, for every one had done his duty. 
 He had reason to be especially pleased with the 7th and 23rd 
 Fusiliers, the 31st and the 57th regiments, the latter of which 
 obtained the soubriquet of the " Die-hards," for as the fire of the 
 enemy thinned their numbers, and utter annihilation seemed inevi- 
 table, the colonel called out to them " 57th, let us die hard !" Only 
 eighteen hundred British soldiers of the nine thousand that went 
 into battle survived the encounter on Albuera's heights. Amongst 
 the officers who fell, none were more missed and lamented than Sir 
 William Myers, and Lieutenant-Colonel Duckworth. The 7th 
 Fusiliers, whom Myers commanded, to this moment preserve a 
 memento of his worth and gallantry. Beresford bore willing testi- 
 mony to the good conduct of the allies, naming especially Generals 
 Ballasteros, Lagos, and Don Carlos de Espaiia, and he did not fail to 
 speak well of Brigadier-General d'Urban and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Hardinge, Deputy Quarter-Master-General to the Portuguese troops. 
 To the advice of the latter at a critical moment the salvation of the 
 battle may have been said to have been owing, for it was Hardinge 
 who urged General Cole to advance with the fourth division, while 
 Beresford, agitated by the peril of Stewart's division, was on the point 
 of retiriner his forces from the field.' 
 
 that noisy gaiety so characteristic of Irish soldiers ; the most obdurate or risible countenances 
 sunli at once into a pensive sadness, and for some time speech was supplanted by an exchange 
 of sorrowful looks and significant nods. Before us lay the appalling sight of 6000 men dead, 
 and mostly stark naked, having, as we were informed, been stripped during the night by the 
 Spaniards ; their bodies disfigured with dirt and clotted blood, and torn by the deadly gashes 
 inflicted by the bullet, bayonet, sword, or lance, that had terminated their mortal existence. 
 Those who had been kiUed outright appeared merely in the pallid sleep of death, while others, 
 whose wounds had been less suddenly fatal, from the agonies of their last struggle, exhibited 
 a fearful distortion of features. Near our arms was a small streamlet, almost choked with 
 bodies of the dcjfd, and, from the deep traces of blood in its miry margin, it was evident that 
 many of them had crawled thither to allay their last thirst. The waters of this oozing stream 
 were so deeply tinged, that it seemed actually to run blood. A few perches distant was a 
 draw-well, about which were collected several hundreds of those severely woimded, who had 
 crept or been carried thither. They were sitting or lying in the puddle, and each time the 
 bucket reached the surface with its scanty supply, there was a clamorous and heartrending 
 confusion ; the cries for water resounding in at least ten languages, while a kindness of feeling 
 was visible in the manner this beverage was passed to each other." — Reminiscences of a Subaltern. 
 i Lieutenant-Colonel Hardinge's judgment in this instance paved the way to his subsequent 
 advancement. In after years he was employed with the Prussian army in the contest with 
 Napoleon, and, long after the war, became successively Secretary at War, Governor General 
 of India, and Master General of the Ordnance. In India he greatly distinguished himself by 
 aldmg Lord Gough to drive the invading Sikhs across the Sutlej, and take from them a 
 portion of their territory. This earned him the Peerage. The death of the Duke of 
 Wellington led to his being appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British army.
 
 118 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811 
 
 Marshal Beresford has been censured by some writers, first for 
 laying siege to Badajoz with inadequate means ; secondly, for not 
 keeping himself accuratel}' informed of the movements of Soult ; and 
 thirdly, for receiving battle at Albuera.' It is not worth while inter- 
 rupting the course of this narrative to enter upon a theme foreign to 
 the subject in hand, and which has been productive of endless con- 
 troversy : it is sufficient to state that the conduct of the Marshal and 
 his troops had the approbation of Lord Wellington. He regarded 
 the action aa one of the most glorious and honorable to the character 
 of the troops of any that had been fought during the war; he 
 lauded the Jtbility, firmness, and gallantry of Sir William Beresford, 
 and he wuh of opinion that Sir William Beresford would have 
 gained a c^implete victory, without very material loss, if the Spaniards 
 could have manoeuvred. 
 
 The incapacity of the Spanish troops to manoeuvre in front of an 
 enemy wna a Subject of great annoyance to Lord Wellington. They 
 did not refuse to stand firmly as targets to the enemy, but could 
 never be trusted to move. At Talavera and Barrossa, as well as at 
 Albuera, this defect in their discipline occasioned a heavy sacrifice 
 of life, for their immobility forced English soldiers to perform the 
 duty which otherwise would have devolved upon the Allies. The 
 Portuguese levies were not obnoxious to the same reproach. " We 
 do what we please with the Portuguese troops," writes Lord 
 Wellington to Mr. Henry Wellesley, the Minister at Madrid. " We 
 manoeuvre them under fire equally with our own, and have some 
 dependence on them ; but these Spaniards can do nothing but stand 
 still, and we consider ourselves fortunate if they do not run away." 
 
 Marshal Beresford resumed the siege'*bf Badajoz on the 19th of 
 May. In the meanwhile. Lord Wellington, to be nearer the scene 
 of operations, had removed his head quarters to Elvas. Here his 
 attention was much engaged by the condition of the Spanish and 
 Portuguese governments, and more especially the latter. They were 
 in a state of decrepitude. Malversations in office, neglect of duty, 
 habitual disobedience of orders, inattention to regulations, base 
 intrigues and jobs for personal ends, vanities, jealousies, made up the 
 sum of the operations of the Juntas. All complaints and remon- 
 strances were vain ; the authorities were inaccessible alike to reason 
 
 1 A private soldier, doscribing the battle of Albucro, says : " The complaints of the men were 
 loiid and general, and always ended with some expression of deep regret for the absence of 
 him we loolied up to with unlimited confldenco, whoso presence gave us additional courage, 
 and under whom we deemed oursclvea invincible and certain of success— need I add, that 
 person was Wellinoton?"
 
 1811.] SIEGE OF BADAJOZ RAISED. 119 
 
 and to virtue. In addition to embarrassments of all descriptions 
 surrounding him on every side, Lord "Wellington had to contend with 
 an ancient enmity between the two nations, which he described as 
 more like cat and dog than anything else. Of this hereditary feud 
 no sense of common danger, or common interest, or anything, could 
 get the better even in individuals. Nothing but the firmness of his 
 heart, and his undeviating sense of the claims of duty, could have 
 sustained Wellington when so perplexed. 
 
 A practical proof of the utter helplessness of the Portuguese 
 departments attached to the army was now to be supplied with 
 humiliating results. Two attacks upon breaches in San Cristoval 
 having failed. Lord Wellington undertook the seige of Badajoz in 
 person, under the persausion that the means at his command at 
 Elvas would have enabled him to reduce the place before the 15th 
 of June. He had been reinforced by battalions from the frontiers 
 of Castillo, and believed in the efficacy of the ordnance, and abun- 
 dance of supplies in Elvas. The guns, however, were found to be of 
 a. calibre larger than the shot ; the carriages were so decayed that 
 time was continually lost in putting them into order after a 
 succession of discharges, and the eflfect of these combined obstacles 
 to a direct and effectual fire was to render the siege operations 
 perfectly futile even at the small distance of from 400 to 600 yards. 
 To add to this great source of vexation the magazines of Elvas were 
 drained to support the Portuguese brigades, for the government 
 either could not or would not send forward provisions ; and by the 
 10th of June, there was not a supply for the garrison calculated to 
 last more than a fortnight. This destitution of the very sinews of 
 war would have furnished a sufficient reason for raising the siege of 
 Badajoz ; but a new cause of disquiet now arose. By an intercepted 
 despatch, it was ascertained that Marshals Soult and Marmont were 
 collecting their forces in Estremadura for a movement in a southerly 
 direction. An altered position therefore became necessary ; and the 
 British army retired from Badajoz. Lord Wellington, in reporting 
 that he had raised the siege, made honourable mention of the principal 
 officers who had assisted him in the execution of his plans. Major- 
 Generals Picton, Houstone, and Hamilton ; Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Fletcher, of the engineers ; Lieutenant-Colonel Framlingham, and 
 Major Dickson, of the artillery, were particularly noticed. Of 
 Dickson (afterwards Sir Alexander) the commanding officer of the 
 forces spoke in the highest terms. His activity, zeal, and intelli- 
 gence, had conferred great advantage in the different operations 
 against Badajoz.
 
 120 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811 
 
 The ensuing three months, namely, from the middle of June to the 
 middle of September, passed away -without the occurrence of any 
 remarkable events. The next great object contemplated by Lord 
 Wellington was the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo ; and to this end rein- 
 forcements, recruiting, the drilling the Allies, and the accumulation 
 of stores of the ordinary appliances of war, were indispensable. While 
 the Spanish and Portuguese governments continued their usual 
 practices, ample occupation was provided for the pen of the British 
 general in the remonstrances and complaints which their obstinacy 
 suggested ; and if the correspondence answered no other purpose, it 
 at least served as a good safety-valve for the indignation of 
 Wellington's honest heart. Dumourier, who had distinguished 
 himself in the early campaigns of the French republic, was honoured 
 with the confidence and communications of Lord Wellington, and to 
 that good soldier the complaints of the British general were unre- 
 servedly expressed. In a letter dispatched from Quinta de St. Joao. 
 be writes — 
 
 " Quoique les allies soient chez eux, et que tout le monde (en 
 Portugal sans exception quelconque, et presque sans exception en 
 Espagne) soit ennemi des Franqais, les allies ont rarement eu plus 
 que la moitie de la force de I'ennemi, et jamais, meme a. present, 
 plus que les deux tiers. A ce desavantage il faut ajouter que nous 
 sommes allies ; que nous n'avons pas de tete, qu'il n'y a ni generaux, 
 ni officiers d'etat major, ni troupes disciplinees, et point de cavalerie, 
 parmi les Espagnols ; que ces deux gouvernemens ont commence la 
 guerre sans magasins ou ressource militaire d'aucune espece, et sans 
 argent ou ressource de finance ; et que ceux qui ont ete a la tete des 
 affaires sont des individusaussi faibles que les ressources a leur dis- 
 position sont pauvres ; et vous serez etonue que nous puissions con- 
 tinuer la lutte. meme avec esperance de succes definitif." 
 
 But a little farther on after this painful detail of disheartening 
 obstacles to success, the unconquerable spirit of the man discloses 
 itself The fine hopefulness of his nature revives as he contemplates 
 the " disgusting tyranny " of Napoleon, and remembers what Europe 
 owes to herself : — 
 
 "II faut de la patience — de la grande patience ; mais j'attends tout 
 du temps, que donncra I'expericnce, des generaux et des armees, a 
 mes amis les Espagnols : et il n'est pas possible que I'Europe puisse 
 se soumettre bien plus long temps A la tyrannie degoutanto dont elle 
 est opprimee." 
 
 Amongst the subjects connected with the discipline of the army 
 which at this, and indeed at too many other times, engaged the serious
 
 1811.] DRUNKEN HABITS OF SOLDIERS. 121 
 
 attention of Lord Wellington, was the " accursed thirst" of the British 
 soldier. Every opportunity was taken by the men of procuring wine 
 and spirits. They often robbed the peasantry and innkeepers ; and 
 knowing that considerable quantities were concealed in convents, 
 cottages, and even in caves, they would wander far from cantonments 
 and run the risk of being taken prisoners in their avid search for the 
 coveted beverages. Repeated orders failed to check the marauding 
 spirit, and punishment was at length resorted to.' 
 
 • It requires a very Argus to prevent English soldiers from being incapacitated from their duty 
 by intemperance, which is the very bane of the British service. It will scarcely be believed that, 
 80 systematic and deliberate were the men in procuring spirits or wine during the Peninsular war, 
 that a soldier kept an itinerary of the different shops where these were sold, between Lisbon and 
 the army, for the benefit of one of his comrades who was to come after him. This curious docu- 
 ment came by some accident into the hands of the military authorities at Lisbon, and was 
 considered so unique, as to be forwarded for Lord Wellington's inspection. Its details were 
 similar to those of our road-books. 
 
 "Two leagues from Lisbon, on R. at the Casa de Pasto . good vino. 
 
 Half a league beyond, on the L strong akedent (aqua ardiente.) 
 
 At Rio Mayor, at the end of the town, on the L. a small 
 
 house. right strong vino. 
 
 At Lerida, a shop going up to the Bishop's palace, on 
 
 the R. good akedent 
 
 Two leagues beyond Pombal, on L horrid rot-gut stuff 
 
 Half-a-league further, white house (without a bush) . right good stuff. 
 
 On entering Coimbra [which, by-the-by, our soldiers 
 
 pronounced Quimborough], on the R. . . . good cheap vino." 
 
 And this precious morceau, so justly to be denominated a toper-graphical account of the route, 
 was thus continued to head-quarters.
 
 122 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1811. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Position at Guinaldo— Affair of El Bodon— Siege of Ciudad Rodr^go— Surprise of the French at 
 Arroyo del Molinos— Character of Sir R. Hill— Advice to Lord W. Bentinck— Winter C!09- 
 tumes— Defence of Tarifa. 
 
 ■^/ip^ssr^i >^ 
 
 OULT and Marmont after pouring 
 supplies into Badajoz, and adding 
 men and materiel to prepare it 
 for future attacks, separated, the 
 Duke of Dalmatia falling back 
 upon Seville, and the Duke of 
 Ragusa taking a northerly course. 
 Lord Wellington now deemed 
 it advisable to take up a new 
 position. Getting rid of the 
 Spanish general, Blake, whom he 
 advised to proceed to the south 
 and endeavour to obtain possession of Seville (for his presence 
 was only u clog and an embarrassment to the British general) 
 he changed his head quarters to Fuente Guinaldo, a height which 
 commanded an extensive view of the country in front, across which 
 it might be expected the French would come. Leaving General 
 Hill on the Alemtejo to observe General Girard, Lord Wellington 
 occupied the line of the river Coa with the allied troops, because it 
 enabled him at any time to blockade Ciudad Rodrigo, on the possession 
 of which fortress his expectations now rested. To attack Ciudad 
 Rodrigo at that moment would have been madness. Things had gone 
 wrong in the eastern part of Spain, where Marshal Suchet had 
 successfully attacked and captured Tarragona. And they had not 
 prospered in the south, for the Duke of Dalmatia was too much for 
 Blake, who was driven to Cadiz ; while in the north. Count Dorsenno
 
 1811.] CIUDAD RODRIGO BLOCKADED. 123 
 
 had operated so successfully against the Spanish forces, that Abadea 
 who commanded them, had been obliged to fly to the passes of Villa 
 Franca. Lord Wellington, therefore, held to the Fabian policy of 
 delay, strictly blockading the fortress he could not take. 
 
 Meanwhile, the French generals continued to receive strong rein- 
 forcements, and before Wellington had been a month at Guinaldo 
 not fewer than 50,000 fresh troops had assembled in Spain. Of this 
 number, 8,000 were cavalry, an important arm of the French service 
 in which they were always strong, and the British porportionately 
 weak. These were considerable odds against Lord Wellington, but 
 his position was so good that the French were placed on the horns 
 of a dilemma ; their power was for the moment neutralised. '■ If," 
 said his lordship, writing to Lord Liverpool, " we cannot maintain 
 this blockade [of Ciudad Rodrigo], the enemy must bring 50,000 
 men to oblige us to raise it, and they can undertake nothing else this 
 year, for they must still continue to watch this place, and we shall so 
 far save the cause. In the mean time if they offer me a favorable 
 opportunity of bringing any of them to action I shall do it." 
 
 The tenure of Ciudad Rodrigo was of vital consequence to the 
 French cause. The provisions of the garrison were rapidly wasting ; 
 Burrender was inevitable if supplies were not immediately thrown in. 
 A desperate effort to effect this object was accordingly resolved upon, 
 through the junction of the forces of Marmont, Souham, and Dorsenne, 
 and in furtherance of the object large convoys were collected at Pla- 
 centia and Salamanca. 
 
 To convey a clear idea of the operations which followed, we must go 
 more into detail than usual. 
 
 About fifty miles to the north of Ciudad Rodrigo is the river 
 Douro. flowing east and west, that is to say, across the country. 
 From the south bank of this river issues the river Agueda, which 
 runs southerly towards Ciudad Rodrigo. About twenty miles from 
 its mouth in the Douro, *he main stream of the Agueda divides itself 
 into two branches, an easterly one towards Portugal, and a westerly 
 one in Spain. The eastern branch is the river Azava ; the westerly 
 branch is the continuation of the Agueda. The plain, therefore, in 
 which Ciudad Rodrigo is situated, is intersected by these two rivers. 
 The Agueda runs down to the town, which is situated upon it, and 
 the Azava flows parallel to it, and about eight miles distant, on the 
 Portuguese frontier. Lord Wellington took up his position in part 
 between these two rivers, and partly on a ridge of hills on the 
 Portuguese side of the Azava, and about seven miles from Ciudad 
 Rodrigo, so as to have the latter river in his front; and in this
 
 124 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 position he awaited the attack of the enemy. On the 24th of 
 September they encamped for the evening on the heights above 
 Ciudad Rodrigo. On the 25th the enemy moved forwards. General 
 Montbrun, at the head of fourteen squadrons, amongst which were 
 the Lanciers de Berg, moved briskly to the Azava, and having passed 
 that river, began the battle, by attacking our army posted on the 
 ridge. General Montbrun's division of cavalry consisted of two 
 parts ; the one under himself, and the other under General Wattier. 
 General Wattier took the charge of the attack of the ridge, whilst 
 Montbrun, going off to the left, took the road to Fuente Guinaldo^ 
 where was the English right. It was seen, at the same time, that 
 the greatest part of the enemy's infantry were taking the same 
 direction. Lord Wellington, therefore, having thus discovered the 
 object of their principal attack, immediately hastened reinforcements 
 to his divisions in that quarter, and himself rode from one position to 
 the other, to encourage them to do their duty, to receive the enemy 
 in squares, and to fall back when necessary without disorder. In the 
 mean time General Wattier had commenced the feint attack on the 
 English left. Immediately, however, upon his crossing the Azava, 
 he was charged by two squadrons of the 16th and 14th Light 
 Dragoons, and, for the moment, was compelled to give way. General 
 Wattier now put himself at the head of his men, and rallied them 
 with much spirit. They made a second charge upon the English 
 cavalry, but, as they were advancing, were unexpectedly saluted by a 
 brisk discharge of musketry from a wood on their left flank. Thip 
 well-timed fire was from the 61st regiment, which, with the most 
 laudable promptitude, had been secretly sent, and posted there, 
 during the first attack. The effect was to the full what had been 
 anticipated. The impetuosity of the enemy's charge, and the con- 
 nection of their ranks, were broken ; and Major-Gcneral Anson 
 falling upon them at the same time, converted their confusion into 
 a rout. They hastily recrossed the Azava, a^jd were pursued for some 
 distance by the English. Whilst this was going on, upon the English 
 left, Montbrun, with the greater part of the French cavalry, and with 
 the French infantry following up immediately behind him, advanced to 
 attack the extreme part of the English right. The position of this 
 right was on a ridge of heights, in front of Fuente Guinaldo, and 
 crossing the road to that town. As Lord Wellington could not 
 foresee the point of their attack, before they put themselves in 
 march, this was the weakest part of the English line. The object of 
 Montbrun was to force the line, and thus, by turning it, and 
 getting into its rear, to shut in the English position between himself
 
 1811.] Ajfi'Arn, K.H! Jiii uoucra, 125 
 
 and the Azava. Montbrun succeeded so far as to reach the positioi: 
 before the reinforcements sent up by Lord Wellington. The small 
 body of English troops, however, sustained the onset with most 
 distinguished bravery. One regiment of French Dragoons succeeded 
 in taking two pieces of cannon, which had been posted on a rising 
 ground, on the right of the English ; but they were charged by the second 
 battalion of the 5th Regiment, under the command of Major Ridge 
 and the guns were immediately retaken. The 77th Regiment, and three 
 squadrons of Major-General Alton's brigade, also distinguished 
 themselves eminently. The enemy attacked the position in three 
 columns; the 5th Regiment, as observed, repulsed their left 
 column ; the 77th their centre column, and the three squadrons of 
 Major-General Alten their right column. In the mean time, the 
 great body of the enemy's infantry came up, and Lord Wellington, 
 seeing their superiority, and that the continuance of the contest in 
 that quarter would lead to a general action, ordered their retreat on 
 Fuente Guinaldo. This was accordingly done in the best possible 
 order. The troops were formed into several squares, and marched 
 in this shape. The French cavalry in vain rushed upon them. The 
 squares halted, and repelled them with the most distinguished 
 steadiness. One of the squares in particular, composed of the 5th 
 and 77th Regiments, was charged on three sides at once ; it halted 
 on the instant, and assuming a determined attitude, received the 
 enemy with the most heroic firmness. Not a man moved from the 
 ranks, except when his corpse filled up the space previously occupied 
 by his living body. Effecting their retreat, the whole of the English 
 line entered its temporary entrenchments at Fuente Guinaldo in the 
 course of the same evening, and of the following morning. The 
 French followed this movement so far as to present themselves in 
 front of Fuente Guinaldo on the morning of the 24th ; Lord 
 Wellington declined a battle ; for the several reasons already men- 
 tioned, shortly withdrew again behind the Agueda ; and, a few days 
 afterwards, both Marmont and Lord Wellington resumed not only 
 their former positions, but almost their former relations and views. 
 Marmont posted himself at Placentia, and Lord Wellington took up 
 the same line around Ciudad Rodrigo as before. 
 
 It was generally the practice of Lord Wellington, after an engage- 
 ment, to publish a general order, announcing, in the briefest terms, 
 his approbation of the conduct of the troops, and his admiration of 
 the manner in which they did " their duty." The details of the 
 affairs he reserved for his despatches. The army sometimes complained 
 of the exceeding brevity of his encomiums, and attributed to a coldness
 
 126 LIFE bV THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 and indifference what was simply the result of an anxiety not to 
 diminish the value of praise by too much prodigality of expression 
 on ordinary occasions. In reference to the operation above detailed, 
 Lord Wellington departed from his ordinary conciseness, and pub- 
 lished the following gratifying order. 
 
 "RicHoso, Sind Oct., 1811. 
 
 " The Commander of the Forces is desirous of drawing the attention 
 of the army to the conduct of the 2nd Battalion, 5th and 77th 
 Regiments, and the 21st Portuguese regiment, and Major Arents- 
 childt's Portuguese artillery, under the command of the Hon. Major 
 General Colville, and of the II th Light Dragoons, and 1st Hussars, 
 under Major-General V. Alton, in the affair with the enemy on the 
 16th ult. These troops were attacked by between thirty and 
 forty sr^uadrons of cavalry, with six pieces of cannon, supported 
 by a division consisting of fourteen battalions of infantry with 
 cannon. 
 
 " The Portuguese artillerymen were cut down at their guns before 
 they quitted them, but the 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment, attacked 
 the cavalry which had taken the guns, and retook them. At the 
 same time the 77th Regiment were attacked in front by another body 
 of cavalry, upon which body they advanced, and repulsed them. 
 
 " While these actions were performed, Major-General V. Alton's 
 brigade, of which there were only three squadrons on the ground, 
 were engaged on the left, with numbers infinitely superior to them- 
 selves. These squadrons charged repeatedly, supporting each other, 
 and took about twenty prisoners ; and notwithstanding the immense 
 superiority of the enemy, the post would have been maintained, if 
 the Commander of the Forces had not ordered the troops to withdraw 
 from it, seeing that the action would become still more unequal, as 
 the enemy's infantry were likely to be engaged in it, before the rein- 
 forcement ordered to the support of the post could arrive. 
 
 " The troops then retired with the same determined spirit, and in 
 the same good order, with which they had maintained their posts, 
 the 2nd battalion, 5th Regiment, and 77th in one square, and the 
 21st Portuguese regiment in another, supported by Major-General 
 V. Alton's cavalry, and the Portuguese artillery. The enemy's 
 cavalry charged three faces of the square of the British infantry, but 
 were beaten off ; and finding from their repeated fruitless efforts, 
 that these brave troops were not to be broken, they were con- 
 tented with following them at a distance, and with firing upon them 
 with their artillery, till the troops joined the remainder of the 3rd
 
 1811.] ORDER ON EL BODON. 127 
 
 division, and were afterwards supported by a brigade of the 4tb 
 division. Although the 21st Portuguese regiment were not actually 
 charged by the cavalry, their steadiness and determination were con- 
 spicuous ; and the Commander of the Forces observed with pleasure 
 the order and regularity with which they made all their movements, 
 and the confidence they showed in their officers, 
 
 " The Commander of the Forces has been particular in stating the 
 details of this action, in the general orders, as in his opinion it 
 affords a memorable example of what can be effected by steadiness, 
 discipline, and confidence. It is impossible that any troops can, at 
 any time, be exposed to the attack of numbers relatively greater than 
 those which attacked the troops under Major-General Colville, and 
 Major-General V. Alten, on the 25th of Sept. ; and the Commander 
 of the Forces recommends the conduct of those troops to the par- 
 ticular attention of the officers and soldiers of the army, as an exam- 
 ple to be followed in all such circumstances. 
 
 " The Commander of the Forces considers Major-General V. Alten, 
 and Major-General Colville, and the commanding officers of the 
 regiments under their command respectively, viz., Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Cummings, Lieutenant-Colonel Arentschildt, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Broomhead, Major Ridge, and Colonel Bacellar of the 21st Portu- 
 guese regiment, and the officers and soldiers under their command, 
 to be entitled to his particular thanks ; and he assures them that he 
 has not failed to report his sense of their conduct, in the action of 
 the 25th of Sept., to those by whom he trusts that it will be duly 
 appreciated and recollected." 
 
 Following the incidents of Lord Wellington's career in their 
 chronological order, we may here mention that on the 26th of October, 
 1811, one month following the events at El Bodon, and Aldea de 
 Ponte, he received a license, in the name of King George III., from 
 the Prince Regent, to accept the title of Conde de Vimiero, and the 
 insignia of Knight Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword from the 
 Prince Regent of Portugal. 
 
 We must now advert to the proceedings of Lieutenant-General 
 Rowland Hill, who was commanding a corps of observation at Porta- 
 legre, watching the movements of General Gerard. 
 
 Gerard had crossed the Guadiana, pressing upon the Spanish 
 General Morillo, who had advanced towards Caceres, in Spanish 
 Estremadura, for the double purpose of procuring supplies and 
 recruits. Hill was now instructed by Lord Wellington to move 
 against Gerard and drive him behind the Guadiana. 
 
 Quitting his cantonments at Portalegre on the 22nd of October,
 
 128 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811 
 
 Hill accordingly advanced towards the frontier. For five days hia 
 march lay through a difficult country, rendered more impracticable 
 by continued heavy falls of rain. On the morning of the 27th, the 
 troops reached Alcuesca, three miles from Arroyo del Molinos, where 
 the French were posted. 
 
 Arroyo del Molinos is a little town situated at the foot of ono 
 extremity of the Sierra de Montanches ; this mountain, which is 
 everywhere steep, and appears almost inaccessible, forms a cone or 
 crescent behind it, the two points of which are about two miles 
 asunder. The Truxillo road winds under the eastern point. The 
 road to Merida runs at right angles with that to Alcuesca, and that 
 to Medellin between the Truxillo and Merida roads. The ground 
 between Alcuesca and Arroyo del Molinos is a plain, thinly scattered 
 with cork trees and evergreen oaks. 
 
 Fully resolved to attack the enemy on the following morning, all 
 the troops, save the 71st, were placed in bivouac in rear of the 
 village, and completely out of the enemy's view. No fires were per- 
 mitted, and the 71st Hegiment, which occupied the town of Alcuesca, 
 placed piquets all around the village, to intercept any spy or dis- 
 afiectcd person that might attempt to carry to Gerard any intelli- 
 gence of Hill's movements. About six in the evening the rain 
 again descended in perfect torrents, and continued with unabated 
 violence throughout the whole of the ensuing night. On being 
 desired to make themselves as comfortable as they could, without 
 tne aid of fires, the troops without a murmur consigned themselves to 
 rest, and bore their allotted portion of misery like men and soldiers. 
 At two o'clock in the morning of the 28th, the sergeants went round 
 their respective companies and in a whisper bade their men prepare 
 for action ; the utmost silence being absolutely necessary to ensure 
 the success which the general anticipated. A few minutes were 
 sufficient to put the column in motion, and a few more to show it the 
 enemy's fires, at the appearance of which our poor fellows were quite 
 overjoyed, being to them a sure indication that the birds had not 
 flown. Although the distance between the belligerents was little more 
 than three miles, yet from the broken state of the road, the darkness 
 of the morning, and the inclemency of the weather, the British were 
 fully four hours in traversing that space. The whole moved in one 
 column, right in front, until they arrived within half a mile of Arroyc 
 del Molinos, when the various battalions closed up, and under cover 
 of a little eminence, were formed into three columns of attack ; the 
 left consisting of three infantry regiments, and three field-pieces, com- 
 manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart; the right of three English
 
 1811.] SURPRISE AT ARROYO DEL MOLINOS. 129 
 
 and two Portuguese regiments, two field-pieces, and a howitzer, led by 
 Major-General Howard ; and the centre of two regiments of English 
 dragoons, one of German hussars, and another of Spanish cavalry, all 
 commanded by Sir William Erskine. The left column moved upon 
 the village, the right column crossed the plains to the right of the 
 town in order to cut off the enemy's retreat by any of the roads lead- 
 ing from Arroyo del Molinos to Truxillo, Medellin, or Merida ; the 
 centre moved between the other two, and was kept in readiness to act 
 wherever its services might be required. 
 
 The 71st and 92nd Regiments, belonging to the left column, 
 entered the village at a quick pace, and, at the point of the bayonet, 
 soon cleared it of the enemy, who were quite unprepared for such an 
 unceremonious visit. One brigade of the French infantry had 
 moved from Arroyos to Medellin before the arrival of General Hill's 
 force, and the others were filing out of the village for a similar 
 purpose, when the British huzza fell on their ears, and arrested their 
 progress. Finding it totally impossible to escape without giving 
 battle, Gerard faced to the right-about, and made the best disposition 
 in his power for a determined resistance. The infantry he formed 
 into two squares on the roads leading to Merida and Medellin. The 
 71st, immediately on reaching the eastern extremity of the principal 
 street, moved to their left, lined some of the village garden walls, and 
 saluted them with volleys of musketry. The 92nd Highlanders, 
 following closely upon the heels of their companions, filed to the 
 right, formed line, and prepared to charge, but were not permitted to 
 fire a single shot, although the enemy vigorously assailed them. This 
 was extremely galling to the soldiers, who saw their officers and 
 comrades falling wounded around them; but, knowing that the 
 success of an enterprise frequently depends on the manner in which 
 orders of this description are attended to, the Highlanders, with 
 praiseworthy forbearance, resisted every temptation to commit a 
 breach of their orders, and, with a patience not very peculiar to their 
 countrymen, waited the arrival of the decisive moment. The three 
 field-pieces attached to the left column were now brought forward, 
 and fired with terrible effect on the enemy's masses, carrying death 
 into their thickest ranks. At this moment the 92nd were ordered to 
 charge. The bayonets were levelled — the rush had received its 
 momentum, when the French suddenly wheeled to the right about, 
 and retreated to a steep hill in their rear. Pending these operations 
 against the enemy's right, General Howard manoeuvred round their 
 left, and after cutting off their retreat upon Merida and Medellin, 
 endeavoured to interpose his whole force between the enemy and the 
 
 VOL. I. 9
 
 130 LITE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [ISll. 
 
 mountains in their rear. Nor were the cavalry idle. On perceiving 
 it to be General Gerard's intention to gain the rock with his mixed 
 force, Sir "W. Erskine advanced, cut oflF the French cavalry from their 
 infantry, charged them repeatedly, routed them, and captured all 
 their artillery. These movements drove Gerard to the alternative of 
 unconditional surrender, or a hazardous flight across the mountains. 
 He adopted the latter ; retiring upon the most inaccessible point of 
 the hill, and then facing about to fire upon the British columns from 
 behind the rocks with which it was covered. Howard ascended the 
 hill with the 28th and 34th, sending the 39th and Colonel Ashworth's 
 Portuguese round the eastern corner, to charge the fugitives in flank. 
 These movements satisfied Gerard of the impossibility of continuing 
 the conflict except at an awful sacrifice of human life. A rapid re- 
 treat was attempted — arms and ammunition were cast away — and fol- 
 lowed by the left column, under Stewart, the French, disordered, pre- 
 cipitately fled. But the greater number, seeing that escape was 
 impossible, halted, and hoisted a white flag on the point of a sword, in 
 token of submission. The remainder continued their retrograde 
 movement across the mountains ; and the British troops being much 
 in want of repose. General Hill gave over the pursuit of the fugitives 
 to General Morillo, who followed them twenty miles, killing many, 
 and making a number of prisoners. 
 
 The loss of the British in this well-conducted afi"air was trifling, 
 compared with that of the enemy. The latter lost several ofi&cers of 
 high rank, and from thirteen to fourteen hundred non-commissioned 
 officers and privates. 
 
 Lord Wellington was particularly well pleased with the conduct 
 of General Hill, in carrying into execution the operations entrusted 
 to his charge, — so much so, indeed, that he stated to Lord Liverpool 
 that it would be " particularly agreeable " to him if some mark of the 
 favour of H. R. H. the Prince Regent were conferred upon him. 
 His services had always been meritorious and very distinguished, and, 
 added Lord Wellington emphatically, he " is beloved by the whole 
 army." 
 
 And so he was. And the foundation of the aff"ection borne him 
 was his great personal worth and his heroic spirit. His popularity 
 increased and strengthened the moment he was beheld. It is written 
 of Hill that he was the " very picture of a country gentlemen " (the 
 portraits extant prove this). •' To those soldiers who came from the 
 rural districts of Old England he represented home ; his fresh com- 
 plexion, placid face, kind eyes, kind voice, the total absence of all 
 parade or noise in his habits, delighted them. The displeasure of
 
 1811.] 
 
 SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 131 
 
 General Hill was worse to them than the loudest anger of other 
 generals ; and when they saw anxiety in his face that all should be 
 right, they doubly wished it themselves ; and when they saw his 
 countenance bright, with the expression that all was right, why, they 
 were glad for him as well as for themselves." 
 
 GENERAL HILL. 
 
 Hill had sought no royal road to preferment. He had gone 
 through all the regimental grades in the field. He distinguished him- 
 self when a captain at the siege of Toulon, and nearly lost his life. 
 In Egypt, with Abercrombie, he was wounded. He exerted himself 
 greatly with Moore on the retreat to Coruna, and went to the 
 Peninsula with Wellington in 1809. It is hardly necessary to add, 
 that the recommendations that Hill should receive some mark of 
 royal favour received all proper attention. 
 
 In winter quarters at Freneda, Lord Wellington continued to advise
 
 132 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTOK [1811, 
 
 all the authorities in different parts of Spain, Portugal, and elsewhere, 
 upon the subject of the establishment of a strong government, and 
 the creation of an efficient army. He was strongly impressed with a 
 horror of Bonaparte's tyranny, which he never hesitated to denounce 
 as fraudulent and disgusting. To Lord William Bentinck, who had 
 been entrusted with the command of an army in Sicily, where he also 
 held the post of British Minister, he addressed himself energetically. 
 A number of passages occur in his communications, illustrative of the 
 deep interest he took in the questions which then agitated ten million 
 hearts, and of the rare wisdom with which he was endowed. He laid it 
 down as an axiom that those who had drawn the sword for the purpose 
 of destroying Napoleon's projects, ought not to return it to the scab- 
 bard until they had completely accomplished their object. " They must 
 be prepared and must be forced to make all sacrifices to the cause. 
 Submission to military discipline and order is a matter of course ; but 
 when a nation determines to resist the authority, and to shake off the 
 government of Bonaparte, they must be prepared and forced to sacri- 
 fice the luxuries and comforts of life, and to risk all in a contest which, 
 it should be clearly understood before it is undertaken, has for its 
 object, to save all or nothing." The words of wisdom which follow 
 should be engraven on the minds of all rulers : — 
 
 '• The first measure of a country to adopt, is to form an army, and 
 to raise a revenue from the people to defray the expense of the army. 
 Above all, to form a government of such strength, as that army and 
 people can be forced by it to perform their duty. This is the rock 
 upon which Spain has split ; and all our measures in any other 
 country which should afford hopes of resistance to Bonaparte should 
 be directed to avoid it. The enthusiasm of the people is very fine, 
 and looks well in print ; but I have never known it produce any- 
 thing but confusion. In France, what was called enthusiasm was 
 power and tyranny acting through the medium of popular societies, 
 which have ended by overturning Europe, and in establishing the 
 most powerful and dreadful tyranny that ever existed. In Spain, the 
 enthusiasm of the people spent itself in vivas and vain boasting. The 
 notion of its existence prevented even the attempt to discipline the 
 armies ; and its existence has been alleged, ever since, as the excuse 
 for the rank ignorance of the officers, and the indiscipline and 
 constant misbehaviour of the troops. 
 
 " I, therefore, earnestly recommend you, wherever you go, to trust 
 nothing to the enthusiasm of the people. Give them a strong and a 
 just, and, if possible, a good government ; but, above all, a strong one, 
 which shall enforce upon them to do their duty by themselves and
 
 /811.] WINTER QUARTERS IN SPAIN. 133 
 
 their country ; and let measures of finance to support an army o'o 
 hand-in-hand with measures to raise it. I am quite certain that the 
 finances of Great Britain are more than a match for Buonaparte, and 
 that we shall have the means of aiding any country that may be dis- 
 posed to resist his tyranny. But those means are necessarily limited 
 in every country by the difficulty of procuring specie. This necessary 
 article can be obtained in sufficient quantities only by the contribu- 
 tions of the people ; and although Great Britain can and ought to as- 
 sist with money, as well in other modes, every effort of this descrip- 
 tion, the principal financial as well as military effort, ought to be by 
 the people of the resisting country." 
 
 The winter of 1811 was very severe, and professional inaction 
 rendered it sometimes a difficult matter for the officers to kill time 
 and to keep the men out of mischief Neither books nor female 
 society contributed to while away dull hours. This, however, only 
 served to stimulate all parties to greater efforts in chasing away 
 ennui. Lord Wellington had a good pack of hounds, and many a 
 morning was passed at cover side and in the chase. The men of the 
 Light Division turned a barn into a theatre, while racing, shooting, 
 fishing, coursing, cricket, smoking, and whist (the latter, by-the-by, 
 a favourite game at head-quarters), aided in expelling dull care. 
 Some time was also profitably taken up in rendering quarters 
 habitable. The greater part of the troops were located in and about 
 miserable villages, consisting of small houses of the most wretched 
 quality. A journal kept by an officer of the Fourth Division about 
 this time conveys a very good idea of the shifts to which he and his 
 companions were put to render their domiciles agreeable. He saya, 
 speaking of the inhabitants of several places, " they seldom had 
 chimneys but in their kitchens, and our officers, with or without their 
 leave, considerably, at least to their own ideas, improved them by adding 
 this sine qua non to an Englishman's comfort. The windows few of 
 which had anything to exclude the weather but shutters, put on quite 
 a new appearance, their closings being perforated, and the sashes 
 filled with oiled paper instead of glass. Useful articles of furniture 
 were often required, particularly in villages from whence the enemy 
 had expelled the population, and the handicraft men in the regiment 
 were in requisition. The number of all kinds of workmen ' who 
 turned out,' to use a military term, on these occasions, was truly 
 wonderful, and not only carpenters, masons, smiths, &c., but individ- 
 uals of ' callings' little to be expected in military life. When it 
 was wished to make some portable telegraphs a doubt was expressed 
 if men could be found to arrange the pulleys and cords. However,
 
 134 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811 
 
 the attempt was made by ' calling these spirits,' and to the astonish- 
 ment of all, they not only came, but in such numbers that one regi- 
 ment, I think in the Fourth Division, produced fifteen sail-makers 
 and eighteen riggers. The astonishment of the patro?is, on returning 
 to their houses, if we had occupied them between the retreat of tho 
 enemy and their arrival, was considerable ; they hardly knew their 
 improved tenements from these little additions to the comforts of 
 their guest of another climate." 
 
 Before proceeding to notice the next great operation conducted by 
 Lord Wellington in person, we must glance at the proceedings of the 
 armies in the South and East during the winter of 1811. In the 
 East, Generals Blake and Maby moved out from Valencia on the 
 24th October, and attacked Suchet, who had invested Saguntum, but 
 had hitherto failed to take the place although several attempts 
 were made to carry the breach by storm. Suchet defeated Blake and 
 his colleague on the 25th October, taking from them many prisoners 
 and eight pieces of cannon. The French then summoned the garri- 
 son of Saguntum to surrender, which they did upon capitulation. 
 Suchet subsequently advanced upon Valencia, receiving a good deal 
 of stout opposition. In the mean time the Guerillas were active and 
 interfering in Arragon and Navarre. Mina defeated a detachment of 
 1100 men sent against him, only three of whom escaped. In con- 
 junction with the Empecinado and Duran he took the garrison of 
 Daroci, consisting of 2400 men. 
 
 General Ballasteros, who commanded a large Spanish force, waa, 
 in the autumn of 1811, very successful by his light operations against 
 the rear of the French army blockading Cadiz. In order to aid 
 Ballasteros, and to give additional security to Tarifa,' Colonel 
 Skerritt, with about 1200 men, including the 47th and 87th Regi- 
 ments, was detached thither from Cadiz on the 10th October. Not 
 many weeks afterwards the place was invested by the French under 
 Victor's command, and a breach, 25 yards in breadth, was eflfected 
 in the walls of the ancient town. The French commander, Laval, 
 summoned the governor to surrender ; but Coupon replied that he 
 would be found upon the breach. On the 29th December the enemy 
 opened upon the town; and on the 31st the attack was made by a 
 stream of French Grenadiers, who, in the assurance of victory, 
 arrived without shouting within a few yards of the walls. Here 
 
 1 Founded, in all probability, by the Moorish General, EI Tarik. It stands west of Gibraltar, 
 on a bold headland. The place was very weak, and uj)on the eastern side, where the French at- 
 tacked it, only two 24-poimder8 and two mortars, with two or tliree flcld-pieces, could be em- 
 ployed in the defence.
 
 1811.] ATTACK AT TARIFA. 135 
 
 they were received with a crushing volley from the British infantry 
 regiments. The houses and streets behind the breach had been 
 strongly fortified with palisades, gabions, sand-bags — everything, in 
 short, of which an ingenious garrison could avail itself Although 
 numbers fell at the first volley of the defenders the French penetrated 
 the works and spread themselves along the slopes of ground (for the 
 town is built upon a slope rising from the sea), under the ramparts, 
 to the right and left, and opened a quick irregular fire. Additional 
 attacking parties at the same time issued from the trenches ; but the 
 47th and 87th, with the Spanish infantry, kept up a tremendous fire, 
 and committed such terrific havoc among the assailants that not less 
 than 500 bodies were strewed along the slopes and ramparts. Never 
 was resistance more determined. Laval, seeing the impossibility of 
 capturing the place, ordered a retreat to be sounded, and as the 
 remnant of the storming party retired into a hollow near Tarifa, a 
 shout of victory, mingled with the sound of musical instruments, 
 passed round the wall of the town. Gough, who commanded the 
 87th, was not, however, merely satisfied with resistance. When the 
 enemy, scared, ran from the walls, he drew his sword, made the band 
 strike up " Garry Owen," and followed the fugitives for two or three 
 hundred yards.' 
 
 The comment of Lord Wellington upon this gallant exploit was 
 characteristic. He wrote to General Cooke, who commanded at 
 Cadiz, — 
 
 " We have a right to expect that his Majesty's officers and troops 
 will perform their duty upon every occasion, but we had no right to 
 expect that comparatively a small number would be able to hold the 
 town of Tarifa, commanded as it is at short distances, enfiladed on 
 every direction, unprovided with artillery, and the walls scarcely 
 cannon-proof. The enemy, however, retired with disgrace, infinitely 
 to the honour of the brave troops who defended Tarifa." 
 
 It is evident that Lord Wellington considered so small a body of 
 troops should not have been exposed to the risk attending the defence 
 of such a place. 
 
 Lord Wellington was in the habit of drawing up a " Memorandum 
 of his Operations" in the shape of a brief history at intervals of a 
 few months. The conclusion he came to, and to which any one who 
 
 I The enthusiasm of the Royal Irish Fusileers— the heroes of Barossa— was so great, that some 
 of the men almost ran into the French lines. When Sir H. Gough, overtaliing and bringing one 
 of them back, reproached him for hia impetuosity, the man answered, " Oh, I was only teaching 
 them what it is to attack the JligUrs !" The 87th, after capturing the French eagle at Barossa, 
 always called themselves the Eaglers.
 
 136 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1811. 
 
 patiently reads his clear and comprehensive summaries, closing in 
 December, 1811, must come, was that if the Spaniards had behaved 
 with common prudence, or if their conduct had been even tolerably 
 good, the result of Massena's campaign in Portugal must have been 
 the relief of the south of the Peninsula. Wellington did not think 
 his success had been what it might and ought to have been, but he 
 had the satisfation of feeling that he had lost no ground and with 
 a handful of British troops fit for service had kept the enemy in 
 check in all quarters for nine months, namely, from March until 
 December.
 
 1S1«.1 
 
 CAPTURE OF CIUDAD RODRIGO. 
 
 137 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Capture of Ciudad Rodrigo — Plunder and Conflagration— Death and Burial of General Craufurd— 
 General Mackinnon — The Napiers. 
 
 ARSHAL MARMONT 
 
 having moved towards 
 Toledo, with the view, 
 as was supposed, of aid- 
 ing Suchet, it became 
 necessary to make pre- 
 parations for the siege 
 of Ciudad Rodrigo. 
 There was a double 
 motive for this — the 
 capture of the place would be easy, and a capital base of operations 
 provided for a spring campaign — or Marmont would retrace his 
 steps, and Valencia would be safe. 
 
 Ciudad Rodrigo was not a place of very great strength preparatory 
 to its occupation by the French. They had done everything to ren- 
 der it impregnable, and it now had the advantage of formidable out- 
 works. There was a palisaded redoubt on a hill (San Francisco) in 
 the neighbourhood, and three convents in the suburbs were also 
 fortified and connected with the redoubt. Still, even in its original 
 condition it was capable of a stout resistance. In 1809, Marshal 
 Massena had spent twenty-five days in the summer tiyne in trying to 
 capture Ciudad Rodrigo, though only garrisoned by a few Spaniards. 
 It was of course more likely to offer a stout resistance now, when 
 the garrison was strong, and the operations rendered difiicult by 
 the season. Yet Lord Wellington felt confident of success, and hia 
 anticipations were strengthened by the spirit of his troops. They 
 burned with impatience to wipe away the blot of the former year in 
 the unfortunate siege of San Cristoval at Badajoz, and had become
 
 138 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1819 
 
 SO impressed with notions of their own invincibility, that " it would 
 have been difficult to persuade the men that they could not beat the 
 French under any odds." 
 
 As a preliminary to the investment of the town, it was essential 
 that the redoubt on the hill of San Francisco should be captured. 
 This work was entrusted to Lieutenant-Colonel Colborne of the 52ni 
 His force consisted of 200 men of the 43rd, 52nd, and Rifles. Im 
 mediately after dark they proceeded to the redoubt, and carried it by 
 a coup de main, making prisoners two captains and forty-seven men, 
 capturing three pieces of cannon, and putting the rest of the garrison 
 to the sword. Our loss was six men killed and four officers and 
 fourteen men wounded. 
 
 Ground was now broken within GOO yards of Ciudad Rodrigo, not- 
 withstanding that the enemy still held the fortified convents. That 
 which had been a defence had now become a means of attack. The 
 enemy's work on the hill was turned into a part of the first parallel ' 
 of the besiegers. 
 
 Numerically, the corps of engineers with Lord Wellington's army 
 was very inefficient. To remedy this defect, a proportion of the most 
 intelligent officers and soldiers of the infantry had been selected 
 during the autumn months, and placed under the direction of Colonel 
 Fletcher, the chief engineer. They were soon taught how to make 
 fascines^ and gabions,' and what was of more consequence, how to 
 use them. They likewise learned the manner of working by sap, 
 and by this means, that branch of the army, which was before the 
 weakest, had now become very efficient. Provided with a pickaxe 
 and shovel, and distributed in files, the men went to work, " digging 
 with a vengeance into the frozen mould under a continual fire from 
 the garrison." They toiled with alacrity, but they did not like it. In 
 fact, there is no duty which a British soldier performs before an 
 enemy that he does with so much reluctance — a retreat always ex- 
 cepted — as working in trenches. Although essentially necessary to 
 the accomplishment of the most gallant achievement a soldier can 
 aspire to — " the storming the imminent deadly breach " — it is felt to 
 be an inglorious calling, one full of danger, attended with great labour 
 and annoyance, and for this reason, that the soldiers are not only 
 
 1 Parallels, in the attack of a place, are wide trenches affording the besieging troops a free 
 covered communication between their various batteries and approaches. The first parallel is th«' 
 first work of an attack which is laid down. .Approaches is a general name given to the trenches, 
 &Ct fonned to cover the attack of a fortress. 
 
 s Fascines.— Bundles of twigs, six feet in length, tied together and used, when intermixed witll 
 earth, to construct artificial walls, or batteries. 
 
 3 Gaiionx.— CylindricAl baskets, also used, with earth, to construct batteriea and panpeUt
 
 1812.] DUTY IN THE TRENCHES. 139 
 
 taken out of their natural line of action, but they are partially, if not 
 entirely, at least practically, commanded by officers of engineers, 
 whose habits are totally different from those to which they have been 
 accustomed. No two classes ever differed more completely in their 
 propensities than the British engineer and the British infantry 
 soldier. The latter delights in an open field and a fair " stand-up" 
 fight. If he falls there, he falls in the opinion of his comrades with 
 credit to himself ; but a life lost in the trenches is looked upon as 
 thrown away, and lost ingloriously. The engineer, on the contrary, 
 braves all the dangers of a siege with a cheerful countenance : he 
 even courts them,* and no mole ever took greater delight in burrow- 
 ing through a sand hill, than an engineer does in mining a covert way,* 
 or blowing up a counterscarp.' Not so with the infantry soldier, who 
 is obliged to stand to be shot at, with a pickaxe and shovel in his 
 hand, instead of his firelock and bayonet. 
 
 The duty in the trenches was carried on by the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 
 Light Divisions, each taking its separate turn every twenty-four 
 hours. They had neither coats nor hats of any description, and the 
 ground was covered with snow. Nevertheless, the men used every 
 exertion to forward the work, so fully were all impressed with its 
 necessity. The garrison made many sorties, each of which was 
 gallantly repulsed : in some instances the men pursued the French to 
 
 1 At the attack on San Cristoval (Badajoz) in the previous summer, a striking instance of 
 this occurred. Colonel Fletcher, the chief engineer, went into a battery, to observe some 
 work that had been thrown up by the enemy near the foot of the castle, the preceding night. 
 The battery was more than usually full of workmen, repairing the effects of the morning'* 
 fire, and the efforts of the enemy against this part of the works was excessively animated. A 
 number of men had fallen, and were falling, but Colonel Fletcher, apparently disregarding the 
 circumstance, walked out to the right of the battery, and taking his stand upon the level 
 ground, put his glass to his eye, and commenced his observations with much composure. 
 Shot and shell flew thicldy about him, and one of the former tore up the ground by his side, 
 and covered him with clay ; but, not in the least regarding this, he remained steadily observing 
 the enemy. Wlien at length he had satisfied himself, he quietly put up his glass, and turning to 
 a man who was sitting outside of an embrasure, pegging iu a fascine, said, " My fine fellow, you 
 are too much exposed ; get inside the embrasure, you will do your work nearly as well." " I'm 
 almost finished, Colonel," replied the soldier, " and it isn't worth while to move now ; those 
 fellow's canH hit me, for they have been trying it these fifteen minutes." It was the last word 
 he ever spoke 1 He had scarcely uttered the final syllable, when a round shot cut him in two, 
 and knocked half of his body across the breech of a gun. The name of this soldier waa 
 Edmond Man ; he was an Englishman, although he belonged to the 88th Regiment. When he 
 fell, the French cannoniers, as was usual with them, set up a shout, denoting how well satisfied 
 they were with their practice. 
 
 5 Cuvert way, or Covered way, a protected communication all round the works of a fortrees, or 
 the outer edge of the ditch. 
 
 3 Counttrseary, the outer twundary of the ditch of a fortress.
 
 140 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [181i 
 
 the very glacis,^ and many a fine fellow, carried away by his enthu- 
 siasm, died at the muzzles of their cannon. 
 
 On the l4th of January, 1812, Lord Wellington commenced be- 
 sieging Ciudad Rodrigo from the first parallel, with twenty-three 
 pieces of ordnance, and on the night of the 1 4th he opened an ap- 
 proach 150 yards from the place. By the 18th of the month breaches 
 had been made which were considered practicable. Lord Wellington 
 therefore summoned the garrison to surrender. 
 
 The answer which he received to this brave appeal was worthy of a 
 brave Frenchman : — 
 
 " D Emjjereur mo7i ma it re ni'a confie Ic commandement de Ciudad 
 Rodrigo ; je 7te puis pas le rendre. A%i contraire^ moi et le brave 
 garnisoii queje commande s' enseveliront sous les mines.'''' 
 
 During the Peninsular war the French and Spaniards gloried in 
 imitating the brief expressions of resolute resistance common to the 
 heroes of antiquity. The " conie aiul take theni'^ of the ancients, 
 when summoned to surrender their arms, found imitations in the 
 reply of " war to tlie knife /" when the French called upon the gar- 
 rison of Saragoza to capitulate. Coupon, Phillippon, and others were 
 equally terse in their communications with a besieging enemy. 
 
 The moment the answer was i-eceived from the Governor of 
 Ciudad Rodrigo, Lord Wellington issued orders for the attack. 
 These orders were precise. In their tone the General evinced his 
 perfect confidence in his troops ; but, at the same time, resolved to 
 leave nothing to chance. The General Order began — 
 
 " The attack upon Ciudad Rodrigo must be made this evening at 
 seven o'clock." 
 
 While this indicated the stern resolution of the Commander of the 
 besieging army, what followed demonstrates how carefully he had 
 considered every measure essential to success. The positions and the 
 duties of each regiment were pointed out — the very minute of attack 
 was indicated. The provision of ladders and axes was ordered, and 
 their special use mentioned. The Sappers were directed to take bags 
 of hay to assist the descent of the counterscarp of the ditch ; and it 
 was particularly directed that those who carried the axes, ladders, 
 and bags should be without their arms, and that those who stormed 
 should not fire. 
 
 A description of the manner in which the orders were carried out 
 
 1 Glacis, the parapet of Ihe covered way, extending in a long elope to meet the natural 
 surface of tlio ground. It connects the ditch of a fortress, and protects the masonry •( the 
 e8o«u>
 
 \\'^^ ' '^■'^■^s^^ 
 
 
 wm.
 
 1812.] STORM OF CIUDAD RODRIGO. 141 
 
 will serve to show especially what those instructions were. In fact 
 the details of the attack might have been described in the very words 
 of the order — the past tense being substituted for the present. 
 
 The issue of the order was followed, as usual, by an invitation to 
 the men to volunteer for the duties of the "forlorn hope" — an 
 encouraging term for the parties who are to lead the attack upon the 
 breaches. The 52nd Regiment, which formed part of the Light Divi- 
 sions, destined to attack the lesser breach, volunteered to a man — 
 a display of zeal which would have been rewarded by its acceptance 
 did it not involve injustice to the other regiments, each of which con- 
 tained scores of men who were equally eager to be foremost. When 
 the Captains of companies intimated, as usual, to the men that volun- 
 teers were required, there was no hesitation. The 43rd, the 95th, the 
 88 th, all burned with desire to be the first to confront the enemy on 
 the ramparts. 
 
 The whole of the storming part of the Light Division, placed under 
 the immediate command of Major George Napier, having fallen in at 
 the hour indicated by Lord Wellington (before seven in the evening), 
 Major-General Craufurd addressed them in his usually clear and dis- 
 tinct tones : — 
 
 "Soldiers ! — The eyes of your country are upon you. Be steady — 
 be cool — be firm in the assault. The town must be yours this night. 
 Once masters of the wall, let your first duty be to clear the ramparts, 
 and, in doing this, keep together." 
 
 Major-General McKinnon commanded the third division, on whom 
 devolved the attack upon the great breach. The scene that passed in 
 that division, preparatory to the storm, is described with interesting 
 minuteness by a surviving participator in the drama of the night of 
 the 19th of January, 1812 :— 
 
 " It was now five o'clook in the afternoon, and darkness was ap- 
 proaching fast, yet no order had arrived intimating that we were to 
 take a part in the contest about to be decided : we were in this state 
 of suspense, when our attention was attracted by the sound of music: 
 we all stood up, and pressed forward to a ridge, a little in our front, 
 and which separated us from the cause of our movement, but it would 
 be impossible for me to convey an adequate idea of our feelings when 
 we beheld the 43rd Regiment, preceded by their band ! going to storm 
 the left breach. They were in the highest spirits, but without the 
 slightest appearance of levity in their demeanour; on the contrary, 
 there was a cast of determined severity thrown over their counte- 
 nances, that expressed in legible characters that they knew the sort 
 of service they were about to perform, and had made up their minds to
 
 142 LIFF OF THE DUKE OF WELLINOTOK [1812. 
 
 Oie issue. In passing us, each officer and soldier stepped out of the 
 ranks for an instant, as he recognised a friend, to press his hand ; 
 many for the last time : yet, notwithstanding this animating scene, 
 there was no shouting or huzzaing, no boisterous bravadoing, no 
 unbecoming language. In short, every one seemed to be impressed 
 with the seriousness of the affair entrusted to his charge, and any 
 interchange of words was to this effect : ' Well, lads, mind what you're 
 about to-night;' or, 'We'll meet in the town by and by;' and other 
 little familiar phrases, all expressive of confidence. The regiment 
 at length passed us, and we stood gazing after it as long as the 
 rear platoon continued in sight; the music grew fainter every 
 moment, until at last it died away altogether. They had no drums, 
 and there was a melting sweetness in the sounds that touched the 
 heart. 
 
 " The first syllable uttered after this scene was, ' And are we to be 
 left behind?' The interrogatory was scarcely put when the word, 
 * Stand to your arms V answered it. The order was promptly obeyed, 
 and a breathless silence prevailed, when our commanding officer, in 
 a few words, announced to us that Lord Wellington had directed our 
 division to carry the grand breach. The sd'ldiers listened to the com- 
 munication with silent earnestness, and immediately began to disen- 
 cumber themselves of their knapsacks, which were placed in order 
 by companies, and a guard set over them. Each man then began to 
 arrange himaelf for the combat in such a manner as his fancy or 
 the moment would admit of: some by lowering their cartridge-boxes, 
 others by turning theirs to the front, in order that they might the 
 more conveniently make use of them ; others unclasping their stocks 
 or opening their shirt-collars, and others oiling their bayonets ; then, 
 again, some screwing in flints, to make ' assurance doubly sure ;' and 
 more taking leave of their wives and children ! This last was an 
 affecting sight, but not so much as might be expected, because the 
 women, from long habit, were accustomed to scenes of danger, and 
 the order for their husbands to march against the enemy was in 
 their eyes tantamount to a victory ; and as the soldier seldom re 
 turned without plunder of some sort, the painful suspense which his 
 absence caused was made up by the gaiety of which his return was 
 certain to be productive ; or, if unfortunately he happened to fall, 
 his place was sure to be supplied by some one of the company to 
 which he belonged, so that the women of our army had little cause 
 of alarm on this head. The worst that could happen to them was 
 the chance of being in a state of widowhood /or a week I 
 
 " It was by this time half-past six o'clock j the evening was piercingly
 
 1812.] THE FORLORN HOPK 143 
 
 cold, and the frost was crisp on the grass ; there was a keenness in 
 the air that braced our nerves at least as high as coyicert pitch. We 
 stood quietly to our arms, and told our companies off by files, sec- 
 tions, and sub-divisions ; the sergeants called over the rolls ; not a man 
 was absent. 
 
 "It appears it was the wish of General Mackinnon to confer a 
 mark of distinction upon the 88th regiment, and as it was one of 
 the last acts of his life, I shall mention it. He sent for Major 
 Thomson, who commanded the battalion, and told him it was his wish 
 to have the ' forlorn hope' of the grand breach led on by a subaltern 
 of the 88th Regiment, adding, at the same time, t^t, in the event of 
 his surviving, he should be recommended for a company. The Major 
 acknowledged this mark of the General's favour, and left him folding 
 up some letters that he had been writing to his friends in England. 
 This was about twenty minutes before the attack of the breaches. 
 Major Thomson, having called his officers together, briefly told them 
 the wishes of their General ; he was about to proceed, when Lieu- 
 tenant William Mackie (then senior Lieutenant) immediately stepped 
 forward, and dropping his sword, said, ' Major Thomson, I am ready 
 for that service.' For once in his life, poor old Thomson was affected. 
 Mackie was his own townsman ; they had fought together for many 
 years, and when he took hold of his hand and pronounced the words, 
 ' God bless you, my boy,' his eye filled, his lip quivered, and there was 
 a faltering in his voice which was evidently perceptible to himself, 
 for he instantly resumed his former composure, drew himself up, and 
 gave the word, ' Gentlemen, fall in,' and at this moment Generals 
 Picton and Mackinnon, accompanied by their respective staff, made 
 their appearance amongst us. 
 
 " Long harangues are not necessary to British soldiers, and on this 
 occasion but few words were made use of General Picton said some- 
 thing animating to the different regiments as he passed them, and 
 those of my readers who recollect his deliberate and strong utterance, 
 will say with me that his mode of speaking was indeed very im- 
 pressive. The address to each was nearly the same, but that delivered 
 by him to the 88th was so characteristic of the General, and so ap- 
 plicable to the men he spoke to, that I shall give it, word for word ; it 
 was this — 
 
 " ' Rangers of Connaught ! It is not my intention to expend any 
 powder this evening. We'll do this business with the could iron ." 
 
 " I before said the soldiers were silent — so they were, but the man 
 who could be silent after such an address, made in such a way, and in 
 Buch a place, had better have stayed at home. It may be asked what
 
 144 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1811 
 
 did they do ? Why, what would they do, or would any one do, but 
 give the loudest hurrah he was able?" 
 
 The signal for the assault was the discharge of a rocket. It rose 
 with rapidity from one of the batteries. " Now, lads, for the breach !' 
 cried Craufurd ; and off started the Light Division in double quick 
 time. A tremendous jBre from the ramparts of canister, grape, round 
 shot, shell, musketry, and fire-balls, saluted the advancing column — still 
 " forward !" was the word — Craufurd fell at the very first discharge. 
 Pausing not, for safety only lay in suddenness and expedition, the 
 divisions pressed onward, springing into the ditch, clambering up the 
 escarp, and boldly facing terrific showers of bullets. No impediment 
 was respected for a moment — men and officers dashed forward, con- 
 fronting danger with intrepid indifference, and driving the garrison 
 before them. The great breach is won — the curtain is assaulted — an 
 explosion takes place, and Mackinnon is killed. The lesser breach is 
 in the hands of the Light Division — Napier is cheering on the men — 
 a shot shatters his arm — he falls, but, a hero in his agony, he calls out, 
 " Never mind me — push on my lads — the town is ours !" Abandon- 
 ing the breach, the French spring the mines, fall back, and keep up a 
 tremendous fire from the houses. While this was going on. Brigadier 
 Pack entered, with a feint attack, another part of the town, and had 
 converted it into a real assault ; and the French finding themselves 
 threatened in the rear, gave way — were pursued into the city — flew 
 from street to street — and seeing further resistance hopeless, surren- 
 dered. The regiments of the different divisions, hitherto scattered 
 by the storm, now entered the principal square of the town, and 
 planted the British colours amid loud cheers. 
 
 Their task performed, and in the incredibly short space of thirty-five 
 minutes, the men of the different regiments now rushed about the 
 town in the greatest disorder, firing indiscriminately upon all they 
 met — plundering houses for the wine and spirits in the cellars — 
 drinking to excess, and, in the madness of intoxication, committing 
 the wildest atrocities. Recklessly or carelessly, they set houses on 
 fire by bringing lights into contact with spirits ; they plundered right 
 and left, wantonly discharged their firelocks from the windows, 
 wounding friend and foe alike, and sparing, in their frenzy, neither 
 age nor sex. Flushed with drink, and desperate for mischief, these 
 fellows, so cool in action — so steady before the storm — passed half 
 the night in reeling through the streets. Some fell by the knife of 
 the assassin, several were drowned in butts of spirits, and many were 
 turned upon and shot by the very Frenchmen to whom they had 
 jielded quarter. It was in vain the bugles sounded and the drums
 
 1812.1 THE TOWN AFTER THE SIEGE. 145 
 
 beat tlie assembly ; futile were the eflforts of the officers to recall the 
 men to their duty. It was not until worn out with excitement, or 
 rendered incapable of motion from deep potations, the stormers fell 
 prostrate on the earth, or crept into the dwellings of the Spaniards to 
 eleep away their toil and intoxication. The scene exhibited on the 
 following morning was most dreary ; the fires were going out, and 
 about the streets were lying the corpses of many men who had met 
 their death hours after the town had been taken. 
 
 A very small proportion of the troops who had taken Rodrigo were 
 permitted to remain in the city. The Rifles (95th) were marched 
 back to their former quarters, and as they crossed the bridge, they 
 presented in their motley gear the evidences of the whimsical 
 character of the plunder during the orgies of the previous night. 
 " Some had jack-boots on, others frock-coats and epaulets, and some 
 carried monkeys on their shoulders." As they filed out they met the 
 Fifth Division on their way to repair the breach ; and the division 
 formed on the left of the road, presented arms, and cheered them as 
 they went along.' 
 
 The loss of the allies in the taking Ciudad Rodrigo was considera- 
 ble. Three officers and seventy-seven men had been killed during the 
 siege ; six officers and 140 men were killed, and 508 men wounded in 
 the storm of the town. 
 
 Major-Greneral Craufurd died of his wounds on the fifth day after 
 the capture. He was borne to his grave upon the ramparts by four 
 sergeant-majors of the Light (his own) Division, Lord Wellington 
 attending the funeral of the gallant veteran.' 
 
 1 " 1 was afterwards told that the Duke of Wellington, who saw us on our march, inquired of 
 his stafi; ' W^ho the devil are those fellows ?' " — Adventures of a Soldier. 
 
 J A minute account is given of Craufurd's last hours in a letter from General Sir Charles Stewart 
 to Craufurd's brother, Sir Charles. Its publication is here permitted : — 
 
 "To General Sir C. Craufurd. 
 
 «Mt dear Friend, Galegos, Jan. 26«A, 1812. 
 
 " I have to entreat you to summon to your aid all that resignation to (he will of 
 Heaven and manly fortitude which I know you possess, to bear with composure the sad 
 tidings this letter is doomed to convey. I think you must have discovered that, from the 
 first moment, I did not encourage sanguine hopes of your beloved brother, whose loss we have 
 alas ! now to deplore. But, my dear friend, as we all must pass through this transitory 
 existence sooner or later, to be translated to a better, surely there is no mode of terminating 
 life equal to that which Providence ordained should be his. Like Nelson, Abercroml)ie, 
 Moore, and inferior to none (had his sphere been equally extensive), your much-loved brother 
 fell ; the shouts of victory were the last he heard from the gallant troops he led, and his last 
 moments were full of anxiety as to the events of the army, and consideration for his Light 
 Division. If his friends permit themselves to give way to mibounded grief under this heavy 
 calamity, they are considering themselves rather than the departed hero The array and his 
 
 VOL. I. 10
 
 146 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 Crauford was one of the best aud bravest soldiers in the British 
 army. He had embraced the profession of arms when in only his 
 fifteenth year, and before he was twenty had obtained his company. 
 
 country have the most reason to deplore his loss ; for, as his military talents were of the first 
 calibre, so was his spirit of the most intrepid gallantry. 
 
 "There is but one universal sentiment throughout all ranks of the profession on this subject, 
 and if you, and those who loved him dearly (among whom, God knows! I pity most his angel 
 wife and children), could but have witnessed the manner in which the last duties were paid to 
 his memory by the whole army, your tears would have been arrested by the contemplation of 
 what his merits must have been to have secured such a general sensation, and they would have 
 ecased to flow by the feelings of envy such an end irresistibly excited. 
 
 " As I fervently trust that, by the time you receive this letter, you may be so far prepared 
 tor this afllicting stroke as to derive consolation even from sad details, and as I really am 
 unequal to address Mrs. Craufurd at present, I think it best to enter at large into everything 
 with you, leaving it to your affectionate and prudent judgment to unfold events by degrees in 
 the manner you deem best. You will perceive, by Staff-Surgeon Gunning's report (Lord 
 Wellington's own surgeon), upon an examination of the wound (which I enclose), that, from the 
 nature of it, it was impossible Robert should have recovered. The direction the ball had taken, 
 Ihc extreme difficulty of breathing, and the blood he brought up, gave great grounds of alarm ; 
 but still it was conceived the ball might have dropped lower than the lungs, and as there have 
 been instimces of recovery from woimds in the same place, we were suffered to entertain a hope, 
 but alas ! that was all. Staff-Surgeons Robb and Gumiing, who were his constant attendants, and 
 from whose anxiety, zeal, and professional ability everything was to be expected, were unremitr 
 ting in their exertions ; his Aide-de-Camp, young Wood, aud Lieutenant Shawe of the 43rd, 
 showed all that affectionate attention which even his own family could have done to him ; the 
 former, I must say, evinced a feeling as honourable to his heart as it must have been gratifying 
 to its object ; to these I must add Captain William Campbell, whose long friendship for Robert 
 induced him never to leave him, and he manifested in an extraordinary manner his attachment 
 on this occasion. 
 
 " If my own duties had permitted me, you may believe I never should have absented myself 
 from his bedside ; as it was, feeling like a brother towards him, my heart led me to act as 
 Buch to the utmost of my poor abilities. The three officers I have above named, and his 
 Burgeon, alternately watched and attended him, from the evening of the 19th until ten o'clock 
 on the morning of the i24th, when he breathed his last ; on the i!2nd, he was considered easier 
 and bettor, llie medicines administered had all the effects desired. He conversed some lime with 
 me, principally about the assault, and he was most anxious as to news of tlie enemy. IIo was so 
 cheerful tlial his mind did not revert, as it had done before, to his wife and childreti, and I was 
 snxious to keep every subject from him that might awaken keen sensations. I know well, from 
 many conversiilions I have had with him, the unbounded influence and affection Mrs Craufurd's 
 Mea was attended with, and his ardent anxiety as to the education and bringing-up of hU 
 children. 
 
 "These thoughts I was anxious, while a ray of hope existed, not to awaken, it being of the 
 ntmost consequence he sliould be kept free from agitation ; and I trust tliis will be a sufllcient 
 reason to Mrs. Craufurd and yourself for my being unable to give you those last sentiments of 
 his heart which ho no doubt would have expressed, had we felt authorised to acquaint him he 
 was near his end. I do not mean to say lie was ignorant of his situation, for when he first 
 sent to me, he said he felt his wound was mortal, and that ho was fully prepared for the will 
 of Heaven. But I think subsequently he cherished hopes. He obtained some sleep on the 
 night of the 22nd, and on the i23rd he was, to all appearance, better ; at two o'clock in the 
 morning, William Campbell wrote me a most cheering account of him ; he had been talking 
 of his recovery, and every pleasing prospect, and he fell into a comfortable sleep, as those 
 &bout him imagined. But alas ! from that sleep he never awoke again. His pulse gradually
 
 1812.] GENERAL CRAUFURD. 147 
 
 In the absence of any means of effectually studying Iiis profession in 
 England, he repaired to Prussia and other theatres of war on the 
 European Continent. He subsequently served two campaigns ia 
 India under Lord Cornwallis, occasionally commanding the 75th 
 Regiment. Returning home, he was employed on a mission to the 
 Austrian armies, and participated in the war with revolutionary 
 France. His next field was Ireland, where he served as Deputy 
 Quartermaster-General. In 1799, he was again with the Austrian 
 army in Switzerland, and at a later period was under the Duke of 
 York in Holland. The year 1807 saw Craufurd a Brigadier-General 
 in Buenos Ayres, under General Whitelocke ; and in 1808 he pro- 
 ceeded to the Peninsula. He first distinguished himself in actions 
 with the French under Massena, upon the river Coa. This was in 
 1810. The Light Division, with three regiments of Cavalry, a troop 
 of Horse Artillery, and two regiments of Cacadores (Portuguese 
 Light Infantry), were attacked by 24,000 French ; but Craufurd did 
 not retire from his post until a most gallant defence had been made, 
 and the enemy had three times been repulsed in his attempt to cross 
 a bridge of the Coa in pursuit. We next find Craufurd at Busaco, 
 driving back the infantry cohorts of Ney and Simon. What ensued 
 has been recited in preceding pages. 
 
 The character of General Craufurd has been variously drawn. 
 
 ceased to beat, his breath grew shorter, aud his spirit fled before those near him were conscious 
 he was no more. So easy was his passport to Heaven ! 
 
 " If, in detailing so mournful a recital, I can derive the smallest consolation, it arises from 
 knowing his last words united his aflection for his wife, and his friendship for mc, in one 
 train of thought, in which he closed his eyes. Having thus acquainted yoii, as well as my 
 present feelings enable me, with the last scene, I shall now assure you that no exertion waa 
 wanting to prepare everything for the mournful ceremony that was to follow, with the utmost 
 possible regard and respect to his memory. Lord W'ellington decided he sliould bo interred by 
 his own Division, near the breach which he had so gallantly carried. The Light Divisiot 
 assembled before his house in the suburbs of the San Francisco Convent, at twelve o'clock on the 
 25th ; the 5th Division lined the road from his quarters to the breach ; the officers of the brigade 
 of Guards Cavalry, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Divisions, together with General Caatanos and all his siaS, 
 Marshal Beresford and all the Portuguese, Lord Wellington and the whole of head-quarters, 
 moved in the mournful procession. 
 
 " He was borne to his place of rest on the shoulders of the brave lads ho led on, the Field 
 Officers of the Light Division officiating as pall-bearers, and the whole ceremony was conducted 
 in the most gratifying manner, if I may be permitted such an epithet on such a heart-breaking 
 occasion. I assigned to myself the mournful task of being chief motimer, and I was attended by 
 Captain Campbell, Lieutenants Wood and Shawe, and the Staff of the Light Division. Care haa 
 been taken that his gallant remains can never be disturbed, and he lies where posterity will 
 
 commemorate his deeds ! 
 
 " Believe me, as ever, 
 
 " Your most affectionate and ever obliged 
 
 "Charles Stewart."
 
 148 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 Napier speaks of him as of a fiery temper, harsh, rigid in command, 
 prone to disobedience, yet exacting entire submission from inferiors ; 
 ambitious, and avid of glory ; possessed of military talents, enter- 
 prising and intrepid, yet not remarkable for skill in handling troops 
 under fire. Nevertheless Wellington mourned him as an " oSicer of 
 tried talents and experience, v?ho was an ornament to his profession, 
 and calculated to render the most important services to his country,'' 
 and amongst the men whom he commanded, Craufurd was beloved for 
 his justice and care of them. He had been absent on leave to Eng- 
 land (much against the will of the Commander of the Forces, who re- 
 monstrated with him on his application), and on his return he was 
 welcomed with enthusiasm. The Portuguese Ca^adores, who found 
 fighting a hard matter if they did not receive their rations regularly, 
 shouted out when they saw him, " Long live General Craufurd, who 
 takes care of our bellies !" Though a strict disciplinarian, Craufurd 
 was averse to punishment,' and always experienced great pain when 
 compelled to superintend a flogging parade. 
 
 1 Take the following incident from Costello's Adventures, page 102 : — 
 
 " The second day after the storming of Rodrigo our brave General Craxif urd died of hi3 wound, 
 and the chief part of the officers of the Rifles went to pay the last tribute to his remains. He was 
 borne to the grave by four Sergeant-Majors of his own Division, and was buried in the breach 
 where he fell. The following incident, of which I was an eye-witness, will serve to show Crau- 
 furd'a character. 
 
 " I happened to be on guard one day, when General Craufurd came riding in from the front 
 with his orderly dragoon, as was his usual custom, when two of our men, one of them a corporaU 
 came ruiming out of a house with some bread which they had stolen from the Spaniards ; they 
 were pursued by a Spanish woman, crying lustily, ^ Ladrune ! Ladrone." — 'Thief! Thief!' 
 They were immediately pursued by the General and his orderly ; the bread was given back to 
 the woman, and the men were placed in the guard-house. The next day they were tried by a 
 Brigade Ck)urt-martial, and brought out to a wood near the town for punishment. When the 
 brigade was formed, and the Brigade-Major had finished reading the proceedings of the courlr 
 martial, General Craufurd commenced lecturing both men and officers on the nature of their 
 cruelly to the harmless inhabitants, as he called the Spaniards. He laid particular stress on our 
 regiment, who, he said, committed more crimes than the whole of the British army. ' Besides, 
 you think,' said he, 'because you are riflemen, and more exposed to the enemy's fire than other 
 regiments, that you are to rob the inhabitants with impunity ; but while I command you, you 
 shall not ;' then, turning round to the corporal, who stood in the centre of the square, he said, 
 with a stem voice, ' Strip, sir !' 
 
 "Tlio corporal, whose name was Miles, never said a word until tied up to a tree, when 
 turning his head round as far as his situation would allow, and seeing the General pacing up 
 and down the square, he said, 'General Craufurd, I hope you will forgive me.' The General 
 replied, 'No, sir, your crime is too great.' The poor corporal, whoso sentence was, to be 
 reduced to the pay and rank of a private soldier, and to receive a punishment of one hundred 
 and fifty lashes, and the other man two hundred, then addressed the General to the following 
 eflect : 
 
 '"Do you recollect, sir, when you and I were taken prisoners, when under the command 
 of General Whitelocke, in Buenos Ayres? Wo were marched, prisoners, with a number of 
 others, to a sort of pound, surrounded with a wall. There was a well in the centre, out of
 
 1812.] GENERAL MACKINNON. 149 
 
 In figure Craufurd was short and thick ; his countenance was intel- 
 ligent ; and his eyes, full of fire, denoted the energetic qualities of his 
 mind. Though the field was his element, he was fond of the theory 
 of his profession, and so sensible of the importance of rule and order, 
 that he drew up a code of instructions for the British light troops, 
 which, even to this day, is their text-book and guide. 
 
 Major-General Mackinnon, who, by a strange fatality, fell within 
 a few. minutes of Craufurd, at the head of the division he commanded, 
 was scarcely less valued by the army and Lord Wellington. He 
 possessed a remarkably fine person and brilliant talents. Highly 
 educated (chiefly in France), he also entered the army when but 
 fifteen years of age. and saw service on the Helder, in Egypt, and at 
 Copenhagen. But the Peninsula was his chief theatre of distinction, 
 and his humanity, next to his courage, the quality which secured to 
 him the largest amount of admiration and afi'ection. It has been 
 stated, that upon retiring from Talavera after the battle. Lord 
 Wellington was under the necessity of leaving some hundreds of 
 wounded men behind him, whom General Cuesta would not afi"ord 
 him the means of transporting. Major-General Mackinnon had 
 charge of the sick and wounded on this occasion. They were 5,000 in 
 number. Only seven carts were available, with some mules and asses. 
 They had to march one hundred miles to Elvas, over a mountainous 
 and inhospitable district, exposed to a scorching sun by day and 
 heavy dews by night. With all the good management Mackinnon 
 could employ, it was impossible to convey the whole of the unfor- 
 tunate men away. From 1,500 to 2,000 were therefore consigned to 
 the tender mercies of the French marshals, and there is no doubt 
 
 which I drew water with my mess-tin, by means of canteen straps I collected from the men, who 
 were prisoners like myself. You sat on my knapsack ; I parted my last biscuit with you. You 
 then told me you would never forget my kindness to you. It is now in your power, sir. You 
 know how short we have been of rations for some time.' 
 
 "These words were spoken by the corporal in a mild and respectful accent, which not only 
 affected the General, but the whole square. The bugler, who stood waiting to commence the 
 punishment, close to the corporal, received the usu.il nod from the Bugle-Major to begin. 
 
 " The first lash the corporal received, the General started, and turning hurriedly round, said, 
 ' What's that, what's that— who taught that bugler to flog ? 'Send him to drill— send him to drill ! 
 He cannot flog— he cannot flog ! Stop ! stop ! Take him down ! take him down ! I remember 
 it well — I remember it well!' while he paced up and down the square, muttering to himself words 
 that I could not catch ; at the same time blowing his nose, and wiping his face with bis handker- 
 chief, trying to hide the emotion that was so evident to the whole square. While untying the 
 corporal, a dead silence prevailed for some time, until our gallant General recovered a little his 
 noble feeling, when he uttered, with a broken accent, ' Why does a brave soldier like you commit 
 these crimes?' Then, beckoning to his orderly to bring his horse, he mounted and rode off. It 
 is needless to say that the other man also was pardoned, and in a few days the corporal wai 
 reetored to his rank."
 
 150 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 that Mackinnon's acquaintance with the French character and 
 language enabled him, by his correspondence with their officers, to 
 propitiate their care and humanity. 
 
 The nation voted a monument to Mackinnon, and the government 
 of the day bestowed an honourable pension on his widow and three 
 sons. 
 
 The wound which Major George Napier received rendered amputa- 
 tion necessary ; but happily it did not deprive his country of his 
 services. He lived to distinguish himself at a later period, reaching 
 high rank, and exercising administrative talents at the Cape of Good 
 Hope. A member of a family of good soldiers,' he courted danger 
 upon every occasion, and rarely escaped the consequences of his daring. 
 He was wounded in the hip at Busaco ; had his right arm broken in 
 following Massena's retreat ; was struck on the shoulder by the 
 splinter of a shell at the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo ; and was again 
 badly wounded in the storm of the town. Lord Wellington, who, 
 amidst his manifold official cares and labour, always found time for 
 private correspondence, wrote most acceptable letters of condolence 
 to Lady Sarah Napier, the honoured mother of the triad of heroes. 
 A Spartan general writing to a Spartan matron could not have better 
 interpreted the exalted woman's feelings, or more gracefully borne 
 tribute to the devotion of her sons : — • 
 
 " Your Ladyship has so often received accounts of the same 
 description with that which I am . now writing to you, and your 
 feelings upon the subject are so just and proper, that it is needless 
 for me to trouble you further. Your sons are brave fellows, and a 
 terror to the enemy ; and I hope that God will preserve them to you 
 and their country." 
 
 Thus he writes after the affiiir of the I-ith of March, 1811. And 
 again on the morrow of the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo ; — 
 
 1 William, Charles, and George. William was at first in the artillcr)-, then the cavalry, 
 then the infantry. In the Peninsula he was one of the 43rd Light Infantry (part of the Light 
 Division) ; fought at Busaco, Almeida, and Casal Nova, in the two last of which actions he 
 was wounded. Some time after the Peace, ho devoted himself to the noble task of writing 
 the history of the war in which he had been honourably engaged. In this great work, to use the 
 words of a liberal and able commentator, "the monotonous labours of deep historic investiga- 
 tion are relieved by the brilliance of poetic imagery, and the passing scene is made to burst upon 
 the view, glowing with the warmest colours of the painter," The "History of the Peninsular 
 War" is a series of charming descriptions, at once technically professional and familiarly 
 descriptive ; and it has the further great merit of being just and generous towards the French 
 armies and their leaders. Charles Napier was at Coruiia with Sir John JNIoore, was wounded, 
 and a prisoner to Soult, who treated him with distinguished consideration. In after years ho 
 became Commander-in-Chief in India, and rendered vast service to the army, by purging it of 
 manifold abuses.
 
 ISli. 
 
 LETTERS OF CONDOLENCE— THE NAPIERS. 
 
 151 
 
 " Having such sons, I am sure that you expect to hear of their 
 misfortunes, which I have more than once had to communicate to 
 you ; and, notwithstanding your affection for them, you have so just 
 a notion of the value of the distinction they are daily acquiring for 
 themselves by their gallantry and good conduct, that their misfortunes 
 do not make so great an impression upon you." 
 
 m
 
 152 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 ri81« 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Honours and rewards— Capture of Badajoz— Sir R. Hill at Almarez— Capture of Almarez. 
 
 HE moment Ciudad Rodrigo 
 had ceased to be formidable to 
 Lord Wellington, he set to 
 work to render it formidable 
 to the enemy. One hundred 
 and fifty-three pieces of ord- 
 nance found in the place con- 
 = stituted a good supply of 
 Tnateriel, offensive to a besieg- 
 ing force, and it was only neces- 
 sary to repair the breaches and 
 strengthen the outworks. This 
 latter procedure, under skilful 
 engineers, did not occupy more 
 than seven weeks, although all the work was done by the British 
 soldiers ; the Spaniards affording no aid. By the end of February, 
 Ciudad Rourigo was in a state to resist a disciplined and scientific 
 enemy for a considerable time.' 
 
 The news of the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo created great delight in 
 Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain, and insured to the conqueror an 
 accession of honorary distinctions, and an increase of sterling recom- 
 pense. A vote of parliamentary thanks, the fortnu/a which expresses 
 national acknowledgment, was the first recognition of the splendid 
 
 ^=G^ 
 
 1 The engineers who have devised systems of fortification, seldom have dreamt of establishing 
 an Impregnable defence. There is not a fortified town which has not been, or may not be, 
 carried in a given number of days, with a. certain amount of artillery. The thing has been 
 roduce<l to a mathematical certainty. The only unconquerable system is that recently invented 
 by Mr. James Ferguson, which has not yot boon adopted anywhere !
 
 1812.] CAUSES OF WELLINGTON'S SUCCESS. 153 
 
 service rendered by the capture : the Prince Regent followed this up 
 by creating Viscount Wellington an Earl ; and Parliament, that the 
 title might be more than an empty dignity, bestowed upon the Earl 
 a further sum of two thousand pounds per annum. Spain, in the 
 fulness of her gratitude, had anticipated these honours and rewards 
 by creating Lord Wellington a grandee of Spain, with the title of 
 the Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo. But there was not unanimity in tho 
 matter of the pecuniary reward. The Common Council of London, 
 influenced by the angry speeches of the Opposition, who continued to 
 denounce the war (to Napoleon's great joy), not merely petitioned 
 against the annuity, but even prayed the King for an inquiry into 
 Lord Wellington's conduct ! 
 
 One of the many causes of Lord Wellington's success in war, was 
 the secrecy with which he made his preparations. So early as 1804 
 he enjoined a perfect silence among officers upon the subject of the 
 business of the army. He observed, in a communication to Colonel 
 Wallace, that though out of every hundred cases, ninety-nine might 
 be posted up at the market-cross without injury to the public interests, 
 yet that of the public business ought to be kept secret ; it always 
 suffered when exposed to public view. " For this reason," said he, 
 " secrecy is always best, and those who have been long trusted with 
 the conduct of public affairs, are in the habit of never making public 
 business of any description, that it is not necessary that the public 
 should know." Acting upon this principle Lord Wellington never 
 communicated his purposes even to his most confidential officers and 
 aides until the moment of action had arrived. That everything might 
 be in readiness, however, when his plans were to be carried into effect, 
 the Earl caused each department of the army to be kept in as perfect 
 a state of efficiency as the supineness of the ministry and the Span- 
 iards would permit. His park of artillery, his ammunition, and com- 
 missariat supplies, were always at hand, and ready to move at an hour's 
 notice. 
 
 Lord Wellington's object after the reduction of Ciudad Rodrigo 
 was to attack Badajoz, the capital of the province of Estremadura. 
 [ts situation has been described (page 99, ante). As a fortress it is 
 »f great strength. Long lines of walls descend to the river Guadiana, 
 on which the town stands, while most formidable bastions, glacis, and 
 counterscarp defend the land side. It is strengthened by a tcte de 
 •poM^ and the fortified height San Cristoval.' 
 
 1 Ttit de poni, a work or works thrown up at the head of a bridge to co?er a reireat, or oppose 
 the passage of a river by the enemy, 
 S Ford's " Hand-book of Spain."
 
 164 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 On the 29th of January, 1812, Lord Wellington intimated to the 
 Earl of Liverpool his intentions to attack Badajoz by the second week 
 in March. Ilis reasons for seizing upon so early a moment, were, 
 firstly, that the torrents in Estremadura being then full, the whole 
 army might assemble on the Guadiana without risk to the positions 
 near Ciudad Rodrigo ; secondly, the green forage, which comes in 
 earlier in the south than the central provinces, would be readily 
 procurable, giving the allies an advantage over the enemy in point of 
 eubsistencc ; and, thirdly, that the operations of the French would 
 necessarily be confined by the swelling of the rivers. In the interval 
 
 "Between the acting of the drcadrul tbiog, 
 And the first motion," 
 
 Lord Wellington gave his attention to various matters concerning 
 discipline and the state of the Peninsula. The irregular habits of the 
 soldiers continued, as before, a subject of extreme anxiety. They would 
 wander about in search of liquor ; they were not to be prevented 
 plundering ; they constantly pulled down the beams and other 
 timbers of houses to convert them into fire-wood, and perpetrated all 
 manner of robberies and outrages to attain any temporary object. 
 The General continually invoked the assistance of ofBcers and non- 
 commissioned officers to check their improprieties, and not unfre- 
 quently punished crime with severity. But appeals were often made 
 to his clemency, and he readily yielded when the ofi'enders belonged 
 to a corps which had greatly distinguished itself in the Peninsula. 
 The " Connaught Rangers," as the 88th were called, were great 
 ofi'enders. but the Commander of the Forces remitted the corporal 
 punishment to which two of them had been sentenced in consideration 
 of the good conduct of the regiment before the enemy. There was 
 not a better fighting, or, literally, marching, regiment in the whole 
 army than the 88th : being composed of the dregs of Irish society, 
 the great majority of the men had been totally unacquainted before 
 their enlistment with the luxury of shoes and rations. They therefore 
 bore, better tlian most other regiments, the annoyance of bare feet and 
 short commons, and marched and fought under their privations as 
 readily as if victory had not promised an adequate supply of covering 
 for the feet, and consolation for the stomach. 
 
 On the 15th and 16th of March, Lord Wellington broke up 
 his cantonments and invested Badajoz with the 3rd, 4th, and 
 Light Divisions of infantry, and a brigade of Lieutcnant-General 
 Hamilton's division. The troops were placed under the command of
 
 1812.] CAPTURE OF LA PICURINA. 155 
 
 Marshal Sir W. Beresford, and Lieutenant-General Picton. On the 
 17th of March, ground was broken and a parallel established within 
 two hundred yards of an outwork called La Picurlna, which embraced 
 the whole of the south-east angle of the fort. The weather was most 
 inclement, the rain falling heavily, and the enemy making sorties and 
 keeping up a lively fire upon the working parties, but without much 
 damage. To animate the men Lord Wellington was constantly in the 
 trenches, where they laboured up to their waists in water, cheerfully 
 and manfully. Worn down as he was with fatigue of body and. anx- 
 iety of mind, with a noble perseverance the Commander of the Forces 
 nevertheless gave himself up wholly to the operations, for he felt it to 
 be of momentous consequence, not to his own country only, but to 
 Europe generally. 
 
 By the 25th of March the British besieging force opened its fire 
 from twenty-eight pieces of ordnance, in six batteries, in the first 
 parallel. On the night of the 25th, Major-General Kempt was 
 directed to attack La Picurina by storm, a duty which was effected 
 " in the most judicious and gallant manner." The attack was made 
 by five hundred men of the 3rd Division, in three detachments, sever- 
 ally commanded by Major Shaw, of the 74th, Captain the Hon. H. 
 Powys, of the 83rd, and Major Rudd, of the 77th. La Picurina was 
 found strongly defended by three rows of palisades, and musket- 
 proof places of arms loop-holed throughout. The garrison, commanded 
 by Colonel Thiery, was on the alert, and made a good defence, but 
 nothing could stop the ardour of the attacking party. Captain Powys 
 was the first to mount the parapet of the work, in which daring feat 
 he was mortally wounded. The two Majors were likewise wounded. 
 With the exception of Colonel Thiery, three other ofl&cers and eighty- 
 six men. who were made prisoners, the garrison was put to the sword, 
 or drowned in the inundations of the river Rivellas. Seven pieces of 
 artillery fell to the victors. The garrison of Badajoz made a sortie, 
 either with the view of recovering La Picurina, or of protecting the 
 retreat of the garrison, but they were driven in by the reserve sta- 
 tioned to protect the attack. 
 
 The capture of the outwork materially aided Lord Wellington's 
 further operations. Still, the rain fell heavily — the civil authorities 
 of the province of Alemtejo neglected to supply the army with the 
 means of transporting stores, and the Spanish people withheld all co- 
 operation in the trenches and other works.* The powder for the 
 
 1 " Is it possible," writes Lord Wellington to Don Carlos de Espana, " that jour Excellency 
 dan be in earnest? Is it possible that Castille cannot furnish fifteen or twenty stonecutters, 
 masons, aad carpenters 1 How have all the great works been performed that we see in thia
 
 156 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1812. 
 
 siege and much of the shot and engineers' stores had not arrived at 
 Elvas by the 27th of March. 
 
 With wonderful patience and laborious industry all difficulties were 
 at length overcome. By the 5th of April three breaches had been 
 effected in the walls — one on the bastion ' of Trinidad — a second on 
 the bastion of Santa Maria— and a third on the curtain." The time 
 had consequently arrived for making the attempt to carry the place 
 by storm. Yet was success doubtful. The garrison was 5,000 strong 
 — brave and determined ; the governor, Phillippon, a resolute man, 
 who would hold out to the last extremity. Every artificial means had 
 also been resorted to for the purpose of checking the assailants. A 
 double hedge of cJievaux-de-frise of the most formidable character op- 
 posed an obstacle at the summit of each breach. 
 
 The preparations for the attack corresponded with the magnitude 
 of the attempt and the prospect of resistance. Never had Lord 
 Wellington so many able soldiers about him — men so capable of 
 carrying out the behests of their chief Marshal Sir W. Beresford, 
 Lieutenants-General Graham, Leith, and Picton ; Majors-General 
 Colville, Bowes, Kempt, and Walker, and Lieutenant-Colonel Bar- 
 nard, were all at his side, and had exerted themselves most zealously 
 in all the operations of the siege. The troops were full of courage 
 and enthusiasm, and burned to be within the walls they had so long 
 surrounded. To the last, Lord Wellington was almost disposed to 
 have taken another day to make his arrangements ; but there was no 
 time to lose, Marmont was advancing from Castillo, and Soult was 
 hastening up from Seville : it was necessary that the prize should be 
 grasped before they could meet. 
 
 The story of the storm is best told in the familiar language of the 
 participators in the deadly work. 
 
 An officer of the 88th thus writes : — " So soon as each division had 
 formed on its ground in open column of companies, the arms were 
 piled, and the officeis and soldiers either walked about in groups of 
 five or six together, or sat down under an olive tree, to observe, at 
 their ease, the arrangements of the different brigades which were to 
 take a part in the contest. Then, again, might be seen some writing 
 to their friends, a hasty scrawl, no doubt, and, in my opinion, an ill- 
 timed one. It is a bad time — at the moment of entering a breach — 
 to write to a man's father or mother — much less his wife — to tell 
 
 country ? • • • Everything, aa well of a military as a labouring nature, must be performed 
 by British soldiers." 
 
 1 Bastion, an angular projection in any fortress, well flanked. 
 
 2 Curtain, a straight wall connecting Uie bastion*.
 
 1812.] THE EVE OF THE STORMING. 157 
 
 them so ; and, besides, it has an unseasonable appearance in the eyes 
 of the soldiers, who are decidedly the most competent judges of what 
 their officers should be, or, at least, what they would wish them to be 
 — which is tantamount at such a crisis. 
 
 " There is a solemnity of feeling which accompanies the expectation 
 of every great event in our lives, and the man who can altogether be 
 dead to such feeling is little, if anything, better than a brute. The 
 present moment was one that was well calculated to fill every bosom 
 throughout the army ; for mixed with expectation, suspense, and 
 hope, it was rendered still more touching to the heart by the music 
 of some of the regiments, which played at the head of each battalion, 
 as the soldiers sauntered about to beguile the last hour many of 
 them were destined to live. The band of my corps, the 88th, all 
 Irish, played several tunes which exclusively belong to their country, 
 and it is impossible to describe the effect it had upon us all ; such an 
 air as " Savourneen Deelish" is sufficient, at any time, to inspire a 
 feeling of melancholy, but on an occasion like the present it acted 
 powerfully on the feelings of the men ; they thought of their distant 
 homes — of their friends, and of bygone days. It was Easter Sunday, 
 and the contrast which their present position presented to what it 
 would have been were they in their native land, afforded ample food 
 for the occupation of their minds ; but they were not allowed time 
 for much longer i-eflection. The approach of Generals Picton and 
 Kempt, accompanied by their staff, was the signal for the formation 
 of the column of attack ; and almost immediately the men were 
 ordered to stand to their arms. Little, if any directions were given 
 — indeed they were unnecessary, because the men, from long service, 
 were so conversant with the duty they had to perform, that it would 
 have been but a waste of words and time to say what was required of 
 them. All was now in readiness. It was 9 25 : the soldiers, unen- 
 cumbered with their knapsacks, their stocks off — their shirt collars 
 unbuttoned — their trowsers tucked up to their knees — their tattered 
 jackets, so worn out as to render the regiment they belonged to 
 barely recognisable — their huge whiskers and bronzed faces, which 
 several hard-fought campaigns had changed from their native hue — 
 but, above all, their self-confidence, devoid of boast or bravado, gave 
 them the appearance of what they, in reality were — an invincible 
 host." 
 
 One of the Light Division contributes the following sketch : — 
 " Soon after ten o'clock on the night of the 6th of April, a little 
 whispering announced that the ' forlorn hope' were stealing forward, 
 followed by the storming parties, composed of three hundred men
 
 158 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1312. 
 
 (one hundred from each regiment of the brigade) ; in two minutes 
 the Light Division followed ; one musket shot, no more, was fired 
 near the breaches by a French soldier, who was on the look-out ; we 
 gained ground leisurely but silently ; there were no obstacles. The 
 52nd, 43rd, and 95th closed gradually up to column of quarter dis- 
 tance, left in front ; all was hushed, and the town lay buried in gloom ; 
 the ladders were placed on the edge of the ditch, when suddenly an 
 explosion took place at the foot of the breaches, and a burst of light 
 disclosed the whole scene — the earth seemed to rock under us — what 
 a sight ! The ramparts crowded with the enemy — the French soldiers 
 standing on the parapets — the fourth division advancing rapidly in 
 column of companies on a half circle to our right, while the short- 
 lived glare from the barrels of powder and combustibles flying into 
 the air. gave to friends and foes a look as if both bodies of troops 
 were laughing at each other. 
 
 " A tremendous firing now opened on us, and for an instant we were 
 stationary ; but the troops were 7io loai/s dauntal. The ladders were 
 found exactly opposite the centre breach, and the whole division 
 rushed to the assault with amazing resolution. There was no check. 
 The soldiers flew down the ladders, and the cheering from both sides 
 was loud and full of confidence. 
 
 " Furious blows were actually exchanged amongst the troops in 
 their eagerness to get forward ; while the grape-shot and musketry 
 tore open their ranks. The first ofiicer vi^ho fell was Captain Fer- 
 gusson, who had led on a storming party here and at Rodrigo ; he was 
 lying to the right of the ladders, with a wound on the head and hold- 
 ing a bloody nandkerchief in his grasp ; when a brother ofiicer snatched 
 it out of his hand, and tied it round his head. The French were 
 then handing over fire-balls, which produced a sort of revolving light. 
 The ditch was very wide. When eighty or ninety men had arrived 
 at the foot of the centre breach, one cried out, ' AVho will lead?' 
 This was the work of a moment. Death and the most frightful sounds 
 and cries encompassed them. It was a volcano ! Up they went ; 
 some killed, and others impaled on the bayonets of their own com- 
 rades, or hurled headlong amongst the outrageous crowd. The 
 cJievaux-de-frise looked like innumerable bayonets. The wood work 
 was ponderous, bristling with short, stout sword-blades fastened in it 
 and chained together. Fire-balls were in plenty, and the French 
 troops stood upon the walls, taunting, and inviting our men to come 
 up and try it again. What a crisis ! what a military misery ! Some 
 of the finest troops in the world prostrate ; humbled to the dust. 
 
 " Colonel McLeod was killed while trying to force the left corner
 
 1812.] THE STORMING OF BADAJOZ. I59 
 
 of the large breach. He received his mortal wound within three 
 yards of the enemy, just at the bottom of some nine-feet planks, stud- 
 ded with nails, and hanging down the breach from under the clievauxr 
 de-frise. A few moments before he fell, he had been wounded in the 
 back by a bayonet of one of his own soldiers, who slipped. 
 
 '• At half-past eleven the firing slackened, and the French detached 
 men from the breaches to repulse the other attacks, and to endeavour 
 to retake the castle. I heard the enemy calling out on the ramparts 
 in German, ' All is well in Badajoz ! ' It sounded very like English. 
 " But this repulse may be called a victory. The British soldiers 
 did as much as men could do^ 
 
 A third journal gives a detail of the proceedings under G-eneral 
 Kempt : — 
 
 " On the evening of the 6th of April, 1812, as soon as it was suffi- 
 ciently dark to prevent observation from the garrison, the two British 
 brigades of the third division, composed as follows : — The right, of the 
 45th, 74th, and 38th, under Major-General J. Kempt ; the left, of the 
 2nd battalion, 5th, 77th, 83rd, and 94th, under Colonel Campbell of 
 the 94th, their light companies, and three companies of the 5th bat- 
 talion, 60th, — the whole under Lieutenant-Colonel Williams of the 
 60th, forming the advance, — moved from the ground on which they 
 were encamped, in columns right in front. The division took a cir- 
 cuitous direction, towards the river, and, according to a preconcerted 
 plan, halted on the ground which had been pointed out to them, there 
 to await the arrival of the several divisions and corps at the points 
 allotted to each previous to the general attack. During this halt, the 
 brigades were earnestly addressed by their respective commanders, on 
 the duty they had to perform. 
 
 "On the signal for the general attack, the brigades advanced in the 
 order already mentioned. The enemy appeared fully aware of the 
 attack, having commenced and continuing to throw fire-balls, which 
 completely exposed the advance of the troops, particularly on their 
 arrival at the wet ditch which covered the approach to the castle- 
 wall. This was passed by wading, or going along the top of the dam 
 which terminated the ditch, and which was so narrow as only to 
 admit of our passing in single files, while the enemy continued to 
 keep up a destructive fire at this point. As soon as this obstacle was 
 surmounted, the light companies and the right brigade, under General 
 Kempt, moved to the left, towards the principal gate of the town; 
 the left, led by Colonel Campbell, advanced direct to that part of the 
 castle-wall which had been bombarded the preceding year. At this 
 point some ladders were reared against the wall by the grenadiers
 
 160 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 of the 5th, at one of which was Colonel Campbell and Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Ridge, who commanded the 5th regiment, and, at another, 
 the officers of the grenadiers of the 5th. Colonel Ridge called to 
 Ensign Canch of the latter to lead at his ladder ; and immediately 
 both, at their respective ladders, pushed up, followed by their men ; 
 and having succeeded in gaining the top of the wall, they joined, and 
 found that they mustered strong enough to beat off whatever was im- 
 mediately opposed to them. The gallant Ridge called out, ' Come on, 
 my lads ! — let us be the first to seize the Governor ;' and dashed on, 
 making his way, with those along with him, over the works which 
 had been raised during the siege, exposed to a heavy fire, by which 
 numbers fell, who were soon replaced by those who followed. 
 
 " As the 5th advanced, the enemy retired, leaving in the works a 
 few men, who were killed or taken prisoners. Retiring from the 
 ramparts, the French formed in an open space, near the Castle-gate. 
 For a short time the firing ceased, and the regiment headed by their 
 commander, continued to feel their way in the dark, following the 
 ramparts until they came to a passage leading to the centre of the 
 Castle, and, on advancing a short way, a column was observed, which 
 caused a momentary hesitation in our advance. Colonel Ridge, who, 
 at the time, was reconnoitring another opening, called out, ' Why do 
 you hesitate ? Forward !' We again, and with the greatest caution, 
 and without firing, continued to advance, and, on proceeding a little 
 farther, the enemy were observed. We then commenced firing, which 
 was returned by a volley. At this moment our beloved and heroic 
 commander fell, having receiving a wound in the breast, which imme- 
 diately proved fatal. The writer of this was so near as to be in con- 
 tact with him at the instant of his fall. We left a guard by his 
 honoured remains. 
 
 The regiment continued to advance, keeping up a fire, and being 
 now supported by the other corps who were following thcra up, the 
 enemy retiring, ahd shutting the gates. The inner gate was forced 
 without much difficulty, but the outer one was found strongly 
 secured. The French, however, had left the wicket open, and kept 
 up a heavy fire on those who attempted to pass it. Colonel Campbell 
 now ordered the men to retire within the inner gate of the Castle, 
 and directed the 5th to form in column, facing the gates, and that 
 the other regiments should imitate that formation as they collected. 
 The command of the whole had devolved upon Colonel Campbell, 
 General J. Kempt having, as well as General Picton, been wounded 
 in the assault." 
 
 In fewer words, the attack upon the breachers bad failed, from the
 
 1812.] THE SACK OF BADAJOZ. 161 
 
 Btubborn resistance of the French, but the escalade of the Castle had 
 Bucceeded. For two hours did the Light and the Fourth Divisions 
 endeavour to establish themselves within the place ; and it was not 
 until they had been nearly decimated by the fire of the garrison, and 
 the formidable obstacles presented upon the walls, that the remnants 
 were recalled to the ground on which they had assembled for the 
 attack. Meanwhile the divisions commanded by Lieutenant-General 
 Picton, supported by Lieutenant-General Leith's troops, had suc- 
 ceeded in capturing the Castle, after which all resistance ceased/ 
 
 Never was conquest so dearly purchased. The loss of the British 
 in this seige amounted to about 6000 men, among whom were many 
 officers ; for the officers of the highest rank led the men to the 
 deadly breaches, setting a noble example of gallantry. Among the 
 officers slain Lord Wellington had to lament Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Macleod, of the 43rdj Major O'Hare, of the 95th, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Gray, of the 30th, and Lieutenant-Colonel Eidge, of the 5th. Almost 
 every officer of rank was wounded : Lieutenant-Colonel Picton, Major- 
 Generals Kempt, Walker, and Bowes, and Brigadier-General Harvey, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Gibbs, of the 52nd, Lieutenant-Colonel Harcourt, 
 of the 40th, Lieutenant-Colonel Ellis, of the 23rd Fusiliers, Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Fletcher, bore away honourable scars from the 
 "terrible business." The French garrison,* according to the state- 
 ment of the governor, Phillippon, after his surrender, amounted to 
 5000 men, 1200 of whom were killed or wounded during the siege, 
 independently of the number slain in the assault. 
 
 Following the usages of war, Badajoz was given over to sack and 
 pillage, and lust and rapine. Let us draw a veil over the dreadful 
 Bcenes which ensued ; they proved but too clearly that the best 
 disciplined soldiers are incapable of restraining the evil passions of 
 their nature when weeks and months of toil, and hours of sanguinary 
 contention, have whetted their furious appetites.' The reader who 
 
 1 That the capture of the Castle might be consummated in due form, a curious, though char- 
 acteristic emblem, was substituted for the French flag. Lieutenant Macpherson, of the 45th, 
 having got possession of the latter, immediately doffed his own jacket, and hoialed it on the 
 fl&g-staff. The gallant Lieutenant presented the French flag to Sir Thomas Picton. 
 8 Byron's description of the capture of Ismail is forcibly called to mind : — 
 " The city's taken — only part by part — 
 
 And Death is drunk with gore ; there's not a street 
 Where fights not to the last some desperate heart. 
 
 For those for whom it soon will cease to beat. 
 Here War forgot his own destructive Art 
 
 In more destroying Nature ; and the heat 
 Of carnage, like the Nile's sun-sodden slime. 
 Engendered monstrous shapes of every crime." 
 VOL. I. ^11
 
 162 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [18la 
 
 delights to dwell upon the details of the sack of Badajoz maj turn 
 to the glowing pages of Napier, and the author of " The Victories of 
 the British armies," sharing at once their pourtrayal and their 
 indignation. Be it our task to hold to the excellent subject of this 
 history, who, albeit of a stern and unyielding nature, was deeply 
 aflFected by the loss of so many good soldiers, and shocked at the 
 licentiousness of the survivors. To check the course of rapine he, on 
 the second day, ordered the rolls to be called every hour, at which 
 every person was directed to attend ; one brigade was ordered to be 
 put under arms at daybreak and continued so for an indefinite term ; 
 the Provost-Marshal and his aides were sent into the town to exercise 
 their awful vocation of summary chastisement, and all commu- 
 nication with Badajoz was prohibited to the troops beyond the 
 walls. But some days had elapsed before order was completely 
 restored, and by that time vast, irreparable personal injury had 
 been inflicted. 
 
 Parliament, deeply estimating the importance of the conquest of 
 Badajoz, again tendered its thanks to Lord "Wellington, his generals 
 and troops. 
 
 The repair of the works of Badajoz next engaged the attention of 
 the Commander of the Forces, who planting his head-quarters again 
 at Fuentes Guinaldo, opened a communication with the Spanish 
 authorities upon the subject of their supplying garrisons for the 
 captured fortresses when his back should be turned. Looking upon 
 the British troops as the best in the Peninsula, and the Portuguese 
 as second only to them, his lordship was averse to putting them in 
 garrisons when they were calculated to be serviceable in the field. 
 As for the Spaniards, they were kept without food and without pay, 
 two conditions indispensable to discipline, and he had already had 
 painful experience of their incapability of manoeuvring in front of an 
 enemy. As occupants of a fortress, well disciplined, paid and fed, he 
 thought they might be useful, and to this point he urgently directed 
 the attention of the Junta. 
 
 Having secured the frontier fortresses Lord Wellington next 
 prepared to move forward into Castille and to endeavour to bring 
 Marmont to a general action. His motives for this movement, and 
 his confidence in its issue, the result of a rare prescience, are set 
 forth in a letter to the Earl of Liverpool, of the 2Gth of May, 1812 
 (Despatches). 
 
 He did not believe that there was a man in his army who 
 had any doubt of the result of an action, and that sentiment 
 alone was a guarantee of success. " But," said he, " we possess solid
 
 1812.] SOULT CHECIiED BY HILL. 16S 
 
 physical advantages over the enemy besides those resulting from 
 recent successes. Our infantry are not in bad order ; our cavalry 
 arc numerous in relation to the enemy, and our horses in better 
 condition than I have ever known them since I have commanded the 
 army, and the horses of the artillery in the same good condition, and 
 complete in numbers, whereas the enemy are terribly deficient in that 
 aquipraent." Lord Wellington believed, however, that after the 
 harvest, and the close of Napoleon's operations in the north of 
 Europe, the French would be reinforced, and he therefore felt him- 
 self in a better condition to reap success than he would be at a later 
 season ; and, indeed, added his lordship, in a spirit of prediction, 
 "success obtained tiow (28th May, 1812) would prodnce results not 
 to be expected from any success over any single French army in the 
 Peninsula upon any other occasion." But still he qualified the 
 assertion in a similar prophetic tone, by declaring that money would 
 be wanted in the interior of Spain. He " shuddered " at the proba- 
 bility of the army being distressed by the absence of this invaluable 
 commodity. 
 
 During the period that was employed by Lord Wellington in the 
 siege of Badajoz, Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill, who had 
 been honoured with the distinction of the Bath for his previous ser- 
 vices, was detached to watch the movements of Marshal Soult, and 
 impede his junction with Marshal Marmont. He accordingly advanced 
 to Medellin, where, in 1810, Victor and Cuesta had contended for 
 victory, who alighted on the standard of the French Marshal. From 
 this place several marches and counter-marches took place, in order 
 that the force under Hill might be exactly at the point of interrup- 
 tion should Soult attempt the relief of Badajoz. Soult had actually 
 reached Zafra, Los Santos, &c., when the first intelligence reached 
 him of the fall of the fortress. It is said that he became frantic with 
 rage at the news, destroying everything within his reach, and invoking 
 all imaginable penalties on the heads of " the Leopards," as he and 
 Napoleon were wont to designate the English, in reference to the 
 devices on their ancient coat of arms. He at once gave orders to his 
 troops to move to the right about, and retrace their steps into 
 Andalusia. This retrograde movement was the signal for cavalry 
 operations ; Sir Stapleton Cotton, at the head of the allied cavalry, fell 
 upon Soult's rear, and. coming up with a strong body of his dragoons at 
 Villa Errica, a sharp conflict eusued, which terminated in the defeat 
 of the French with a loss of 300 killed, wounded, and prisoners. 
 After this aff"air, Sir Rowland Hill went into cantonment in 
 Almendralejo, where he remained from the 11th of April to the 12th
 
 161 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [ISII 
 
 of May. At day-light on the latter day, he moved out with one regi- 
 ment of British dragoons (the 13th) and about eight regiments of 
 infantry, for the purpose of breaking a link or two of the enemy's 
 chain of communication between the French army under Marmont, 
 and that of the South, commanded by Soult. The point to which 
 Hill directed his attention was Almaraz, a little village on the Tagus, 
 over which the French had thrown a pontoon bridge, defended by a 
 tete cle pont,^ strongly entrenched. On a height above the bridge 
 was a large and well-constructed fort, called " Napoleon," mounting 
 nine guns, and having a garrison of 500 men ; and on the opposite 
 side of the river another fort of a more complete and formidable 
 character. 
 
 Sir Rowland Hill approached Almaraz cautiously, encountering 
 many obstacles, and being nearly destitute of artillery. He had 
 approached sufficiently near on the morning of the 19th of May to 
 make an attempt, and the troops being full of courage, and anxious 
 to contribute to the attainment of any object he had at heart, Hill 
 directed the attack upon the works. The regiments with him at this 
 moment were the 18th Royal Irish, the 50th Queen's own, the 71st 
 and 92nd Highlanders, two companies of the 60th rifles, and the 6th 
 Portuguese infantry. 
 
 Formed ready for the assault, behind a little height, one hundred 
 and fifty yards from the fort, the 50th, on a given signal, moved from 
 their hiding-place, and covered by the 71st light infantry, advanced 
 with great firmness to the attack, the enemy all the while pouring in 
 their grape, round shot, and musketry. On descending into the 
 ditch of the fort, some of the ladders were discovered to be too short. 
 This unfortunate obstacle was soon removed by the presence of mind 
 of General Howard, who led the assault, and whose cool and intrepid 
 conduct on the occasion was the subject of general admiration. This 
 little check, however, instead of blunting the courage of the assailants, 
 tended rather to increase their ardour in the pursuit of victory. 
 The first who ascended the ladders met with a warm reception, and 
 not a few were thrown from the head of the ladders into the ditch, 
 desperately wounded. The French for a few minutes made an 
 energetic resistance ; but the artillery officers in command retreating 
 from the rampart, the men were seized with a panic. The 50th and 
 71st pushed their advantage, and fairly established themselves in Fort 
 Napoleon. 
 
 1 Tete de pont, literally, " head of a bridge." The term, in fortification, signifies works so 
 placed aa to command the approach to a bridge, thereby covering troops as they escape across e 
 river, or serving as an outwork to protect a town on the opposite bank.
 
 181 2.J CAPTURE OF ALSIARAZ. 165 
 
 Pending these operations the second column was moved forward 
 in a zig-zag manner round every little knoll which afforded them pro- 
 tection from the fire of Fort Ragusa, until they arrived at a point 
 nearly opposite to the left flank of the face of Fort Napoleon, when, 
 turning to the left, they advanced direct upon the tete de pont at a 
 quick pace. Perceiving that the object of the British was to cut off 
 their retreat, the enemy, on retiring from Fort Napoleon, rushed 
 towards the bridge in order to escape. But those on the opposite 
 side having cut away a part of the bridge to oppose Hill's advance, 
 many of the fugitives found a watery grave — the rest surrendered at 
 discretion. The impression thus made upon the enemy's troops com- 
 municated itself to those on the right bank of the river, and Fort 
 Kagusa was instantly abandoned, the garrison flying in the greatest 
 confusion towards Noval Moral. 
 
 Almaraz having thus fallen into Sir R. Hill's hands, the troops 
 were allowed, as usual, to help themselves to whatever they could lay 
 their hands upon,' and were then moved back half a mile to bivouac. 
 
 The loss of the victors on this occasion was slight, considering the 
 circumstances under which the attack was made. It amounted to 
 177 officers and men killed and wounded — only one officer being 
 killed. The enemy had 450 killed, wounded, and made prisoners. 
 It was evident that the French considered the place of importance, 
 for Sir R. Hill found in it large quantities of ordnance and stores. 
 The works were immediately destroyed ; the towers of masonry levelled, 
 and the whole apparatus of the bridge, together with the workshops, 
 magazines, and every piece of timber that could be found, broken 
 into pieces. 
 
 Lord Wellington praises the capture of Almaraz in his character- 
 istic manner. Duty and obedience being always the finest recom- 
 mendations in his eyes, he lauds the qualities displayed in Lieutenant- 
 General Sir R. Hill in persevering in the line, and confining himself 
 to tlie objects chalked out by his instructions^ notwithstanding the 
 various obstacles opposed to his pia^gress. 
 
 1 " In a few minutes, wine, brandy, and rum flowed in abundance, while bacon, hams, and 
 pieces of picliled pork and beef decorated hundreds of bayonets, many of which were still tar- 
 nished with the blood of the enemy. Some men obtained valuable prizes from the officers' 
 mess-room, but the greater part of the men were amply satisfied with a havresack well stuffed 
 with bread, or a canteen filled to an overflow with heart-moving liquids." — Military Mempim.
 
 106 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 riS12 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 BeeoIatioD to advance into Spain — March towards Salamanca — Reception at Salamanca- 
 Capture of the Fortresses — Battle of Salamanca— Character of Marshal Marmont — Retreat 
 of the French. 
 
 F Lord Wellington, urged by the 
 impatience of his own army, and 
 the irritating taunts of the Opposi 
 tion in Parliament, had moved befor*» 
 he had heard of Hill's success, oj 
 before that success had been achieved 
 it is highly probable that the bril 
 liant triumphs which followed would 
 not have adorned his history. Mar- 
 shal Marmont was not a soldier to 
 be despised, and up to this time 
 he had every prospect of effecting 
 a junction with Marshal Soult, which 
 would have given to the French 
 forces a vastly preponderating supe- 
 riority. 
 
 The works of Badajoz had been 
 repaired ; the garrison placed on a reliable footing, and its approaches 
 sufficiently guarded. The hour had arrived for attempting to pene- 
 trate Spain. Salamanca was the point on which Lord Wellington 
 advanced. 
 
 Salamanca is a town in the kingdom of Leon, once famous for its 
 colleges of learning. " The town is dull, cheerless, and cold ; the air 
 bites shrewdly ; and as fuel is very scarce, the sun is the fire place of 
 the poor ; hence ' the South ' takes precedence in the three marvels 
 of Salamanca — ' Medio dia, medio piiente, y medio claustro de San 
 Vicente.^ The city has an anti(j[ue, old-fashioned look. The beautiful
 
 1812.] MARCH TO SALAMANCA. 167 
 
 creamy stone of which it is built comes from the quarries of Vella 
 Franca, distant about a league. The town is built on three hills, 
 in a horse-shoe shape. The dingy Tormes forms the base, and the 
 walls which overlook it are very ancient, especially near the Puerto 
 del Rio. This river (Tormes) rises in the Sierra de Gudos, near 
 Formelles, and after a course of forty-five leagues, flows into the 
 Douro, near Fermosella." ' The ancient name of Salamanca was 
 Salmantica ; and it is spoken of by Plutarch in describing the siege 
 of the place by Hannibal. 
 
 The march to Salamanca was extremely well conducted. The 
 march of the Light Division was especially worthy of notice. The 
 men were very fine, and well seasoned to endure fatigue, having 
 served in many campaigns. The discipline was most exact ; the men 
 were not tormented by unnecessary parades — tlie march was their 
 parade. That over, the soldiers (excepting those on duty) made them- 
 selves happy, and procured wholesome rest. Their equipment was 
 regularly examined, nor were the men on any pretence permitted to 
 overload themselves — one of the most serious afflictions to an army. 
 A general may be endowed with transcendent abilities, and, by a 
 forced march, place himself in a situation to overthrow his enemies : 
 he may possess the number of divisions and the number of regiments, 
 but, by internal bad management of regimental officers, half his army 
 may be straggling in the rear. The men of the Light Division 
 carried about eighty pounds weight, including musket, bayonet, 
 accoutrements, knapsack, havresack, sixty rounds of ball cartridge, and, 
 by turns, a bill hook of seven pounds weight, to cut away impedi- 
 ments. To this they would often have added articles plundered after 
 a siege, but it was not permitted. The baggage followed the line of 
 march in succession. The mules of each company were tied together, 
 and conducted by two batmen in rotation. Each regiment found an 
 officer, and each brigade a captain, to superintend the baggage. 
 When the enemy were reported to be at hand, the baggage was 
 ordered to the rear — the distance according to circumstances. 
 
 The army was four days in clearing a forest (lying on the march), 
 which was clothed with verdure, and supplied delightful bivouacs. 
 The Sierra de Gata lay on its right hand, covered with snow, while 
 a cloudless sky formed its canopy, with the sunshine of hope beaming 
 on every countenance. 
 
 On the 16th of June Lord Wellington reached Salamanca unop- 
 posed — the German hussars having merely had an affair with some 
 French cavalry picquets.^ which they drove in, without, however, 
 
 1 Ford's admirable " Hand-Book." 
 N
 
 168 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON". [1812. 
 
 following the unwise course of racing at their heels. The ardour of 
 our cavalry in pursuit had, as already observed, been extremely 
 injurious to them ; and about this time intelligence reached Lord 
 Wellington of an affair under Sir Rowland Hill, which much dis- 
 tressed him. It appears that a severe but gallant action was fought 
 near Llerena, between the French cavalry, under General L' AUemand, 
 and our heavy dragoons, commanded by General Slade. The advan- 
 tage at first was to the English ; but their impetuous valour carrying 
 them beyond the limits of prudence, the French beat them back with 
 great loss to themselves, besides the loss of all the prisoners they had 
 previously taken. The news of this rash and unfortunate affair 
 elicited the following remarks from Lord Wellington, in a letter to 
 Sir Rowland Hill ; 
 
 " I have never been more annoyed than by this affair. It is occa- 
 sioned entirely by the trick our officers of cavalry have acquired, of 
 galloping at everything, and then galloping back as fast as they gallop 
 on the enemy. They never consider their situations — never think of 
 manoeuvring before an enemy — so little, that one would think they 
 cannot manceuvre, excepting on Wimbledon Common ; and when 
 they use their arm as it ought to be used, viz., offensively, they never 
 keep nor provide for a reserve. All cavalry should charge in two 
 lines, of which one should be in reserve ; if obliged to charge in one 
 line, part of the line — at least one-third — should be ordered, before- 
 hand, to pull up and form in second line as soon as the charge should 
 be given, and the enemy has been broken and has retired. The 
 Royals and the 3rd Dragoon Guards are the best regiments in the 
 cavalry in this country; and it annoys me particularly that the 
 misfortune has happened to them. I do not wonder at the French 
 boasting of it : it is the greatest blow they have struck." 
 
 The joy and delight of the people of Salamanca upon the entrance 
 of the British was beyond all expression. The women were particu- 
 larly demonstrative in their enthusiasm. They offered their houses 
 freely to officers and men, and tendered them all the worldly wealth 
 they possessed. In the evening the town was brilliantly illuminated, 
 and resounded with music, while the merry Spanish mudiacJias danced 
 boleros, and struck their castanets in the streets. The glow of light 
 reflected upon the bright arms of the soldiery piled in the streets, and 
 the scarlet coats of the men, diversified by the yellow, red, and blue 
 petticoats of the lively peasantry, imparted a singular fascination to 
 the whole scene. 
 
 Nor — supine as were the Spanish Grandees who conducted the 
 Provisional Government — could all these manifestations of a hearty
 
 1 jv- i» J unu \i L
 
 1812.] CAPTURE OF THE FORTS OF SALAMANCA. 169 
 
 welcome be wondered at. Salamanca had grievously suffered under 
 French domination and occupation. In the three years of their 
 unjustifiable occupation of the town, they had plundered and destroyed 
 thirteen convents and twenty colleges, and had trampled alike upon 
 civil rights and domestic peace. Lord Wellington and his friends 
 were therefore hailed by the people as deliverers, and their arrival 
 aroused all the generous feelings of the Spaniards. 
 
 Previous to his evacuation of Salamanca, Marshal Marmont had 
 thrown garrisons into the forts of the town, and the Castle of Alba 
 de Tormes, to the extent of eight hundred men. These forts were 
 respectively called San Vicente, San Caetano, and La Merced. Five 
 days after his arrival, Lord Wellington cannonaded them, and fol- 
 lowed up the cannonade by a storm, which, however, did not succeed, 
 and Major-General Bowes, who led the assault, was killed. The 
 forts were found to be much stronger, and offering a more effective 
 reciprocal defence than was expected by the Commander of the 
 Forces. A delay of three days now took place, until fresh supplies 
 of ammunition could be received. On the 20th of June the siege 
 recommenced, and Marshal Marmont advanced with 35,000 men to 
 raise it. He was just in time to see the forts fall to Major- 
 General Clinton, who stormed Caetano and Merced, San Vicente 
 capitulating on honorable terms. 
 
 The fall of the forts induced Marshal Marmont to withdraw the 
 garrison of Alba de Tormes, and fall back behind the Douro. 
 Here he was joined by General Borret, from the Asturias, which 
 raised his force to 45,000 men, and General Caffarelli approached 
 with 12,000 men, while Joseph Buonaparte moved from Madrid 
 with the army of the centre to fall on the flank of the British. 
 
 The position of Lord Wellington was critical in the extreme. He 
 was very badly off for money, and his communications between 
 Salamanca and Ciudad Rodrigo were in hourly danger of being cut 
 off by the French. Intrigue was at work among the Cortes to favour 
 the French, and Lord W. Bentinck, instead of landing with an army 
 on the east coast of Spain, as he was expected to have done, had made 
 a descent on Italy. But no important movements were made by the 
 enemy until the 15th of July, when they passed the Douro and concen- 
 trated themselves between Toro and San Roman. Corresponding 
 movements were made by Lord Wellington, so as to retreat if occasion 
 rendered it necessary, or to come to a general action in a favour- 
 able position. On the 18th of July, the enemy attacked the troops 
 at Castrejon. Sir Stapleton Cotton maintained the post with- 
 out suffering any loss until joined by the cavalry. From this time
 
 no LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 until the 22nd, continual attempts were made by Marmont upon 
 different parts of the British line. The object of the Duke of Ragusa 
 was to cut off the British in detail, and, at the same time, to 
 deprive them of all means of communicating with the towns. 
 
 From this period until the 22nd, the hostile armies were employed 
 in a series of manoeuvres, Lord Wellington acting strictly on the 
 defensive. The Tormes was crossed and recrossed ; positions were 
 occupied and abandoned ; skirmishers met and exchanged compliments, 
 and everything indicated a disposition on both sides to come to close 
 quarters. At length intelligence reached Lord Wellington that 
 Marmont was about to be joined by General Clausel, with the 
 cavalry and artillery of the army of the north. There was no time to 
 be lost ; the British Commander determined to bring matters to an 
 issue or move towards Ciudad Rodrigo without delay. The crisis 
 had arrived. What followed must be given in Lord Wellington's 
 own words : — 
 
 " After a variety of evolutions and movements, the enemy appears 
 to have determined upon his plan about two in the afternoon ; and 
 under cover of a very heavy cannonade, which, however, did us but 
 very little damage, he extended his left, and moved forward bis 
 troops, apparently with an intention to embrace, by the position of 
 his troops, and by his fire, our post on that of the two Arapiles which 
 we possessed, and from thence to attack and break our line ; or, at 
 all events, to render difficult any movement of ours to our right. 
 
 " The extension of his line to his left, however, and its advance 
 upon our right, notwithstanding that his troops still occupied very 
 strong ground, and his position was well defended by cannon, gave 
 me an opportunity of attacking him, for which I had long been 
 anxious. 
 
 " I reinforced our right with the 5th Division, under Lieutenant- 
 General Leith, which I placed behind the village of Arapiles, 
 on the right of the 4th Division, and with the 6th and 7th 
 Divisions in reserve ; and as soon as these troops had taken their 
 station I ordered Major-General the Hon. E. Pakenham to move 
 forward with the 3rd Division, and General D'Urban's cavalry, and 
 two squadrons of the 14th Light Dragoons, under Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Hervey, in four columns, to turn the enemy's left on the 
 heights ; while Brigadier-General Bradford's brigade, the 5th Division, 
 under Lieutenant-General Leith, the 4th Division, under Lieutenant- 
 General the Hon. L. Cole, and the cavalry, under Lieutenant-General 
 Sir S. Cotton, should attack them in front, supported in reserve by 
 the 6th Division, under Major-General Clinton, the 7th, under Major
 
 1812.] BATTLE OF SALAMANCA. 171 
 
 General Hope, and Don Carlos de Espana's Spanish Division, and 
 Brigadier-General Pack should support the left of the 4th Division, 
 by attacking that of Dos Arapiles, which the enemy held. The 1st 
 and Light Divisions occupied the ground on the left, and were in 
 reserve. The attack upon the enemy's left was made in the manner 
 above described, and completely succeeded. Major-General the Hon. 
 E. Pakenham formed the 3rd Division across the enemy's flank, and 
 overthrew everything opposed to him. The troops were supported in 
 the most gallant style by the Portuguese cavalry, under Brigadier- 
 General D'Urban, and Lieutenant-Colonel Hervey's squadrons of the 
 14th, who successfully defeated every attempt made by the enemy on 
 the flank of the 3rd Division. Brigadier-General Bradford's brigade, 
 the 5th and 4th Division, and the cavalry under Lieutenant-General 
 Sir. S. Cotton, attacked the enemy in front, and drove his troops 
 before them from one height to another, bringing forward their right, 
 80 as to acquire strength upon the enemy's flank in proportion to the 
 advance. Brigadier-General Pack made a very gallant attack upon 
 the Arapiles, in which, however, he did not succeed, excepting in 
 diverting the attention of the enemy's corps placed upon it from 
 the troops under the command of Lieutenant-General Cole in his 
 advance. The cavalry under Lieutenant-General Sir. S. Cotton made 
 a most gallant and successful charge against a body of the enemy's 
 infantry, which they overthrew and cut to pieces. lu this charge 
 Major-General Le Marchant was killed at the head of his brigade, 
 and I have to regret the loss of a most able officer. After the crest 
 of the height was carried, one division of the enemy's infantry made 
 a stand against the 4th Division, which, after a severe contest, was 
 obliged to give way, in consequence of the enemy having thrown 
 some troops on the left of the 4 th Division, after the failure of 
 Brigadier-General Pack's attack upon the Arapiles, and Lieutenant- 
 General the Hon. L. Cole having been wounded. Marshal Sir W. 
 Beresford, who happened to be on the spot, directed Brigadier- 
 General Spry's brigade of the 5th Division, which was in the second 
 line, to change its front, and to bring its fire on the flank of the enemy's 
 division ; and I am sorry to add that while engaged in this service 
 he received a wound which I am apprehensive will deprive me of 
 the benefit of his counsel and assistance for some time. Nearly about 
 the same time Lieutenant-General Leith received a wound which 
 unfortunately obliged him to quit the field, I ordered up the 6th 
 Division, under Major-General Clinton, to relieve the 4th, and the 
 battle was soon restored to its former success. The enemy's right, 
 however, reinforced by the troops which had fled from his left, and
 
 172 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 by those which had now retired from the Arapiles, still continued to 
 resist ; and I ordered the 1st and Light Divisions, and Colonel Stubb's 
 Portuguese brigade of the 4th Division which was re-formed, and 
 Major-General W. Anson's brigade, likewise of the 4th Division, to 
 turn to the right, while the 6th Division, supported by the 3rd and 
 5th, attacked the front. It was dark before this point was carried by 
 the 6th Division ; and the enemy fled through the woods towards 
 the Tormcs. I pursued them with the 1st and Light Divisions, and 
 Major-General W. Anson's brigade of the 4th Division, and some 
 squadrons of cavalry under Lieutenant-General Sir. S. Cotton, as long 
 as we could find any of them together, directing our march upon 
 Huerta and the fords of the Tormes, by which the enemy had passed 
 on their advance ; but the darkness of the night was highly advan- 
 tageous to the enemy, many of whom escaped under its cover who 
 must otherwise have been in our hands. I am sorry to report that, 
 owing to the same cause, Lieutenant-General Sir S. Cotton was 
 unfortunately wounded by one of our own sentries after we had 
 halted. 
 
 " We renewed the pursuit at break of day in the morning with the 
 same troops, and Major-General Bock's and Major-General Anson's 
 brigades of cavalry, which joined during the night ; and, having 
 crossed the Tormes, we came up with the enemy's rear of cavalry 
 and infantry near La Serna. They were immediately attacked by 
 the two brigades of dragoons, and the cavalry fled, leaving the infantry 
 to their fate. I have never witnessed a more gallant charge than was 
 made on the enemy's infantry by the heavy brigade of the King's 
 German Legion, under Major-General Bock, which was completely 
 successful ; and the whole body of infantry, consisting of three battalions 
 of the enemy's 1st Division, were made prisoners. The pursuit was 
 afterwards continued as far as Penaranda last night, and our troops 
 were still following the flying enemy. Their head-quarters were in 
 this town, not less than ten leagues from the field of battle, for a few 
 hours last night ; and they are now considerably advanced on the road 
 towards Valludolid, by Arevalo. They were joined yesterday on their 
 retreat by the cavalry and artillery of the army of the north, which 
 have arrived at too late a period, it is to be hoped, to be of much 
 use to them. It is impossible to form a conjecture of the amount of 
 the enemy's loss in this action ; but from all reports, it is very con- 
 siderable. We have taken from them eleven pieces of cannon, 
 several ammunition waggons, two eagles, and six colours ; and one 
 general, three colonels, 130 officers of inferior rank, and between 6000 
 and 7000 soldiers are prisoners j and our detachments are sending in
 
 1812.] WOUNDS IN HIGH PLACES. 173 
 
 more at every moment. The number of dead on the field is very 
 large. I am informed that Marshal Marmont is badly wounded, and 
 has lost one of his arms/ and that four general officers have been 
 killed, and several wounded. Such an advantage could not have been 
 acquired without material loss on our side ; but it certainly has ^ot 
 been of a magnitude to distress the army, or to cripple its operations. 
 I have great pleasure in reporting to your Lordship that throughout 
 this trying day, of which I have related the events, I had every reason 
 to be satisfied with the conduct of the general officers and troops. 
 The relation which I have written of its events will give a general 
 idea of the share which each individual had in them ; and I cannot 
 say too much in praise of the conduct of every individual in his 
 station." 
 
 In a subsequent despatch to Earl Bathurst, who had now become 
 Foreign Secretary," Lord Wellington expressed his belief that if he 
 had had another hour or two of daylight, not a man would have 
 passed the Tormes. He was, however, very well pleased with the 
 result generally. " There was no mistake." Indeed, as he after- 
 wards told the troops in his congratulatory orders, dated Tordillas, 
 23rd of July, the events of the day were calculated " to impress all 
 with a conviction that military success depends upon troops obeying 
 the orders which they receive, and preserving the order of their forma- 
 tion in action." 
 
 Major-General Le Marchant was the only officer of distinction 
 who fell on the side of the British, in this " the first general action 
 fought in the Peninsula, where Lord Wellington attacked?'' Wounds 
 there were in plenty — even the leaders did not escape. Lord 
 Wellington himself, who was seen that day at every point precisely 
 where his presence was most required, was struck in the thigh by a 
 musket-ball, which first passed through his cloak (folded in front of 
 his saddle) and holster. Lieutenant-General Leith was also hit, and 
 Sir Stapleton Cotton, at night, was shot through the arm by a Portu- 
 guese sentry. Napier, diversifying his professional detail with a fa- 
 miliar sketch, adds, — 
 
 " Captain Brotherton, of the 14th Dragoons, fighting on the 18th 
 at the Gruarena amongst the foremost, as he was always wont to do, 
 had a sword thrust through his side, yet he was again on horseback 
 on the 22nd, and being denied leave to remain in that condition with 
 his own regiment, secretly joined Pack's Portuguese in an undress, 
 
 1 This proved to be a mistake. Marmont was simply wounded. 
 
 2 Mr. Pcrcival, the Prime Minister, had been assassinated. Lord Liverpool became 
 Premier.
 
 174 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLlNGTOIf. [1812. 
 
 and was again hurt in the unfortunate charge at the Hermanito.' 
 Such were the officers. A man of the 43rd, one by no means distin- 
 guished above his comrades, was shot through the middle of the 
 thigh, and lost his shoes in passing the marshy stream, but refusing 
 to quit the fight, limped under fire in rear of his regiment, and with 
 naked feet, and streaming with blood from his wound, marched for 
 several miles over a country covered with sharp flints. Such were the 
 soldiers ; and the devotion of a woman was not wanting to the illus- 
 trations of this great day. The wife of Colonel Dalbiac, an English 
 lady of a gentle disposition, and possessing a very delicate frame, had 
 braved the dangers, and endured the privations, of two compaigns, with 
 that patient fortitude which belongs only to her sex. In this battle, 
 forgetful of everything but the strong affection which had so long 
 supported her, she rode deep amidst the enemy's fire, trembling, yet 
 irresistibly impelled forwards by feelings more imperious than horror, 
 more piercing than the fear of death." 
 
 Had anybody written the foregoing but the illustrious author of 
 the " Peninsular War," he would in justice have added the following 
 from an account of the battle of Salamanca, which appeared some 
 years ago in the " United Service Journal :" — 
 
 " The line of the 43rd was one of the finest specimens of discipline 
 I ever saw — as steady as rocks — loith Colonel William Napier twenty 
 yards in front of tlie corps^ alone : he was the point of direction. Our 
 skirmishers ceased firing, and the line marched over them, dead and 
 alive. I expected to see our chief unhorsed, and carried away in a 
 blanket." 
 
 Honourable mention was made by Lord Wellington of all the 
 officers who had shared conspicuously in the battle of Salamanca, 
 and especially of Sir Stapleton Cotton, of whom he observed that no 
 one could command the cavalry in Spain half as well as he had done. 
 There were other officers who had shown a more chivalric spirit, but 
 few who displayed in so remarkable a degree the quality of prudence 
 in command. Sir Stapleton had besides seen much service in 
 different parts of the globe ; in Flanders against the Republican 
 troops ; in India during the war with Tippoo Sahib ; and in 
 Portugal." 
 
 1 Captain Brothcrton had been at Oporto, Talavera, Almoida, Fuenlos d'Onoro, and in moat 
 of the affairs in which cavalry was called upon to act. lie remained with his corps during the 
 war. On hie promotion to Major-General, he obtained the appointment of Inspector-General of 
 the Cavalry in Great Britain, which he only vacated on promotion to the rank of Lieutenaut- 
 General. 
 
 i la 1826, when Commander-in-Chief in India, as Lord Combcrmere (a title conferred on him 
 In 1814), he captured the strong fortress of Bhurlpore.
 
 1812.] MARSHAL MARMONT. 175 
 
 The severe wound which the Duke of Ragusa received compelled 
 him to retire from the command of the army in Portugal, and we do 
 not again hear of him in the field against Wellington. 
 
 That Marmont was an officer of whom Napoleon thought well, is 
 sufficiently clear from his nomination to so important a command at 
 so imminent a juncture. Yet his biographers affirm that he waa 
 more indebted to his insolence, pride, and family connections, than to 
 his talents, for his preferment. They add, in the words of Bonaparte, 
 that he was " always unfortunate." A brief reference to the ante- 
 cedents of Marmont will show that neither the character he obtained 
 nor the pithy commentary of his master were altogether well founded. 
 Descended from a noble family, he received a good education, and 
 was intended for the artillery. He was serving in the army of Italy 
 when Napoleon selected him for one of his aides-de-camp. His 
 courage and confidence secured him the confidence of his General, 
 who employed him on many trying occasions, in which he had the 
 good fortune to succeed. He was still a chpfde bataillon, when he 
 was sent to Paris to present to the Directory twenty-two stands of 
 colours taken from the Austrians under General Wurmser. At the 
 epoch of the formation of the Italian Republic, he was appointed to 
 carry to the Congress of Reggio the determination of Napoleon : 
 and he was with the expedition that marched against Rome. On 
 the conclusion of the treaty at Campo Formio, he returned to 
 France, where he married the only daughter of the rich banker, 
 Perigaux. He next followed Napoleon to Egypt. At the taking of 
 Malta, he was charged with the command of one of the columns 
 landed ; he repulsed the Maltese, and took the standard of the Knights 
 of the Order. He was then made a General of Brigade. Marmont 
 rendered himself useful in the attack of Alexandria, and in the march 
 of the French upon Cairo. The 21st of July, 1800, he seized upon 
 the entrenchments which covered the position of the Mamelukes, 
 and contributed to the overthrowing in the Nile a great number of 
 those intrepid horsemen. At the time of the expedition to Syria, 
 Marmont was charged with the command of Alexandria, where he 
 superseded General Kleber. Returning to France with Bonaparte, 
 he assisted in the revolution of the 18th Brumaire ; he was 
 entrusted with the command of the military school, nominated a 
 councillor of state in the section of war, and General of Division ; he 
 was employed in the army of reserve, destined to reconquer Italy, 
 which had been overpowered by the Austro-Bussians in the single 
 campaign of 1799 ; he obtained the chief command of the artillery 
 of that army which formed itself in the environs of Dijon, and
 
 176 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 assisted at Geneva at the commenecment of May, 1800. Marmont 
 evinced, on this occasion, a good deal of genius and resolution ; he 
 dismounted the cannon to convey them over Mount St. Bernard ; he 
 caused trees to be prepared to receive them, in the form of troughs, 
 corresponding to the size of the calibre. The wheels, carriages, and 
 waggons were either carried in litters or drawn on sledges, very inge- 
 niously constructed ; the ammunition was carried on the backs of 
 mules. Marmont was to be found wherever he judged his presence 
 most necessary ; he neglected nothing to deserve the praises of 
 Bonaparte, who was delighted, in such difficult circumstances, to see 
 himself so well seconded by his aide-de-camp. Not to retard the 
 movements of the army, which could not advance with success with- 
 out its artillery, Marmont, instead of having recourse to his former 
 manoeuvres of St. Bernard, to get over Mount Albaredo, determined 
 to defile his artillery under the fire of Fort de Bard ; the road was 
 strewed with dung, and the wheels covered with hay. They expe- 
 rienced losses, but the passage succeeded. "When General Desaix 
 overthrew the Austrians on the day of the battle of Marengo, 
 Marmont contributed much to the success of that attack by the fire 
 of the artillery, which he caused to advance nearly within musket- 
 shot of the enemy's line. At the crossing of the Mincio, the 26th of 
 December, 1800, eflFected by General Brune against the Austrian 
 General, Bellegarde, the artillery commanded by Marmont rendered 
 great services. When, in 1805, he was called to the grand army, 
 his troops were in the organisation comprised under the name of 
 the " second corps." They consisted of the divisions of infantry, 
 commanded by Generals Boudet, Grouchy, and Dumonceau, and in 
 the division of Light Horse commanded by General Lacost. After 
 having passed the Bhine at Cassel, Marmont directed his march upon 
 Wurtzburg, where he efi"ected his junction with the Bavarians, and 
 the corps of the army of Marshal Bernadotte, on the 2d of October, 
 1 805. He received orders to proceed towards the Danube, to cross 
 that river, and to take position between Aicha and Augsburg. 
 General Mack having shut himself up in Ulm, Bonaparte ordered the 
 second corps to proceed by forced marches to Illersheim. to favour 
 the movements of General Soult upon Meiningen, and afterwards to 
 come and co-operate in the blockade of Ulm, on the right bank of the 
 Danube. The place having capitulated, Marmont served at first as a 
 reserve to the grand army, and was afterwards detached towards 
 Styria, to threaten the left of the Austro-Russian army, and harass 
 the rear of the army of Italy, commanded by the Archduke Charles. 
 This destination, where he had but to fight against a few partisans
 
 1812.] PURSUIT OF THE FRENCH. 177 
 
 in the environs of Leoben, prevented him from being at the battle of 
 Austerlitz. After the peace of Presburgh, Marmont repaired with the 
 French troops under his orders, into the Frioul, to guard the frontier 
 of the kingdom of Italy. In 1809, Marmont commanded the army 
 of Dalmatia. Prince John summoned him to surrender, by his letter 
 of the 1 7th of April. Although this prince's letter was very polite, 
 and conformable to the duties prescribed by honour and the laws of 
 war, Marmont made no reply to it. After having fought the engage- 
 ments of Montkitta and Grodschatz, he arrived with his army on the 
 28th of May at Fiume, where he effected his junction with the army 
 of Italy, which had obtained some success over the Archduke John. 
 Marmont had under his orders about 10,000 effective men. When 
 Bonaparte resolved to attack the Austrian army at Wagram, he 
 united all his forces. The Duke of Ragusa's corps crossed the 
 Danube on the night between the 4th and 5th of July, and formed a 
 part of the reserve. On the 6th it was placed in the centre, with the 
 corps of General Oudinot, and on the 7th it pursued the Austrians 
 in the direction of Zriam. After the armistice, Marmont quartered 
 his troops in the circle Karunenburg, and when Bonaparte wished to 
 appear to intimidate Austria, by making the whole of the grand army 
 take position towards the latter end of July, Marmont's troops en- 
 camped upon the heights of Krems. 
 
 Succeeded in Dalmatia by General Count Bertrand, Marmont was 
 appointed to supersede Massena in the command of the army of 
 Portugal. 
 
 From this sketch, derived in a measure from the pen of General 
 Sarrazin, it is evident that Wellington had in Marmont a foeman 
 worthy of his steel. The detraction to which he was exposed is to be 
 attributed to the enmity he created by an arrogance of manner and a 
 display of wealth offensive to the plain soldiers of the Republic. 
 
 The pursuit of the defeated French army was continued until the 
 French reached Valladolid, about fifty miles north-east of Salamanca. 
 Lord Wellington then committed the further operations to General 
 Clinton, with the 6th Division and the guerrillas, while he turned 
 against the army of the centre, under King Joseph Bonaparte, who 
 had moved from Madrid towards Salamanca, and retraced his steps 
 when he received the news of Marmont's defeat. The progress of the 
 allies towards Madrid was without a check, excepting at Magidhorda, 
 where General D'Urban who commanded the cavalry advanced guard, 
 encountered a strong body of the enemy's cavalry and sustained a 
 momentary reverse. The timely arrival of reinforcements prevented 
 the King from following up the advantage, and he continued his 
 
 VOL. I. 12
 
 1Y8 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1811. 
 
 retreat to Valdermao, where he met the enormous escort which he 
 had detached to Madrid, to bring away his court. The court had 
 quitted Madrid on the 10th of August, with two or three thousand 
 carriages of different kinds, and nearly twenty thousand persons of 
 all ages and sexes. A horrible confusion now arose. The troops of 
 the three different nations who formed Joseph's army plundered the 
 convoy, and made prey of the miserable people who followed the 
 court. Marshal Jourdan, the King's Major-General, with great 
 exertions arrested the mischief, and succeeded in making the multi- 
 tude file over the bridge of Aranjuez. " The procession was, however, 
 lugubrious and shocking ; for the military line of march was broken by 
 crowds of weeping women and children and despairing men ; count- 
 esses of the highest rank were to be seen in full dress desperately 
 struggling with savage soldiers, for the possession of even the animals 
 on which they were endeavouring to save their families. The cavalry 
 of the allies could have driven the whole before them into the Tagus 
 yet Wellington did not molest them, either from ignorance of their 
 situation, or, what is more probable, compassionating their misery. 
 He knew that the troops, by abandoning the convoy, could easily 
 escape over the river, and he would not strike where the blow could 
 only fall on helpless people, without affecting the military operations. 
 Perhaps, also, he thought it wise to leave Joseph the burthen of his 
 court." * 
 
 I Napier,
 
 1812.] 
 
 ADVANCE UPON MADRID. 
 
 179 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Advance upon Madrid— Reception at Madrid— The French in the East, the South, and the 
 North of Spain— Departure for Burgos— Proclamation to the Spaniards— Attack upon, and 
 retreat from Burgos— Hill and Soult at Alba de Tormea— Circular on the subject of Discipline 
 —Feeling excited by the CSrcular. 
 
 MORE striking contrast to the picture 
 delineated by Napier, than that which 
 was presented on the entry of Lord 
 Wellington and the allies into Madrid, 
 it is impossible for the mind to pour- 
 tray. When they reached the heights 
 which command the Spanish capital, on 
 the road from Salamanca, the soldiers 
 ran forward to catch a glimpse of the 
 countless steeples that were distinguish- 
 able through the haze ; and their joy 
 was at its height when they beheld a 
 city, the possession of which had cost 
 them so much toil and hard fighting. 
 Ten thousand voices shouted, in glad 
 chorus, "Madrid! Madrid!" Their 
 step grew light — their spirits rose — and 
 the enthusiasm thus kindled went almost beyond bounds, when 
 thousands upon thousands of Spaniards came out from the town, to 
 accompany the army to the city. For miles leading to Madrid, the 
 roads were crowded almost to suffocation by people of all ranks ; and 
 it was with difficulty that the march was conducted in the order which 
 had generally been observed. The nearer the troops approached 
 Madrid, the greater became the difficulty of progress ; for the people 
 forced themselves into the midst of the ranks, and joined hand in hand
 
 180 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1812. 
 
 with the soldiers. Wine was offered, and (of course) accepted, though 
 not to the extent the Spaniards wished ; for the soldiers were too well 
 disciplined, and felt too jyoud of the stations they held in the estimation 
 of the people and themselves, to allow anything bordering on excess 
 to follow the latitude that was granted them. There was nothing like 
 intoxication in the ranks — not the slightest irregularity ; and the 
 appearance of the ofl&cers, almost all of whom were mounted, and the 
 respect with which they were accosted by the soldiers when occasion 
 required, struck the Spaniards, from its strong contrast with the 
 oose discipline of the French and Spanish armies. It may be fairly 
 Baid that no troops ever entered any capital with all the requisites 
 necessary to insure them a cordial as well as a respectful reception, 
 as the British army did on that occasion. 
 
 But, great as had been the obstacles to the march to the gates of 
 Madrid, they were increased tenfold when the army entered a part 
 
 SPANISH LADIES. 
 
 of the town in the vicinity of the royal palace. Nothing could stop 
 the populace, which at that moment, and at that point, embraced 
 nearly all Madrid, from mixing themselves with the troops. Varie-
 
 xM2.J ENTRY INTO MADRID. 181 
 
 gated drapery hung from the windows ; the church and convent bolls 
 rang out ; banners were displayed ; the bishops, the clergy, and muni- 
 cipal authorities came forth in procession, in all the glitter of the 
 gayest dresses. The clangour of a thousand trumpets rent the skies 
 and as the loud blasts died away, to be renewed with fresh bursts of 
 welcome, the dark-eyed senoritas of Castille struck their guitars, 
 tambourines and castanets, and danced in front of the triumphal 
 columns and their unmatched leader. The British officers were 
 nearly forced from their horses, and some there were who actually 
 lost their seats, if not their hearts. It was not alone the handsome 
 young sub who received these marks of Spanish enthusiasm. The 
 scarred and sun-burnt veterans equally came in for a share of the 
 caresses of the admiring Castillians ; and the Great Chief himself, for 
 whose horse an impromptu carpetting was provided in their shawls 
 and mantillas, when he dismounted, was vehemently embraced and 
 handed over from one female to another, until he became fairly ex- 
 hausted by their uncontrollable attentions.' 
 
 All this was very agreeable to the victorious army, and still more 
 pleasant were the exertions made by the people of Madrid to contribute 
 to the comforts of the officers and the enjoyments of the men. Some 
 of the former reposed on beds of down, under canopies of satin 
 fringed with gold, and made their toilettes in the boudoirs of 
 marchionesses and donas of the highest rank. 
 
 Lord Wellington himself was housed in the royal palace of Madrid,, 
 one of the finest buildings in the world, erected under the auspices of 
 Philip V. And here fresh honours were showered upon his head by 
 the Governments of Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal. The Prince 
 Regent of England advanced him in the peerage by the title of 
 Marquis of Wellington ; the Prince Regent of Portugal conferred 
 upon him the title of Marquis of Torres Vedras ; and the Spanish 
 Government offered him the appointment of Generalissimo of the 
 Spanish armies.' The latter was in one respect one of their wisest 
 measures ; for up to this moment his authority over the Spanish 
 troops had been too often set at nought by the insolent jealousy of 
 
 1 The author had this from the Duke of Wellington himself. 
 
 2 The Spaniards were never deficient in the forms of gratitnde, nor in the display of en- 
 Ihusiam. Vivas and patriotic songs were ever in their mouths, and courage was in their 
 hearts, but the intense jealousy of Lord WelUington displayed by the military leaders in a 
 great measure neutralised the popular zeal. Of what avail to shout 
 
 " Moeir poor la Patria, 
 Quan hello morir," 
 
 if they were Biationary at tho very moment when vigorous action was desirable ? 
 
 O
 
 182 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 the national officers, who would not recognise his power. At the 
 moment, however, Lord Wellington did not accept the trust, for the 
 reasons which will be given hereafter. 
 
 Madrid is defended by a fort called the Retire, formerly a convent, 
 with an interior fort called La China, and an exterior entrenchment. 
 On the retreat of the French, a garrison was left here of 2000 men. 
 The commandant seeing the impossibility of holding it against the 
 British, if attacked, surrendered on the day after the entree of Lord 
 Wellington, with all the stores, arms, and artillery which the place 
 contained. The garrison were then sent prisoners of war to Portugal, 
 
 Leaving the Marquis of Wellington for a time at Madrid, to recruit 
 after his long and harassing campaign, let us advert to the operations 
 in other parts of Spain, which, though they did not very materially 
 influence the movements of Wellington, must be considered in their 
 general bearing upon the great Peninsula struggle ; the more 
 especially as some of them arose from the British leader's own 
 successes. 
 
 The reader is aware that while the events described above were 
 passing in the west and the centre of Spain, the guerrilleros and 
 partidas in the north-west, assailed the French positions with great 
 vigour. Guadalajara now yielded to the Empecinado — one Juan 
 Martin Diez — who had acquired the soubriquet of Empecinado from 
 having covered his face with pecina (pitch), and vowed vengeance on 
 the French, who had murdered his family. Of this man's cruelties 
 the most horrible stories are extant ; but that they were rather reta- 
 liatory than wanton every candid reader of the history of the great 
 war in the Peninsula will admit. There never, perhaps, was an iuva- 
 Bion conducted with greater recklessness of barbarity' than that of 
 the French. Begun in perfidy, it was conducted throughout in an 
 uncivilized and unchristian spirit, and terminated, as it deserved, in 
 indelible disgrace. Besides Guadalajara, Astorga and Torden surren- 
 dered. Puerto de Banos and Mirabete were also evacuated. 
 
 In the south of Spain, Marshal Soult was laying siege to Cadiz. 
 Three years had been employed, with sundry interruptions, in con- 
 structing the works necessary to the conquest of the place, and they 
 ■were upon the point of completion, when the astounding intelligence 
 reached Soult that Marmont had been defeated at Salamanca, and 
 that King Joseph had fled from Madrid to Valencia, to unite himself 
 
 1 Massena carried Napoleon's doctrine Ihat " war should support war," to a frightful ex 
 tremity. He sanctioned the most revolting outrages. A vigorous writer, in a spirit of indigna- 
 tion, thus holds him up to obloquy in the Biographie UniverstlU : — "Signalez le a Thorreui 
 de la postcrite ; ses rapines lui ont ac<iuis une hontsuse cfelfebritfe."
 
 1812.J ADVANCE UPON BURGOS. 183 
 
 with Suchet. Soult immediately raised the siege of Cadiz — destroyed 
 his entrenchments, with 500 pieces of cannon — and set forth to join 
 the King. The defence of Cadiz will for ever remain an imperishable 
 record of the skill of British engineers, the resoluteness of a British 
 garrison, and the helpless vanity of the Spaniards. At first the 
 authorities refused to admit our troops, although they came as 
 defenders, but some little time afterwards they were only too glad to 
 avail themselves of the aid of Generals Spencer and Cooke. 
 
 The French cause had sustained a heavy blow and great discou- 
 ragement by the battle of Salamanca. But the snake was only 
 scotched — not killed. The eastern provinces, Catalonia, Valencia, 
 Murcia, still acknowledged the grinding presence of the usurper; 
 and Clausel, though wounded, was rapidly rallying on Valladolid. and, 
 joined by General Souham, had accumulated an effective force of 
 30.000 men. This was a state of affairs suggestive of anxious consid- 
 eration to Lord Wellington. Moreover, his situation at Madrid 
 was peculiarly isolated. He had removed himself far from the sea, 
 and was consequently remoter from the means of obtaining reinforce- 
 ments of men, provisions, and ammunition. He therefore resolved upon 
 immediately proceeding to the north-west, to open a communication 
 with Gallicia, taking Burgos in his way for the double purpose of 
 driving Clausel still farther from the heart of Spain, and holding his 
 own rear secure. 
 
 To give permanent effect and surety to this movement, the allied 
 troops at Cadiz were ordered to embark for Lisbon, in order that they 
 might communicate with, or join the chief by the line of the Tagus. 
 Sir Rowland Hill, no longer required to watch Drouet, who had 
 moved with Soult towards Valencia, was recalled to Aranjuez to 
 protect Madrid and the vicinity ; and Ballasteros, who had hung 
 upon Soult's right flank in his retreat, was also summoned to occupy 
 the mountains of Alcaraz, with the view of guarding the neighbouring 
 fortress of Chinchilla, and of harassing the French if they should 
 advance upon Madrid, after its temporary evacuation by Wellington. 
 
 These dispositions effected, Lord Wellington proceeded to move 
 towards Burgos. 
 
 The circumstances which suggested this measure must have been 
 desperate indeed, for his troops were not in a condition to undertake 
 any great work. Discipline had become much relaxed throughout 
 the army ; the pay was many months in arrears ; sickness prevailed, 
 and gloom and discontent cast their mantles over all who were kept 
 in the field. There were other motives beyond the position of Clause!, 
 for the attempt to capture a strong castle with a part only of a worn-
 
 184 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 out army, and these are to be found in the frightful state of destitution 
 to which Madrid was reduced. There was not an absolute scarcity 
 of the articles of life in the city — the scarcity lay in the absence of 
 money, — Madrid and Lord Wellington were bankrupt. To stay in 
 the capital was to increase the universal misery, wrought by French 
 plunder and oppression ; emancipation was only to be effected by a 
 desperate movement northward. 
 
 Lord Wellington quitted Madrid' on the 1st of September, 
 previous to which he issued the following proclamation to the Spanish 
 people : — 
 
 PROCLAMATION, 
 
 "Madrid, 29tA Avgust, 1812. 
 
 " Spaniards ! 
 
 " It is unnecessary to take up your time by recalling to your 
 recollection the events of the last two months, or by drawing your 
 attention to the situation in which your enemies now find themselves. 
 
 " Listen to the accounts of the numerous prisoners daily brought in, 
 and deserters from their army ; hear the details of the miseries endured 
 by those who, trusting to the promises of the French, have followed 
 the vagabond fortunes of the usurper, driven from the capital of your 
 monarchy ; hear those details from their servants and followers who 
 have had the sense to quit the scene of desolation, and if the sufferings 
 of your oppressors can soften the feelings of those inflicted upon 
 yourselves, you will find ample cause for congratulation. 
 
 " But much remains still to be done to consolidate and secure the 
 advantages acquired. It should be clearly understood that the 
 pretended King is an usurper, whose authority it is the duty of every 
 Spaniard to resist; that every Frenchman is an enemy, against whom 
 it is the duty of every Spaniard to raise his arm. 
 
 1 The departure of the British troops was much regretted by the Spaniards, not a few of 
 whom reproached our troops for again leaving them to French mercy. Many of the ladies 
 came on the walks to take their last farewell ; and just as the rear-guard were moving off, a 
 beautiful girl, lightly clothed, refused to leave her lover, an English officer in the Portuguese 
 Cacadores, who dismounted, and tied his silk handkerchief round her neck, and placed her 
 li-ideways on his horse. Towards evening, the wind blew keenly, and " I saw her," says an 
 officer,- "enveloped in a soldier's great-coat." Many females left their homes, in a similar 
 manner, with the French officers, and travelled about with the army on horseback, and 
 astride, clad in imiforms of the Polish Lancers or Hussars, splendidly embroidered, with 
 crims. n trou.sers, made very wide, in the Cossack fashion. The ladies of Spain frequently 
 ride astride, with pantaloons and Hessian boots, with a habit buttoning up before and behind, 
 and when they are on horseback it ia tmfaslened and hangs down on each side, to conceal ' 
 their legs from view.
 
 1812.] BURGOS, 185 
 
 " Spaniards ! you are reminded that your enemies cannot much 
 longer resist ; that they must leave your country if you will only omit 
 to supply their demands for provisions and money, when those 
 demands are not enforced by superior force. Let every individual 
 consider it his duty to do everything in his power to give no assistance 
 to the enemy of his country, and that perfidious enemy must soon 
 entirely abandon in disgrace a country which he entered only for the 
 sake of plunder, and in which he has been enabled to remain only 
 because the inhabitants have submitted to his mandates, and have 
 supplied his wants. 
 
 " Spaniards ! resist this odious tyranny, and be independent and 
 happy. 
 
 " Wellington." 
 
 As Wellington advanced upon Burgos, the enemy retired. General 
 Caffarelli, however, placed 1800 infantry, besides artillery, in the 
 place (altogether 2500 men), and the governor, Dubreton, was of 
 such courage and skill, that he surpassed even the hopes of his 
 sanguine and warlike countrymen." 
 
 Burgos means a " fortified eminence." The city was founded in 
 884, and became the capital of Old Castile. There is a castle 
 protecting the town upon a rugged hill oblong in form. A triple line 
 of defence surrounded it. The outer line consisted of the old escarp 
 wall of the town, a castle modernised, with a shot-proof parapet; 
 the second of a species of field entrenchment ; the. third, or upper 
 line, of the same character as the second. All these were flanked and 
 protected at the salient and re-entering angles with strong palisades. 
 Three hundred yards from the castle was the hill of St. Miguel, on 
 which stood a horn-work, consisting, as usual, of a curtain and two 
 demi-batteries, with a redan (or angular work) in front. This work 
 was, in its turn, defended by a battery within the third line men- 
 tioned above. The artillery mounted on the works consisted of 
 nine heavy guns, eleven field-pieces, and six howitzers and mortars, 
 and there were abundant supplies of stores and artillery within 
 the castle. 
 
 To reduce this place Lord Wellington had with him 21,000 allied 
 troops in a most inefficient condition, and a remarkably small train of 
 artillery — not more than three l8-pounders, and five 24-pound iron 
 howitzers. He had been led to believe that the place was weaker 
 than he found it. But his experience of what might be accomplished 
 by a vigorous assault after a breach had been effected, inspired the 
 British General with a degree of confidence scarcely justified by the
 
 186 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 state of his material ; but it was plain, from the first, he was not very 
 sanguine of success. 
 
 The operations commenced on the 19th of September, by the 
 capture of the horn-work of San Miguel. The possession of this 
 place was necessary as a point whence the subsequent siege could be 
 more effectually conducted. The attack was led by the Hon. Edmund 
 Cocks of the 79th, with a loss of sis officers and sixty-six non- 
 commissioned officers and rank and file killed, and three hundred and 
 fifty officers, sergeants, and rank and file, wounded and missing. Upon 
 the following day the siege works were begun under a fierce fire from 
 the garrison, and they were continued from that time (the 20th of 
 September) with little intermission until the 21st of October. A 
 disheartening course of failures — some resulting from the despondency 
 of the troops, who lost heart at the inefficiency of the fire of the weak 
 artillery — some from the neglect of orders by officers entrusted with 
 important duties, and others from the stout resistance of the gallant 
 garrison, who were too much for Lord Wellington's inexperienced 
 troops, had caused him, more than once, to contemplate the abandon- 
 ment of the siege. He had, in the various attempts by sap, by 
 breach, by escalade, and by storm, lost 509 officers and men killed, 
 and 1505 wounded and missing. He had hoped against hope from 
 first to last, and now began to- despair of success. Sir Home 
 Popham, however, was on the northern coast, and had contrived to 
 forward two 24-pounders from Santander with a proportion of stores, 
 and with these Wellington intended to endeavour to breach the wall 
 of the castle. But ill news now came apace. The enemy were 
 approaching from the north-east with 10,000 men to relieve Burgos, 
 and actually* arrived at Monastino. Another force was moving 
 towards the Tagus, and the Castle of Chinchilla had surrendered, 
 because General Ballasteros had not assumed the position in La 
 Mancha which ho had been ordered to take up by the Spanish 
 Government at Lord Wellington's suggestion.* 
 
 I The explanatory and jusliflcalory letter of this vain, self-sufficient soldier is so perfectly 
 characteristic of the consequence of an empty Spaniard — so entirely antithetical to the doctrine 
 of Wellington, that personal convenience should always give way to public duty — that it is worth 
 reproducing in this place, apart from its value as a confirmation of the frequent complaints of 
 the British General, that the Spanish leaders were never to be depended upon. 
 
 "ExcELLBNT SiR,— From the time of the surrender of Barcelona, Figueras, Pampeluna, 
 and San Sebastian, at which epoch I wa.s at Madrid, I began to omit no means to bring about 
 the revolution, maintaining a communication with various provinces of Spain, and acting 
 with an energy surpassed by none. I flatter myself that no person contributed more than I 
 did to the success of the 2nd of May, from which has resulted our present situation. The 
 motive which animated me to act thus, was a knowledge that it was the general wish of the
 
 1812.] OFFENDED PRIDE OF BALLASTEROS. 187 
 
 These circumstances combined to suggest the necessity for an 
 immediate abandonment of the siege of Burgos. It was a severe 
 
 nation to be informed for what purpose the surrender of those fortresses was intended, notwitb- 
 ajanding the political manner in which they were given up. From that epoch I have not quitted 
 my arms, but have resisted, to the honoiu- of my country, the attempts which have been made 
 to injure her by a foreigner. Always inflexible in remaining only a Spaniard, my country has 
 found me ready to support her under every circumstance, without regard to my fortune, which I 
 have ever viewed, as your Highness must admit, with the greatest indifference. I was 
 surprised at learning that the English General, Lord Wellington, was appointed chief of 
 the Spanish armies, by a resolution of the general Cortes. They who, to preserve the repu- 
 tation of their countr)', lie buried in their graves — thousands upon thousands of our com- 
 panions in arms — are observing our proceedings; and I should not consider myself as having 
 been born in the kingdom of Arragon, if I did not submit to your Excellency, for the ivformation 
 of Oovernment, that I cannot condescend to a determination that tarnishes the honour of the 
 Spanish iiame, degrading the chiefs who are at their head ; supposing that they do not perceive 
 the certain superiority to which this measure must lead, particularly keeping in view the events 
 of Barcelona, Figueras, fee, which I have already mentioned, and which took place with a 
 nation with whom we were connected by the ties of friendship and good understanding, and of 
 ■whose bad faith and fair promises no person can give a more satisfactory account than the 
 Duke del Infantado, President of the Regency. I have received an account of this event, and, 
 in consequence, an order to move my army, an order which compi omises the honour of all the in- 
 dividuals belonging to it, either in the capacity of citizens or military men. I cannot hide this 
 from them, without usurping the rights which belong to them, in the event of acknowledging 
 Lord Wellington as General-in-Chief of the Spanish armies ; and as the point in qtiestion is of 
 the utmost importance to the general good of the country, I wait the resolution of your Highness 
 for my ulterior determination. 
 
 " In the same order, your Excellency informs me, that Lord Wellington returns thanks to the 
 generals of the nation for the benefits, political and military, which they performed, to obtain the 
 present results of the allied army. Then, to whom is to be confided the command of the armed 
 force of the nation ? Is Spain to be considered as a little kingdom of Portugal ? Is not the 
 origin of our revolution, to our honour be it spoken, difierent from that of the Portuguese ? 
 Have we vol the honour to belong to the greatest nation in the world ? Have not our arms re- 
 sounded in the four quarters of the world? Can we give the command or our army to a 
 
 FOREIGNER, WHATEVER MAY BE OCR POLITICAL SITUATION, WITHOUT DISGRACING THE NATION? 
 
 No ; Spain has still resources ; her generals, chiefs, oflicers, and soldiers, still, fortunately, pre- 
 eerve the honour they inherited from their forefathers; and in the present war they have con- 
 vinced the English and French that in battle they display equal valour and discipline to them- 
 selves, and that their chiefs know how to conduct them to victory. The fields of Baylen, Albuera, 
 Saragossa, and Gerona, with many others, which I omit to state, because I would npt be thought 
 to boast of myself, are indelible testimonies of this truth ; and the fourth army which I com- 
 mand, may tell the nation, that in these qualities they are not inferior to any soldiers in 
 the world ; and that, without degradation, they cannot descend to submit to obscure the 
 glories they have acquired, and the extraordinary services they have performed, out of com- 
 pliment to Lord Wellington, although they are always ready to act m combination with him. 
 Lastly, I entreat your Excellency to demand the opinion of the national armies and citizens; 
 and if they agree to this nomination, I will resign my appointments, and retire to my house, 
 to convince, in this manner, all the world, that only honour and the good of my country 
 lead me to this exposition, and no ambitious views as to fortune, which malice may 
 sometimes attribute to me, without respecting the notoriety of my patriotism, acquired by 
 weight of constancy and signal services. 
 
 " Head-quarters, Grenada, Oct. 24. " f . Ballastkros. 
 
 "To his Excellency the Minister at War."
 
 188 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 sacrifice for the General to make ; for though he had never been very 
 sanguine of becoming the captor of the town, he could not but bq 
 sensible that the attainment of that object would have proved of 
 mutual advantage to the Peninsula cause, and insured the final success 
 of the campaign. 
 
 It was on the night of the 2 1st of October, 1812, that the siege was 
 raised. Covering the wheels of his gun carriages with straw, and en- 
 joining the strictest silence throughout the columns, Wellington with 
 his army defiled under the guns of the Castle, and moved towards the 
 Douro. 
 
 Dubreton was completely taken by surprise, when, upon the follow- 
 ing morning, he found the bird had flown. And Lord Wellington had 
 so far benefited by the secrecy of his movement, that he had gained 
 some thirty miles before the French troops had begun to follow him. 
 Their cavalry now made up for the lost time by a rapid movement in 
 the direction of the allies, coming up with their rear guard, and as- 
 saulting it with great determination. The remainder of 10,000 troops 
 followed, and by the time the allies had reached Cittada del Camino 
 the two armies were brought into collision. The rear guard of the 
 British, commanded by Sir Stapleton Cotton, remarkably distin- 
 guished itself in covering the retrogression of the main body. Several 
 desperate charges were made upon the French by the brigades under 
 Major-General Anson and Major-General Bock, while the German 
 infantry, under Colonel Halkett, placed in squares, bravely and stead- 
 fastly repulsed the attacks of the French dragoons. On the 24th 
 the British moved on, and the French persevered in the pursuit. 
 On the 25th the town of Villa Muriel was reached, and the French 
 again came up, again attacked, and were a second time repulsed. 
 The honour of this last achievement belonged to Major-General 
 Oswald, under whom were Major-General Pringle and Brigadier- 
 General Barnes. The Spanish troops, under Don Miguel de Alava, 
 behaved right well on this occasion, driving the enemy across the river 
 Carrion, with great loss. On the 29th of October the army crossed 
 the Douro, and Lord Wellington destroyed all the bridges, to prevent 
 the enemy from following him. 
 
 Previous to retiring from Burgos, Lord Wellington had directed 
 Sir R. Hill to move from his position on the Tagus if he should find 
 that he could not maintain himself in it with advantage. It was ne- 
 cessary that the Commander of the Forces should be near him, in 
 order that the corps under his command should not be isolated by the 
 movements which Hill might have found himself under the necessity 
 of making.
 
 1812.] ATTACK ON ALBA DE TORMES. 189 
 
 Sir Rowland Hill did not delay to quit his position. Soult left 
 Valencia on the 12th of October, and approached Aranjuez on the 
 22rid. His army consisted of 50 000 tried soldiers. The force under 
 Sir Rowland did not number 40. 000 bayonets. The retreat was con- 
 ducted with great regularity, and without molestation from the enemy, 
 until Sir Rowland crossed the Tormes, by a bridge close to the town 
 of Alba (de Tormes). Here Marshal Soult came up in strength, and 
 with an evident determination to attack the town. Lord Wellington 
 now moved from his position, to form a junction with Hill, and thus 
 placed his divisions for the third time upon ground that had already 
 been distinguished by his victory. 
 
 Upon the approach of Soult the British commander gave orders for 
 a brigade, consisting of the 50th, 71st, and 92nd Regiments, supported 
 by General Hamilton's divisions of Portuguese, to re-cross the Tormes, 
 and occupy the town. Hamilton immediately made every preparation 
 for a vigorous defence. An ancient castle, which commanded the ap- 
 proach to the bridge, was repaired, and garrisoned with 150 men. 
 The old Moorish wall which surrounded the town being in a state of 
 complete dilapidation, was instantly repaired; the streets and various 
 buildings in Alba de Tormes were barricaded ; and that portion of 
 the troops which was not required to line the walls was kept in reserve 
 in the square. 
 
 On the 10th of November Soult made his appearance upon the 
 heights above the town, his advanced guard driving in the British 
 cavalry picquets, under General Long. In the afternoon the French 
 opened their fire upon the town from twenty pieces of cannon, and 
 pushed forward^ their light troops, 8000 in number, close to the walls. 
 The cannonade lasted for three hours ; and the French infantry were 
 repeatedly formed to carry the place by assault. But, notwithstand- 
 ing the dreadful shower of shot and shell that plunged about the 
 streets in every direction, the boldness of the British soldiery, and 
 the firmness and intrepidity of the officers, deterred the enemy from 
 the attack. Soult drew off his columns, and replaced them on the 
 heights. 
 
 Four or five days now elapsed without any fresh attempt being made 
 by Soult upon the town. In the mean while he manosuvred along the 
 banks of the Tormes; and upon the 14th crossed the river about six 
 miles above Alba. The town was now evacuated, and a small garrison 
 of 300 Spaniards being thrown into the Castle, Lord Wellington 
 moved his divisions towards the Arapiles.' 
 
 1 Some amusing and characteristic scenes connected with the recounais-sances and operations 
 of Lord Wellington at Alba have been given by a medical officer of the army. The journal
 
 190 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON". [1812. 
 
 It was fully expected by the army, and by Lord Wellington 
 himself, that the French would give them battle on the plains of 
 
 whence tbey are derived likewise minutely describes what has been simply sketched 
 above :— 
 
 "After a long day's march, It was late when we arrived on the left bank of the Tormes, 
 and our bivouac was a cold one. Tlie country around was bare of wood, the ground we 
 occupied had lafbly been ploughed, and although the officers were now partially supplied with 
 tents, our situation, already sufficiently uncomfortable, was thereby rendered much more 
 impleasant. During the night it rained and blew tremendously, and it was with much 
 difficulty the tents were prevented from being blown down. The want of wood for fires was 
 also seriously felt, and was a great aggravation of the other evils ; our blankets were wet 
 through upon us, and we passed a most uncomfortable night. On the morning of the 8th 
 November, we therefore were not sorry when, an hour before daylight, we were once more 
 formed, tents struck, and baggage packed, ready to move on, as we hoped, to a more eligible 
 position. The severity of the weather had suflcred little abatement, and we were kept standing 
 on our ground, waiting for orders, in the most uncomfortable plight, the rain pelting us all the 
 while most piteously. No orders, however, arriving, we were at length again permitted to pitch 
 our tents, and, the weather clearing up about noon, proceeded to cook, and make ourselves as 
 comfortable as circumstances would permit. In the course of the afternoon, our brigade, the 
 first of the 2nd Division, and some Portuguese regiments, were ordered into the town of Alba, to 
 our great satisfaction, for the night, and, with some of my brother officers, I got shelter in a toler- 
 ably decent sort of house, which had been deserted by its inhabitants. 
 
 " Alba, or Alva, which gives the title of duke to one of the first grandees in Spain, is a town of 
 considerable size, about three leagues to the south-east of Salamanca, rather romantically situa- 
 ted, in a little amphitheatre formed by some gently-rising ground on the right bank of the Tormes, 
 which is there of considerable breadth, and is spanned by a long narrow bridge, having from 
 twenty to twenty-five arches. On one side it is flanked by an old Moorish castle, recently reduced 
 almost to a heap of ruins. 
 
 " J^Tovemher lOtk. — The enemy have appeared in great force, and are preparing to invest the 
 place ; our brigade has been left alone to defend it, the others, on the left bank of the Tormes, 
 having been moved on, with the exception of a few guns, which are, however, too distant to be 
 of any service, whilst the castle and town hold out. The streets are now barricaded, the exterior 
 walls lined with troops, and the loopholed houses well occupied. A garrison of 200 men, be- 
 longing to the 71st Regiment, has been put in the castle, along with whom, being the only dis- 
 posable medical officer, I was detached. Accordingly, on looking about for a suitable place to 
 establish myself, I fixed on a spacious vault or cellar, with a commodious access by a broad stair, 
 from the court in the centre of the castle, along with the Commissariat bread-bags: it was 
 quite dry, and, besides the light afforded by the door at the top of the flight of steps, it had 
 a small grated window, which looked into the ditch, and on the dead wall which formed part 
 of the rampart. Tliis was almost' the only apartment in the castle which had a roof to it, 
 except one in the great tower, which had been fitted up as a kind of armoury, to which 
 access was extremely difficult, indeed only to be obtained by means of a ladder, which, for want 
 of another, ever and anon required to be drawn up, for the purpose of enabling the reliefs to 
 get to a second floor, from whence a turret-stair led to the roof, which was flat, and sur- 
 rounded by a parapet. From the smnmit of the tower the whole enceinte of the castle, the 
 town, and the surrounding country was overlooked. In the turret-stair there was a small 
 window, looking towards tlie countrj-, which subsequently had to be blocked up with stones, 
 for the enemy's tirailleurs, under cover, approached so near that, watching the opportunity of 
 any one passing in ascending, lliey were sure to liave a shot at them, from which some very 
 narrow escapes were experienced. 
 
 " About noon. Lord Wellington, attended by a single Staff officer and Colonel Cadogan, Tlst, 
 came into the castle, on purpose to reconnoitre the enemy's army, which continued to arrive
 
 1812.J THE BRITISH RETREAT. 191 
 
 Salamanca, and notwithstanding the disparity of force, the Eno^lish 
 commander was not indisposed to receive the attack, or, to use his 
 
 in masses from the eastward, and covered the whole face of the country in that direction. 1 
 had never seen his Lordship before, but, than now, I could not have had a belter opportunity. 
 He was dressed in a plain blue surtout, white cravat, cocked hat, waist-belt, and sabre. He 
 seemed very active, and in great haste. Access to the tower had formerly been obtained from 
 some of the buildings, now in ruins, communicating with the grand stair; but, as I have 
 already said, it was now necessary to ascend to the first floor by means of a ladder, which had 
 to be drawn up, and made use of again to reach the second story. Major M. M., 71st 
 Regiment, who commanded the detachment in the castle, led the way, and as soon as Lord 
 Wellington and the Staff officer had ascended, his Lordship ordered the ladder to be drawn 
 up, calling out to Colonel Cadogan, that he could not spare time to wait for his getting up. 
 The colonel, several other officers, and myself, of course, remained at the bottom of the 
 tower, kicking our heels about, whilst his Lordship was making his reconnaissance from its 
 top. The Honourable Colonel Cadogan was the commanding officer of the 71st Regiment, 
 part of which constituted the garrison of the castle, and to vs it seemed rather cavalier treat- 
 ment on the part of his Lordship, more especially as the Colonel was most deservedly con- 
 sidered to be a favourite of his. Lord Wellington remained on the tower but a very few 
 minutes, and, on descending, Immediately passed out of the castle, mounted his horse, and 
 rode off in great haste. 
 
 " The view at this time from the summit of the tower was of the grandest description ; such a 
 spectacle, indeed, may but very seldom be seen. The whole country round, beyond the imme- 
 diate confines of the town and castle of Alba, as far as eye could reach, swarmed with troops, 
 in all the various panoply of war. The enemy's force in sight — which Marshal Soult had with 
 great exertion collected in the south and east of Spain, to drive Lord Wellington back to the 
 Portuguese frontier, and out of the country — was calculated to amount to between 80,000 and 
 90,000 men, 15,000 of which were cavalry ! These, for the moment, were all held in check by 
 our position at Alba, which prevented their passing the bridge over the Tormes. 
 
 " Lord Wellington had not long left the castle, when we perceived an immense cortege of 
 French mounted officers to approach, and take up their station on the summit of a rising 
 ground about a mile and a half distant, for the purpose of reconnoitring our position. This 
 was Marshal Soult himself, and his brilliant staff. It was said, he was recognised, by some 
 one who was well acquainted with his appearance. They did not approach within musket 
 shot, but certainly were not beyond cannon range, with which, however, as I have said, we 
 were uvprovidcd. 
 
 " It was not a little singular that two such great men should have been the cynosure of all 
 eyes on the same day, and nearly at the same time ; and what a contrast ! Wellington almost 
 without attendants, and Soult with his numerous and splendid staff! 
 
 " Shortly afler Soult withdrew, it became evident that the business of the day was coming on. 
 The tirailleurs, in great nmnbers, closed in upon our defences, but not without opposition on 
 our part ; for our Light Bobs, of which the 71st was wholly composed, kept up a spirited ex- 
 change of shots with them whenever they could do so with advantage, and no little gallantry 
 and tact were displayed on either side. 
 
 " The grand attack was made in the afternoon, shortly after Marshal Soult's reconnaissance. 
 The skirmishers, in great force, advanced nearly up to the walls, and obliged us to witlidraw, 
 our men from the ditches to more sheltered situations. About the same time, from sixteen to 
 twenty pieces of artillery and howitzers were brought forward by the enemy, and posted on 
 some rising ground a little in advance of the spot where Soult made his reconnaissance, and 
 commenced battering the walls of the castle and town. Everj- shot told, except such as passed 
 over altogether and fell in the river, and a number of the houses in the town were set on flre 
 by their shells, or partially demolished by their shot. Our reply was only by musketry ; and 
 though the practice was sufficiently brisk, it was not very effective. Our chief dependence,
 
 ]92 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1812 
 
 own words, " to try the issue of a general action," on ground of his 
 own selection. A presentiment possessed the British that the 
 Arapiles were not destined to witness their defeat, and, in one sense, 
 this belief was justified. Whether Marshal Soult was oppressed by 
 a superstitious dread of the ground on which his predecessor had been 
 discomfited, or that he felt it hazardous at that moment to carry the 
 war anew into Portugal (although he ardently wished to do so 
 ultimately, and recommended the project to King Joseph, in a letter 
 which was intercepted), he certainly abstained from following up the 
 good fortune which had befallen him. The vicinity of Salamanca did 
 not witness another fight. Soult's object was apparently to cut off 
 Wellington's communication with Ciudad Rodrigo. 
 
 After holding out to his adversary for a day or two the temptation 
 to efface the tarnish upon Marmont's arms, and finding out his real 
 object by the fortifications he was throwing up at Mozarbes, Lord 
 Wellington determined to move upon Ciudad Rodrigo. He accordingly 
 put the army in march in three columns, and at the end of four days 
 crossed the Agueda, and placed his troops in cantonments between 
 
 that river and the Coa. 
 
 « 
 
 had they endeavoured to force their way ■within our weak defences, was on the bayonet ; but 
 they never attempted to make a lodgment. Their cannonade was continued till night, when 
 it ceased, without their having gained any advantage. The attack lasted upwards of three or 
 four hours, but did less execution than might have been expected, probably owing to the care 
 taken to prevent our men from exposing themselves. Our loss, however, was by no means 
 inconsiderable, being from twenty to thirty killed, and about one hundred wounded. 
 
 "The castle did not suffer much from the bombardment, though shell and shot fell about it 
 most plentifully. We were apprehensive of another attack diu-ing the night, and, of course, 
 were on the alert, but luckily were disappointed ; however, soon after daylight on the llth 
 (November), the fire of the tirailleurs, from behind the garden-walls where they had 
 ensconced themselves, was again resumed, and we soon discovered that a very considerable 
 portion of the enemy's force had moved off during the night. No artillery was used against 
 ua to-day, though the place was so closely invested, that not a he.'id could be shown over the 
 parapet without being saluted by a shot. In the course of the day General Sir John Hamilton, 
 who commanded the Portuguese, as rough a diamond as ever donned the soldier's garb, 
 visited the garrison in the castle, and addressing Major M., who commanded, bluntly told him 
 he was sorry to bring his death-warrant, for that Lord Wellington was going to withdfaw the 
 brigade from the town, but the castle was to be held to the last ; and he. General Hamilton, 
 was sure, from what he knew of its garrison, that they would never give it up but with 
 their lives ! 
 
 "Next morning, the 12th, our prospects were little improved; but, though still b^ 
 leaguered, the bulk of the enemy's forces had disappeared from the face of the coimtry they 
 80 lately covered : their object in doing so, we were well aware, was to effect the passage of 
 the Tormes elsewhere. Thus passed the day, imtil the afternoon, when we were most unex- 
 pectedly and agreeably surprised by the arrival of 300 Spanish troops from Salamanca, to 
 garrison the castle, and relieve us from so perilous a duly. We delivered over the charge of 
 the castle to the Spaniards, who really were flne-looking fellows, and marching out with 
 comparatively light hearts, rejoined our regiment in the town,"
 
 1812.J 
 
 THE RETREAT FROM BURGOS. 
 
 193 
 
 The enemy followed the retiring force, but did not press upon the 
 rear excepting when the Light Division was passing the Huebra at 
 San Munoz on the 1 7th November; Ney then cannonaded the rear 
 guard, and occasioned some loss. On the same day General Sir Ed- 
 ward Paget fell into the hands of the enemy. He had ridden alone 
 to the rear to discover the cause of an interval in the march between 
 the 5th and 7th Divisions of infantry, when a detachment of French 
 cavalry came upon him in a wood, and captured him.' 
 
 Soult remained passive for a few days near the Huebra, and then 
 broke up his force into detachments, and cantoned it in Old and New 
 Castille. 
 
 The whole history of Lord Wellington's campaigns does not 
 present an example of anything half so disastrous, pernicious, and 
 
 retr?:at krom buugos. 
 
 mortifying as the march from Burgos to the cantonments on the 
 Agueda. The discipline of the army had been terribly shaken by 
 
 iSir Edward Paget was more fearless than sagacious; but Lord Wellington found him 
 very serriccable at aU times, for he was a stem disciplinarian, and would carrj- out the sentence 
 VOL. I. 13
 
 194 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 a variety of circumstances. The pay was long in arrears, the men 
 were half starved, utterly ragged (but a shirt and a half in a whole 
 company !) emaciated, covered with vermin. They had been exposed 
 to all the vicissitudes and opposite rigours of climate — the burning 
 heats of summer, the bitter cold of winter, and at all seasons heavy 
 falls of rain, without shelter of any kind. True to their colours, in 
 the most trying moments they were always ready, and indeed anxious, 
 to face the enemy — but, out of his presence, they plundered remorse- 
 lessly. They shot the pigs which were the sustenance of the inhabit- 
 ants, dived into the wine-caves and vats,* plundered and drank to such 
 a fri'^htful extent that, on one occasion, it was computed there were no 
 less than 12,000 men intoxicated at the same moment ! Straggling 
 from their regiments * to seek the means of gratifying their vile pro- 
 pensity, they were frequently cut up by the enemy's patrols and 
 advanced cavalry, and not unfrequently fell victims to the angry 
 resistance of the country people, whose property they seized upon. 
 Not less than 7000 of the allies were killed in the retreat from 
 Burgos ! 
 
 Shocked at the state to which the army was reduced, Lord 
 Wellington, upon taking up his quarters at Freneda for the winter, 
 issued the following circular to officers commanding Divisions and 
 Brigades : — 
 
 " The discipline of every army, after a long and active campaign, 
 becomes in some degree relaxed, and requires the utmost attention 
 on the part of the general and other officers to bring it back to the 
 state in which it ought to be for service ; but I am concerned to have 
 
 of a Court-Martial even under the Are of the enemy. He had lost his right arm at the passage 
 of the Douro, and was for some time disabled, but he took the earliest opportunity of resuming 
 his duties, and was sent out as second in command. After the Peace, he was made Commander- 
 in-Chief in India, and, by prompt and severe measures, suppressed a dangerous mutiny of native 
 troops, at the commencement of the Burmese war in 18.J4. He died the Governor of Chelsea 
 Hospital, much regretted. 
 
 1 The places used for the manufacture of wine in this part of Spain arc subterranean, beneath 
 Bome acres of ground. Over these are chimneys to admit air and light. To get into the vaults, 
 the men of the regiments lowered down one of their comrades by ropes, or belts strung 
 together, with three »r four canteens slung over him. It was the business of the men so lowered 
 to fill the canteens from the vats, and then, by a signal, cause themselves to be hauled up. Many 
 of the French plunderers (from whom our soldiers appear to have acquired the science of vat- 
 robbery) were murdered in the vaults by peasants set to guard them, and it is believed that 
 several of the English shared the same fate. 
 
 S General Craufurd had a sure way of discovering who had straggled during the march of the 
 Light Division. If he found a man had fallen out without a pass, he would lake his ramrod 
 from him, and ride off. He was thus seen sometimes riding into camp with a dozen ramrods, 
 when the Adjutant of each regiment was ordered to find those who were without ramrods, and 
 the offenders were ordered two dozen lashes each.
 
 1812.] ORDER REGARDING DISCIPLINE. 195 
 
 to observe that the array under my command has fallen off in this 
 respect, in the late campaign, to a greater degree than any army with 
 which I have ever served, or of which I have ever read. Yet this 
 army has met with no disaster ; it has suffered no privations which 
 but trifling attention on the part of the officers could not have pre- 
 vented, and for which there existed no reason whatever in the nature 
 of the service ; nor has it suffered any hardships, excepting those re- 
 sulting from the necessity of being exposed to the inclemencies of the 
 weather, at a moment when they were most severe. 
 
 " It must be obvious, however, to every officer, that from the 
 moment the troops commenced their retreat from the neighbourhood 
 of Burgos on the one hand, and from Madrid on the other, the officers 
 lost all command over their men. Irregularities and outrages of all 
 descriptions were committed with impunity, and losses have been sus- 
 tained which ought never to have occurred. Yet the necessity for re- 
 treat existing, none was ever made on which the troops had such short 
 marches ; none on which the retreating armies were so little pressed 
 on their rear by the enemy. 
 
 " We must look, therefore, for the existing evils, and for the situa- 
 tion in which we now find the army, to some cause besides those re- 
 sulting from the operations in which we have been engaged. 
 
 " I have no hesitation in attributing these evils to the habitual 
 inattention of the officers of the regiments to their duty, as prescribed 
 by the standing regulations of the service, and by the orders of this 
 army. 
 
 " I am far from questioning the zeal, still less the gallantry and 
 spirit of the officers of the army ; and I am quite certain that if their 
 minds can be convinced of the necessity of minute and constant at- 
 tention to understand, recollect, and carry into execution the orders 
 which have been issued for the performance of their duty, and that 
 the strict performance of this duty is necessary to enable the army to 
 serve the country as it ought to be served, they will, in future, give 
 their attention to these points. 
 
 " Unfortunately, the inexperience of the officers of the army has 
 induced many to consider that the period during which an army is on 
 service is one of relaxation from all rule, instead of being, as it is, the 
 period during which, of all others, every rule for the regulation and 
 control of the conduct of the soldier, for the inspection and care of 
 his arms, ammunition, accoutrements, necessaries, and field equip- 
 ments, and his horse and horse-appointments; for the receipt and 
 issue and care of his provisions ; and the regulation of all that belongs 
 to his food, and the forage for his horse, must be most strictly
 
 ^96 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 attended to by the officers of his company or troop, if it is intended 
 that an army, a British army in particular, shall be brought into the 
 field of battle in a state of efficiency to meet the enemy on the day 
 of trial. 
 
 " These are the points then to which I most earnestly intreat you to 
 turn your attention, and the attention of the officers of the regiments 
 under your command, Portuguese as well as English, during the 
 period in which it may be in my power to leave the troops in their 
 cantonments. The commanding officers of regiments must enforce 
 the orders of the army regarding the constant inspection and superin- 
 tendence of the officers over the conduct of the men of their compa- 
 nies in their cantonments ; and they must endeavour to inspire the 
 non-commissioned officers with a sense of their situation and author- 
 ity; and the non-commissioned officers must be forced to do their 
 duty by being constantly under the view and superintendence of the 
 officers. By these means the frequent and discreditable recourse to 
 the authority of the provost, and to punishments by the sentence of 
 courts martial, will be prevented, and the soldiers will not dare to 
 commit the offences and outrages of which there are too many com- 
 plaints, when they well know that their officers, and their non- 
 commissioned officers, have their eyes and attention turned towards 
 them. 
 
 " The commanding officers of regiments must likewise enforce the 
 orders of the army regarding the constant, real inspection of the 
 soldiers' arms, ammunition, accoutrements, and necessaries, in order to 
 prevent at all times the shameful waste of ammunition, and the sale of 
 that article and of the soldiers' necessaries. With this view both 
 should be inspected daily. 
 
 *" In regard to the food of the soldiers, I have frequently observed 
 and lamented, in the late campaign, the facility and celerity with 
 which the French soldiers cooked in comparison with those of our 
 army. The cause of this disadvantage is the same with that of every 
 other description, the want of attention of the officers to the orders 
 of the army, and the conduct of their men, and the consequent want 
 of authority over their conduct. Certain men of each company 
 should be appointed to cut and bring in wood, others to fetch water, 
 and others to get the meat, &c., to be cooked ; and it would soon be 
 found that if this practice were daily enforced, and a particular hour 
 for seeing the dinners, and for the men dining, named, as it ought 
 to be, equally as for parade, cooking would no longer require the 
 inconvenient length of time which it has lately been found to take, 
 and that the soldiers would not be exposed to the privation of their
 
 1812.] FEELING OF THE ARMY. 197 
 
 food at the moment at which the army may be engaged in operations 
 with the enemy. 
 
 " You will, of course, give your attention to the field-exercise and 
 discipline of the troops. It is very desirable that the soldiers should 
 not lose the habits of marching, and the division should march ten 
 or twelve miles twice in each week, if the weather should permit, and 
 the roads in the neighborhood of the cantonments of the division 
 should be dry. 
 
 " But I repeat that the great object of the attention of the general 
 and field officers must be to get the captains and the subaltern of the 
 regiments to understand and perform the duties required from them, 
 as the only mode by which the discipline and eflaciency of the army 
 can be restored and maintained during the next campaign." 
 
 The immediate effect of this circular may be conceived. Every 
 officer in the army considered it to involve unmerited reproaches. 
 Looking only at what they had undergone, and what the army had 
 achieved from the hour of its landing in Lisbon, they felt that the 
 censure of the General was, if not altogether unmerited, at the least 
 ungrateful. Many of them were mere boys, who had commenced 
 their career on the field of battle. They had had very little previous 
 opportunity of acquiring even a knowledge of simple regimental 
 duties, much less of moral command. And of the older officers, whei'e 
 had they been schooled ? In home garrisons, in the West Indies, in 
 Holland, in India — wherever, in short, discipline had been habitually 
 loose and authority weak. With no better preparation for severe 
 campaigns they were immediately introduced, in the Peninsula, to 
 heavy marches in hostile climates, to desperate and bloody encounters 
 with a disciplined and experienced foe, to privations, to sickness, and 
 to frequent disappointments and severe mortification. The spirit of 
 hundreds sunk under the accumulation of suffering, and disqualified 
 them for the strict discharge of their duties. Add to this, that, 
 hunger and thirst forcing them to share in the plunder made by the 
 men, they connived at the irregularities which gave them meat and 
 drink, and thus lost that authority without which no discipline could 
 be preserved. In October, 1 8 II, Lord Wellington had found it necc- 
 sary to remark that they " required to be kept in order as well as 
 the soldiers," — and that if not restrained within bounds, " they 
 would only disgust the soldiers over whom they should be placed, the 
 officers whom they should be destined to assist, and the country in 
 whose service they should be employed." In a word, they were, 
 as a body, mere inexperienced creatures of impulse. They could 
 neither endure success nor failure ; the former threw them into an 
 
 P
 
 198 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 UDgovernable intoxication of delight — the latter plunged them into a 
 miserable state of despondency. 
 
 No doubt Lord Wellington had considered all these matters, and 
 had weighed the policy of unmitigated reprehension against the 
 danger of blending reproof with too much palliation. In his selection 
 of the former, which, however, he tried to soften, by giving credit to 
 the officers for zeal and patriotism, he looked more to its effect upon 
 the future discipline of the array than to its influence on his own 
 popularity. In this, as in all things, Wellington adhered strictly to 
 one of his leading principles of action — the sacrifice of personal 
 feeling and convenience to the public good. And the end vindicated 
 the wisdom of his procedure. The discontent engendered by his 
 rebuke gradually evaporated, and the officers diligently applied them- 
 selves to the restoration of good order and discipline.
 
 1812.J FEELING IN ENGLAND REGARDING THE CAMPAIGN. 199 
 
 CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 Feeling in England regarding Salamanca and Burgos— Meeting of Parliament— Speeches— Lord 
 Wellington becomes Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish armies — Goes to Cadiz to meet th« 
 Cortes — Obtains the Colonelcy of the Royal Horse Guards— Goes to Lisbon. 
 
 HE failure 
 "Wellington 
 hia retreat 
 viewed by 
 
 of the Marquis of 
 
 before Burgoa, and 
 
 into Portugal, were 
 
 the people of Eng- 
 
 land as a melancholy retrogres- 
 sion, and France exulted at an 
 apparent turn of her fortunes in 
 the Peninsula. Nothing short 
 of a miracle could have endued 
 the British General with the 
 uninterrupted good fortune he 
 was expected to reap, under so 
 many obstructions and disad- 
 vantages. The marvel is, that he 
 held to the course he had chalked 
 out for himself and the army under his command for so long a period. 
 He was now (December, 1812,) exactly where he had been many 
 months previously, and in a much more destitute condition in respect to 
 the supply of the sinews of war and the personal efficiency of his army. 
 Yet had much been accomplished in those months. Victories had 
 been won, fortresses had been taken, and the major part of these 
 advantages consolidated. Not a Frenchman now stood upon the 
 soil of Portugal. Badajoz, Oiudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Valladolid, 
 Madrid, Astorga, Seville, the lines before Cadiz, had all fallen into 
 Lord Wellington's hands, and he had either destroyed or had the use 
 of 3000 pieces of cannon, and the other contents of the arsenals of 
 those places ; 20.000 prisoners had been shipped for England, and tlje 
 siege of Cadiz had been raised.
 
 200 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 These were acliievcmcnts only to be paralleled by the rapid con- 
 quests of Napoleon. If they fell short of the number and extent of 
 the exploits of the Macedonian hero, they were accomplished in a 
 fourth of the time. But "/a fin couronne le tout^'' and in this case, 
 " la fin " had been unfortunate. Had Parliament been sitting when 
 the news of the battle of Salamanca and the occupation of Madrid 
 reached England, the voice of opposition would have been hushed by 
 the eloquent apostrophes of the minister and the joyful shouts of the 
 gladdened multitude ; but now the tide had turned, and it was 
 difficult to appeal from the misfortunes of Burgos to the triumphs of 
 the Arapiles. 
 
 A sliort summary of the proceedings in both houses at this juncture 
 will show that the feeling which prevailed in England, at the close of 
 1812, however ultimately advantageous, was neither just nor generous 
 towards Lord Wellington. The Marquis was now called upon to 
 summon all his patience to his aid, and to find consolation for the 
 obloquy cast upon his fortune in the applause of his own clear 
 conscience ; in the hopes of the future, and the approbation of his 
 sovereign. 
 
 The news of the battle of Salamanca was received with the usual 
 demonstrations of joy. Thanksgivings were offered up in the churches 
 and other places of public worship ; the windows and the walls of the 
 denizens of every city in Great Britain blazed with illuminations ; 
 fireworks crackled in the streets, or lighted up the suburbs ; meetings 
 were called, that resolutions of approbation might be placed on record ; 
 and enormous quantities of beer were consumed in toasts to the 
 General and his troops. All these and other vulgar marks of rejoicing 
 however, passed away, and when the despatches announced the tardy 
 progress of the operations against Burgos, and the ultimate failure 
 of Lord Wellington, the mob, and the press in its interest, veered 
 round, and little was heard but the language of reproach and 
 indignation. 
 
 A new Parliament had been elected in 1812, and the Prince Regent 
 took the earliest opportunity of calling it together on account of the 
 peculiar situation of public affairs. In the speech from the throne, 
 on the 30th of November, his lloyal Highness referred in approving 
 terms to the valour and intrepidity of the troops, and the skill and 
 judgment of the Marquis of Wellington, who had, by transferring the 
 seat of war to the interior of Spain, and by his victory at Salamanca, 
 delivered the southern and western provinces from the power and 
 arms of France ; and he called upon Parliament to continue to afford 
 every aid in support of a contest which had given to the continent of
 
 1812.] PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. 201 
 
 Europe the example of persevering and successful resistance to the 
 power of France, on which not only the independence of the nations 
 of the Peninsula, but the best interests of Great Britain and the 
 colonies essentially depended. Lord Longford, a relative of Lord 
 Wellington's (and therefore restrained by delicacy from saying too 
 much in his praise), moved the address, and while he admitted the 
 severity of the taxation under which the nation groaned, urged the 
 endurance of greater sacrifices — any sacrifice in short — to bring the 
 Peninsula War to a happy issue. Napoleon deemed no sacrifice too 
 great to promote the dearest objects of his ambition. It became 
 Great Britain to practise still greater self-denial to frustrate those 
 vicious objects. Lord Rolle seconded the address. 
 
 The Marquis of Wellesley entered upon a complete survey of the 
 Peninsula War, and in adverting to that part of the speech which 
 spoke of the necessity of continued efi'ort, denounced the whole 
 system hitherto pursued by the Ministers as totally inadequate to the 
 great purposes to be attained. " It was certainly," he said, " the 
 highest part of the character of wisdom to persevere with reasonable 
 grounds of hope, in the face of danger, difficulty, and discomfiture, 
 so it was the highest character of firmness to meet the tide of 
 success without intoxication ; to look it steadily in the face ; to 
 analyse the grounds on which it stood ; and from that analj'sis, care- 
 fully and cautiously pursued, to deduce one general and consistent 
 ground of public action." He called upon the government not to 
 be led away by past success ; not to be intoxicated with it, nor suffer 
 its lustre so to dazzle their faculties that they could neither perceive 
 where it originated, how it might be rendered permanent, nor to 
 what ultimate objects it might be applied. He then took a comprehen- 
 sive view of the history of the war ; showed how success had arisen 
 from the great talents of Wellington, and failure from the inadequacy 
 of his supplies, for which Ministers were responsible. Alluding to 
 the battle of Salamanca, " from what," asked the Marquis of Wellesley, 
 " did that battle arise 1 Did it arise out of the efficiency, or out of 
 the necessity of Wellington? It arose from the magnificence, the 
 splendour, the greatness of his talents. He struck the enemy with 
 his spear the moment he saw an opening. But were we to hope for 
 that again? Was that a ground to build upon? His talents were 
 indeed a firm and secure rock, on which any hopes, any expectations, 
 however great, however exalted, might be founded ; but it ill became 
 statesmen to calculate upon chances, and occasions presenting them- 
 selves for success in operations upon the prosperous issue of which 
 so much depended. Did the Ministry mean to say that their system
 
 202 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 was raised solely upon the resplendent abilities of a consummate 
 general, and upon the errors of the enemy ? Did their plans amount 
 only to that?" The Marquis continued for some time in the same 
 strain, and concluded by declaring Ministers culpable in withholding 
 needful supplies, and calling on them to carry on the war in the 
 Peninsula upon a broad and extensive scale of operations. 
 
 Lords Liverpool and Bathurst offered a feeble defence to the system 
 of Mr. Percival ; the former arguing that he had to consider the other 
 interests of the country in meting out the means for the conduct of 
 the war ; the latter that he was restrained by Lord Wellington himself 
 from sending out reinforcements ; forgetting to add that the restric- 
 tions only referred to a late period of the contest, when they could 
 not have been sent without danger to their health. 
 
 In the Commons, Lord Clive moved the address, which was more 
 than an echo of the speech, because it was more wordy and elaborate 
 in its promises of support. No amendment was at first offered to the 
 address, but the Right Hon. George Canning, who had held up the 
 laurels of Talavera to the admiration of the country, spoke to the 
 subject of the wars in Russia and in the Peninsula ; lauding the^ 
 defence of Russia as the noble offspring of the sturdy resistance of 
 Spain and Portugal under British auspices, and following the general 
 view with a denunciation of the Ministers. He considered the great 
 success of Salamanca, succeeded by a disastrous retreat, to call for 
 explanation. " I cannot hesitate to say (Canning loquitur) that if 
 there be in the power of Ministers any means yet untried, any effort 
 yet unattempted, any resources yet unexplored, any acceleration of 
 force yet omitted, any exercise of energy yet delayed, not only such 
 additional exertion ought to be immediately made, but that it ought 
 to have been made long ago." Misplaced economy, shrinking from 
 exertions that had a tendency to cripple Lord Wellington's operations, 
 were crimes in Mr. Canning's eyes. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh defended Ministers in the same tone as his col- 
 leagues in the other House had employed. This brought Mr. 
 Whitbread on his legs. He exclaimed against the want of proper 
 co-operation on the part of the Spaniards, and joined in the opinion 
 that the British Ministers had failed adequately to support Lord 
 Wellington. He then moved a long amendment, in which it was 
 proposed to institute an inquiry into the causes of the retreat from 
 Burgos, for the purpose of ascertaining whether those disappointments 
 had arisen from weakness of counsel at home, and want of support 
 from the country, or were attributable to causes irremediable, and 
 Inherent in Spain herself Sir Gilbert Heathcote and Mr. Ponsonby
 
 1812.J PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. 203 
 
 supported, Mr. Bathurst, Mr. Vernon, and Mr. Elliott opposed, the 
 amendment, which was accordingly lost, and the address carried with- 
 out a division. 
 
 The report on the Prince Regent's speech was brought up on the 
 1st of December. Some acrimonious discussion ensued, because, at 
 this time, England had engaged herself in a war with America, and 
 by the expression of her sympathy, and the employment of her navies, 
 had taken a part in the Russian campaign against Napoleon. 
 
 But whatever may have been the feeling of the House of Commons, 
 and the liberal party in the country, regarding the policy of prose- 
 cuting a war to liberate Spain, there was no difference of opinion 
 respecting the merits of the Marquis of Wellington. To his stupen- 
 dous ability and wisdom all parties bore willing tribute. On the 3rd 
 of December, Earl Bathurst proposed a vote of thanks to the noble 
 Marquis for the victory of Salamanca, and found no dissentient voice 
 in the House of Lords. The Earl drew a faithful picture of the 
 wisdom of Lord Wellington in prosecuting the campaign after the fall 
 of Badajoz. 
 
 His intention to march into Andalusia, and oblige the French to 
 evacuate the province, lest the people, becoming accustomed to the 
 power and presence of the enemy, should forget their connection 
 with their legitimate government, and the subsequent change in that 
 intention, because of Marmont's advance upon the Agueda, and the 
 importance of cutting off all communication between the Marshal and 
 Marshal Soult in the south, were suitably dwelt upon and eulogised. 
 " Indeed, my Lords," exclaimed Lord Bathurst, " such were the skill 
 and management of the noble Marquis during this period of the cam- 
 paign, that no words which I can use would be adequate to represent 
 their value." Lord Bathurst added that the correspondence between 
 the French marshals, intercepted by Lord Wellington, sufficiently 
 showed the high estimation in which he was held. No movement of 
 the enemy could disappoint his plans, or controvert his projects ; while, 
 on their part, no movement was concerted, but it was anticipated ; no 
 expectation was raised but it ended in disappointment ; no fear was 
 entertained but it became realised. In one of the intercepted letters 
 it was said " he must read our correspondence or he must dive into 
 our hearts, for no sooner do we form a design than he knows it, and 
 forms measures to defeat it." 
 
 The Marquis of Lansdowne cordially supported the vote of thanks 
 in one of those speeches in which justice was blended with a noble 
 patriotism, and the suggestions of party merged into admiration of 
 the champion of the cause of liberty in the Peninsula. Incidentally
 
 204 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 the noble Marquis touched upon a point of importance which had 
 been elsewhere overlooked. " No man," observed Lord Lansdowne, 
 " who had attentively watched the conduct of the Marquis of Welling- 
 ton, and the ofl&cers under his command, could fail to have observed 
 that a military school existed in the Peninsula in which a race of 
 officers were forming, on which the country might rely with confidence 
 in the future military career which in all probability it had yet to 
 run." "Notwithstanding the losses at Burgos and elsewhere, many 
 officers must be formed by the Marquis of Wellington, who, having 
 the advantage not only of his instructions, but of his example, before 
 them, must be capable of rendering the highest service to their 
 country." ' 
 
 Lord Soraers, the father of the gallant officer who fell at Burgos, 
 proved the humanity of Lord Wellington, and the Duke of Clarence, 
 and the Marquis of Wellesley, both spoke cordially in favour of the 
 vote, which was agreed to, nem. dis. 
 
 In the House of Commons, on the same evening, Lord Castlereagh 
 had the honour of moving the thanks of Parliament to the hero of 
 Salamanca. The noble lord's eloquence on the occasion acquired 
 additional earnestness from the fact of there being in that House 
 some members who felt it consistent to refuse thanks for a battle 
 which they did not, or could not, perceive had been attended by import- 
 ant results. After sketching a narrative of Lord Wellington's 
 achievements, Lord Castlereagh insisted upon the effect of the battle 
 of Salamanca, in giving the British commander an entire ascendancy 
 over the Spanish mind ; an ascendancy which had led to the unani- 
 mous election of the Marquis to the command of all the military 
 means of Spain. The only able opponent of the vote was Sir Francis 
 Burdett. He placed the Ministers on the horns of a dilemma. He 
 justly contended that either the Government or Lord Wellington was 
 to blame for the failure at Burgos. If the former had done their duty 
 in supplying the British commander with adequate means to accom- 
 plish the capture of Burgos, Lord Wellington was obnoxious to blame 
 for his failure : if Lord Wellington had done all that his great talents 
 justified the world in expecting, what became of the defence made by 
 
 I Tho Marquis of Lansdowne spoke like a propliet. Lord Combcrraere, Lord Keane, Lord 
 Gough, Sir A. Campbell, Lord Ilardingc, Lord Strafford, Sir Harry Smith, Sir Colin Campbell, 
 Sir Edward Paget, Sir Henry Fane, Sir Charles Colvillc, Sir Colin Halkctt, Sir Willoughby Cotton, 
 Sir Thomas Bradford, Sir George Walker, Sir Edward Barnes, Sir Robert Dick, Sir Frederic 
 Adam, Lord Saltoun, Sir John Macdoiiald — and laal, not least, Lord Filzroy Somerset, all lived 
 to attest the value of Peninsular service in qualifying them for responsible military offices 
 •laewhere.
 
 1812.] GRANT OF £100,000. 205 
 
 Ministers on the subject of supplies ? The point was not argued by 
 the House, but public opinion has long since settled where the 
 blam.e or failure lay, in spite of the candid admissions of Wellington 
 himself 
 
 The vote of thanks, which included all the principal generals by 
 name who had served at Salamanca, was carried unanimously, and the 
 House further resolved to raise a monument to the memory of 
 Major-General Le Marchant, who fell in the action. 
 
 On the 4th of December Lord Castlereagh came down to the 
 House of Commons with a message from the Prince Regent. The 
 message intimated His Royal Highness's desire to bestow such a 
 mark of national munificence on General the Marquis of Wellington, 
 as might enable him to sustain the high honours conferred upon 
 him, and the House was called upon to adopt such measures as 
 might be necessary for the accomplishment of that "most important 
 object." 
 
 The House of Commons took the subject into consideration on the 
 7th of December, and a similar message having been communicated to 
 the House of Lords, the Tories in the latter House, in the person of 
 Lord Liverpool, and the Whigs, personated by Lord Holland, at once 
 assented to the Prince Regent's proposal. 
 
 When the House of Commons had resolved itself into a committee, 
 Lord Castlereagh of course took the initiative in proposing a 
 pecuniary grant to Lord Wellington. The main point on which he 
 rested his advocacy of the grant, was the inability of the Marquis to 
 wear his honours with grace unless assisted by the country. It 
 never could have been intended that the honours so fairly earned 
 should be burdensome or painful to their recipient; and Lord 
 Wellington was of so disinterested a character, that he was not able 
 to sustain his rank out of his own resources alone. He had declined 
 to receive the sum of 8000/. a-year attendant upon the command of 
 the Portuguese army, on the ground that he could not take pay from 
 his own sovereign and that of another country at the same time. The 
 Grovernment, nevertheless, suffered it to accumulate, and when it was 
 tendered to him. Lord Wellington, with a generosity never before 
 excelled, and with the noble self-denial of a soldier, begged that it 
 might be disposed of for the Portuguese army. Lord Castlereagh 
 was satisfied that the House would never recognise the French 
 system of rewarding military leaders. The marshals were rewarded 
 with possessions granted out of the countries which they had 
 devastated — the territory of one sovereign was made the means of 
 desolating the dominions of another. "Happily," exclaimed Lord
 
 206 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 Castlereagh, " a different system prevailed, and he trusted ever would 
 prevail, in this country. The troops of Great Britain went forth to 
 fight for the interests and tranquillity of other nations as well as of 
 their own ; and their officers, although they might accept the honours 
 conferred upon them by the legitimate sovereign of the country in 
 whose cause they were contending, were not disposed to avail them- 
 selves of any pecuniary advantage unless it flowed from the country 
 to which they belonged." As it was not considered desirable to 
 exhaust the honours of the crown and the bounty of Parliament, 
 for Lord Castlereagh yet anticipated further achievements by Lord 
 Wellington, he limited his proposal to the grant of 100,000/., to be 
 vested in trustees for the purchase of lands to descend with the title 
 of Wellington, and to be enjoyed by the future representatives of the 
 noble Marquis. 
 
 Sir Francis Burdett opposed the grant upon various grounds. He 
 had no idea of rewarding the retreat from Burgos. It was the first 
 time he had ever heard that there was merit or glory in a disastrous 
 retreat. He thought the campaign altogether very extraordinary, fur- 
 nishing no ground for hope. The cause of Spain appeared to him in- 
 finitely more desperate than it was at the commencement. Moreover, 
 if Ministers wished to reward military skill, they had enormous funds 
 to draw from without applying to the public purse. While the amount 
 of taxation was so great and so complicated, as to render its collection 
 in a great degree impossible, he thought forbearance was essential. 
 At all events he proposed as an amendment the postponement of the 
 consideration of the grant. 
 
 Mr. Robinson supported the grant, and cited the case of the 
 Duke of Marlborough, who, long before the battle of Blenheim, was 
 granted a pension of 5000/ a-year. Sir Frederick Flood only regret- 
 ted that the finances of the country did not admit of the grant being 
 doubled ; and Mr. Whitbread, who on former occasions had found 
 fault with Lord Wellington, and always with the Ministers, cheerfully 
 supported the motion for the grant. 
 
 Mr. Canning wound up the discusion with a brilliant harangue, 
 seizing upon one or two points which had been overlooked by other 
 speakers. He concurred in the proposal to grant 100,000/., from a 
 feeling that " we had within the last few years raised ourselves to the 
 same equality on land, — more than which we had possessed at sea ; 
 and that to the individual to whom we owed these augmentations of 
 glory and advantage no renumeration could be too splendid or too 
 generous. No man who looked back at what our military policy was 
 Kuue timo ago, and compared it with our present views and charactei
 
 1812.] COMMAND OF THE SPANISH ARMIES. 20V 
 
 but must see that through the success and merits of Lord "Wellington 
 we had become a military people, and that by a series of achievements, 
 each rising above the other in grandeur, he had, although yet in the 
 youth of his glory, acquired for himself a renown equal to that of the 
 first captain of his age. When the House looked back at that period 
 at which our warlike preparations were confined to plans of fortifying 
 the Thames, instead of driving the enemy beyond the Tormes and the 
 Ebro, they could not fail, not merely to recognise in Lord Wellington 
 the deals ct tutamen patrice^ as one who had not merely formed a 
 school, in which others might be taught to succeed and follow him in 
 his career of glory, but to perceive in him at the same time the hero, 
 who, whilst he wielded the thunder of his native land, was the tutelar 
 genius of allied and dependent states, the protector of oppressed and 
 prostrate powers. The picture which history would trace, for the in- 
 struction of posterity, would unite therefore with the figure of the 
 successful commander, the attributes of a benevolent spirit, extending 
 a guardian influence over recovering though fallen nations." 
 
 The amendment was rejected, and the resolutions carried with 
 acclamation. 
 
 It has been stated in a previous page that, after the battle of 
 Salamanca, the Spanish Provisional government ofi"ered Lord 
 Wellington the command of their armies. He did not accept the 
 honour until he had received the special permission of the Prince 
 Regent of England. When that arrived, he at once took upon him- 
 self the dignity and responsibilities of the office, bringing to the task 
 of reforming the troops all the energy, candour, and clear-sightedness 
 ■which distinguished his management of the British army. " Your 
 Excellency," writes Wellington, addressing the Minister of War at 
 Cadiz, " has a right to expect from me an accurate representation of 
 facts as they shall appear to me ; and you may depend upon it that I 
 tvill perform this dutyP There was no beating about the bush in 
 this avowal of an honesty of purpose — no fencing the necessities of 
 the hour with deferential phrases and official technicalities. The 
 urgency of the case was great, and did not admit of a waste of time 
 in empty courtesies. The discipline of the Spanish armies was in the 
 lowest state — neither officers nor troops had been paid for months, 
 " nay, some for years ;" they had no clothing, were wanting in neces- 
 saries, and destitute of provisions. As a natural consequence, habits 
 of indiscipline and insubordination prevailed. Desertions were 
 numerous, and sickness universal. Lord Wellington, who was 
 always as averse to interfere with the functions of others as he was 
 jealous of any infringement of his own, did not become acquainted
 
 208 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 with these circumstances until it was his duty to inquire ; and he was 
 then so much shocked at the spectacle of suffering, and the absence of 
 discipline, that he frankly avowed that, had he been aware of the real 
 state of the army, he would have hesitated before he should have 
 charged himself with " such an herculean labour as its command." 
 But having accepted it, he did not allow the prospect of labour, and 
 the doubtfulness of success, to suggest its relinquishment — he re- 
 solved to exercise it so long as he should possess the confidence of the 
 authorities. 
 
 With the view of carrying out his schemes of reform in the army 
 of Spain, the Marquis, after communicating by letter with the 
 Minister of War, to little purpose, determined to proceed to Cadiz in 
 person. He set off on the 24th of December, 1812. "God knows," 
 he writes to Marshal Beresford, " the prospect of success from this 
 journey of mine is not bright ; but still it is best to try something." 
 
 If Lord Wellington had been fond of display, there was enough in 
 the reception accorded to him by the authorities at Cadiz to satisfy his 
 most inordinate desire. To one of his simplicity of character, it was 
 nothing that crowds came out to meet and greet him — that the people 
 shouted Vivas, and the householders illuminated their dwellings. He 
 had learned to place the exact proper value on these popular demon- 
 strations, and perhaps conceived that, in the adoption of a system the 
 very reverse of that which was cherished by great Spanish command- 
 ders, who always appeared at the head of a cavalcade of staff ofiicers, 
 he should significantly intimate the difference between real business 
 and frivolous display. His ever faithful follower. Lord Fitzroy 
 Somerset, was Wellington's only aide-de-camp when he met a deputa- 
 tion from the Spanish Cortes on the 27th December. 
 
 Lord Wellington's speech to the Cortes three days subsequently 
 was brief but impressive. He told them that the eyes of their 
 countrymen were upon them, and that the whole world was interested 
 in the success of their endeavours to save the nation from the general 
 wreck, and to establish a system of government founded on just 
 principles. In his communications with the Government upon the 
 subject of the army, he was firm, but respectful. The point to which 
 he strenuously addressed himself, as the key to reform and better 
 organisation, was the complete obedience and dependence of the staff 
 of the army, the Chief of which, he insisted, should be at his head- 
 quarters, to act as the channel for the receipt of reports, and the 
 issue of orders. The authorities paid every attention to his wishes, 
 and at the end of a month he was enabled to write to Sir Thomas 
 Graham, " I have placed military affairs (at Cadiz) on a better footing
 
 1812.] THE CADIZ GOVERNMENT. 209 
 
 than they were before, in the way of organisation ; and I have provided 
 some means to pay and subsist the armies ; and we are beginning with 
 discipline." That he did not carry out all his plans was ascribable 
 to the influence of the corrupt and lying press of Cadiz, which fired 
 the jealousy of the Spaniards by pointing to the (imaginary) danger 
 of the union of powers in the hands of military officers at the sug- 
 gestion of a foreigner. From the moment that fatal article appeared 
 in one of the papers, the Cortes would do nothing.' 
 
 1 An amusing picture is drawn by Lord Vl^ellington, in a despatch to Earl Bathurst, dated 
 "Frende, 27ih January, 1813," of the state of the government of Cadiz at this time. His own 
 Conservatism comes out strongly in the sketch. 
 
 " It is impossible to describe the state of confusion in which affairs are at Cadiz. The Cortes 
 have formed a constitution very much on the principle that a painter paints a picture, viz., to be 
 looked at ; and I have not met one of the members, or any person of any description, either at 
 Cadiz or elsewhere, who considers the constitution as the embodying of a system according to 
 which Spain is, or can be, governed. They, the Cortes, have in terms divested themselves of the 
 executive power, and have appointed a Regency for this purpose. The Regency are, in fact, the 
 slaves of the Cortes ; yet Cortes and Regency have so managed their concerns, as that they have 
 no communication or contact excepting of that kind which our sovereign has by speech or 
 message to Parliament, or the Parliament by address to his Majesty ; neither knows what the 
 other is doing, or what will be done upon any point that can occur. Neither Regency nor 
 Cortes have any authority beyond the walls of Cadiz, and I doubt whether the Regency have any 
 beyond the walls of the room in which they meet. Each body, I know, suspects the other, 
 notwithstanding, as I have above stated, the Regency are the creatures of the Cortes. The 
 Regency suspect that the Cortes intend to assume the executive power ; and the Cortes are so far 
 suspicious of the Regency, that although the leading members admit the expediency, nay, 
 necessity, of their removal from Cadiz, the principal reason alleged for remaining there is, that 
 they know the people of Cadiz are attached to them ; but if they were to go elsewhere, to Seville 
 or Grenada for instance, they are apprehensive that the Regency would raise the mob against 
 them!! 
 
 " I wish that some of our reformers would go to Cadiz, to see the benefit of a sovereign 
 popular assembly, calling itself ' Majesty ;' and of a written constitution ; and of an 
 executive government, called ' Highness,' acting imder the control of ' his Majesty,' the 
 Assembly ! In truth, there is no authority in the slate, excepting the libellous newspapers, and 
 they certainly ride over both Cortes and Regency without mercy. I am astonished at the 
 patience of my brother, and that he has been able to do anything with such people. I am 
 quite certain that if I had not threatened them with my resignation, and had not kept aloof 
 from all questions excepting those relating to my immediate business at Cadiz, I should have 
 done nothing. It appears to me, however, that we must not allow these people to go to ruin as 
 they are doing. Hitherto, having been confined within the walls of Cadiz, and the whole of 
 Spain having been occupied by the enemy, their follies have been of little importance ; but they 
 will now become a serious misfortune, in proportion as the military misfortunes of France will 
 tacrease the means of communication of the Cortes with the country. Several of the leading 
 aiembers with whom I conversed, are aware of the folly of the constitution, and are desirous of 
 changing it, but do not know how to set about the change, and are terribly afraid of the Cadiz 
 newspapers. In fact, if we allow matters to go on as they are, we shall lose the benefit of all that 
 we have done, even if the result of the war should be to force the French to evacuate Sjiain ; and 
 1 propose to try if I cannot prevail upon some of the leaders to propose an alteration of the 
 constitution, so as to connect the legislative assembly with the executive government, as our 
 Houses of Parliament are, by the ministers of the crown being members. This wiU be one step 
 VOL. I. 14
 
 210 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815 
 
 From Cadiz Lord "Wellington proceeded to Lisbon (January, 
 1813). where it was necessary to see the authorities, and to stimulate 
 them to a greater degree of liberality and patriotism, if they had any 
 desire for the regeneration of the country, and the permanent expul- 
 sion of the French from the Peninsula. The enthusiasm of the 
 people, on his arrival, exceeded all previous manifestations. They 
 had learnt to appreciate his great worth ; albeit the Government had 
 been slow to adopt his propositions for the improvement of the cir- 
 cumstances of the army. Fetes were given by the Regency to their 
 illustrious visitor, and at San Carlos the festivities were also great. 
 Ultimately the Government applied itself to the amelioration of the 
 military force. 
 
 While upon his tour to Cadiz and Lisbon, the Marquis of Welling- 
 ton received the agreeable tidings that he had been appointed 
 Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards.* This involved the 
 vacation of the Colonelcy of the 33rd — the corps in which he had 
 seen active service in the Low Countries and in India, and to which 
 he had become attached. The superior advantages of a Colonelcy 
 of the Household Cavalry made Lord Wellington feel much gratified 
 by the change, but he could not leave the 33rd without saying that 
 he should ever feel an anxiety for their interest and honour, and 
 hear whatever might conduce to the latter with the most lively 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Returned to Freneda in better spirits, and with better hopes than 
 those which animated him on his departure for Cadiz, Lord 
 Wellington awaited, for three months, the restoration of his army 
 to health and efficiency. Recruits, stores, arms, and money con- 
 tinually reached him, and everything seemed to promise a brilliant 
 campaign. The bonhommie of his character, held in reserve during 
 the stern operations of war, was now allowed full play ; and he exer- 
 cised hospitality upon as large a scale as the circumstances of the 
 hour and place would allow. " You had better," says he in a note 
 to Graham, who had returned in good health from England, " direct 
 your steps towards this village, which we have made as comfortable as 
 we can, and where we shall be happy to see you. The hounds are in 
 very good trim and the foxes very plentiful." ' 
 
 towards putting the machine of government in motion ; and it may be followed by other improve* 
 ments essentially necessary for the establishment of any government, or for the preservation o' 
 any system of order in the country." 
 
 I 1st of January, 1813. 
 
 3 A sketch of the personnel of Lord Wellingtou at this time is g^ren in a letter from an officer 
 of the Light Division : — 
 
 " We know Lord Wellington at a great distance by his little flat cocked-hat (not a fraction
 
 1812.1 
 
 NAPOLEON'S RUSSIAN CAMPABN. 
 
 211 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A gliiQce at Napoleon's Russian Campaign, and the State of Affairs In the East of Spain. 
 
 HILE the rival armies lay 
 inactive — at least in re- 
 spect to hostile operations 
 — Napoleon Bonaparte re- 
 called Soult, whose services 
 he required in reference to 
 his new quarrel with Ger- 
 many. 
 
 From this point the suc- 
 cesses of Wellington in the 
 Peninsula, and subsequently 
 in France, bore so directly, in connection with events taking place 
 elsewhere, upon the fall of Napoleon, that a glance at the proceedings, 
 
 of an inch higher than the crown,) being set on his head completely at right angles with his 
 person, and sitting very upright in his hussar saddle, which is simply covered with a plain blue 
 shabrack. His lordship rides, to all appearance, devoid of sash, as, since he has been made a 
 Spanish Field-Marshal, he wears on his white waistcoat, under his blue surtout coat, the red and 
 gold knotted sash of that rank, ou: of compliment to our allies. From the same motive, be 
 always wears the order of the Toison cCOr round his neck, and on his black cockade two others, 
 very small, of the Portuguese and Spanish national colours. His lordship, within the last year, 
 has taken to wearing a white neckerchief instead of our black regulation, and in bad weather a 
 French private Dragoon's cloak of the same colour. 
 
 "I give these details respecting our great Captain (who may yet lead us to the gates of Paris), 
 as I always found every minutiae of celebrated characters as much sought after by the inquisitive 
 as the very deeds which have brought them into notice. Often ho passes on in a brown study, 
 or only returns the salutes of the ofiBcers at their posts ; but at other times he notices those h« 
 knows with a hasty ' Oh ! how d'ye do,' or quizzes good-humouredly some one of us with whom 
 he is well acquainted. His staff come rattling after him, or stop and chat a few minutes with 
 those they know, and the cortige is brought up by his lordship's orderly, an old Hussar of the 
 First Germans, who has been with him during the whole of the Peninsular war, and who, when
 
 212 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 which converted all Europe into a vast theatre of war, is necessary to 
 a clear understanding of all that may follow. 
 
 he speaks of him, uses a German expression, literally meaning, good old fellow, emphatically 
 implying in that lang^uage, attachment and regard." 
 
 If we may borrow a fact from a fiction, the account given of the hunting scenes in the Peninsula, 
 in Mr. Lever's lively novel of "Charles O'Malley," may not inaptly furnish an episode in the 
 Campaigns of Wellington : — 
 
 " Soon after this army broke up from Cafa, and went into cantonments along the Tagiw, 
 the head-quarters being at Portalegre, we were here joined by four regiments of infantry, 
 lately arrived from England, and the 12th Light Dragoons. I shall not readily forget the 
 first impression created among* our reinforcements by the habit of our life at this period. 
 Brimful of expectation, they had landed at Lisbon, their minds filled with all the glorious 
 expectancy of a brilliant campaign, sieges, storming, and battle-fields floated before their 
 excited imagination. Scarcely, however, had they reached the camp, when these illusions 
 were dissipated. Breakfasts, dinners, private theatricals, pigeon matches formed our daily 
 occupation. Lord V^ellington's hounds threw off regularly twice a week, and here might be 
 seen every imaginable species of equipment, from the artillery officer, mounted on his heavy 
 troop liorse, to the infantry subaltern, on a Spanish gennet. Never was anything more 
 ludicrous than our turn-out. Every quadruped in the army was put into requisition, and 
 even those who rolled not from their saddles from sheer necessity were most likely to do so, 
 ttom laughing at their neighbours. The pace may not have equalled Melton, nor the fences 
 have been as stubborn as in Leicestershire ; but I'll be sworn, there was more laughter, more 
 fun, and more merriment in one day with us, than in a whole season with the most organised 
 pack in England. With a lively trust that the country was open, and the leaps easy, every 
 man took the field ; indeed, the only anxiety evinced at all was to appear at the meet in 
 something like jockey fashion, and I must confess that this feeling was particularly conspi- 
 cuous among the infantry. Happy the man whose kit boasted a pair of cords or buckskins ; 
 Ihrice happy he who sported a pair of tops. I myself was in that enviable position, and 
 well remember with what pride of heart I cantered up to cover, in all the superior eclat of 
 my costume, though if truth were to be spoken, I doubt if I should have passed muster 
 among my friends of the 'Blazers.' A round cavalry jacket and a foraging cap, with a 
 hanging tassel, were the strange accompaniments of my more befitting nether garments. 
 Whatever our costumes, the scene was a most animated one. Here the shell jacket of a 
 haavy dragoon was seen storming the fence of a vineyard. There the dark green of a 
 rifleman was going the pace over the plain. The unsportsmanlike figure of a staff-officer might 
 be observed emerging from a drain, while some neck-or-nothing Irishman, with light infantry 
 wings, was flying at every fence before him, and overturning all in his way. The rules 
 and regulations of the service prevailed not here ; the starred and gartered General, the 
 plumed and alguilletted Colonel obtained but little defence and less mercy from his more 
 humble subaltern. In fact, I am half disposed to think that many an old grudge of rigid 
 discipline, or severe duty, met with its retribution here. More than once have I heard the 
 muttered sentences around me which boded something like this. 'Go the pace, Harry 1 
 Never fiinch it! There's Old Colquhoun — take him in the haunches— roll him over.' 'See 
 here, boys. Watch how I'll scatter the staff. Beg your pardon, General. Hope I haven't 
 hurt you. Turn about; fair play. I have taught you to take up a position now.' I need 
 scarcely say there was one whoso person was sacred from all such attacks ; he was weK 
 mounted on a strong half-bred horse, rode always foremost, following the hounds with the 
 same steady pertinacity with which he would have followed the enemy ; his compressed lip 
 rarely opening for a laugh, when even the most ludicrous misadventure was enacting before 
 h'm ; and when by chance he would give way, the short ha ! ha 1 was over in a moment, and 
 the cold Blcra features were as fixed and impressive as before. All the excitement— all the 
 enthusiasm of a hunting-field— seemed powerless to turn his mind from tlie pre-oocupatior
 
 1812.1 RUSSIA BREAKS WITH NAPOLEON. 213 
 
 In March, 1812, France had entered into new treaties of alliance 
 between Austria and Prussia. Neither of them were of a cordial 
 nature, for the triumphs of Napoleon's sword had dictated the terms 
 of both ; but the Emperor had cemented the connection with 
 Austria by a marriage with the daughter of Francis I., after divorcing 
 himself from his first wife, Josephine. The object of this new 
 alliance, on Napoleon's part, was to strengthen his hands against 
 Russia. For two years previously, Alexander, the Czar, had begun 
 to experience the baneful operation of the " Continental system," 
 which had obliged him to close the ports of Russia against Great 
 Britain, and seeing a prospect of being sustained by the latter power 
 and by Sweden, now governed hy Bernadotte,' he determined upon 
 an assertion of the independence of his empire. A correspondence 
 was, therefore, begun with Napoleon as a necessary preliminary, for 
 Alexander wished to carry his point without a resort to arms. 
 Napoleon, however, was not disposed to yield an inch, and the conces- 
 sions which he offered, in reference to Poland, whose re-establishment 
 as a kingdom he agreed not to countenance, and the tender of indem- 
 nity of which he made for seizing the Russian province of Oldenburg, 
 were only regarded by Alexander as indications of weakness. 
 
 which the mighty intereats he presided over exacted. I remember once an incident, 
 which, however trivial in itself, is worth recording, as illustrative of what I mean. We 
 were going along at a topping pace ; the hounds, a few fields in advance, were hidden from 
 our view by a small beech copse. The party consisted of not more than six persons, one 
 of whom was Lord Wellington himself. Our run had been a splendid one, and as we were 
 pursuing the fox to earth every man of us pushed his horse to his full stride iu the hot ea- 
 thusiasm of such a moment. 
 
 " ' This way, my lord ; this way,' said Colonel Conyers, an old Melton man who led the 
 way. ' The hounds are in the valley. Keep to the left.' As no reply was made, after a few 
 moments' pause, Conyers repeated his admonition. ' You are wrong, my lord ; the hounds are 
 hunting yonder.' 
 
 " ' I know it,' was the brief answer given, with a shortness that almost savoured of asperity. 
 For a second or two not a word was spoken. 
 
 " ' How far is Niya, Gordon ? ' Inquired Lord Wellington. 
 
 " ' About five leagues, my lord,' replied the astonished Aide-de-Camp. 
 
 " ' That's the direction, is it not? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, my lord.' 
 
 " ' Let's go over and inspect the wounded.' 
 
 " No more was said, and before a second was given for consideration, away went his lordship, 
 followed by his Aide-de-Camp, his pacp:, the same stretching gallop, and apparently feeling as 
 much excitement as he dashed onward towards the hospital, as though following in all the 
 headlong enthusiasm of a fox-chase." 
 
 1 Upon the death of Charles XIH. of Sweden, a revolution took place, and, to prevent the 
 King of Denmark securing the succession to the throne, the people made choice of Bemadotte, 
 a French general, who had become favourably known to them for his kindness to some 
 Swedish prisoners taken in the Polish war of 1807. He was a clever man, of humblo 
 origin. 
 
 Q
 
 214 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 The negotiations were broken off, and military preparations of a 
 magnitude that had never before been witnessed were made on both 
 sides for some months. Alexander exhausted the resources of his 
 gigantic empire, and Napoleon put forth his utmost strength, not 
 merely to cope with, but to crush his antagonist. Some of Napoleon's 
 ^ablest ministers and most attached counsellors advised him to desist 
 from his warlike undertaking, but he felt confident as to his means, 
 and never doubted his ultimate success. " The war," he said, " is a 
 wise measure, demanded by the true interests of France and the 
 general security. The great power I have attained forces me to 
 assume an universal dictatorship. Ambition has no share in my 
 views. I wish to obtain no new acquisition ; and reserve to myself 
 only the glory of doing good, and the blessings of posterity. There 
 must be an European code ; one court of appeal ; one system of 
 money, weights, and measures ; equal justice and uniform laws 
 throughout the continent. Europe must form but one great nation^ 
 and Paris must be the capital of tlie world.''^ 
 
 Hurrying to Dresden, in the summer of 1812, to meet an assemblage 
 of kings and princes favourable, or not indifferent, to his cause, 
 Napoleon developed his plans ; but still anxious to avert a war, he 
 dispatched Count Lauriston to the Emperor Alexander, to see if the 
 differences between men, sworn brothers at Tilsit and Erfurth, could 
 not be reconciled without bloodshed. It was of no avail. Alexander's 
 mind was made up to cast off the yoke under which the commerce 
 of his country groaned and her progress in the arts of civilisation 
 was checked, and the integrity of his throne endangered. He refused 
 even to grant Lauriston an audience. An appeal to the sword was 
 then inevitable. At the head of 420,000 men Napoleon marched 
 through Prussia, into Russia and Poland, and on the 28th of June, 
 1812, entered Wilna, the capital of that part of the empire. From 
 this point his advance was vigorously opposed. The Russians gave 
 him battle upon every possible occasion, and laid the country waste 
 in front of his armies. Still he posted onwards until he reached 
 Borodino, a village on the Moskwa, where he found his passage for 
 the moment arrested by the fortifications thrown up by the Russians. 
 A long and bloody contest here took place," and Napoleon, ultimately 
 victorious, proceeded to Moscow, which city he entered in triumph, 
 fully calculating on passing the winter in a town so richy supplied 
 
 1 On the eve of the battle of Borodino, or of the Moskwa, the intelligence of the victory ot 
 Salamanca reached the Russian camp, and Prince KutusoflT made uao of the circumstaaco to 
 animate his troops. The English under Wellington were held up to them as an example.
 
 1012.] FRENCH INVASION OF RUSSIA. 215 
 
 with all that was necessary for the maintenace of his army. In 
 this lie was greviously mistaken. Either from design or accident, 
 the whole town was soon in flames. The provisions and the shelter 
 on which the French had calculated, were alike destroyed, and the 
 condition of the invading army became perilous in the extreme. It 
 was in vain that Napoleon, threatened with all the horrors of a 
 Russian winter, attemped to open a negotiation with Alexander. 
 The Czar treated all his overtures with supreme contempt. A retreat 
 was inevitable, and accordingly commenced. It began on the 20th 
 of October, 1812. In point of suffering to those engaged, it is 
 without parallel in history. Thousands of men and horses perished 
 of hunger, or fell by the hands of the infuriated pursuers. Such as 
 survived became demoralised or intimidated, and whole battalions 
 fled from the war-whoop of a band of Cossacks, while the entire line 
 of the route was marked by white mounds, the snow-clad graves of 
 those who had sank down and died on the dreadful march. Bonaparte, 
 seeing his army totally ruined, hastily quitted it, and hurried back to 
 Paris. New troubles now awaited him. The King of Prussia, sub- 
 servient from constraint to the arbitrary will of Napoleon, had not 
 merely given the army destined to invade Russia a passage through 
 his dominions ; he had assisted it with a force under General D'Yoi'ck, 
 and these troops being pressed by the Russians, under Wittgenstein, 
 on the retreat of Napoleon, D'Yorck concluded an armed neutrality 
 with the Russians. Alexander seized upon the circumstance as a 
 happy omen of a renewal of the former good understanding subsisting 
 between Russia and Prussia. He issued a proclamation, calling the 
 attention of the European powers to the abortion of Napoleon's 
 unjust enterprise and the ruin of his proud hopes and lofty schemes ; 
 stated his earnest desire to restore the balance of power, and urged 
 the expediency of immediate exertions for the rescue of the harassed 
 continent from the miseries of servitude. The proclamation took 
 effect. The King of Prussia resolved to embrace the opportunity 
 of effecting his own emancipation, and securing the independence 
 of his people. He at once opened a communication with Alexander ; 
 they met at Breslau, and a treaty of close alliance for their mutual 
 interest and the general advantage of Europe was concluded. 
 Napoleon received the intimation without surprise, merely observing, 
 when the hostile declaration was notified at St. Cloud, "It is 
 better to have a declared enemy than a doubtful ally," and with 
 characteristic resolution he addressed himself to new efforts to crush 
 the alliance. 
 
 We must now return to Spain, to survey the operations which had
 
 S16 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 taken place ia the eastern proviaces, while Wellington lay inactive on 
 the banks of the Douro. 
 
 Marshal Suchet had not so skilful an enemy to cope with in the 
 eastern provinces as his contemporary Marshals had met with in 
 the west. Lord William Bentinck preferred looking to British 
 interests in Sicily to grappling with the French in Spain, and Sir 
 John Murray was scarcely strong enough to make an impression on 
 Suchet single-handed. At the beginning of 1813, the French were 
 70,000 strong in Valencia and Catalonia, while Murray's force at 
 Alcante did not exceed 30,000 Anglo-Sicilians and Spaniards. True, 
 the greater part of Suchet's army was necessarily distributed in 
 garrisons, leaving him only 18,000 men for active operations beyond 
 the Xucor, but he was gifted with rare military talents, and had not, 
 to that hour, any strong reasons for respecting the military capacity 
 of his adversary. He was fated, for an instant, to alter his opinion in 
 March 1813. On the 6th of that month, Murray, having previously 
 reconnoitered the position of Alroy, and driven in the advance guard 
 with loss, deemed it of importance to get possession of the place. 
 On the 7th he attacked and carried it, but the enemy contrived to 
 effect his escape. The effect of the capture was to induce Suchet to 
 quit Valencia and take the command, in person, of the troops on the 
 right bank of the Xucor. Murray, therefore, assembled the allied 
 army at Castella, on the 20th of March, and several small outpost 
 affairs took place, in which General Whittingham ' and the Spanish 
 troops signalised themselves. Sir John Murray particularly spoke in 
 his despatches of the cordial co-operation he had experienced from 
 General Elio. 
 
 Sir John Murray, although serving at a distance from the Marquis 
 of Wellington, was acting under his orders, and responsible to him 
 for his movements. Accordingly, we find that on the 14th of April, 
 1813, Lord Wellington drew up an elaborate memorandum of the 
 operations to be carried on on the eastern coast of the Peninsula, as 
 Boon as the allied British and Portuguese army should take the field 
 in Castile, which was not intended until the first days of the month 
 of May. This memorandum is more peculiarly illustrative of the 
 prescience of Lord Wellington than any which bears his signature. 
 Every contingency is anticipated and provided for — every difficulty is 
 fairly and boldly contemplated, and its removal devised. No doubt 
 Murray would have scrupulously followed the injunctions contained 
 in the document ; but it happened that, on the very day previous to 
 
 1 Afterwards Sir Stamford Whittingham, and commander of a Division of the Madras 
 amv/.
 
 1813.] BATTLE OF CASTELLA. 217 
 
 that on which the memorandum is dated, Marshal Suchet attacked 
 Murray at Castella, and sustained a complete defeat. Sir John thus 
 describes the battle : • 
 
 "Head-quarters, Castella, ^pril 14fA, 1813. 
 
 " My Lord, 
 
 "I have the satisfaction to inform your Lorship that the 
 allied army under my command defeated the enemy on the 13th inst., 
 commanded by Marshal Suchet in person. It appears that the 
 French General had, for the purpose of attacking this army, for some 
 time been employed in collecting his whole disposable force. His 
 arrangements were completed on the 10th, and on the morning of the 
 11th he attacked and dislodged with some loss a Spanish corps, 
 posted by Greneral Elio, at Yecla, which threatened his right, whilst 
 it supported our left flank. In the evening he advanced in consider- 
 able force to Villena, and, I am sorry to say, that he captured, on the 
 morning of the 12th, a Spanish garrison, which had been thrown into 
 the Castle by the Spanish General, for its defence. On the 12th, 
 about noon. Marshal Suchet began his attack on the advance of this 
 army, posted at Biar, under the command of Colonel Adam. Colonel 
 Adam's orders were to fall back upon Castella, but to dispute the 
 passage with the enemy, which he did with the utmost gallantry and 
 skill for five hours, though attacked by a force infinitely superior to 
 that which he commanded. The enemy's advance occupied the pass 
 that evening, and Colonel Adam took up the ground in our position 
 which had been allotted to him. On the 13th, at noon, the enemy's 
 columns of attack were formed, composed of three divisions of 
 infantry, a corps of cavalry of about 1600 men, and a formidable train 
 of artillery. The position of the allied army was extensive. The 
 left was posted on a strong range of hills, occupied by Major-General 
 Whittingham's division of Spanish troops, and the advance of the 
 allied army, under Colonel Adam. This range of hills terminates at 
 Castella, which, and the ground to the right, was occupied by Major- 
 General Mackenzie's division, and the 58th regiment, from that 
 of Lieutenant-General Clinton. The remainder of the position 
 was covered by a strong ravine, behind which Lieutenant-General 
 Clinton was stationed, supported by three battalions of General 
 Roche's division, as a column of reserve. A few batteries had been 
 constructed in this part of the line, and in front of the castle of 
 Castella. The enemy necessarily advanced on the left of the position. 
 The first movement he made was to pass a strong body of cavalry 
 along the line, threatening our right, which was refused. Of this
 
 218 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 movement no notice was taken ; the ground to which he was pointing 
 is unfavourable to cavalry, and as this movement was forseen, the 
 necessary precautions had been taken, When this body of cavalry 
 had passed nearly the half of our line of infantry, Marshal Suehefc 
 advanced his columns to the foot of the hills ; and certainly his troops, 
 with a degree of gallantry that entitles them to the highest praise, 
 stormed the whole line, which is not less than two miles and a half 
 in extent. But, gallantly as the attack was made, the defence of the 
 heights was no less brilliant : at every point the enemy was repulsed 
 — at many with the bayonet. He suffered a very severe loss. Our 
 gallant troops pursued him for some distance, and drove him, after a 
 severe struggle, with precipitation on his battalions of reserve upon 
 the plain. The cavalry, which had slowly advanced along our right, 
 gradually fell back to the infantry. At present his superiority in 
 that arm enabled him to venture this movement, which, otherwise, 
 he should have severely repented. Having united his shattered 
 battalions with those he kept in reserve. Marshal Suchet took up a 
 position in the valley ; but which it would not have been creditable 
 to allow him to retain. I therefore decided on quitting mine ; still, 
 however, retaining the heights, and formed the allied army in his 
 front, covering my right flank with the cavalry, whilst the rest rested 
 on the hills. The army advanced in two lines to attack him, a con- 
 siderable distance ; but, unfortunately. Marshal Suchet did not choose 
 to risk a second action, with the defile in his rear. The line of the 
 allies was scarcely formed, when he began his retreat, and we could 
 effect nothing more than driving the French into the pass with defeat, 
 which they had exultingly passed in the morning. The action termi- 
 nated at dusk, with a distant but heavy cannonade. I am sorry to 
 say that I have no trophies to boast of. The enemy took no guns to 
 the heights, and he retired too expeditiously, to enable me to reach 
 him. Those which he used in the latter part of the day were posted 
 in the gorge of the defile, and it would have cost ua the lives of many 
 brave men to take them. In the dusk the allied army returned to 
 its position at Castella, after the enemy had retired to Biar. From 
 thence he continued his retreat at midnight to Villena, which ha 
 quitted again this morning in great haste, directing his march upon 
 Fuente de la Higuera and Onteniente. But although I have taken 
 no cannon from the enemy, in point of numbers his army is very co. 
 sidcrably crippled ; and the defeat of a French army which boasted 
 it had never known a check, cannot fail, I should hope, in producing 
 a most favourable effect in this part of the Peninsula. As I before 
 mentioned to your Lordship, Marshal Suchet commanded in person.
 
 1813.J OPERATIONS IN THE NORTH OF SPAIN. 219 
 
 The Generals Harispe, Hubert, and Roberts, commanded their 
 respective divisions. I hear from all quarters that General Harispe 
 is killed ; and I believe, from every account that I can collect that 
 the loss of the enemy amounts fully to 3000 men ; and he admits 
 2500. Upwards of 800 have already been buried in front of only 
 one part of our line ; and we know that he has carried off with him 
 an immense number of wounded. We had no opportunity of making 
 prisoners, except such as were wounded, the numbers of which have 
 not reached me. I am sure your Lordship will hear with much satis- 
 faction that this action has not cost us the lives of many of our 
 comrades. Deeply must be felt the loss, however trifling, of such 
 brave and gallant soldiers ; but we know it is inevitable ; and I can 
 with truth affirm that there was not an officer or soldier engaged who 
 did not court the glorious termination of an honourable life in the 
 discharge of his duty to his King and his country. The gallant and 
 judicious conduct of those that were engaged deprived much more than 
 one-half the army of sharing in the perils and glory of the day ; but 
 the steady countenance with which the divisions of Generals Clinton 
 and Mackenzie remained for some hours under a cannonade, and the 
 eagerness and alacrity with which the lines of attack were formed 
 sufficiently proved to me what I had to depend on from them, had 
 Marshal Suchet awaited the attack." 
 
 After this action, the armies resumed their former position, as 
 Murray — one of whose divisions had been recalled to Sicily by Lord 
 William Bentinck — did not feel himself sufficiently strong to resume 
 offensive operations. There is no doubt that he ought to have pushed 
 his success immediately after the battle. 
 
 What was doing in the north of Spain (Major-General Cooke 
 continued in the south at Cadiz) while Murray was operating in the 
 east, and Lord Wellington lay tranquil on the Douro ? The north 
 of Spain was in a state of insurrection against the French yoke ; the 
 insurgents, stirred up and supported by a squadron of British men- 
 of-war upon the Gallician coasts. The Gallicians are a fine body of 
 men, and formed by habit to share in the semi-savage kind of warfare 
 practised by the guerrillei-os. These people, with the partidas of the 
 Asturias and Leon, gave the French no repose. They surprised a 
 French detachment returning, after a plundering expedition to 
 Burgos, and killed or made prisoners 1000 men. They captured the 
 garrisons at Bilboa, Salinus de Arena, and Pancabo. Mina, to whom 
 allusion has previously been made, harassed the enemy in Arragon 
 and Navarre. Futile were the efforts of Clauzel to capture him. He 
 was continually upon thje flanks of the enemy, attacking small
 
 220 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. (1815. 
 
 detachments and convoys.' The name of Mina will ever stand distin- 
 guished in the history of the guerrillas of Spain ; two individuals of 
 
 1 " I was witness to a transaction which must furnish you with a correct idea of the 
 general system of Guerrillas, and to what extent dependence can be placed on that description 
 of force, which has been so lavishly commended. Four hundred well-mounted Guerrillas fell 
 in with sixteen French dragoons, who immediately charged them ; away went the Guerrillas, and 
 in their route drove five British light dragoons off the road ; but the latter, the 12th Dragoons, in 
 their turn cliarged the enemy, who immediately fled. Don Julian, the Guerrilla chief, in support 
 of this affair, stated, that ^his forces are not intended for the charge, hut merely to harass the 
 French, and cut off their supplies.''" — Private letter from an officer in Camp near Burgos^ 
 October, 1812. 
 
 Another officer, writing from Valladolid, gives a better account of the uses of the Guerrillas. 
 
 "Valladolid. — We reached this city early to-day; assuredly we shallleam one lesson from 
 the French, who, willing to impede the advances of our troops, most effectually prevented a 
 way over the bridges by completely, and in a masterly manner, destroying the centre arch ; 
 but tliey are adepts in the art of destruction. We forded the Douro, but it was low ; perhaps, 
 in a month's time, the bridges will be wanted, but we can build well and rapidly. Our road 
 to-day was through a forest of pine-trees, whose beautiful green tops (for they resemble the 
 figure of a mop reversed) formed a pleasing contrast to the yellow, burnt surface of the 
 country. This city is, in comparison to all I have seen in Spain or Portugal, except Lisbon, 
 much the finest and best paved ; in the latter respect it surpasses Lisbon. The streets are 
 wide, and have been neatly flagged on each side, an improvement suggested by the French, 
 To-day, the houses are a display of tapestry, &c., in honour of Ferdinand the Seventh, whose 
 portrait is hung amidst a profusion of crimson velvet, in the great square. A few days since. 
 King Joe received the same compliment. These people are fond of grand display, fireworks, 
 and illuminations ; whether for the Virgin Mary, or a saint, a king, or a victory, out flows 
 the tapestry over the balconies, and all go to church. I will give you an idea of military 
 distress : a few days past we could not get food for ourselves ; here wo cannot get food for 
 our cattle, an important embarrassment, for both an Englishman and his horse require the 
 substantial to enable them to fight the climate, the fatigue, and the enemy. As an instance 
 of Spanish poliiesse and hospitality — arriving here somewhat fatigued and dusty, with an 
 irre-sistible inclination for breakfast, we only washed, put on clean linen, and a sliirht covering, 
 and sat down to breakfast sans ceremonie ; my lady, the Donna of, the house, two young 
 Donnas, and the Don, soon after entered, made us imdcrsland we were' welcome, chatted and 
 retired. You must know, we are billeted according to rank. I have been' lucky hitherto to 
 lodge with Dons, and in mansions that would afford materials to build a tolerable village, with 
 a parson's burn ; the oak table I am now writing upon, would easily cut into three tolerably 
 heavy ones, and my landlord's chariot would supply wood to fit up a turnpike-house, gate, 
 and posts ; conceive doors and window-shutters three inches thick, of solid wood — it serves 
 to keep out heat. Tlio French that garrisoned this city and the village we came through, 
 by the ingenuity they have displayed in the defences against the attack of the Guerrillas, 
 have left a convincing proof how formidable they considered those j)artisan warriors 
 —houses at the extremity of the village surrounded by a deep ditch, a parapet, 
 embrasures of field-pieces, and loop-holes for musketry, a deep ditch, with a parapet, cut 
 across all the roads leading into the villages— in short, these Guerrilla gentlemen must have 
 created great alarm, and consequently have risen in our estimation. Regular action is out 
 of their way, but for la petite guerre they are admirable. To be sure, their appearance is 
 horribly grotesque ; anything of a jacket, anything of a cap, anything of a sword, or jjistol, 
 or carbine, and anything of a horse. As mercy is not in the calendar of their virtues, you 
 may readily imagine what a terror they are to the French. I have no hesitation in describing 
 the loss or the enemy, in rencontres with the Guerrillas, to have been 20,000 men, and I am 
 borne out by the opinion of many intelligent Spaniards ; 000,000 of the French have come
 
 1813.] MINA, THE GUERRILLA, 221 
 
 tLi3 name became the scourge and terror of the invading French army 
 and its supporters from an early period in 1809. The younger Mina 
 was a student of Navarre : at the early age of twenty this heroic 
 Spaniard was wounded, and carried prisoner into France ; his uncle, 
 D. Francisco Espozy Mina, having gained reputation for courage and 
 other necessary qualifications for a guerrilla chief, succeeded to the 
 command, in which his nephew had made himself so famous and 
 formidable. This warrior was not thirty years of age when he became 
 leader of the guerrillas^ and commander of the province of Navarre ; 
 his habits and temperament were admirably calculated for the bold 
 and romantic exploits which he undertook ; with a frame of uncommon 
 physical power, he possessed a mind equal to danger and privation, 
 and insensible to the weaknesses of human nature, when they 
 interfered with his duty as the soldier, the servant, and the defender 
 of his country. When Mina laid down to rest, it was always with 
 pistols in his girdle, and if under the shelter of a roof, which was 
 seldom the case, he always secured the door against surprise. Two 
 hours' sleep was sufficient to recruit the strength of this hardy patriot. 
 His powder was manufactured among the mountains, and his hospital 
 was at a mountain village ; and whenever the French made an attempt 
 on it, mountaineers always, on the first intimation of their approach, 
 were sure to remove the sick and wounded to places of greater security. 
 The mode adopted by Mina for raising money to pay his soldiers, and 
 reward his emissaries, was arbitrary, but the times and circumstances 
 perhaps rendered it not only excusable, but justifiable. He exacted 
 certain sums from the rich traders, for passports and protection, and 
 he permitted dealers of every rank to traffic with the French, by 
 which means his men were supplied with many things of which they 
 otherwise must have stood in need. The Alcaldes of the villages 
 Mina kept true to his cause, by never allowing them an opportunity 
 of betraying it. If they were ordered by the French to make a 
 requisition, and did not immediately acquaint Mina with the circum- 
 stance, he went in the night, seized them in their beds, and punished 
 them on the spot with the death of a traitor. When his linen was 
 dirty, he made a practice of repairing to the nearest house and taking 
 clean from its owner. The dress of this chieftain and his followers 
 was as free from ostentation as their patriotism. There was nothing 
 remarkable about them, but their sandals, which were worn to affi)rd 
 them a greater facility in climbing mountains or precipices, when 
 
 into this country, 100,000 have been ordered back, and what remains Is certainly not 150,000, all 
 included ; so say the French, and so say the Spaniards. We have 20,000 prisoners ; in short, we 
 may estimate their loss at 300,000 men since the war."
 
 222 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 pursued. To the morals of his followers Mina was strictly attentive ; 
 he would not allow of gaming nor plunder ; when the battle was 
 over, every man was permitted to take what he could obtain, but 
 until his duties were done, it would have drawn upon him the 
 vengeance of his chief, had he thought of appropriating to himself 
 any part of the spoil. The arms of his guerrillas were all in excellent 
 order for battle, though their external appearance did not warrant 
 this idea ; they were rusty and clumsy, and their bayonets all stained 
 with the blood of the invaders. Whenever a spy of the French was 
 detected, he was brought into the presence of the chief, whose guards 
 were expert in executing a summary and disgraceful punishment on 
 the delinquent: his right ear was cut off with a sword, and then the 
 words " Viva Mina ! " branded on his forehead. The army of Mina 
 never exceeded 5000 men, because he knew that a greater number 
 would not be so manageable. In this war, in which the best feelings 
 of a brave people were enlisted, old men, boys, and women, did not 
 shrink from bearing a part ; husbandmen quitted their flocks, the 
 lame and halt put on a warrior's garb, and all rushed forward to 
 defend their country, or perish in her cause. In one province, J^l 
 JPasto); the shepherd, was the leader, in another. El Medico, or the 
 doctor. El Manco, or the cripple, in a third ; another band was headed 
 by El Ca?itarero, or the Potter ; and a chief, known by the whimsical 
 epithet of Francisquite, or Little Francis, led his countrymen to the 
 field in another. In the country surrounding Madrid, a man, whose 
 age obtained for him the title of El Albvilo, or the Grandfather, made 
 himself formidable to the enemy ; and in Rioja, the celebrated 
 Cuovillos was accompanied by his son and daughter-in-laiv, the 
 Gildippe of Spain. In one action this Amazon was said to have killed 
 three of the enemy with her own hand. By the impolicy of Napoleon, 
 the priesthood were driven from their convents, and many of them 
 served in the guerrillas, whilst the old and the eloquent preached a 
 crusade against the invaders.
 
 1813J 
 
 CAMPAIGN PREPARATIONS. 
 
 223 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Old soldiers — Second in command — Preparations for the ensuing Campaign — Remonstrances 
 addressed to the Spanish and Portuguese Governments — Advance into Spain — Battle of 
 Vittoria. 
 
 FTER his visit to Cadiz, the Marquis of 
 Wellington, on his return to Freneda, 
 gave all his time — all the energies of 
 his mind — to the preparations for such 
 an advance into Spain as would render 
 another regression quite unnecessary. 
 The position of the French was not 
 formidable — they occupied the towns of 
 Foro, Zamora, Tordesillas, and Valla- 
 dolid, on the right hank of the Douro, 
 and continued recruiting for a fresh 
 contest. Napoleon did indeed with- 
 draw some of the best troops from 
 service in Germany, but King Joseph 
 still remained in sufficient strength to 
 offer, under good generalship, a for- 
 midable obstruction to the meditated 
 advance of the English. But this 
 " good generalship" was wanting. He had abandoned Madrid, and 
 fixed his head-quarters at Valladolid ; and unfortunately for him, he 
 and his generals did not agree, so that instead of being " concen- 
 trated at the right point, and under one head, the troops were scat- 
 tered under officers who agreed in nothing but opposition to his 
 military command." 
 
 It was a great object with Lord Wellington to have as many old 
 soldiers in his army as possible. There was a very natural desire 
 among some of the regiments to be relieved after five years of such
 
 224 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813- 
 
 hard semce, followed by the severe comments upon their discipline, to 
 which reference has already been made ; but the feeling among the 
 officers was generally in favour of a continuance on the Peninsula until 
 the great object of expelling the French had been accomplished. 
 
 To neither the desire to go nor the honourable wish to remain did 
 Lord Wellington vouchsafe much heed. He continually urged upon 
 the Duke of York, the Commander-in-Chief, the importance of leaving 
 the old soldiers with him. From Cadiz he had written, " Experience 
 has shown us in the Peninsula that a soldier who has got through one 
 campaign is of more service than two or even three newly arrived from 
 England. # # * * I should prefer to keep as many of 
 the old regiments as I can with the army." And this sentiment he 
 iterated in nearly the very same words in his communications with 
 Earl Bathurst after his return to Freneda.* 
 
 Another subject which occupied no small share of Lord Wellington's 
 attention at this period was, the quality of the general officers sent 
 out to assist him, and the folly of troubling him with a " second in 
 command." Upon the latter point, he evinced some degree of irrita- 
 tion, but his arguments, as usual, were far from devoid of reason. He 
 conceived that Marshal Beresford, as the next in rank to himself, and 
 as enjoying the confidence of the Portuguese, was preferable to any 
 lieutenant-general who might be sent out as the successor to himself 
 in the command of the allied armies, and for any other purpose he 
 deemed an officer of high rank quite unnecessary. 
 
 "In my opinion [despatch to Earl Bathurst, January 20, 1813], 
 the office of second in command of an army in these days, in which 
 the use of councils of war has been discontinued, and the chief in 
 command is held severely responsible for everthing that passes, is 
 not only useless, but injurious to the service. A person without 
 defined duties, excepting to give flying opinions, from which he may 
 depart at pleasure, must be a nuisance in moments of decision ; and 
 whether I have a second in command or not, I am determined always 
 to act according to the dictates of my own judgment, being quite 
 certain that I shall be responsible for the act, be the person who he 
 may, according to whose opinion it has been adopted. One person in 
 that situation may give mc a little more trouble than another ; but 
 
 I In order to encourage the old soldiers to remain, all those who had entered the service in 
 1806, and whose term of service had expire*!, were offered large bounties to re-enter. Men not 
 above thirty-flve years of ago were allowed to enlist for life, and received sixteen guineas. 
 Those above thirly-flvc for seven years only, and rcceivo<l eleven guineas of bounty. The 
 temptation was sufficiently strong, especially to those who looked only to present enjoyment, to 
 induce many to renew their cogatfcmcnts.
 
 1812.J PENINSULA SERVICE. . 225 
 
 substantially I must be indifferent as to whether it is the Marshal, or 
 any of the Lieutenants-General who have been named on the occa- 
 sion. I must be out of the way when any one of them should be 
 called upon to act in command ; and excepting that feeling, which 
 every man must have for what is to occur after he is gone, which is 
 not of a personal nature, I can have no preference to one officer over 
 another as my successor." 
 
 The winter of 1812 was very inclement, and, in spite of all the 
 efforts which humanity and policy could dictate, both officers and 
 men suffered from the severity of the season. It will serve to convey 
 some notion of the character of Peninsula service, during a suspension 
 of arms, and at such a period, if a few extracts from letters, written 
 at the time, are here given : — 
 
 " iMoNASTERio, nth October, 1812, 
 
 " We left our delightful tinkering, and came forward to this vile 
 village. I think the description of the scenes at the advanced post 
 will not be unentertaining. You may suppose a village on the high- 
 road, about nine miles from head-quarters, the army occupying 
 strong positions near to that place, the enemy about fifteen miles in 
 our front. Imagine, also, all the villages in the vicinity of the great 
 road, left and right, to be occupied by the Spanish cavalry. Guerrillas, 
 and infantry ; and suppose a village about six miles in front of our 
 advanced position, on the great road. During the day, we occupy 
 this village in front with a subaltern's picket of cavalry, about eigh- 
 teen men ; having on the road, also, between the two villages, an 
 infantry picket of seventy men. At night, our subaltern's picket 
 retires from the village in advance, leaving a corporal and six men 
 about two miles on the road ; he retires to the infantry picket, which 
 has a small picket of one sergeant and eight men in its front, about 
 150 yards : this we consider as the night position. In the village, 
 at our advance, are posted three squadrons of cavalry, two field-pieces, 
 and a regiment of light infantry ; and in a village contiguous more 
 light infantry. 
 
 " I will give you the occurrences of twenty-four hours, and then 
 you will judge of the nature of our post-duty. At eleven p.m., by 
 intelligence from the front, report is made, the enemy is advancing in 
 full speed. ' Turn out Turn out ! Send the baggage to the rear ! Form 
 the battalion !' Out we turn — away goes the baggage, with all our 
 meat, drink, and clothing, except what is on our backs ; it rains in 
 torrents. Having continued two hours in expectation of a move, 
 ordered to quarters, not to unarm, but to be ready at a moment's 
 
 VOL. I. 15
 
 •26 » LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1812. 
 
 warning to turn out; the rest of the night, and till four in the 
 morning, sitting over a few cold ashes, cold and wet ; turn out at 
 four as customary — wait till daylight — no appearance of an enemy 
 — ordered to quarters all wet, dirty, cold, and our baggage 
 nine miles off ; in sis hours the baggage returns ; just turned in. 
 An alarm again — the Guerrillas come galloping in — the enemy are 
 coming on — away goes the baggage again — out we turn — form in a 
 field — wait until an attack would be most desirable — another false 
 alarm — return to our quarters quite wet, dirty, cold, and comfortless. 
 From a variety of causes these alarms arise, and an extreme caution 
 is highly necessary. We are continually exposed. As for the habi- 
 tations and mode of living, they beggar all description. As the 
 straw palliasse found in the houses is a receptacle for all kinds of 
 vermin, we prefer a blanket on the floor ; but whether it is the heat 
 that draws them, search of prey, or a roaming disposition in the 
 vermin, but so it is, we have a regular hunt after every hour's rest, 
 and I assure you the slaughter is immense. In regard to what we 
 eat and drink, I suppose an ordinary in St. Griles's would be a luxury ; 
 and often when nature is so exhausted that wet, cold, and hunger is 
 borne away by weariness and fatigue, and we sink on the dirty hearth 
 of a miserable fire absorbed in sleep, the horrid and incessant squalling 
 of children deprive us of that comfort, and we must appear savage to 
 favour exhausted nature. Conceive, then, fine elegant young men, 
 who have paraded Bond-street, the very quintessence of fashion, 
 whose stainless leathers and varnished tops, muslin folds and smooth 
 chins, have stamped them the votaries of fashiqn, yo^i see here with 
 huge dirty mustachios or whiskers, ragged jackets, greasy shirts, 
 filthy pantaloons, half a hat or foraging cap, and misery depicted in 
 strong colors in each feature. I think the idea of what an oflScer or 
 soldier should be in this country is well described on the wall of a 
 room at Castle lo Bromeo, by a French oflicer. He says, ' to live in 
 this country one should have the heart of a lion, the strength of a 
 horse, the appetite of a mouse, and the feelings of a savage ;' to 
 which I, amongst the general opinion, heartily subscribe. But the 
 grand consideration, that we are sustaining a conflict here to preserve 
 our dear country from the local horrors of war, is paramount to every- 
 thing ; it gives us fortitude and resolution, braces our nerves, and 
 renders us irresistible ; which I humbly hope God, in his infinite 
 mercy and goodness, will continue unto us until we have defeated our 
 enemies."
 
 1812.] PENINSULA SERVICK 227 
 
 " MoNTGAUL, 4^th December, 1812. 
 
 "The dismal and harassed march has ceased, and the divisions 
 settling themselves in their winter quarters : our friends in England, 
 it is likely, have little idea how much we have to do when once our 
 particular quarter is allotted to us. A good lodging, comfortably 
 furnished, generally receives us when going into winter quarters at 
 home ; here how great the difference : a brigade is huddled into a 
 Portuguese village, of which it is not possible to convey any idea to 
 our friends at home ; but I will explain what I have to do ere I can 
 reach a sensation bordering on what is called comfort. In order to 
 have light, without sharing the inclemency of the weather, I have a 
 frame made to a window ; this frame is divided by string into squares, 
 to which is attached oiled paper — a clumsy imitation of what we 
 sometimes observe in carpenters' shops — this is my window. The 
 floor of my apartment is fortunately without holes ; but that must 
 be scraped and washed, an operation it never before has experienced. 
 I have next to stop up the holes in the walls of my room, and. if I can 
 procure a little white-wash, give a similarity of appearance to what 
 never had changed from the first formation, except by the effect of 
 damp, and the filthy customs of the natives. Plaster or white-wash 
 is very seldom found here. The roof must remain, as it serves not 
 only to keep out the rain, but also to let out the smoke. The labour 
 of man cannot wash the blackamoor white. Conceive, now, my apart- 
 ment, in some degree cleared from its native filth and dungeon-like 
 appearance ; a bundle of clean straw, nicely disposed of in one corner, 
 with two blankets, composes my bed ; a rough, heavy table, and a 
 ricketty stool finishes the catalogue of my furniture ; a dirty tin 
 lamp, with oil, lights me to bed. In regard to any other comfort, as 
 the Portuguese have scarcely an idea beyond the brute creation, 
 you may conceive their astonishment when they beheld me raising a 
 little fabric in a corner of the yard ; it was totally beyond their com- 
 prehension. Now, my friends, here I am settled for winter-quarters, 
 master of just sufficient philosophy to save a rope the trouble of 
 ending a life of less importance at this moment to me than ever. 
 The weather is fine and warm ; should it change, and oblige me to 
 keep within doors, without books, without any resource, but what 
 my fancy raises — and you will allow a man's imagination must be 
 prolific, who can, under such circumstances, form anything like a 
 lively sentiment — what a prospect !"
 
 228 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 Another writer furnishes the following description of Portugal : — 
 " I must confess, I felt astonished at the almost sudden change 
 in the face of the country, on entering Portugal. From Ciudad 
 Rodrigo, in the direction to Guarda, you at once advance amidst 
 mountains of rocks, on the surface of which you continually 
 see immense piles of loose stones, and many of those of an 
 enormous size, to every appearance the effect of eruptions ; but which 
 present such a savage aspect to the view, that, when astonishment 
 has ceased, a sensation of horror ensues ; conceive that as far as the 
 eye can reach from mountain to mountain, over an expanse of valleys, 
 you still encounter this rough and barbarous appearance. A few 
 acres, badly cultivated, a few stunted oaks, or the more flourishing 
 chesnut, now and then present a little relief to the disgusted 
 traveller. On descending from Guarda, a city situated on the summit 
 of a mass of rocks, and which, from its extreme height, is all winter 
 weeping as it were, under a dense cloud ; you travel for some miles 
 winding down into the valley, which certainly presented to our view 
 the nearest approaches to civilisation we had encountered for some 
 time ; the opposite side of the mountain was enlivened by two or 
 three apparently neat villages, which was increased by some of the 
 habitations being whitewashed ; a few buildings were also interspersed 
 on the bank of the river, which the imagination fondly clinging to 
 what it had been accustomed to, readily converted into country- 
 houses, gardens, orchards, &c., but from whatever cause, certainly 
 the eye was delighted. I am led to think, from the quantities of olive 
 trees we observed, that that branch of business was carried on in this 
 place, as we saw a few well-built stone houses, which, though now 
 desolated, gave evident proof of previous opulence, and conveyed 
 some degree of grandeur. On leaving the vajley, although here and 
 there the searching eye would penetrate for miles around, the general 
 appearance was nature in its roughest state ; towns, villages, roads, 
 rivers, and cultivation, all in the most barbarous, savage state ; bor- 
 dering on the idea, that of being seen once, and that once too much ; 
 there seems to us some description of fruit, and vegetables ; apples 
 and currants, cabbages and onions, potatoes and turnips ; goats' milk 
 and tolerable bread, so that we can make our broth ; but fuel seems 
 scarce, the natives using charcoal. As yet the weather is fine, but 
 fihould the wintry storms confine us to our uncomfortable quarters, 
 and the luxury of the sun be denied us, I am not clear whether 
 a Hottentot is not more comfortable ; no doubt infinitely more so 
 according to his ideas." .. 
 
 To receive the reinforcements arriving from England, and despatch
 
 f 
 
 1813.] PROVISIONING THE ALLIED ARMIES. 229 
 
 them to the army, Major-General Peacocke was stationed at Lisbon. 
 The reinforcements of cavalry especially were of a very high order. 
 The 10th, the 15th, and the 18th Hussars, now came out to strengthen 
 the light troops, and the whole of the Household Brigade, the two 
 Regiments of Life Guards, and the "Royal Horse Guards (Blue), 
 were added to the Heavy Cavalry. The excellent discipline of the 
 latter compensated for their want of experience in the field : the 
 better part of the Hussars had honourably distinguished themselves 
 under Lord Paget (now Marquis of Anglesey), at Coruna. Munitions 
 of war were poured into the hands of Lord Wellington, with suitable 
 profusion, and he at length (April, 1813) began to feel that he might 
 place every reliance upon the English part of his army. But he was 
 terribly plagued with the Spanish and Portuguese. There was no 
 lack of energy in the business of recruiting. Men were obtained in 
 great numbers, and officers were full of zeal. It was in the financial 
 department, and the matter of supply, that all the vexation was pro- 
 duced. Both the Junta and the Cortes were loth to supply the 
 needful, believing that the British commander would feed the allies 
 as well as his own troops. Against this Lord Wellington decidedly 
 set his face, and his correspondence establishes that he was influenced 
 by no other feeling than a sense of justice to the foreign troops, and 
 to the people of Great Britain. Addressing the Conde de la Bisbal, 
 he expresses his apprehension that instead of having too few troops 
 in a state of discipline to take the field there will be more men clothed, 
 armed, and disciplined, than the means of the country could support, 
 unless the Government should carry out the measures they had 
 arranged with him, and give the armies the real nine-tenths of t/ie 
 revenue fairly collected and honestly administered. " It will answer 
 no purpose to bring to the theatre of war on the Douro, or the Ebro, 
 crowds of starving soldiers. We shall only lose them by desertion, 
 and with them our own characters ; and increase our difficulties, 
 without reaping any advantage for the trouble taken in forming 
 them." ' To Don Jose de Carrajal, Lord Wellington writes, " Officers 
 and soldiers without discipline are worse than useless, and discipline 
 and subordination cannot be established in any army that is neither 
 paid nor fed ; and the Spanish officers cannot be paid or fed unless 
 the Government shall carry into execution the measures which were 
 arranged with me under the decree of the Cortes." 
 
 Nor was it only upon the subject of the means of paying and 
 feeding the allied, and especially the Spanish, troops, that Lord 
 Wellington experienced anxieties and annoyances. The Spanish 
 
 1 Letter to the Conde de la Bisbal, dated Frened.i, 28th March, 1813. 
 R
 
 230 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTOK [1813. 
 
 Ministers and Generals were continually encroaching upon his 
 authority, and taking upon themselves responsibilities which were 
 solely the prerogative of the English generalissimo. Hear what 
 he says to Sir Henry Wellesley, the British Minister at 
 Madrid : — 
 
 " I wish and propose to open the campaign on the 1st of May, * * * 
 If there was money I should entertain no doubts of the results of the 
 next campaign in respect to the Peninsula. But the Spanish Govern- 
 ment have so contrived their matters, that the arrangements concerted 
 and agreed upon with me, have not yet produced a shilling, and as 
 far as I can judge, are not likely to produce much. However, I 
 cannot yet write decisively and officially upon this subject, as I have 
 not the official reports ; but I have certainly the most obstinate and 
 worst tempered people to deal with that I have yet met in my life. 
 * * * * Depend upon it that the result of the nest campaign depends 
 on our financial resources. * * * * If we cannot relieve the subsidies 
 without falling on the resources of the British army, and can get 
 nothing from the country, we shall end the next compaign as we did 
 the last. * * * * The Minister of War is going on just as usual ; 
 and I must either resign, or throw him and the Government on their 
 responsibility, and desire some member of the Cortes to call for the 
 letters. He sends orders to the troops, and so do I, and the conse- 
 quence is that neither are obeyed." 
 
 And again, in a letter to Don Andres Argel de la Vega, he 
 vehemently protests against the conduct of the Government, in their 
 interference with his prerogative and duties. They had removed 
 officers from their stations and placed them in others, without any 
 recommendation from Lord Wellington ; without, in fact, acquainting 
 him that they had made such arrangements. They had appointed 
 other officers to stations of importance unknown to him, and had 
 moved corps of cavalry and infantry about, without any reasons of a 
 public nature. 
 
 All the chafing and irritability produced by this indecent and 
 truly impolitic disregard of Wellington's instructions and positions, 
 did not, however, deter him from continuing to offer friendly counsel 
 to the governments of the two nations. Late in January, and again 
 early in April, he addressed long letters to a member of the Spanish 
 Cortes and to the Prince Kegent of Portugal, full of the soundest 
 practical advice, and exhibiting those rare administrative talents 
 which afterwards gave him as lofty a position as a British statesman 
 and diplomatist as he had earned for himself as a soldier. These 
 lettersj, monuments at oace of Wellington's judgment and dis-
 
 1813.J BAGGAGE OF THE BRITISH ARMY. 231 
 
 interestedness, will be found elsewhere.' If read and pondered in 
 connection with all his military operations, involving at this period a 
 prodigious amount of correspondence, some notion will be arrived at 
 of the marvellous personal labour employed to execute the suggestions 
 of a singularly clear and active mind. 
 
 Early in May, 1813, Lord Wellington commenced his march 
 towards Spain. It is instructive, in a military view, to notice the 
 arrangements that had been made for the soldiery preparatory to the 
 movement. The entire force consisted of 200,000 men, of whom 
 70.000 formed the Anglo-Portuguese army, with ninety pieces of 
 artillery. The English troops, previous to the advance, were directed 
 to deliver their great coats into store, and blankets were supplied in 
 their stead — an excellent arrangement, as the blanket formed a suf- 
 ficient covering under the canopy of tents now served out, in the pro- 
 portion of three to each company. 
 
 No army ever had less baggage : besides two calashes, one belonging 
 to Lord Wellington, and another to the officer commanding the corps 
 of Guides, a waggon containing the printing press for the publication 
 of general orders and circulars, and the common ammunition waggon 
 and forges, there was not another carriage in the army. Three 
 tents were allowed to each compan/of infantry. The French system^ 
 grown up during the revolutionary wars, of striking direct at great 
 objects, and the adaptation of the dogma, that the end sanctifies the 
 means to political objects, made the health or welfare of the soldiers 
 of little importance, and camp equipage became incompatible with the 
 velocity of their movements. But Lord Wellington thought the 
 lives of Englishmen more valuable than the French marshals con- 
 sidered those of Frenchmen, and by a little arrangement, managed to 
 give to the troops those shields from the dew (which is the real use of 
 tents) which no chief who values the health of his men, or any 
 country that respects its armed citizens, should ever allow soldiers to 
 be without. 
 
 By taking for the tents the mules previously employed in carrying 
 the camp kettles, the difficulty of carriage was overcome ; while the 
 culinary utensils were reduced in size and altered in composition, 
 (from a utensil for ten men to one serviceable for six, and from iron to 
 tin,) becoming in consequence capable of being carried in turns by 
 the men. This was an invention by one of the English officers 
 attached to Marshal Beresford, and was in use among our faithful 
 allies a year previous to the employment of them by the British. 
 This arrangement united the advantages of cover, and overcoming the 
 
 1 Appendix, Nos. I. anrt II.
 
 232 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 uncertainty of the arrival of the soldiers' batterie de cuisitie ambulante. 
 Though these '' bell tents" were only intended for twelve men, and thus 
 only able to hold about half a complete company, what with sick and 
 men on duty, and other contingencies, they generally covered four- 
 fifths of those who had a right to be in a state of repose. Each man 
 was provided with a reasonable supply of necessaries. The daily 
 allowance of rations to soldiers and officers consisted of one pound of 
 beef, one of biscuit, and a small allowance of rum and wine. But the 
 weight was still more than soldiers ought to have carried on such a 
 service. In these days efforts have been made to lighten the 
 burthen of the soldier, and when a change has been effected in the 
 weight and construction of the knapsack, there will not be more on a 
 soldier's back than he can carry with case and comfort on a long 
 day's march. In the olden time — for the march of improvement has 
 made forty years an age — more men were killed by the burthens they 
 bore, than by the bullets and bayonets of the enemy.* 
 
 The plan of Lord Wellington was to form his army into one 
 grand line, extending from one end of the confines of Spain and 
 Portugal to the other, and to march with it " all abreast" upon the 
 " scattered French, and drive them refluent to the Pyrenees." The 
 line was divided into three columns! The right column was composed 
 of the second division of the Grand Army under Hill, and was to 
 advance along the line of the Tagus to Toledo, where it was to form 
 a junction with the army of Alicant, under Sir John Murray. Of 
 the second or centre column. Lord Wellington took the command in 
 person. The object of this column was to advance by way of 
 Salamanca, forcing the enemy from his positions on the Douro. The 
 third, or left column, was entrusted to Graham. It was to march at 
 first directly northward within the Portuguese frontier, through the 
 province of Tras Los Montes to Braganza, whence it was to enter 
 Spain, turning the French troops on the Douro, and hastening their 
 retreat if they should not have retired previously. Sir Thomas 
 Graham was then to take the line of Benevente to Burgos. The 
 
 1 An idea may 1)C fomiod, from the subjoined enumeration of the articles carried by a riflemen, 
 of the weight the infantry liad to bear on the march : — 
 
 " Knapsack and 8traj)s, two shirts, two pairs of stockings, three pairs of shoes, one pair of 
 soles and heels, three brushes, a box of blacking, razor, soap-box and strap, and an extra pair 
 of trowsers, a mess-tin, a centro-tin and lid, horse-sack and canteen, blanket, a powder flask 
 filled, a ball-bag containing 30 loose balls, a small wooden mallet used to hammer the ball into 
 the muzzle of the rifles, belt and pouch (tlio latter containing 50 rounds of ammunition), sword- 
 belt and ride, besides other odds and ends. Each squad had to carry four bill-hooks, weighing 
 lix pounds each, the labour of which was divided among the men. Often the men were required 
 to fill their canteens with water on setting forth on tho march."
 
 1813.] MARCH INTO SPAIN. 233 
 
 Duke del Parques' army and the Spanish reserves, at the same time, 
 moved forward from Andalusia into La Mancha, thereby inducing the 
 belief that a combined attack on Madrid was intended. " A grand 
 design, and grandly executed." At the head of this strong well-com- 
 bined, and well-equipped army, Wellington crossed the frontier stre^, 
 and rising in his stirrups and waving his hand as he looked back, cried 
 out, Adieu Portugal ! * 
 
 Moving rapidly, by the 26th of May Lord Wellington's army had 
 reached Salamanca. The enemy, under General Villatte, still held 
 the town with a division of infantry, three squadrons of cavalry, and 
 some cannon ; but they evacuated on the approach of the British. 
 The latter were again cordially welcomed by the inhabitants.' 
 
 1 Napier. 
 
 2 " On entering the great square, we observed the priucipal inhabitants, full-dressed, flocking 
 towards the cathedral, a very handsome stone structure, where we alighted, and, following the 
 crowd through_the grand entrance, found a great multitude waiting the arrival of the Duke, 
 who soon entered escorted by a numerous retinue of Spanish generals and other stafif 
 officers, in a variety of uniforms magnificently embroidered. I was much struck with the 
 simplicity of Lord Wellington's attire. He wore a very light-grey pelisse coat, single-breasted, 
 without a sash, and white neck-handkerchief, with his sword buckled round his waist, 
 underneath the coat, the hilt merely protruding, with a cocked-hat under his arm. He stood 
 with his face towards the altar during the prayer offered up for the success of our arms. The 
 deep-toned organ played some fine pieces during the ceremony. At the conclusion, the ladies, 
 by way of benediction, dipped their delicate fingers into a marble basin at the door and sprinkled 
 it with holy water." — Journal of an Officer. 
 
 In the simplicity of his costume, Lord Wellington imitated his great rival Napoleon. There 
 was probably design in this. His lordship felt it necessary that he should be easily distinguished 
 at a distance, and he therefore occasionally wore in the field the white cloak of a French trooper. 
 But apart from the desire to be seen when much wanted, he was always indifferent to appear- 
 ances, and even availed himself of his simple costume to avoid notice. The following anecdote 
 may be relied upon : — 
 
 " The costume of the staff of head-quarters generally conformed to that of our Chief, laying 
 aside in the morning the red coat for a blue surtout, with the sash, sword, and belt 
 over it, and the telescope slung across the shoulder, with plain blue or grey overalls. I 
 recollect in 1009, at Thomar, Lord Wellington escaping by his plain mode of dress the honour 
 and ceremonies intended him by the Portuguese General, Mirando, who commanded at that 
 place. To understand the circumstance, it will be right to observe that this officer was 
 exceedingly fond of parade and state, and before Marshal Beresford reformed the staff, not 
 only of Saint Antonio, but of the Generals, he had forty-three aides-de-camp. On hearing 
 that Lord Wellington, on his road from Coimbra to Abrantes was to lodge at Thomar, he 
 put on his very best, and sallied out at the head of his staff to meet the victorious General, 
 whom he, no doubt, judging of others from himself, depicted as surrounded with innumerable 
 officers, and probably a body guard. He rode on and on, only meeting single officers, to 
 all appearance beneath his notice, till his continued ride at last made hira doubt if he should 
 be back early enough to preside at the dinner he had prepared for the British Cliief and 
 the officers at head-quarters. At last his Excellency thought it was well to enquire, and was 
 told that he must have met Sir Arthur Wellesley. And sure enough he had, but he never 
 suspected the Coramander-in-Chief could or would ride without ostentation, in a plain blue 
 great-coat, unattended by his staff, and with but a single orderly. Sir Arthur, giiessing 
 from the clatter on the road what was intended, anxious to avoid it, got on one side the road.
 
 234 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [181J 
 
 The stay at Salamanca was brief. On the morning of the 27th of 
 May, the Marquis of Wellington reviewed his troops in order of 
 march. The morning was beautiful ; not a cloud to be seen. The 
 appearance of the troops was magnificent. As Sir Rowland Hill's 
 dijrision passed, each corps received from the Commander-in-Chief 
 some flattering compliment, and when the last company saluted, he 
 turned round and said smilingly, " Sir Rowland, I will take the gloss 
 oflFyour corps this campaign." How far the Marquis kept bis promise 
 the sequel will show. 
 
 From this point to the Pyrenees the progress of the allied armies 
 was, with one memorable exception to be presently noticed, an unin- 
 terrupted parade march, as far as it could be possible in such a coun- 
 try as Spain. To understand aright the character of the land, the 
 reader will not find his time unprofitably spent in perusing Lavallee's 
 description of the military topography of the Peninsula It will at 
 once impart a just idea of the nature of the difficulties which had at 
 different periods impeded the troops, and vindicate their courage and 
 endurance. 
 
 The centre of the Peninsula is occupied by a vast plateau, rising 
 to a height of from 1312 to 1640 feet, which is ascended from the 
 east and west coasts by groups and chains of mountains forming long 
 platforms ; and where the northern and southern faces form two 
 enormous walls of unequal elevation ; one, the Pyrenees, terminating 
 abruptly at the ocean, and the other, the Alpujarras, or Sierra Nevada, 
 rising perpendicularly above the Mediterranean. Notwithstanding 
 the disadvantages resulting from this singular configuration, that is 
 to say, the barrenness of the soil in the centre of the Peninsula, the 
 general deficiency of water, and the difference of temperature expe- 
 rienced in localities lying under the same parallels of latitude, this 
 region is not the less esteemed as one which nature has the most 
 favoured in its skies and its soil, which belong much rather to Africa 
 than to Europe ; in the great extent of its coasts ; in its advanced 
 position between two seas, the communication between which it 
 commands ; in the almost complete isolation of its entire mass ; in 
 its system of mountains and rivers, which serve both as barriers and 
 as lines of passage ; lastly, in the variety of its climate, and the 
 abundance of its products. The line of water-parting runs generally 
 in a direction from south-west to north-east, describing a tortuoua 
 
 .«tting them all pass without notice, and, highly amused at the circumstance, reached quietly his 
 quarters, without trouhlesome formalities. VV^e have since this time gone still farther in neglect 
 of dress, and General Picton, during tlio Ualtle of Vittoria, only wore, while directing his 
 Division, instead of a cocked, a round and very old hat." — JVotcs of a Subaltern.
 
 1813.] GEOGRAPHY OF SPALST. 235 
 
 course, somewhat like an S. Commencing at Cape Tarifa, it follows 
 the line of the Alpujarras from west to east, then turns due north 
 traverses the central plateau, forming the arc of a circle whose con- 
 cavity is towards the ocean ; reaches the Pyrenees about the middle 
 of the chain, where the Ebro has its source, and follows them from west 
 to east, as far as the point of junction of the Corbieres. This line is 
 far from being distinct and continuous. With the exception of the 
 stongly marked ridges of the Alpujarras and the Pyrenees, its direc- 
 tion is over confused groups, whose connection is uncertain, and over 
 plateaux, where the waters seem undecided as to the course they 
 should take. 
 
 From this line descend four slopes, those on the south and east 
 towards the Mediterranean, those on the north and west towards the 
 ocean. The eastern and western slopes are connected with the central 
 plateau, from which they gradually descend, while the others form 
 narrow and steep bands at its extremities. 
 
 On these four inclined plains the general character of the soil is 
 as follows : — Beginning at the coast, we find low plains of extreme 
 fertility, a mild climate, with an active and intelligent population. 
 These plains rise gradually into valleys, where rice, maize, and olives 
 are cultivated, and the sides of which are covered with vineyards and 
 cornfields. From these plains we ascend to the plateaux of the Cen- 
 tral Region, where we find the parameros, vast and barren plains, 
 without water and bare of trees, and almost without inhabitants, and 
 resembling the deserts of Africa. Finally, this table-land is itself 
 crowned by^ sierras, or jagged mountains, covered with snow, so that 
 the whole forms a series of concentric circles, beginning at the coast 
 and diminishing successively in fertility and population towards the 
 centre, where all is sterility and solitude. 
 
 Here, then, we have a chaos of mountains, where we meet at every 
 step huge fallen masses of rock and earth, yawning fissures, deep and 
 narrow defiles, where 300 men would suffice to check an army ; naked 
 plains, whose uniformity is unbroken by any living object, save by the 
 heather and the broom ; precipices now bare, that no longer collect 
 the clouds, but from whose rocky ledges the water runs down in 
 impetuous torrents ; ravines, impracticable in winter from their 
 waters, in summer from their rugged steepness ; rivulets, enclosed 
 between narrow belts of verdure, marking the lines of plantations 
 and villages ; rivers, scant of water, their banks denuded, their 
 channels interrupted by numerous rocky ledges and falls, rendering 
 navigation almost impossible ; their fords dangerous, and bridges 
 imfrequent ; few roads, and these passing either through defiles or
 
 236 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1818 
 
 over marshes ; isolated towns, either perched upon eminences or en 
 closed within walls ; villages remote from each other, and half savage ; 
 a people, proud, sober, brave, and ferocious ; such are the elements 
 which render this a country emineutly adapted for defensive warfare, 
 and almost impossible to be conquered. " A large body," says Mar- 
 shal Suchet, " which is wanting in corpulence, but which, nevertheless, 
 has both nerves and muscles." 
 
 By the 31st of May, Lord Wellington had reached Carvajales, 
 where he found the troops under Sir Thomas Graham on the Esla, 
 as he had intended they should be. Their left was at Tabira, and in 
 communication with the Gallician army. His lordship immediately 
 directed the passage of the river. A bridge was thrown over for the 
 infantry in two hours and a half, the cavalry forded, but the river was 
 so deep that some men perished in the enterprise. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the order and regularity of the march. To 
 the officers it was a species of pleasure tour, in contrast with what 
 they had previously undergone. The time and manner of the daily 
 operations very much resembled the progress of armies in India. At 
 three in the morning the signal was given to rise, and that set every- 
 thing in motion. When the hum and buzz of the camp commenced, 
 tents were struck, baggage packed, &c., and by four o'clock the men 
 fell in. The pace was easy — three miles an hour. By half-past eight 
 or nine, if there had been no occasion to force a march, the next camp- 
 ing ground was reached. The army moved in columns of divisions on 
 parallel roads, generally two divisions in a column. Field hospitals — 
 Iwspiteaux d) ambulance^ an excellent idea borrowed from Marmont — 
 now formed part of the equipment, and the consequence was an amaz- 
 ing difference between the number of sick, who encumbered the rear 
 or died on the road in the previous year's advance towards Madrid. 
 On the latter occasion at least two men in ten fell to the rear ; upon 
 the present, not more than eight men in five hundred dropped upon 
 the march. No better proof could be afforded of the excellent man- 
 agement of the General-in-Chief, when it is considered that there were 
 not less than 80,000 men moving forward at the same time within 
 view of each other in the same direction, with cavalry, artillery, tents 
 and baggage. 
 
 By the 12th of June the army was within twelve leagues of Burgos 
 the light troops in front driving back the retreating enemy's rear- 
 guard, who every now and then turned to make a stand, or were 
 overtaken by the Hussars. After crossing the Esla, the latter took 
 some hundred prisoners near a village on the 31st of May. 
 
 The recollection of the former failure at Burgos, led to a sup-
 
 v^^'g 'Wfp/^y^'^^^^^^^'n 
 
 
 'ML
 
 1813.] MARCH TO BURGOS. 237 
 
 position that the place would again hold out. Orders were therefore 
 issued for a general inspection of the troops. The result was most 
 satisfactory. In Lord Dalhousie's division, comprising 600C men, not 
 more than 1 20 men were found liens de combat from sickness, after 
 marching 250 miles. Dalhousie was a good soldier, though his expe- 
 rience in the field had not, to this moment, been considerable. He 
 combined with the most easy urbanity of manners, a feeling and a 
 gallant heart. In the hour of relaxation he was the quiet, easy, well 
 bred gentleman, extremely temperate in manners as in habits, and the 
 kind, liberal, humane, friendly soldier. 
 
 In the field he was cool, collected, penetrating, and prompt. 
 Called upon by his country for his personal services, his lordship at 
 once left his family, his friends, the comforts and enjoyments of his 
 situation, his fortune, his domains, and amusements, of which the 
 pursuit of agriculture made a chief part, and came to the field of 
 warfare cheerfully encountering the reverse of what he had left in his 
 native soil' 
 
 Lord Wellington expected a check upon the Carrion, for Joseph 
 Bonaparte had 55,000 men, exclusive of a Spanish division, escorting 
 the convoys and baggage. But Joseph had not deemed the position 
 advantageous, and retired behind the Upper Pisuerga. Summoning 
 Generals Clauzel, Foy, Suchet, and Sarrat, with their forces, he 
 purposed delivering battle on the heights of Burgos, and therefore 
 despatched Jourdan to examine the castle. The report of the Mar- 
 shal was unfavourable — the place could not be held. The repairs 
 of the old works had been delayed — there were no magazines of pro- 
 visions. In vain did he despatch letters to Clauzel and Foy — their 
 divisions could not be brought up. Joseph at once retired behind the 
 Ebro, falling back upon Vittoria, encumbered with the artillery depots 
 of all the towns successively evacuated, Madrid, Valladolid, and 
 Burgos. 
 
 General Reille had remained behind the Hormaza barring the way 
 to Burgos. Coming up, as we have said, on the 12th, the gallant 
 Light Division, preceded by the hussars and dragoons, turned his 
 right, while the rest of the troops attacked the whole range of 
 heights to Estepar. The French retired behind the rivers Urzel and 
 Alanzon, after mining the Castle of Burgos. " Now everything was 
 done confusedly." The mines exploded outwardly at the moment a 
 
 1 After the war in the Peninsula, he received the appointment of Commander-in-Chief in India. 
 His son, raised to a marquisate, now worthily occupies the responsible post of Governor-General. 
 lo his energy and decision England owes the conquest of the Punjaub, and the annexation of the 
 country to the British dominions in the East.
 
 238 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 column of infantry was defiling beneath in its retreat, numerous streets 
 were laid in ruins, '' thousands of shells and other combustibles were 
 driven upwards with a horrible crash, the hills rocked above the de- 
 voted column, and showers of iron, timber, and stony fragments falling 
 on it in an instant destroyed more than 300 men." ' 
 
 Marching by his left towards the sources of the Ebro, masked by 
 the country and a swarm of Spanish irregulars under Julian Sanchez, 
 Lord Wellington now got between the Ebro and the great mountains 
 of Regrosa, thus cutting off the French communications with the sea 
 coast, and all the ports except Santona and Bilboa, which, however, 
 the enemy immediately evacuated. Santona was invested by the 
 Spaniards, the English ships entered Sant Andero. where a depot and 
 hospital stations were immediately established. 
 
 After a few affairs with Reille's troops, who continued to dispute 
 the mountain passages, Lord Wellington, early in the morning of the 
 19th of June, crossed the Bayas, and encamped upon its northern 
 bank. 
 
 Up to this time King Joseph Bonaparte had heard nothing of the 
 corps under Sachet, Clauzel, aud Toy, which he had anxiously sum- 
 moned. Oppressed with a mass of baggage and stores that would 
 have fitly composed the tail of Xerxes, he was encamped in the 
 rough valley of the Zadora, eight miles broad by ten long, at the 
 extreme end of which stood Vittoria. Several roads into France and 
 the Pyrenees lay behind him ; but none of them were of a character 
 to ensure a rapid and easy retrograde movement in case such were to 
 become necessary. He accordingly meditated a move to Durango, in 
 order to form a junction with Foy's troops ; but this appearing 
 impracticable, he next resolved upon a retreat to Pampeluna, and to 
 bring up Suchet's army from Zaragoza. This oscillation of purpose 
 was fatal to him. It caused delay, and in the meanwhile Wellington 
 came up with the whole of his army. What followed is best told in 
 the words of the British General addressing Earl Bathurst on the 
 22nd of June : — 
 
 " Wc attacked the enemy yesterday, and I am happy to inform 
 your lordship that the allied army under my command gained a com- 
 plete victory, having driven them from all their positions, taken from 
 them 151 pieces of cannon, 415 waggons of ammunition, all their 
 baggage, provisions, cattle, treasure, &c., and a considerable number 
 of prisoners. 
 
 " The operations of the day commenced by Lieutenant-General 
 Sir Rowland Hill obtaining possession of the heights of La Puebla, 
 
 1 Napier.
 
 1813.] BATTLE OF VITTORIA. 239 
 
 on which the enemy's left rested, which heights they had not occupied 
 in great strength. 
 
 " He detached on this service one brigade of the Spanish division 
 under General Murillo ; the other brigade being employed in keeping 
 the communication between his main body, on the high road from 
 Miranda to Vittoria, and the troops detached to the heights. The 
 enemy, however, soon discovered the importance of the heights, and 
 reinforced their troops there to such an extent, as that Lieutenant- 
 General Sir Kowland Hill was obliged to detach, first, the 71st Regi- 
 ment, and the Light Infantry Battalion of Major-General Walker's 
 brigade, under the command of the Hon. Lieutenant-Colonel Cadogan, 
 and successively other troops to the same point ; and the allies not 
 only gained, but maintained possession of, these important heights 
 throughout their operations, notwithstanding all the efforts of the 
 enemy to retake them. 
 
 " The contest here, however, was very severe, and the loss sustained 
 considerable. General Murillo was wounded, but remained in the 
 field ; and I am coneerned to have to report that the Hon. Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Cadogan has died of a wound which he received. In him his 
 Majesty has lost an officer of great zeal and tried gallantry, who had 
 already acquired the respect and regard of the whole profession, and 
 of whom it might be expected, that if he had lived he would havo 
 rendered the most important services to his country.' 
 
 " Under cover of the possession of these heights. Sir Rowland Hill 
 successively passed the Zadora at La Puebla, and the defile formed 
 by the heights and the river Zadora, and attacked and gained possess- 
 ion of the village of Sabijana de Alava, in front of the enemy's line, 
 which the enemy made repeated attempts to regain. 
 
 " The difficult nature of the country prevented the communication 
 between our different columns moving to the attack from their 
 stations on the river Bayas at as early an hour as I had expected, and 
 it was late before I knew that the column composed of the 3rd and 
 7th Divisions, under the command of the Earl of Dalhousie, had 
 arrived at the station appointed for them. 
 
 The 4th and Light Divisions, however, passed the Zadora imme- 
 diately after Sir Rowland Hill had possession of Sabijana de Alava ; 
 
 1 Lord Wellington felt much the death of Cadogan. In communicating the circumstance 
 U) Su- H. Wellesley, he said: "His private character and his worth as an indiWdual were not 
 greater than his merits as an officer, and I shall ever regret him. It is a curious instance of 
 his attachment to his profession, and of the interest he felt In what was going on, that after he 
 was wounded, and was probably aware that he was dying, he desired to be carried and left in a 
 situation from which he might be able to see all that passed."
 
 240 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 the former at the bridge of Nanclaus, and the latter at the bridge 
 of Tres Puentes, and almost as soon as these had crossed, the 
 column under the Earl of Dalhousie arrived at Mendenza, and the 
 3rd Division, under Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton, crossed 
 at the bridge higher up, followed by the 7th Division, under the Earl 
 of Dalhousie. 
 
 " These four Divisions, forming the centre of the army, were des- 
 tined to attack the heights on which the right of the enemy's centre 
 was placed, while Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill should move 
 forward from Sabijana de Alava to attack the left. The enemy, how- 
 ever, having weakened his line, to strengthen his detachment in the 
 hills, abandoned his position in the valley as soon as he saw our dispo- 
 sition to attack it, and commenced his retreat in good order towards 
 Vittoria. 
 
 " Our troops continued to advance in admirable order, notwithstand- 
 ing the difficulty of the ground. 
 
 " In the meantime, Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham, who 
 commanded the left of the army, consisting of the 1st and 5th 
 Divisions, and Generals Pack's and Bradford's brigades of infantry, 
 and Generals Bock's and Anson's brigades of infantry, and who had 
 been moved on the 20th to Margina, moved forward from thence on 
 Vittoria, by the high road from that town to Bilboa. He had, 
 besides, with him the Spanish Division under Colonel Longa, and 
 General Giron, who had been detached to the left under a different 
 view of the state of affairs, and had afterwards been recalled, 
 and had arrived on the 20th at Orduna, marched that morning 
 from thence, so as to be in the field in readiness to support 
 Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham, if his support had been 
 required. 
 
 " The enemy had a division of infantry and some cavalry advanced 
 on the great road from Vittoria to Bilboa, resting their right on 
 some strong heights covering the village of Gamarra Maior. Both 
 Gamarra and Abechuco were strongly occupied as t-Qtes-de-pont to the 
 bridges over the Zadora at these places. Brigadier-General Pack, 
 with his Portuguese brigade, and Colonel Longa, with the Spanish 
 division, were directed to turn and gain the heights, supported by 
 Major-General Anson's brigade of Light Dragoons, and the 5th 
 Division of Infantry, under the command of Major-General Oswald, 
 who was desired to take the command of all these troops. 
 
 " Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham reports, that, in the 
 execution of this service, the Portuguese and Spanish troops behaved 
 admirably. The 4th and 8th Ca^adores particularly distbguished
 
 1813.] BATTLE OF VITTORIA. 241 
 
 themselves. Colonel Longa, being on the left, took possession of 
 Gamarra Menor. 
 
 "As soon as the heights were in our possession, the village of 
 Gamarra Maior were most gallantly stormed and carried by Brigadier- 
 General Robinson's brigade of the 5th Division, which advanced in 
 columns of battalions, under a very heavy fire of artillery and mus- 
 quetry, without firing a shot, assisted by two guns of Major Lawson's 
 brigade of artillery. The enemy suffered severely, and lost three 
 pieces of cannon. 
 
 " The Lieutenant-General then proceeded to attack the village of 
 Abeehuco, with the 1st Division, by forming a strong battery against 
 it, consisting of Captain Dubourdieu's brigade, and Captain Ramsay's 
 troop of horse artillery, and under cover of this fire, Colonel 
 Halkett's brigade advanced to the attack of the village, which was 
 carried, the light battalion having charged and taken three guns and 
 a howitzer on the bridge. This attack was supported by General 
 Bradford's brigade of Portuguese infantry. 
 
 " During the operation at Abeehuco, the enemy made the greatest 
 efforts to re-possess themselves of the village of Gamarra Maior, which 
 were gallantly repulsed by the troops of the 5th Division, under the 
 command of Major-General Oswald. The enemy had, however, on 
 the heights on the left of the Zadora, two divisions of infantry in 
 reserve ; and it was impossible to cross by the bridges till the troops 
 which had moved upon the enemy's centre and left had driven them 
 through Vittoria. 
 
 " The whole then co-operated in the pursuit, which was continued 
 by all till after it was dark. 
 
 " The movement of the troops under Lieutenant-General Sir 
 Thomas Graham, and their possession of Gamarra and Abeehuco, 
 intercepted the enemy's retreat by the high road to France. They 
 were then obliged to turn to the road towards Pampeluna ; but they 
 were unable to hold any position for a sufficient length of time to 
 allow their baggage and artillery to be drawn off. The whole, there- 
 fore, of the latter which had not already been taken by the troops, in 
 their attack of the successive positions taken up by the enemy in 
 their retreat from their first position on Arinez and on the Zadora, 
 and all their ammunition and baggage and everything they had, 
 were taken close to Vittoria. I have reason to believe that the 
 enemy carried off with them one gun and one howitzer only. 
 
 " The army under Joseph Bonaparte consisted of the whole of the 
 armies of the south and of the centre, and of four divisions, and all 
 the cavalry of the armv of Portugal, and some troops of the army of 
 
 VOL. I. 16
 
 242 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 the north. General Foy's divisioa of the army of Portugal was ia 
 the neighbourhood of Bilboa, and General Clauzel, who commands 
 the army of the north, was near Logrono with one division of the 
 army of Portugal, commanded by General Taupin and General Van- 
 dermaessen's division of the army of the north." 
 
 Such was the glorious Battle of Vittoria — a victory which 
 consummated the grand project of expelling the French from the 
 countries they had for five years desolated with their rapine and 
 cruelty. 
 
 In the dispatch partly given above Wellington describes the fight, 
 and follows it up with a prodigality of encomium his officers and troops 
 had fairly earned. He confesses his great obligations to Hill and 
 Graham, and recognises frankly the excellent advice and assistance 
 he had received from Marshal Sir William Beresford. He extols 
 William Stewart, Murillo (the Spanish General), and the Conde 
 d'Amarante (the Portuguese leader) — all of whom served in Hill's 
 divisions. To Lord Dalhousie, Sir Thomas Picton, Sir Lowry Cole, 
 and General Charles Alten, the Hanoverian, he awards the highest 
 praise, and Major-General C. Colville, Vandeleur, and Murray (the 
 Quartermaster-General), likewise received a meed of eulQgium. But 
 Wellington does not speak of himself It was reserved for others, in 
 after years, to relate how that he was seen " in the midst oftlie battle^^ 
 fearlessly exposing himself wherever his presence seemed desirable. 
 
 It will readily be conceived, from what has been said respecting the 
 amount and nature of the baggage of King Joseph and his court, 
 that a scene of indescribable confusion and immense plunder occurred 
 upon the roads to Pampeluna and Bayonne, blocked up as they were 
 by the waggons and carriages of the royal, the wealthy, and terrified 
 fugitives. Numbers of the vehicles, bearing royal and noble coats of 
 arms and other emblazonments, were filled with imploring ladies, 
 Jilks de chambre. and elderly gentlemen. Several of the waggons 
 bore specie to a great amount, wines of the most exquisite character, 
 and vast quantities of preserved delicacies, calculated to pamper a 
 royal appetite. Mingled with all these, in a chaotic mass, were carts 
 laden with ammunition and wounded men, droves of oxen, sheep, 
 goats, milch cows, mules, horses, asses. " In fact," writes one of the 
 spectators of the confused sceae, " such a jumble never was witnessed 
 before ; it seemed as if all the domestic animals in the world had 
 been brought to this spot, with all the utensils of husbandry, and all 
 the finery of palaces, mixed up in one heterogeneous mass." 
 
 Every human efi"ort was made by the British officers commanding 
 regiments and companies to' prevent the men from laying hands upon
 
 1813.] 
 
 PLUNDER AT VirrORIA. 
 
 243 
 
 the property which was spread about in every direction in the most 
 inviting form. But exertion was bafBed. The temptation was too 
 great for resistance. To the honour of the troops at hirge it must be 
 recorded that they passed on in the pursuit of the enemy without 
 quitting their ranks for a moment ; but there were many who, disre- 
 garding the threats and injunctions of authority, rushed to the heaped 
 
 PLUNDERING B.\GGAGE, VITTORIA. 
 
 ap spoil, and, loading themselves with dollars and doubloons,' drank 
 •' Success to the British arms and confusion to the enemy !" in goblets 
 of burgundy and hock I'' 
 
 Night put an end to the pursuit and the pillage. The growling 
 artillery ceased — the enemy scrambled away unmolested — and the 
 exhausted troops bivouacked a league or two around Vittoria. The 
 half-famished soldiers, disencumbering themselves of their knapsacks. 
 
 1 Lord Wellington computed the plunder in money at nearly a million sterling. 
 
 2 The writer has heard an old Peninsular officer say, that whatever might be predicated of the 
 generalship of Jose>h Bonaparte, there was no disputing the excellence of his cellar! Better 
 claret, &c., were drunk after the battle than had been tasted for years. 
 
 S
 
 244 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1813 
 
 went forth to forage, and from amidst the wreck of military stores, 
 which were scattered in every direction for miles around, they pro- 
 cured sheep, pigs, goats, and sacks of flour. Large fires were then 
 kindled, and blazed up. illuminating the country, over which were 
 strewed innumerable dead and wounded men and officers. At length 
 the living sank to repose, and after midnight of the memorable 21st 
 of June, 1813, all was hushed on Vittoria's plain, save when the sen- 
 tinel's " All's well !" or the groan of some suffering warrior broke the 
 Stillness of the hour. 
 
 Aipongst the carriages stopped and plundered on the Bayonne 
 road were six which belonged to King Joseph. They bore the arms 
 of Spain, with the imperial eagle on an escutcheon pretence. Much 
 
 M.\R.SU.\I, JOURDAN. VITTORIA. 
 
 valuable property was found in these equipages, and not the least 
 interesting of the trophies was the baton of Marshal Jourdan, le 
 Major-Genhral du Roi. The honour of this capture belonged to a man 
 of the 87th Royal Irish Fusiliers, then commanded by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Sir Hugh Gough. The lieutenant-colonel, of course, handed
 
 1818.] WELLINGTON A FIELD MARSHAL. 245 
 
 the baton to the Marquis of Wellington, and the trophy was despatched 
 by his lordship to the Prince Regent by the hands of Captain Fre- 
 mantle, the aide-de-camp of the Marquis. Captain Fremantle laid the 
 prize at the feet of the Prince Regent, together with the colours of 
 the fourth battalion of the 100th regiment. 
 
 The Prince Regent of Great Britain and Ireland had, by the pecu- 
 liar grace of his manner, acquired the appellation of " the first gentle- 
 man in Europe." He vindicated the title by immediately sending the 
 baton of an English Field Marshal to Lord Wellington, with the fol- 
 lowing letter in autograph : — 
 
 " Carlton House, July 3d, 1813. 
 
 " My dear Lord, 
 
 " Your glorious conduct is beyond all human praise, and far 
 above my reward. I know no language the world afi"ords worthy to 
 express it. I feel I have nothing left to say but devoutly to ofi"er up 
 my prayers of gratitude to Providence, that it has, in its omnipotent 
 bounty, blessed my country and myself with such a General. You 
 have sent me, among the trophies of your unrivalled fame, the staff of 
 a French Marshal ; and I send you, in return, that of England. The 
 British army will hail it with enthusiasm, while the whole universe 
 will acknowledge those valorous efforts which have so conspicuously 
 called for it. 
 
 " That uninterrupted health and still increasing laurels may con- 
 tinue to crown you through a glorious and long career of life, are the 
 never ceasing and most ardent wishes of, my dear Lord, your very 
 sincere and faithful friend, 
 
 « Gt. P. R. 
 
 "The Marquis of Wellington."
 
 24iS 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OP WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1813. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Reception of the news of the Battle of Vittoria in England — Failure of Sir John Murray 
 at Tarragona — Advance into the Pyrenees — Reappearance oi Marshal Soult — His Pro- 
 clamations. 
 
 N looking at the masterly arrangements 
 which the Marquis of Wellington had 
 made for the expulsion of the French 
 from Spain, it is impossible to suppose 
 that he would not have triumphed in 
 the face of any resistance the best 
 troops of the Empire could have of- 
 fered. But there is no denying that 
 the French were infamously command- 
 ed at Vittoria. Putting aside the im- 
 becility of Joseph Bonaparte himself, 
 he was most unfortunate in his Major- 
 General. A more skilful soldier than 
 Jourdan would never have committed the mistake of posting a few 
 light troops only on the heights of Puebla, when they should have 
 been crowned by a numerous and effective force. He would never 
 have allowed his right wing, which preserved the principal and 
 direct line of communication with France, to have been driven 
 back, nor suflfercd both wings to be turned, and thrown back upon 
 the centre, and ultimately forced upon an outlet scarcely broad 
 enough to secure the retreat of a single division upon an emergency. 
 Assuredly, Ney, or Soult, or Massena, would have held the ground 
 for a much longer period, and effected an orderly and honourable 
 retreat. 
 
 The usual demonstrations of joy occupied the people of England 
 npon the arrival of the news of the battle of Vittoria, and Parliament
 
 1813.] MURRAY AT TARRAGONA. 247 
 
 again found itself called upon to tender its acknowledgments to the 
 successful Field-Marshal. The newspapers of the day were diffuse of 
 panegyric, and poets invoked the Muses to sing of "Wellington's 
 triumphs. But the Muses were not propitious. Since the days of 
 Homer, war has been rarely so well sung as it has been narrated. 
 The rugged subject loses its force wedded to the jingle of rhyme, and 
 even heroics, in the best hands, degenerate into bathos and bombast. 
 Walter Scott made some very respectable attempts to narrate border 
 frays, and in the spirit-stirring verses of " Marmion" carries the imagin- 
 ation into the midst of Flodden Field ; but with this exception, no 
 one but our Campbell — immortal by his " Hohenlinden" and " Battle 
 of the Baltic" — has done honour to the shock of hostile armies. Never- 
 theless, the difficulty of the subject did not deter strong-minded 
 poetasters from marrying the Peninsular struggle to bouts rimes. 
 Every battle supplied an excuse for the indiscretions of some Fitz- 
 gerald or Pratt, and even John Wilson Croker, incomparable in 
 criticism, graceful in biography, graphic in prose narrative, and elo- 
 quent in speech, could not find anything better than a post-prandial 
 Ode wherein to signalize the exploits of the 
 
 " Victor of Assaye's eastern plain, 
 Victor of all the fields of Spain, 
 Victor of France's despot reign." 
 
 If the genius of Wellington could have been infused into the men 
 who were exercising command beyond the immediate range of his 
 observation, the pleasure diffused by the victory of the 21st of June 
 in the North of Spain would have been unalloyed. Unfortunately, in 
 Sir John Murray, who was in the south-east, the same elements of 
 military greatness were not found to abide. After long contentions 
 with Suchet, his incapability of following up the advantages already 
 detailed became painfully manifest in the melancholy issue of his at- 
 tempt upon Tarragona.' In obedience to the orders of Lord Welling- 
 ton, he had sailed with the force under his command, and capturing 
 Fort St. Phillippe, which commanded the road from Tortosa to Tar- 
 ragona, invested Tarragona on the 9th of June ; but in less than a 
 week from that time he raised the siege, and embarked on board his 
 Majesty's ship Malta. 
 
 It is due to the memory of General Murray that he should tell his 
 story in his own way : — 
 
 » Anciently Tarraco, and, in 1813, a fortified town on the Catalonian coast.
 
 248 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 " His Majesty's Ship Malta, June litk, 1813. 
 
 " My Lord, — Admiral Halliwell has just decided on sending a ship 
 to Alicant, and I have merely time to state to your lordship, and I do 
 BO with great regret, that I have been under the necessity of raising 
 the siege of Tarragona, and embarking the army under my command. 
 In my private letter of the 7th instant, I mentioned to your lordship 
 the reports of the assemblage of the French forces at Barcelona, and 
 that Marshal Suchet was likewise in march from Valencia, and stated 
 it as my opinion, that should these reports be confirmed, the object 
 your lordship had in view could not be accomplished. 
 
 " Unfortunately these rumours proved true ; and reluctantly I 
 resolved on raising the siege and embarking the army, as the only 
 means of avoiding a general action, which must have been fought 
 under every disadvantage. I cannot at this moment refer to dates, 
 but it is sufficient for the present to state, that the French force at 
 Barcelona was never rated to me at less than 8000, and that previous 
 to their march it would amount to 10,000, with fourteen pieces of 
 artillery. I have, however, no account that it ever exceeded eight, 
 and that is the number on which my calculation was formed. This 
 force, upon the evening of the 9th, or morning of the 10th, marched 
 out from Barcelona, and entered Villa Franca at four o'clock in the 
 evening of the 1 1 th, from whence, it was reported to me, to march at 
 twelve o'clock at night for Vendrella, distant only eighteen or twenty 
 miles from Tarragona by the great road, and a few miles further by 
 another road, by which cannon can easily pass. On the 9th or 10th, 
 the arrival of Marshal Suchet at Valencia was made known to me ; 
 his exact force was never perfectly ascertained, but from the intel- 
 ligence received from Valencia, he marched from thence with 9000 
 men, and certainly in the rear of that place, had the power of drawing 
 great reinforcements to his army. 
 
 " To these corps must be added a body of 1000 men, which had 
 previously arrived at Tortosa, and another corps, independent of the 
 garrison of 2500 men, who had arrived at Lerida. These corps, which 
 I am sure I do not exaggerate, amount to 20,500 men, with which, in 
 four or five days, Marshal Suchet could attack the allied army if he 
 thought proper, or avoid an action if he wished still more to reinforce 
 his army. Your lordship, on the other hand, will observe that I 
 could scarcely bring into the field 12,000 men, and that the army of 
 Catalonia was stated to me at 8500, making 20,500, of which two 
 Britisli and two Spanish divisions were at the Col de Balaguer, and
 
 1813.] FAILURE AT TARRAGONA. 249 
 
 could not be withdrawn, and I could not leave less than 2500 to cover 
 the artillery and stores, and to contain the garrison of Tarragona. 
 The two corps, at the least, would amount to upwards of 4500 men, 
 leaving me 16,000 men to meet the best French troops in Spain, 
 amounting to upwards of 20,000. 
 
 " I am sure there is nobody more willing to give full credit to the 
 gallantry of the Spanish troops than I am, but your lordship well 
 knows that they are unable to move, and I could not therefore depefid 
 upon the execution of any order which necessarily obliged them to 
 make a movement ; and of troops of this description I had about 
 13,000 men ; unless, therefore, I could place them in position, (as the 
 French had the option of fighting when and where they pleased) it 
 was impossible I could place any reliance upon them. 
 
 " My British and German troops amount only to 4500. Perhaps 
 your lordship may be of opinion that, under these circumstances, I 
 ought to have risked an action, had no other unfavorable objections 
 existed ; but when your lordship is informed that I had no possibility 
 of retreat, if unsuccessful, that there would have been no hopes of 
 embarkation if followed, and that the army must have been unavoidably 
 lost if beat, I venture to hope that your lordship will think, however 
 much it is to be regretted,- that I have adopted the only means of 
 maintaining entire, or, indeed, of saving an army on which so much 
 depends. I feel the greater confidence in this hope, on reverting to 
 the thirteenth paragraph of your lordship's general instructions for 
 the conduct of the campaign. 
 
 " I am fully aware that there are many circumstances which may 
 require further information, and upon all parts I shall be happy to 
 give every explanation in my power. Your lordship perhaps may 
 be of opinion that the place should have been taken ; but as it was ' 
 far too strong to storm, I believe it not only to have been impossible, 
 but that we should not have taken it in eight or ten days ; my only 
 regret is, that I continued the siege so long, induced by the hopes of 
 the reinforcements I expected. I continued it to the last* moment, 
 and fortunately the weather proving favourable, the troops were 
 embarked without molestation. On this favourable circumstance 
 I could not depend for another day, and therefore, having taken my 
 part, I immediately put it in execution, and I regret to say, that I 
 was, in consequence, obliged to leave the guns in the most advanced 
 batteries. Had I remained another day, they might have been 
 brought oflF, but this risk I would not run, when the existence of the 
 army was at stake, not only from unfavourable weather, but from 
 the appearance of an enemy, in whose presence I could not have
 
 250 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 embarked perhaps at all, certainly not without suffering a great loss, 
 and without the possibility of deriving any advantage. 
 
 " I have only further at this time to add, should blame be attached 
 to the failure of the expedition, no share of it can fall on Admiral 
 Halliwell, who conducted the naval branch of it. From that dis- 
 tinguished officer I have met with every assistance and co-operation 
 in his power ; and I think it only justice to him to state, that it was 
 his opinion that the cannon in the batteries might have been saved by 
 remaining till the night, and that they then could have been brought 
 off. This, however, was a risk I did not wish to run for so trifling an 
 object, and preferred losing them to the chance of the embarkation 
 being opposed, and of an eventual much more serious loss. 
 « (Signed) 
 
 " J. Murray, Lieutenant-General. 
 
 "To THE Marquis of Welmnoton, K. G., &c. &c." 
 
 In the opinion of Lord Wellington, and of military judges in 
 general, the most reprehensible part of this business was the aban- 
 donment of the artillery and stores, trophies of which the enemy 
 would not have failed to make good use. .Sir John Murray followed 
 up the folly by one or two other pieces of indiscretion, and was tried 
 by court martial for his professional errors on his return to England. 
 From some defects in evidence and technical informalities, he was 
 acquitted on two charges, and simply admonished on the third. 
 
 The sequel to the victory of Vittoria is now to be related. 
 
 Sir Thomas Graham, at the head of his division was ordered 
 towards the French frontier by the high road leading from Vittoria 
 to Irun. He chased the enemy to the very foot of the mountains, 
 and had crossed the Bidassoa when Foy, who had united the garrisons 
 of Bilboa, Torlosa, and Montdragon to his own division of the army 
 of Portugal, stood fast for a moment and fought with a bravery and 
 courage which went far to restore the damage done to the reputation 
 of the arms of France by the inglorious flight from Vittoria. But 
 Graham was irresistible ; he drove the French before him with the 
 utmost impetuosity, and descending to the shores of the Bay of 
 Biscay, invested the strong fortress of San Sebastian. 
 
 Meanwhile the Marquis of Wellington pushed forward with the 
 3rd, 4th, and Light Divisions to Pampcluna, which place, occupied 
 by a strong French garrison, was immediately put into a state of 
 blockade. 
 
 Had no other general than the incompetent Jourdan remained at
 
 1813.] REAPPEARANCE OF SOULT. 251 
 
 the head of the French armies, the onward progress of WelliDgton 
 into the territory of France — for to that soil he now directed his at- 
 tention — would have been comparatively simple. But Napoleon was 
 now enabled to spare Marshal Soult/ and that superior soldier wa^s 
 despatched immediately to the Pyrenees to arrest the torrent of coun- 
 ter-invasion meditated by the triumphant Englishman. 
 
 Soult's first measure was to collect the fugitive, and re-unite the 
 scattered forces, and then to raise their drooping spirits by a proclam- 
 ation, in which the odium of recent defeats was cast upon the shoul- 
 ders of their leader. He told them that a " skilful general" might, 
 by selecting good positions, have braved and discomfited the " motley 
 levy" of English, Spaniards, and Portuguese ; but that timorous and 
 pusillanimous councils had prevailed, and a veteran army, small in- 
 deed in number, but great in all that constitutes the military charac- 
 ter, which had fought, bled, and triumphed in every province in Spain, 
 beheld with indignation its laurels tarnished and itself compelled to 
 abandon all its acquisitions — the trophies of many a well-fought and 
 bloody day. 
 
 " Let us not, however," continued the Marshal, " defraud the enemy 
 of the praise which is due to him. The dispositions and arrangements 
 of their general have been prompt, skilful, and consecutive. The val- 
 our and steadiness of his troops have been praiseworthy. Yet do not 
 forget that it is to the benefit of your example they owe their present 
 military character ; and that, wherever the relative duties of a French 
 general and his troops have been ably fulfilled, their enemies have 
 commonly had no other resource than flight." 
 
 Then came the flourishing periods which were intended to go home 
 to the hearts of the crest-fallen legions. 
 
 " Soldiers ! I partake of your chagrin, your grief, your indignation. 
 I know that the blame of the present situation of the army is impu- 
 table to others ; be the merit of repairing it yours. I have borne 
 testimony to the Emperor of your bravery and zeal. His instructions 
 are to drive the enemy from those lofty heights which enable him 
 
 J Soult waa at Dresden with Napoleon at this time, and did not at all relish proceeding 
 to Spain. To Madame Soult the destination was equally distasteful. She wished him to re- 
 fuse the trust, and when she found he was not to be prevailed upon to decline acceding to Na- 
 poleon's orders, she herself resolved to try what effect her representations might have on the 
 Emperor. She sought and obtained an interview, in which she pleaded her husband's shattered 
 frame, his need of repose, and complained of the injustice of sending him back to a country 
 where blows only were to be found. « Madam," replied Napoleon, "recollect lam not yonr 
 husband ; but if I were, you dare not treat me thus." He then ordered her to desist, and not 
 to thwart her husband from his duty. There was no remedy, and the Marshal was constramed 
 to obeji
 
 252 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 proudly to survey our fertile valleys, and chase them across the Ebro. 
 It is on the Spanish soil that your tents must next be pitched, and 
 from thence your resources drawn. No difficulties can be insurmount- 
 able to your valour and devotion. Let us then exert ourselves with 
 mutual ardour ; and be assured that nothing can give greater felicity 
 to the paternal heart of the Emperor than the knowledge of the 
 triumphs of his army, of its increasing glory, of its having rendered 
 itself worthy of him, and of our dear country. 
 
 " Extensive but combined movements for the relief of the fortresses 
 are upon the eve of taking place. They will be completed in a few 
 days Let the account of our success be dated from Vittoria, and 
 the birth of his imperial majesty be celebrated in that city : so 
 shall we render memorable an epoch deservedly dear to all French- 
 men. 
 
 " SoULT, Due DE DaLMATIE, 
 
 " Lieutenant de rEmpereur.^' 
 
 Soult pretty well understood the character of his countrymen. 
 He was assured that all this bombast would awaken a fresh enthu- 
 siasm in the troops, and fill them with expectations of future success. 
 They respected him, because the Emperor reposed in him perfect con- 
 fidence. Yet, if the antecedents of his Peninsular service had been 
 critically examined, nothing could have been found in him to justify 
 either his contemptuous references to Jourdan, or the hopes he endea- 
 voured to inspire. What had Soult achieved in Spain, in Portugal, 
 after Wellington had landed at Lisbon 1 He was driven out of 
 Oporto after his surprise and defeat on the banks of the Duoro ; he 
 was repulsed by Beresford at Albuera ; he had failed to take Cadiz ! 
 small warranty here for license of stricture, or confidence in future 
 success. These things, however, the French were in no mood to 
 remember ; and it is doubtful, if they remembered them, whether 
 they had read the disasters of the Marshal aright. Napoleon had the 
 art, by his announcements in the Moniteur^ to convert every reverse 
 into a victory, and to find some reason, antagonistic to the true one 
 for each movement taken in opposition to those dictated by his 
 wishes or his policy. He reserved his true sentiments for the pri- 
 vate ear of the blunderers. A distribution of the cross of the Le- 
 gion of Honour not unfrequently followed upon some repulse, as a 
 salve to the w^ounded amour-propre of the soldiers, and a blind to 
 the French multitude. If it did not recover the past, it strengthened 
 the hopes of the future. The cross of the Legion of Honour, or any
 
 1813.] FRENCH COURAGE. 253 
 
 other little decoration, was a great incentive to the valour of the 
 troops. 
 
 Bonaparte, aware of this weak point in their character, fed it in 
 every wa}', and the desire to wear a paltry piece of enamel gained him 
 many battles. But this sort of created courage is not capable of 
 standing a severe test, and the French have always been in their 
 military character more Gauls than Franks. What Cassar said of the 
 
 SOULT. — PTRENEES. 
 
 former eighteen centuries ago, is still applicable to the races now 
 occupying their fine country. If stoutly opposed at first, this spurious 
 kind of courage not only diminishes but evaporates, and has failed, 
 does fail, and will ever fail, before that of the British. As soldiers, 
 taking the expression in its widest sense, the French are equal, if not 
 superior, to us in many points ; but on one, that of individual courage, 
 our soldiers rise far superior to them. It is remarkable how often
 
 254 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 they evinced a knowledge of this, and in nothing more than their 
 subterfuges of all kinds to keep it from resting on their minds. All 
 France, aware of this inferiority, by every species of casuistry, 
 attempted to conceal it ; and, in order not to shock their national 
 vanity, blamed every unsuccessful ofl&cer opposed to Wellington, 
 even should his dispositions have been good, and calculated, but for 
 the daring courage of the British soldier, to have succeeded. 
 
 If little was to be apprehended from the efflorescent prognostica- 
 tions and encouraging appeals addressed by Soult to his troops, and 
 less from a careful retrospect of his previous campaigns in Portugal 
 and Spain, his dispositions gave ground to believe that the struggle 
 in the Pyrennees would be fierce. His army, including the Spanish 
 levies which had always adhered to the French cause, giving some- 
 thing of the character of a civil war to the six years' contest, consisted 
 of 77,500 men in the field, of whom 7000 were cavalry, always a 
 strong and efficient branch of the French establishments. In addition 
 to these there were 20,000 men in the garrisons of Pampeluna, 
 Bayonne, San Sebastian, and Santona. But the administration of 
 the army had been disorganised ; and it became necessary to establish 
 a general system of supplies, to stimulate the civil authorities, excite 
 the national spirit, and restore discipline, before even this force could 
 be expected to operate with efi"ect. Soult's exertions were gigantic, 
 and in a short time he had established, if not a secure, certainly a 
 formidable base of operations. Bayonne was surrounded by an 
 entrenched camp, and Napier thus describes the disposition of the 
 troops on the field : — 
 
 " His army was divided into three corps of battle and a reserve. 
 Clausel with the left was at St. Jean Pied de Port, and in commu- 
 nication by the French frontier with a division under General Paris 
 at Jaca, belonging to Suchet, yet under Soult's orders. Drouet 
 Count d'Erlon, with the centre, occupied the heights near Espeletto 
 and Aintoa. Ptcille with the right wing, was on the mountains 
 overlooking Vera from the side of France. The reserve under 
 Villatte, guarded the right bank of the Bidassoa from the north to 
 Irun. The heavy cavalry under Treillard, and the light horsemen 
 under Pierre Soult, the Marshal's brother, were on the banks of the 
 Nive and the Adour." 
 
 As Lord Wellington could not possibly advance until San Sebastian 
 and Pampeluna were wrested from the enemy, his position in the 
 mountains was purely defensive. Soult, therefore, took the initiative 
 in aggressive movements. But, as already shown, he was not in a 
 state of preparation for some days after Wellington's positions had
 
 1818.] PASSAGES OF COURTESY. 255 
 
 been taken up. These latter were remarkably contiguous to the 
 French — sometimes within half cannon-shot — and the sentries were 
 often within 150 yards of each other. This gave occasion for more 
 of those reciprocal passages of courtesy between the officers and men 
 which have already been noticed as characteristic of the civilised 
 character of modern warfare. It is pleasant to place them on record. 
 — Ex. gr. 
 
 " The Hussar brigade connected the infantry with Morillo's corps 
 of Spaniards, which was on the right, and which again communicated 
 with the Spaniards at St. Jean Pied de Port, an advanced post on the 
 Bayonne road. At first, when the troops assembled, there was great 
 abundance of forage, hay of good quality, and straw ; but the district 
 was limited in extent, and forage soon became so scarce as to make 
 it necessary to seek supplies on the flanks of the French posts, and 
 even behind their videttes. This system of foraging gave rise to some 
 very agreeable little affairs. Sometimes it was effected by placing 
 videttes on the high ground in the rear, who were to apprise the 
 foragers of approaching danger, while the foragers were by stealth to 
 take the hay out of houses in the vicinity of the enemy's posts. At 
 other times, the enemy's outposts were driven in by a small party, 
 and before the French had time to rally and resume their ground, the 
 foragers had loaded their horses and mules and got off ; sometimes 
 the enemy advanced so rapidly, as to place their foragers in danger ; 
 a few shots were generally fired by the French, and a few mules were 
 lost. On one or two occasions, a captain of the 7th Hussars was 
 wounded, and soon afterwards strict orders were issued that this 
 mode of foraging should be discontinued. We were sorry for it, and 
 the only remaining means to support the horses was by chopping up 
 the gorse, the young shoots of which make a very palatable and 
 wholesome food for horses during moderate work ; but as the Hussars 
 were a good deal on duty; and as it happened frequently that no 
 corn was issued for several consecutive days, the horses lost both 
 flesh and strength, and many became mangy. Meanwhile, the ad- 
 verse posts in the neighbourhood of Hasparren carried on their duty 
 in the most peaceable manner, avoiding every species of hostility. 
 A picket of the Hussars was upon the high road, and two detached 
 pickets on the bank were under the charge of the captain who com- 
 manded the main body on the high road. For a long time no 
 change of position was made by either party ; each occupied a hill, 
 and in the valley below the videttes were placed within about 300 
 yards of each other. The French, however, seemed desirous to occupy 
 the neutral ground, and occasionally pushed forward their videttes.
 
 256 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 This having been observed, the captain of the picket received orders 
 not to allow this to be done. On the following morning he observed 
 that the French vidette had been advanced about fifty yards, and he 
 thought it most advisable to demand an interview with the French 
 captain of Chasseurs. A peasant was despatched, and returned with 
 a message that the commandant would wait upon the British ofl&cer 
 immediately, and in a few minutes the parties met on the neutral 
 ground. The Englishman stated the order he had received, and ex- 
 plained that to avoid so Idche a proceeding as to fire upon a vidette, 
 he had solicited a meeting with the brave chasseur. The Frenchman 
 expressed himself in the most flattering terms, and begged that the 
 hussar would point out a situation which would be agreeable to him. 
 A thorn-bush about 100 yards behind the spot the French vidette was 
 posted upon was mentioned as equally advantageous for the securing 
 of the French picket, while it would be such as the hussar was per- 
 mitted by his orders to allow. The chasseur gave orders accordingly. 
 The vidette was placed at the very spot which was recommended, and 
 the Frenchman having expressed his satisfaction at the interview, pro- 
 duced a bottle of cognac. Two or three officers on each side joined 
 the party, a happy termination of the war was drunk, and the cap- 
 tain (Le Brun) said politely, " he trusted it would not be the fate of 
 the war to bring into collision the parties who had met in so amicable 
 a manner.'" 
 
 " Life in the Pyrenees" was sufficiently pleasant in the valleys 
 The scenery was agreeable to the eye — lofty mountains covered with 
 foliage, and plains of a verdant hue — but the posts on the summit of 
 the elevations were rendered inconvenient by the continued mists and 
 heavy falls of rain. Holding communication with the sea, supplies 
 
 1 Here is another illustration of rough courtesy, from a private communication :— " Colonel 
 Doyle, who commands the 19th Portuguese, a very good officer, a good frieud, and a most 
 pleasant companion, is encamped with his regiment rather in advance. The Colonel, who 
 loves the comforts and conveniences of life as much as his neighbour, seeing a village with 
 some tolerable houses in his front, and only occupied by a small picket of the French, sent 
 his compliments to the French officer, and told him he would, with his permission, take pos- 
 session of the village, as a good house was certainly preferable to a tent. The French offi- 
 cer immediately retired, and the Colonel took up his quarters in the village with some Caca- 
 dores ; but as it did not accord with the French General's idea of having so near a neigh- 
 bour, by way of a broad hint he sent two regiments to take the village. The French officer, 
 on approaching with his troops, waved his hand as a signal of courtesy, but Doyle's officer 
 not imderstanding the thing, stood his ground ; a firing commenced, but the Colonel found iv 
 necessary to decamp, without leaving his compliments. In another instance, a French officer 
 on picket came forward, and made a handsome apology for his sentinel having fired upon 
 ours, adding, 'his men wore not to act hostilely.' The roughness of warfare, by this con- 
 duct, is rendered a reciprocity of civility, and the ferocity which hard service implants in us la 
 humanised." ,
 
 1813.] BATTLES OF THE PYRENEES. 257 
 
 were abundant, and the health of the troops suffered no detriment but 
 what arose from intemperance and the nocturnal exposure incidental 
 to plundering — a nefarious sort of occupation in which the soldiers' 
 wives proved active coadjutors. 
 
 By the 24th July, 1813, Marshal Soult's dispositions for an advance 
 were completed. Collecting the right and left wings of his army, he 
 commenced by attacking, with 30,000 to 40.000 men, the post at 
 Roncesvalles, held by Major-General Byng,' with scarce 5000 men. 
 
 The 4th division, under Sir Lowry Cole, advanced to B3'ng's sup- 
 port, but after a few hours' severe fighting they were obliged to retire. 
 Simultaneously with these operations, Sir Rowland Hill was placed on 
 his defence by two divisions of the enemy's centre, who attacked 
 his position in the Puerto de Maya, at the head of the valley of 
 Bazten. General Barnes, with a brigade of the 7th division, ru^ed 
 to Hill's assistance, when the overwhelming number of the French 
 troops compelled the former to give way. Hill, also, deemed it 
 prudent to fall back. Lord Wellington, who was at a distance from 
 the scene, came up on the night of the 26th, and altered the dis- 
 position of the divisions, still providing for the siege of San Sebas- 
 tian, and the blockade of Pampeluna. The new ground was taken 
 up on the 27th July — the fourth anniversary of the battle of Tala- 
 vera, an omen of victory which was not without its effect upon the 
 minds of the men, who remembered the triumph over Victor. Scarcely 
 were they posted under the eye of Wellington himself, when the 
 enemy renewed the attack with characteristic impetuosity. 
 
 Sustained only by the British 40th Regiment, the Portuguese and 
 Spanish allies drove the foe from a hill on the right of the 4th 
 division, at the point of the bayonet. At the same time the enemy 
 took possession of the village of Sauroren, and kept up a fire on the 
 British line until it was dark. The next day the French troops at 
 Sauroren affronted the 6th division with great gallantry. With equal 
 resolution the division drove them back, while the 4th division, 
 posted on the surrounding heights, poured a fire upon their fiauks and 
 rear. The French were " in a difficulty" in the valley of the Lanz, 
 and to extricate themselves from this was the object of continual 
 attacks upon the heights. . The battle at length became general, and 
 upon various points, and at different tunes, lasted from the 28th until 
 the night of the 30th. 
 
 The French never fought better. The allies surpassed themselves. 
 Lord Wellington declared, in a letter to Lord William Bentinck, he 
 bad " never seen such fighting." It was " fair bludgeon work." The 
 
 1 Afterwards Lord Strafford. 
 VOL. I. 17
 
 258 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 brunt fell upon the 4tli division, every regiment in ■wliicli charged 
 with the bayonet — the 7th. 20th, 23rd, and 40th, from different 
 times. The officers set them an admirable example. The Portuguese 
 and Spanish troops behaved most creditably. Lord Wellington was 
 moved by the gallantry of which he was an eye-witness to an enthu- 
 siasm of expression very rare with one who looked upon the brightest 
 achievements as a mere conformity to " duty." The battles of the 
 Pyrenees are severally called by him, who has described them with 
 the minuteness demanded by professional readers, the ^ combats" 
 at Roncesvalles, Llnzoln, Maya, Zabaldica, Buenza, Sauroren, Dona 
 Maria, Echallar, and Ivantelly — the names of passes, villages, and 
 heights. The last three combats took place on and after the 31st 
 July, and were fought between the British pursuing troops and the 
 Fr* nch columns in retreat — for retreat had now become unavoidable. 
 Soult found the passages into Spain barred against him with fire and 
 sword. Every effort that good soldiers could make to carry out the 
 wishes of a brave and anxious commander, and to prevent the British 
 from planting foot upon the fertile valleys of France, was made with 
 cheerfulness, — not a man In the army but was prodigal of his blood 
 in this great spasmodic effort to retrieve the disasters of the past. 
 All was unavailing. In one unbroken mass the allied divisions now 
 offered an impenetrable wall to the assailants, and even became the 
 offensive party in their turn, sending the French back into the 
 plains and defiles. At length, wedged in a hollow, at the foot of an 
 almost circular chain of precipitous rocks, Soult was placed at the 
 mercy of four British divisions, placed behind the crests of the hills. 
 He was unaware of the proximity of the unconquerable English, and 
 halted preparatory to another backward movement. In a few hours 
 his surrender or complete destruction must have been Inevitable. The 
 infamous thirst of plunder which beset the English soldiery was his 
 salvation. Approaching his pickets, they gave token of the contiguity 
 of the foe. Soult instantly broke up from his dangerous prison. 
 " The way was narrow, the multitude great, the baggage and the 
 wounded men borne on their comrade's shoulders filed In long pro- 
 cession, and Clauzel's troops, forming the rear-guard, were still near 
 San Estevan the next morning. Scarcely had they marched a league, 
 when Cole's skirmishers and the Spaniards, thronging along the 
 heights on their flank, opened a fire to which little reply could be 
 made. The soldiers and baggage then got mixed in disorder, numbers 
 fled up the hills, and the energy of Soult, whose personal exertions 
 were conspicuous, could scarcely prevent a general dispersion. 
 However, prisoners and baggage Were taken at every step; the
 
 1813.] PLIGHT OF THE LIGHT DIVISION. 259 
 
 boldest were dismayed ; and worse would have awaited them if 
 Wellington had been in other points well seconded by his subordinate 
 generals." ' 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say that the subordinate generals who 
 failed to give zealous co-operation were not Englishmen. The Spanish 
 general, Longa, incurred the odium of neglect. 
 
 Hitherto, the loss and brunt of battle had been borne by the 
 divisions of Hill and Dalhousie, the brigades of Cole, Stewart, Byng, 
 Barnes, and Pakenham. Where was the intrepid Light Division, 
 under Charles, Baron Alten, the gallant Hanoverian? Wandering 
 amidst the wild regions of the Pyrenees, in the mazy depths and 
 amidst the darkness of night, they sought a channel of communi- 
 cation with the troops they were destined to support. Waving 
 faggot-torches as guides and beacons, and calling aloud, they only 
 confused each other ; for the torches sparkled like fire-flies on every 
 height and in every ravine, bewildering those they were intended to 
 assist. 
 
 The tale has been partly told by others ; let one of the participators 
 in the toils and anxieties of the division complete the familiar narra- 
 tive by carrying them into the presence of the enemy : — 
 
 " At daybreak a scene of complete confusion presented itself, the 
 greater part of the division being scattered over the face of a steep 
 and woody mountain, and positively not half a league from whence 
 they had started on the previous evening. As soon as the various 
 corps had grouped together, they followed the only road in sight, and 
 soon met a mounted officer, who directed them towards Leyza. 
 Near that place one half of the division were already bivouacked, 
 Laving reached the valley before the pitchy darkness had set in. It 
 was now the third day since we had retired from Vera, and General 
 Baron Charles Alten became so uneasy, that he ordered some of the 
 best mounted regimental officers to go in various directions, to ascer- 
 tain if possible, some tidings of the army, with which he had no com- 
 munication for three days, and were now isolated among the wilds of 
 the Pyrenees, on the left of the Bidassoa, half way between San Sebas- 
 tian and Pampeluna. At six o'clock the same evening we broke up. and 
 marched two leagues in the direction of Areysa, and then bivouacked 
 in a wood, with an order not to light fires, to prevent any of the 
 enemy's scouts or spies ascertaining our route. Two hours after 
 nightfall the troops were again put in motion, and I was left in the 
 forest, with directions to continue there all night, to bring ofi" in the 
 morning any baggage or stragglers that might happen to go astray. 
 
 1 Napier's "English Battles in the Peninsula." 
 T
 
 260 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [lSi3 
 
 At daylight on the 30th, having collected together a few women, who 
 dared not again encounter another toilsome march along the verge of 
 the precipices, it was a droll sight to see this noisy group defiling from 
 the forest, many dressed in soldiers' jackets, battered bonnets, and 
 faded ribbons, with dishevelled locks hanging over their weather-beaten 
 features, as they drove along their lazy borricas with a thick stick ; 
 and when the terrific blows laid on ceased to produce the desired 
 effect, they squalled with sheer vexation, lest they might be overtaken, 
 and fall into the hands of the enemy's light horse. 
 
 " Having travelled for two hours, as a sort of guide to these poor 
 women, I perceived an ofl&cer at some distance in front, and, on over- 
 taking him, he expressed the greatest joy at seeing me, and declared 
 that he had been wandering for some hours in the most agitated state 
 of mind, not knowing whither to bend his footsteps. The division 
 had drawn up again during the night, and, having laid down on the 
 flank of the column, he had fallen into a profound slumber, out of 
 which he had awaked at broad day-light, with the rays of the sun 
 shining full on his face, and, when somewhat recovering from his be- 
 wildered recollections, he wildly gazed round for the column which 
 had vanished, and, springing on his feet, halloed with all his might; 
 but no answer was returned, — a solemn silence reigned around, save 
 the fluttering of the birds amongst the luxuriant foliage of the trees, 
 the morning dew no longer bespangled the sod, nor did the print of a 
 single footstep remain to guide his course. At length, in a fit of des- 
 peration, he hastily tore a passage through the thicket, and luckily 
 reached the roads, and, at random, sauntered along in no very pleasant 
 mood, until I overtook him. 
 
 " Soon after this we heard to our left sounds like those of distant 
 thunder. As the sky was perfectly serene, we concluded that the 
 noise must be caused by a heavy fire of musketry. On reaching 
 Areysa we found most of the doors closed. However, we succeeded 
 in purchasing a loaf, and then seated ourselves on the margin of a 
 clear mountain stream, where we devoured it, and then solaced our- 
 selves with a hearty draught of the refreshing beverage. This stream 
 looked so inviting, that we threw off our clothes, and plunged into it. 
 Notwithstanding the cooling effects of the bathe, the feet of my com- 
 panion were so much swollen, owing to previous fatigue, that with all 
 his tugging he could not pull on his boots again. Fortunately, mine 
 were old and easy, so we readily effected an exchange ; and then 
 followed a road across a high mountain, from whose summit we saw 
 the division bivouacked to the right of the broad and well-paved road 
 (near Lecumberri) which leads from Pampeluna to Tolosa ; from thia
 
 1813.] THE LIGHT DIVISION AT WORK. 261 
 
 position we could march to either of those places, being half-way 
 between them. Here the division awaited the return of its scouts the 
 whole of the following day. 
 
 " The French army being completely worn out, and having suffered 
 terribly in killed and wounded, continued to retreat during the 31st, 
 followed by five divisions of the British, in three columns, by roads 
 of Roncesvalles, Maya, and Donna Maria. On the evening of the 
 same day, although obliquely to the rear of the pursuing columns, 
 we received orders, if possible, to overtake the enemy, and attack 
 them wherever they might be found. Accordingly, in the middle of 
 the night, we got under arms, and began our march towards the middle 
 of the following day (the 1st of August) ; having marched already 
 twenty-four miles, we descended into a deep valley, between Ituren 
 and Elgoriaga, where the division drew up in column to reconnoitre 
 the right flank of the enemy, who were still hovering in the neigh- 
 bourhood of San Estevan. After an hour's halt, we continued our 
 movement on the left of the Bidassoa, and for three hours ascended, 
 or rather clambered, the rugged asperities of a prodigious mountain, 
 the by-path of which was composed of overlapping slabs of rock, or 
 Blipping-stones. At four o'clock in the afternoon a flying dust was 
 descried, glistening with the bright and vivid flashes of small arms, to 
 the right of the Bidassoa, and in the valley of the Lerin. A cry was 
 instantly set up — ' The enemy !' The worn soldiers raised their bent 
 heads, covered with sweat and dust. We had nearly reached the 
 summit of this tremendous mountain, but nature was quite exhausted. 
 Many of the soldiers lagged behind, having accomplished more than 
 thirty miles over the rocky roads, intersected with loose stones. 
 Many fell heavily on the naked rocks, frothing at the mouth, black in 
 the face, and struggling in their last agonies ; whilst others, unable to 
 drag one leg after the other, leaned on the muzzles of their firelocks, 
 looking pictures of despair, muttering in disconsolate accents that they 
 had never fallen out before." 
 
 Ascertaining the real strength of Marshal Soult — no easy matter 
 in its dispersed condition — and getting information as to his exact 
 course of movement, Lord Wellington sent the Light Division to cut 
 in upon the enemy and interrupt his march. With stupendous 
 exertion they got to the summit of a precipice near the bridge of 
 Yanzi, where they caught view of Reille's division hurrying forward 
 along a narrow defile. A fire of musketry commenced. The French, 
 pent up by the Light Division, who were in front and all around 
 and above them, fell by scores, and the most frightful confusion 
 was created. The wounded were cast down in the rush and
 
 262 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 trampled upon— the cavalry drew their swords and endeavored to 
 charge up the pass — men and horses were alike rolled back into the 
 Bidassoa. 
 
 It is unnecessary to follow the details. Sufl&ce to say, that aftei 
 nine days of continual movement, during which ten serious actions had 
 been fought, the operations ceased. Lord Wellington's effective force 
 had in this interval been diminished by 7,300 officers and soldiers, 
 who were either killed, wounded, taken by the enemy, or dispersed. 
 The French loss has been computed by themselves at 13,000 ! 
 
 None of the battles previously fought by Wellington — none, it 
 may be said, at any time — have caused him half the anxiety and 
 personal risk which attended the operations in the Pyrenees. It was 
 truly a pursuit of victory under difficulties. Hitherto he had, with 
 few- exceptions, been able to keep his enemy in view, and to survey 
 the ground on which his own army and that of the adversary stood — 
 giving his orders as the movements, successes, or reverses of either 
 side might suggest. But in the Pyrenees he groped in the dark. 
 Sometimes he was with one division, sometimes with another — 
 occasionally he caught a glimpse of the French battalions, and once 
 was within a very short distance of their leader, Soult, and that 
 was all. Rocks and ravines were ever in the way. What the 
 telescope accomplished upon the broad and open plain, or from the 
 summit of an overlooking height, was only to be achieved in the 
 Pyrenean labyrinth by hard riding.' He galloped from place to place 
 with the speed of a hunter, and in his locomotion incurred continual 
 hazards of surprise and capture, for it was impossible at any moment 
 to ascertain with precision how near to him parties of the enemy 
 might be. After a brief reconnaissance at Sauroren, attended by 
 Lord Fitzroy Somerset, he only escaped the French dragoons by a 
 two minutes' start. At Echallar he was examining his maps, when a 
 French detachment came upon him unawares. A sergeant of the 
 43rd was just in time to warn him of the danger, and he got away. 
 But the most striking example of his ubiquity — if the term may not 
 be unfairly used — was a nocturnal visit to Pampeluna. The com- 
 mander of the investing force required his advice and assistance. 
 Wellington was asleep when the messenger, or officer, came to him, 
 and the aide-de-camp in attendance declined to awake him. The 
 matter was urgent — the officer importunate. At length Lord Wel- 
 lington was aroused. He heard the message, and with the simple 
 words, " Go back to your regiment, sir," turned again to sleep. The 
 repose was but momentary. As the officer in melancholy mood 
 
 1 See A]^nUix III., for a description of the Pyrenees.
 
 1 813.] 
 
 "WELLINGTON" IN THE PYRENEES. 
 
 263 
 
 wended his way along the mountain paths, his hack jaded, he himself 
 half slumbering on his saddle, a horseman passed him at full gallop. 
 He could not distinguish him in the darkness of the night ; but the 
 wildest flight of fancy never would have suggested that the horseman 
 
 was Wellington. The next morning, howevei*, the Marquis was met 
 returning from Pampeluna, having given all the necessary instructions 
 for the vigorous prosecution of the blockade ! 
 
 One of the most gratifying features of the battles in the Pyrenees 
 was the greatly improved discipline of the Portuguese battalions. 
 Never wanting in courage, their only defect was a deficiency in 
 steadiness. Much was to be said for them. Until the battle of 
 Busaco, in 1810, they had never been under fire, and from that 
 time, with the simple exception of the cantonment of the allied army 
 during the winter of 1812-13, everything had been unfavourable 
 to their economy and organisation. They were either fighting, 
 marching, or working in trenches. The tranquillity and leisure 
 afforded Marshal Beresford, during the prolonged inaction on the
 
 264 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 Agueda, had enabled bini to repair the damage to discipline occa- 
 sioned by continual employment in the field, and we now find Lord 
 Wellington, always ready to award praise, stating in his despatch 
 descriptive of the Pyrenean fights — 
 
 " The good conduct of the Portuguese officers and troops in all the 
 operations of the present campaign, and the spirit which they show 
 on every occasion, are not less honourable to that nation than they 
 are to the military character of the officer (Marshal Beresford) who, 
 by his judicious measures, has re-established discipline and revived a 
 military spirit in the army." 
 
 And in a previous letter to Lord Liverpool, dated 25th of July, he 
 gives a reason for the improvement that had taken place in the 
 Portuguese army, apart from Beresford's instrumentality : — 
 
 " Notwithstanding that the Portuguese are now the fighting cocks 
 of the army, I believe we owe their merits more to the care we have 
 taken of their pockets and their bellies than to the instructions we 
 have given them. In the end of the last campaign they behaved, in 
 many instances, exceedingly ill, because they were in extreme misery, 
 the Portuguese Government having neglected to pay them. I have 
 forced the Portuguese Government to make arrangements to pay 
 them regularly this year, and everybody knows how well they behave." 
 
 The establishment of a communication with the sea enabled Lord 
 Wellington, after he had got into the Pyrenees, to cause the pay of 
 the troops to be issued with greater regularity than heretofore. Oa 
 the 3rd of August the men and officers were six months in arrear, 
 and now, in paying what was due to the 24th of February, the 
 Commander of the Forces adopted . a plan, for the prevention of 
 wasteful extravagance in drink and other pernicious indulgences, which 
 was at a much later period rendered universal in the British service. 
 He caused the pay to be issued daily. The eflFect was excellent. 
 
 Two great objects now remained to be accomplished before the 
 allied army could venture upon another forward movement. These 
 were the capture of San Sebastian and Pampeluna. Lord Wellington 
 took up his quarters at Lesaca, to be at hand whenever and wher- 
 ever he might be required. 
 
 San Sebastian is a fortified town, built on an isthmus on the 
 Spanish coast, in a Bight of the Bay of Biscay. Above the town 
 rises a conical hill, some four hundred feet from the level of the sea, 
 crowned by a mota or castle. The place is isolated by the tidal river 
 Urumea. When the tide is in, San Sebastian seems to rise out of 
 the sea. 
 
 To reduce this fortress, Lord Wellington had deputed Sir Thomas
 
 1813.] GRAHAM AT SAN SEBASTIAN. 26L 
 
 Graham, early in July, with a suflBcient force, and gave him the 
 assistance of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir "W. Fletcher, and Sir Charles 
 Smith, two of the ablest engineers in the service. Fletcher was the 
 officer who had planned and superintended the construction of the 
 lines of Torres Vedras. Smith had had his talents developed at 
 Tarifa, the defence of which place was arranged by him exclusivelj'^ 
 Graham began badly. He followed the erroneous dictates of his own 
 judgment instead of yielding to the suggestions of the able engineers, 
 in respect to the position of the breaching batteries. Time was 
 therefore lost and nothing was done. Lord Wellington, to remedy 
 the defects in Graham's system of operations, went to San Sebastian 
 on the 1 1 th of July, and in concert with the commandants of artillery 
 and engineers decided upon a more effectual plan. Batteries were 
 thrown up, on some sand-hills commanding the town, and the siege 
 was now pushed with vigor. Outworks consisting of a fortified 
 convent and redoubt, were previously carried on the 17th of July, 
 and on the 20th, the breaching batteries opened upon the sea wall of 
 the town. The place was very ably defended by General Key with a 
 garrison of 3000 veteran troops. By the 24th, three breaches had 
 been reported practicable ; and on the 25th, they were attacked by 
 2000 men, led by Lieutenant H. D. Jones, of the engineers, the 
 advanced storming party being commanded by Major Frazer, of 
 the Royal Scots. The attack was conducted with great spirit ; but 
 the overwhelming fire of the garrison was an insurmountable barrier 
 to success. Grape, grenades, and shells, were poured with murderous 
 precision upon the columns, who were driven back with a loss of 400 
 men, including Major Frazer. 
 
 This failure induced Lord Wellington to go over from Lesaca to 
 give fresh directions for the seige. He then found that there was an 
 insufficiency of ammunition for the immediate renewal of operations, 
 the Government organs at home having fallen back into their old 
 habits of neglect. He, consequently, directed the siege to be con- 
 verted into a blockade, until additional materiel should arrive. Lord 
 Wellington returned to Lesaca, and then fought those battles in the 
 Pyrenees to which allusion has been made. 
 
 All this time, how were affairs progressing in the eastern part of 
 Spain ? There could be no prospect of the complete triumph of the 
 Peninsular cause, if the snake were not killed outright. The successes 
 in the Pyrenees would have proved but the process of " scotching " 
 the monster if the huge coils lashing the western coast of the 
 Mediterranean were still free. A momentary glance will show us 
 how Lord William Bentinck had conducted affairs.
 
 2m LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 Lord Williara Bentinck was an officer of considerable military and 
 diplomatic talents. He had, when a young man, served with the 
 Austrian army under Suwarrow, Melas, and Count Bellegarde, 
 witnessing and sharing in some of the operations against the French 
 He afterwards was placed in command of a body of cavalry, to serve 
 with Abercrombie in Egypt, but did not reach his destination until 
 the glorious campaign of 1801 had arrived at a termination. In 1803 
 Lord William was appointed Governor of Madras, holding that 
 liicrative and responsible office until 1807. In 1808, he was selected 
 to proceed on a mission to the Supreme Junta of Spain, for the 
 purpose of urging a resistance to Bonaparte, and it is on record that 
 he conducted the negotiations with much spirit and energy, but not 
 with very satisfactory results, the unaccountable indifference of the 
 Spaniards to the danger which surrounded them, presenting an insur- 
 mountable obstacle to the prompt adoption of useful measures. 
 Joining Sir John Moore, Lord William commanded a brigade at the 
 battle of Coruna, and led the troops with Moore against the enemy 
 posted in the village of Elvira. Subsequently, he was appointed 
 Minister at the Court of Sicily, and Commander-in-Chief of the 
 forces in that island. His good management placed Sicily in a 
 condition to resist an invasion by the French, and he might at a 
 much earlier period have detached troops to operate against the 
 forces under Suchet; but Lord William Bentinck was headstrong. 
 He had conceived an idea in 1812 that the French might be attacked 
 with advantage in Italy and Sardinia, and while he was indulging 
 this crotchet to the extent of sending a large portion of his force to 
 those quarters, Lord Wellington was calculating upon his co-operation 
 on the eastern coast. In 1813, Lord William Bentinck's views had 
 undergone a change, more particularly as the failure of Sir John 
 Murray at Tarragona had rendered an immediate and vigorous 
 movement in Catalonia necessary. He now took the command out 
 of Murray's hands, re-organised the army at Alicant, and awaited the 
 assembling of a sufficient force to enable him to confront Marshal 
 Suchet. The astute Marshal having blown up the defences of 
 Tarragona, advanced against the English, and came up with them at 
 the pass of Ordal. A collision took place, and the English were 
 forced to retire through the incompetency, it has been alleged, of 
 the officer immediately in command — Colonel Adam.^ It seems, 
 
 1 Afterwards Sir Frederick. At Waterloo he commanded a brigade of Guards ; and after the 
 Peace held the office of Lord High Commissioner in the Ionian Islands. lie was, at a later period. 
 Governor of Madras, when Lord W. Bentinck was GoTemor-Geoeral of India.
 
 1813.] PROCEEDINGS IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE. 267 
 
 however, that both that officer and Lord William Bentinck were 
 misinformed as to the actual strength of the French army under 
 Suchet, and found themselves unexpectedly attacked by a superior 
 force. Falling back upon Tarragona, Marshal Suchet was left in 
 undisturbed possession of Catalonia, and Lord William Bentinck, 
 returning to Sicily, left the command of the army to Sir William 
 Clinton.' 
 
 While Lord Wellington remained in the Pyrenees, a new cause of 
 anxiety had arisen in his mind. It was a characteristic of his military 
 policy never to advance without a conviction of the ulterior advantage 
 of the proceeding. It was not enough for him that a pitched battle 
 was to place his army upon the ground occupied by the enemy ; his 
 views extended beyond the immediate present. The consolidation of 
 each victory seemed to him an indispensable condition of a forward 
 movement. He was now upon the threshold of the French empire. 
 What was to be the upshot of his occupation of the country ? 
 
 To understand the arguments which " gave him pause," we must 
 first advert to the operations which had been taking place in the north 
 of Europe, after Prussia had followed the example of Russia in 
 throwing off the yoke which Napoleon had imposed by his Commercial 
 Decrees. 
 
 The first measure of the Russian and Prussian monarchs after their 
 compact at Breslau was to seek the alliance of the King of Saxony. 
 The favours which that monarch had received at the hands of 
 Napoleon induced him to remain firm to his ally, and he therefore 
 quitted Dresden, the capital of his kingdom contiguous to the scene 
 of action, and the Russian troops advanced upon the town. Austria, 
 watching her opportunity of throwing off the connexion with 
 Napoleon, now offered herself as a mediator between the northern 
 allies of France, and Sweden acceded by a treaty, concluded at 
 Ocrebro, to the Grand Alliance. Denmark remained faithful to 
 Napoleon. The enthusiasm of the people of Prussia continuing 
 unabated, the Landsturm or levee en masse was called out by royal 
 decree, and a plan of hostile operations against the French armies 
 was immediately chalked out. The French lay along the Elbe, from 
 
 1 The qualities which had neutralised the value of Lord W. Bentinck as a Peninsular 
 general had full play when he became Governop-General of India. He acted invariably 
 according to the dictates of his judgment, and was inaccessible to advice and reason. Some 
 of his measures are to be remembered for their value. He abolished the rite of Suttee (the 
 cremation of Hindoo widows), improved internal commmiication, and was friendly to the press 
 and the cause of enlightenment, but his military rule was of doubtful advantage. He also abol- 
 ished flogging in the native army, and discontinued full batta allowance to the otficers.
 
 268 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 Dresden to Hamburg. The army was headed by Davoust, Victor, 
 Grenier, Regnier, and Vandamme. The Russians struck the first 
 blow. Rapidly moving on Hamburg, they encouraged the people of 
 Liineburg to rise and expel the French. These latter recaptured the 
 town, and their general, Morand, was about to execute some two 
 dozen of the leaders of the revolt, when the Cossacks rushed in and 
 rescued them. A general insurrection now commenced throughout 
 the country lying between the Elbe and the Weser — all the Hanse 
 Towns took up arms and drove out the French, and the authority of 
 England was once more restored in the Hanoverian states. Innu- 
 merable British ships entered the Elbe with stores, arms, and ammu- 
 nition for the patriots, and everything promised well for a successful 
 campaign against the French. 
 
 The occupation of Dresden and Hamburg broke the line of the 
 Elbe at both ends. Eugene Beauharnais, who led the French, fell 
 back upon the strong fortress of Magdeburg, and thence awaited 
 Napoleon, who, rallying after the expulsion of his troops from Russia, 
 joined his new levies at Erfurt, and formed a junction with Eugene. 
 The army of the French Emperor, including the garrisons on the 
 Oder and Vistula, blockaded by the allies, was 400,000 strong. At 
 the head of this force Napoleon moved against the northern armies. 
 An encounter on the heights of Poserna, in which Marshal Bessieres 
 was killed, was followed by two great battles at Lutzen and Bautzen, 
 in which the French gained something in position, at the expense of 
 many thousands killed and wounded, and without wresting either 
 guns or provisions from the enemy. At Bautzen, Duroc, the oldest 
 and best friend of Napoleon, was killed by a cannon-shot. Napoleon 
 was afflicted at the loss of his general, and annoyed that no important 
 results had followed upon the two great battles. Yet he believed his 
 star to be still in the ascendant, and had he not cherished appre- 
 hensions from the armed indications of Austria, and the progress of 
 the organisation of a partisan warfare in his rear, he would hardly 
 have consented to an armistice at Pleswitz, which was arranged 
 between the antagonistic forces to endure six weeks. 
 
 Of the combined movement among the northern powers to throw 
 off the detestable tyranny of Napoleon, Great Britain now wisely 
 took excellent advantage. Opening friendly relations with Prussia, 
 she despatched vast quantities of arms and stores to the Elbe, and 
 Sir Charles Stewart, afterwards Marquis of Londonderry, was sent 
 ambassador to Berlin Subsidies to the amount of 4.000,000/. sterling 
 were granted to Sweden, Russia, and Prussia, and every imaginable en- 
 couragement was given to those states to push the war with the FrenoL
 
 1813.] AUSTRIA NEGOTIATES. 269 
 
 Austria at this time (June, 1813,) also began to seek some benefit 
 from the perilous position of Napoleon. She intimated, through her 
 astute minister, Metternich, the impossibility of remaining neutral, 
 and pressed such heavy claims on the Emperor Napoleon, that, 
 alarmed at the confidence of her tone, he caught at the idea of a 
 congress at Prague, under the mediation of Austria, and signed a 
 convention for the assembling of the congress on the 30th of June. 
 Soon afterwards the news of the battle of Vittoria arrived at Dresden, 
 and as this announced the destruction of the French power in Spain, 
 Austria grew more exacting in her demands. Napoleon, foreseeing 
 the issue of the convention, resorted to a variety of pretexts to gain 
 time, in order to fortify the places still held by his troops, and to 
 increase his force by a heavy conscription. The armistice was extend- 
 ed to the 1 1th of August. Immediately upon its termination, Austria 
 formally declared war against France, because the latter power re- 
 fused to agree to the terms of her ultimatii.m^ which comprehended a 
 great many sacrifices of the territory and authority acquired by Napo- 
 leon in the earlier campaigns of the century. 
 
 The news of the assembly of the Congress of Prague reached Lord 
 Wellington at Lesaca. His quick and comprehensive understanding 
 immediately took in all the bearings of the efiect of a peace with France, 
 and determined him to pause in the execution of his plans for entering 
 that country. He saw that if he established an army on the Adour, 
 he would be unable to go further, and that, if peace were made by 
 the powers of the North, he would have to withdraw into Spain. 
 Perhaps of the very many letters written by Lord "Wellington upon 
 subjects relating to the general interests of Europe, and the shape 
 which his own movements should take in connection with those 
 interests, there is not one which more clearly demonstrates the grasp 
 of his mind, and the thorough independence of his character, than 
 the communication to Lord Bathurst, dated Lesaca, 8th of August, 
 1813.' In this he points out his actual situation, the diflBculty of 
 moving his army until the deteriorations it had suffered by the recent 
 contests should be repaired, the position he would be in were a retreat 
 to Spain rendered necessary, supposing him to enter France without 
 capturing the fortresses of the frontier, and the importance of a declar- 
 ation by the French Bourbons of their object in assisting to dethrone 
 Bonaparte. 
 
 How well Lord Wellington understood the true situation of the 
 several powers to the treaty negotiating at Prague, notwithstanding 
 that his mind and his time had for four years been occupied with hia 
 
 1 See Appendix, No. IV.
 
 270 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1813. 
 
 own immediate operations, is clear from what he writes to Earl 
 Bathurst a week after the letter cited above. Instead of being at a 
 great distance, receiving his intelligence through the uncertain media 
 of newspapers and private letters, it would almost seem, from the 
 intelligent view he took of the pending questions, that he was actually 
 on the spot, and a mediator in the negotiations. " There are some 
 leading principles," he writes, " in the political state of Europe, in 
 which the interests of all parties would coincide ; such as the inde- 
 pendence of Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland, and France ; the res- 
 toration of Hanover to the King's family ; the re-establishment of the 
 Prussian frontier, and of the Prussian influence over Saxony and 
 Hesse ; a frontier for the Austrian monarchy, and influence in Ger- 
 many to balance that of Prussia ; the re-establishment of the inde- 
 pendence of the Hause Towns, &c. ; an understanding between England 
 and Russia ; and the powers less immediately interested might bring 
 the others to take a general view of the common interests, without 
 which, all may depend upon it that they cannot make peace with 
 security, or war with honour and advantage." 
 
 Upon any other system than the foregoing, he declared " he would 
 not march a corporal's guard." 
 
 How well and truly it has been said of Wellington, that his 
 sagacity estimated every combination at its true import ! In those 
 days politics wore a cosmopolitan character. There was but one great 
 question before the world — European freedom, or European servitude ; 
 the " French empire " on one side, and a coalition of adversaries or 
 victims on the other. But few men were gifted with the faculty with 
 which "Wellington was endowed, of casting his eye over the plains of 
 Germany, over the wilds of Russia, on the shores of the Baltic, and 
 the islands of the Mediterranean, and on the retina of his mind, con- 
 centrating an estimate of the relative interests of all the powers 
 involved in the complicated quarrel. While the Ministry besought 
 him to turn from his professional cares and honour them with his 
 counsel, his victories seemed to check despondency, or animate resist- 
 ance, in countries far removed from the scene of his operations. The 
 battle of Salamanca was celebrated by the retiring Russians at 
 Smolensko with rejoicings which fell ominously on the ears of their 
 prisoners, and the triumph of Vittoria — the news of which, as observed 
 above, reached Dresden about the time of the battles of Lutzen and 
 Bautzen, — determined the wavering policy of Austria against the 
 tottering fortunes of Napoleon. 
 
 The two German battles, if they gave satisfaction to Lord 
 Wellington from the manner in which they were fought, did not
 
 1813.J AUSTRIA JOINS THE ALLIES. 271 
 
 please him in their result. He feared that they would induce Napo- 
 leon to make concessions to Austria, Russia, and Prussia, which might 
 lead to a peace with those powers to the exclusion of England and the 
 powers of the Peninsula. 
 
 But while Wellington was occupied with these apprehensions, the 
 armistice at Prague had terminated, and Austria had ranged herself 
 with Russia, Prussia, Sweden, and Great Britain in the crusade 
 against the tyranny of the French Emperor.
 
 272 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 I181S 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 San Sebastian taken— Pampeluna capitulates. 
 
 m THOMAS GRAHAM had rested upon 
 his arms after the first repulse at San 
 Sebastian. The attack had 
 answered the purpose — 
 though at a heavy sacrifice — 
 of testing the strength of the 
 walls, and the vigour of the 
 garrison. Out of the nettle, 
 danger, Graham plucked 
 the flower, " safety." But 
 the middle of August had 
 been passed and nothing 
 more was done. Inert, be- 
 yond all reason and prece- 
 dent, the government of Lord Liverpool was scarcely less culpable 
 than that of his helpless predecessor, Mr. Perceval, in " starving" the 
 army, at least, in respect to those military supplies, and that ex- 
 ternal aid, without which it was impossible to expect that the great 
 enterprise on which Lord Wellington was engaged should possibly 
 succeed. There was no adequate naval force on the Biscayan coast. 
 According to all the usages of war, attacks upon maritime places are 
 made by the army and navy conjointly. Lord Keith had written 
 home for a line-of-battle ship, and the sluggish Admiralty had neither 
 sent him a reply, nor left anything to his discretion. The block- 
 ade consequently could not be strictly kept, and the enemy were 
 enabled to keep up a communication with the garrison from Bayonne 
 and St. Jean do Luz. To read the complaints of Lord Well- 
 ington at this time, one would suppose that the government of the 
 day were dealing with an unsuccessful general engaged in a
 
 1813.] REMONSTRANCE WITH THE ADMIRALTY. 27.3 
 
 desperate cause, which had neither their sympathy nor sanction 
 instead of with a consummate soldier who had carried every point in 
 which the interests of the country were concerned. He was espe- 
 cially hurt that, by the mismanaged supply of naval assistance, his 
 soldiers should be compelled to the performance of a rough and 
 laborious kind of work generally performed by sailors. '• The 
 soldiers," he wrote, " are obliged to work in the transports to unload 
 the vessels, because no seamen can be furnished ; and we have been 
 obliged to use the harbour boats of Passages, navigated by women, in 
 landing the ordnance and stores, because there is no naval force to 
 supply us with the assistance which we should have required in boats." 
 He felt also that, in the absence of the navy, he was deprived of the 
 opportunity of saving the lives of soldiers in the assaults upon the 
 trenches, since " no means existed of dividing the enemy's attention 
 by making a simultaneous attack upon the sea-face." 
 
 The tone in which Lord Wellington expressed his sentiments to 
 the Admiralty upon their neglect, was of a character with that boldness 
 and independence which had marked all his previous remonstrances 
 with men in office, who were insensible to the great good he was accom- 
 plishing, or were jealous of his renown. He writes to Lord Melville — 
 
 " I complain of an actual want of necessary naval assistance and co- 
 operation with the array, of which I believe no one will entertain a 
 doubt who reads the facts stated in my reports to Government. I know 
 nothing about the cause of the evil ; it may be owing to a general 
 deficiency of naval force for all the objects to which it is necessary to 
 attend in an extended system of war. It may be oioing to a inoioer 
 •preference of otlier services over this, or it may be owing to the misap- 
 plication of the force entrusted to their command by the admirals and 
 captains. I state the fact, which nobody will deny ; and leave it to 
 Government to apply a remedy or not, as they may think proper." 
 
 Sir George Collier arrived upon the coast with a small squadron 
 (inferior to that of the enemy) and although no assistance was 
 aflForded in the way Lord Wellington deemed most desirable, namely, 
 an attack from the sea, the seige of San Sebastian was earnestly 
 prosecuted. Lord Wellington continually went to and fro to observe 
 the progress of the siege, and by the 20th of August a fire was 
 opened upon the fort and directed against the tower which flanked 
 the bastion on the eastern face, — against a demi-bastion on the south- 
 east angle, and termination of the curtain on the south face. In five 
 days a breach had been eflfected at the tenaille ' of the bastion, and 
 
 1 Tenaille. A parapet in the main ditch of a fortress in the form of an open pair of pincers— 
 whence the name. 
 
 VOL. I. 18
 
 2V4 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 Lord Wellington, judging that everything was in readiness for the 
 assault, left the details to Lieutenant-General Graham. 
 
 The manner in which the " forlorn hope " is selected for an assault 
 has been described in a foregoing page. On this occasion volunteers 
 were wanted from the 1st and 4th and Light Divisions. To the 
 honour of the latter, they volunteered to a man. Four hundred were 
 selected from the 1st Division, 150 from the Light, and 200 from the 
 4th Division. Lieutenant Maguire, of the 4th Foot, had the command 
 of the forlorn hope. lie had entreated to be so honoured on two 
 former occasions, but was disappointed. His wish was now fulfilled; 
 only that he might honourably fall, in the prime of youth and health, 
 at the head of the self-devoted band.' 
 
 At eleven o'clock on the morning of the 31st of August, Sir Thomas 
 Graham, having crossed the Urumea to some batteries of the right 
 attack, whence he could behold the operations, the columns of attack, 
 under Major-General Robinson, moved from the trenches. The 
 reserve was composed of the residue of the 5th Division and some 
 Portuguese troops, severally commanded by Major-Generals Spry and 
 Hay, the whole under the direction of Lieutenant-General Sir James 
 Leith. Previous to their emerging from their shelter, a sergeant of 
 consummate intrepidity had sprang forward and endeavoured to cut 
 the saucisson, or trains upon the covered-way of the fortress which 
 was to fire the fougasses, or mines, upon the glacis. In this gallant 
 feat he was killed, for the French immediately fired the mine. But 
 bis noble object was attained ; the advancing column was saved, with 
 the exception of some forty men who were crushed by the fall of the 
 wall.^ The columns steadily advanced, and approached the breach 
 under a terrific fire of shells and grape shot from the determined 
 
 ' Lieutenant Maguire had always distingiiislied himself. At Fuentes d'Onoro, ho took a 
 pair of colours from the French ensign who bore them. At Vittoria, when his company was 
 twice repulsed, he took the colours from the hands of the ensign of the regiment, and 
 resolutely advanced to place them upon the parapet of the bridge; but before ho could fix them, 
 they were shot to pieces ! 
 
 2 A similar piece of daring courage was exhibited at an earlier period In the Peninsular 
 war, with a moro fortunate result. It was in 1810. Lord Wellington had ordered that 
 whenever the French appeared likely to advance across the frontier to invade Portugal, the 
 Spanish fort of Concepcion, opposite Almeida, should be blown up. The bastions were all 
 mined and loaded, and two engineers appointed to light the fusees at the proper moment. 
 On the morning of the enemy's advance, after the capture of Ciudad Rodrlgo, these oflicera 
 were not together; and one of them, finding the time for explosion arrived, and as the 
 enemy were fast coming on, galloped to the fort, tied up his horse, and ran up the ramparts, 
 calling out his companion's name, and exclaiming, "no time was to be lost." No one 
 answered to his name in tho solitary fort, and on approaching the entrance of one of the 
 mines, he found the fusees burning. Tlioy m\iBt have been sometime lighted, to allow the 
 escape of those who flred them, and the match was now close to the magazine, threatening
 
 1813.] THE BREACH AT SAN SEBASTIAN. 275 
 
 garrison. This was check enough in itself, but when they reached 
 the breach, to their intense mortification they discovered that the 
 aperture made in the walls by the fire from the batteries was not wide 
 enough to admit more than a single file of men at a time. "There 
 never was anything," wrote Sir Thomas Graham in his despatch, " so 
 fallacious as the external appearance of the breach." The enemy 
 saw the dilemma of the troops, and plied their fire with renewed 
 audacity. There was only one point by which access could be ob- 
 tained to the fortress ; it was the ridge of the curtain. To gain this 
 ridge, hundreds of brave soldiers made the noblest efforts, but no suc- 
 cess attended the gallant attempt. 
 
 In this most desperate state of affairs, Sir Thomas Graham asked 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Dickson, who commanded the artillery, if he 
 could suggest any measure to give an impulse to the attack. This 
 able ofiicer immediately proposed that the whole of the guns in the 
 breaching batteries of the right attack should, as far as possible, be 
 brought to bear on the high curtain above the breach in the face of 
 the demi-bastion ; and, in a few minutes, the fire of forty-seven pieces 
 of artillery was directed with such powerful effect upon the enemy's 
 interior defences, that they were compelled to abandon the principal 
 traverse, which protected the main breach, and seek more distant 
 cover. 
 
 The troops at the main breach paused in their vain endeavours to 
 win an entrance during the continuance of this tremendous cannonade, 
 watching with astonishment and admiration the effect produced in 
 this unprecedented manner by the fire of the artillery, of which such 
 was the wonderful precision that, though the shot passed but a few 
 feet over their heads, sweeping the enemy from their retrenchments, 
 not a casualty occurred amongst themselves. 
 
 Shortly after this mode of clearing a way for the assailants had 
 been adopted, the whole of the numerous fire barrels, live shells, hand 
 grenades, &c., which the garrison had collected along the ramparts for 
 the close defence of their traverses and interior works, ignited, causing 
 a succession of explosions along the whole extent of the high curtain, 
 killing and wounding many of its defenders, and throwing the 
 remainder into the greatest confusion. The assailants took instant 
 advantage of this favourable moment to renew their efforts, and a 
 vigorous rush made them masters of the first traverse. The garrison 
 
 iBBtant destruction to all around. Fortunately, he did not lose his presence of mind ; he de- 
 ecended from the ramparts, gained his horse, and was forty or fifty yards from the fort ere it 
 was launched into the air. The other officer had arrived before him, and had acted according 
 to his orders. 
 
 U
 
 276 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 on this rather hastily abandoned the ravelin and eastern branch of the 
 hornwork ; fresh troops mounted the breach in rapid succession ; the 
 Portuguese, at the same moment, forced an entrance to the right, and 
 the town was carried, during a most awful storm of thunder, lightning, 
 and rain, rendered yet more terrific by the shouts of the infuriated 
 captors ; 700 prisoners were made, the rest of the garrison took 
 refuge in the castle, whence they kept up a constant fire on all who 
 showed themselves in the streets, so that little or no success resulted 
 from the exertions of the assailants to subdue the flames, spread 
 throughout the town by the explosion of the grenades and shells along 
 the ramparts, as above-mentioned.' 
 
 Let Napier relate the terrible sequel to the assault : — 
 '' Five hours this dreadful battle had lasted at the walls, and now 
 the stream of war went pouring into the town ; yet the undaunted 
 governor still disputed the victory at his barricades, although several 
 hundreds of men had been cut off in the hornwork, and his garrison 
 was 60 reduced, that even to retreat behind the line of defence 
 separating the town from Monte Orgullo was difficult ; however, the 
 troops, flying from the hornwork on the harbour flank, broke through 
 a body of the British near the fortified convent of Santa Teresa, and 
 the post was still retained by the French within the town. It was 
 thought Monte Orgullo might have been then carried if a commander 
 of rank, to direct the troops, had been at hand ; but, as in the first 
 assault, whether from wounds or accident, no general entered the 
 place until long after the breach had been won, the battalion officers 
 were embarrassed for want of orders, and a thunder-storm coming 
 down the mountains with unbounded fury just as the place was 
 carried, added to the confusion of the fight ; the opportunity was 
 thus lost. 
 
 '• This storm seemed to be a signal from hell for the perpetration of 
 villany which would have shamed the most ferocious barbarians of 
 antiquity. At Ciudad Rodrigo intoxication and plunder had been 
 the principal objects ; at Badajoz lust and murder were joined to 
 rapine and drunkenness ; at San Sebastian the direst, the most 
 revolting cruelty was added to the catalogue of crimes ; one atrocity, 
 of which a girl of seventeen was the victim, staggers the mind by its 
 enormous, incredible, indescribable barbarity. Some order was at 
 first maintained, but the resolution to throw off discipline was quickly 
 made manifest. A British staff-officer was pursued with a volley of 
 small arms, and escaped with difficulty from men who mistook him for 
 a provost-marshal ; a Portuguese adjutant, striving to prevent some 
 
 1 Jackson and Scott's Life of the Duke of Wellington.
 
 1813.] SURRENDER OF MONTE ORGULLO. 211 
 
 ruffianism, was put to death in the market-place, not with sudden 
 violence, but deliberately. Many officers exerted themselves to 
 preserve order, many men were well-conducted, yet the rapine and 
 violence, commenced by villains, soon spread ; the camp followers 
 crowded into the place, and the disorder continued until fire, following 
 the steps of the plunderer, put an end to his ferocity by destroying 
 the whole town." 
 
 Sir Thomas Graham' was profuse, and justly so, of his commenda- 
 tions. All his officers and troops had admirably comported them- 
 selves. The former had never been more exposed. No less than 
 three general officers — Sir J. Leith, General Robinson, and General 
 Oswald — were wounded in the trenches, and obliged to quit the field. 
 Amongst the brave men who came in for special remark were Colonel 
 Dickson, of the Artillery ; Captain Williamson of the 4th Royals, who 
 was severely wounded, " following the forlorn hope in the best style ;" 
 Captain Jones, of the same corps ; Lieutenant Le Blanc, who led the 
 Light Company of the 4th, immediately after the forlorn hope ; 
 Linsay and Power, of the 47th ; Captains Pilkington, Scott, and 
 Halford, of the 39th , Lieutenant-Colonel Barnes of the Royal Scots ;' 
 Brigadier-Major Taylor and Captain Stewart of the Royal Scots ; 
 Lieutenant Gethen of the Engineers, who took the enemy's colours 
 from the cavalier, and all the officers of the personal and general 
 staff. 
 
 Of the losses sustained by General Graham in this siege, the 
 heaviest by far was Sir R. Fletcher, the Engineer. The engineer 
 department of the army had been most creditably conducted by him 
 and his colleagues, Lieutenant-Colonel Burgoyne and Major Charles 
 Felix Smith (afterwards Major-General, and K.C.B.), and Burgoyne 
 was wounded. 
 
 It was not until nine days after the capture of the town of San 
 Sebastian that the moia (Monte Orgullo) surrendered, and then only 
 when attacked by fifty-nine heavy battering pieces. In this latter 
 branch of the operations many wounded and English prisoners were 
 killed. The latter had been attired in their uniforms, and placed 
 around a magazine, serving as a hospital, to deter the besiegers from 
 directing their fire on that quarter. Unhappily the special merciful 
 exception was not made ; it is doubtful, indeed, if it would have been 
 possible to do so. 
 
 1 .Wterwards Sir James S. Barnes, K.C.B., an amiable and gallant man. His services bad 
 been various, beginning at Toulon, and including Holland, Egypt, and the West Indies. Ho 
 joined the Peninsular army in 1810, and remained with it to the last. In 1830, when he had 
 become Major-General, he was appointed to the command of a Division of the Bombay army.
 
 218 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 For the plunder of San Sebastian, and the destruction of the town 
 by fire, Sir Thomas Graham and Lord Wellington were bitterly assailed 
 by the Spanish political officers, and the press under their domina- 
 tion. So vehement was the attack, that Lord Wellington, generally 
 very indiflferent to calumny, found it necessary to pen an energetic 
 remonstrance, and an earnest exculpation of Sir Thomas Graham. 
 Had he himself been the only party concerned, he would probably 
 have allowed the strictures to pass unheeded. Armed with the metis 
 conscia recti, he invariably practised the patience he recommended to 
 others. Napoleon's apophthegm was unconsciously adopted in all his 
 contemplations of the scandal which jealousy, dislike, ignorance, and 
 hostility heaped on his honoured head : Les calomnies s^ enfuyent la 
 verite reste. It is indispensable to Wellington's memory that his de- 
 fence to the imputations of the Xefc Politico, the Conde de Villa 
 Fuentes, should be given in every work which professes to faithfully 
 record his deeds : — 
 
 «T0 THE RIGHT HON. SIR H. WELLESLEY, KB. 
 
 "Lksaca, 9«A Oc<., 1813. 
 
 " I shall begin with that charge which the enclosed newspaper 
 contains, and which is not made in direct terms in the letter from the 
 Xefe Politico, though it is directly charged against Lieutenant- Gen- 
 eral Sir T. Graham, that he intended to burn the town, viz., that the 
 town of San Sebastian was thus ill treated, because its former trade 
 had been exclusively with the French nation, and to the disadvantage 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 " This charge cannot be intended to apply to the common soldiers, 
 who cannot be supposed to know, or to reflect much upon what 
 passed before they attacked the place. This infamous charge applies 
 exclusively to the principal officers, who, from motives not of com- 
 mercial policy, but of commercial revenge, are supposed so far to have 
 forgotten their duty as to have ordered or suffered the sack of this 
 unfortunate town, and thus to have risked the loss of all they had 
 acquired by their labours and their gallantry ; and you will more 
 readily conceive, than I can venture to describe, the feelings of indig- 
 nation with which I proceed to justify the general and other officers 
 of this army from a charge officially made, by a person in a high office, 
 that they designed to plunder and burn the town of San Sebastian. 
 
 " I need not assure you that this charge is most positively untrue. 
 Everything was done that was in my power to suggest to save tho
 
 1813.] DEFENCE OF CHARGES. 279 
 
 town. Several persons urged me, in the strongest manner, to allow 
 it to be bombarded, as the most certain mode of forcing the enemy to 
 give it up. This I positively would not allow, for the same reasons 
 as I did not allow Ciudad Rodrigo or Badajoz to be bombarded ; and 
 yet, if I had harboured so infamous a wish as to destroy this town 
 from motives of commercial revenge, or any other, I could not have 
 adopted a more certain method than to allow it to be bombarded. 
 
 " Neither is it true that the town was set on fire by the English 
 and Portuguese troops. To set fire to the town was part of the 
 enemy's defence. It was set on fire by the enemy on the 22nd July, 
 before the final attempt was made to take it by storm ; and it is a 
 fact that the fire was so violent on the 24th July, that the storm, 
 which was to have taken place on that day, was necessarily deferred 
 till the 25th, and, as it is well known, failed. 
 
 " I was at the siege of San Sebastian on the 30th August, and I 
 aver that the town was then on fire. It must have been set on fire 
 by the enemy, as I repeat that our batteries, by positive order, 
 threw no shells into the town ; and I saw the town on fire on the 
 morning of the 31st August, before the storm took place. 
 
 " It is well known that the enemy had prepared for a serious 
 resistance, not only on the ramparts, but in the streets of the town ; 
 that traverses were established in the streets, formed of combustibles, 
 with the intention of setting fire to, and exploding them, during the 
 contest with the assailants. It is equally known that there was a 
 most severe contest in the streets of the town between the assailants 
 and the garrison ; that many of these traverses were exploded, by 
 which many lives on both sides were lost ; and it is a fact that these 
 explosions set fire to many of the houses. 
 
 " The Xefe Politico^ the author of these complaints, must have been 
 as well aware of these facts as I am ; and he ought not to have con- 
 cealed them. In truth, the fire in the town was the greatest evil 
 that could befal the assailants, who did everything in their power to 
 get the better of it ; and it is a fact that, owing to the difficulty and 
 danger of communicating, through the fire, with the advanced posts 
 in the town, it had very nearly become necessary, at one time, to 
 withdraw those posts entirely. 
 
 " In regard to the plunder of the town by the soldiers, I am the 
 last man who will deny it, because I know that it is true. It has 
 fallen to my lot to take many towns by storm ; and I am concerned 
 to add that I never saw or heard of one so taken, by any troops, that 
 it was not plundered. It is one of tho evil consequences attending 
 the necessity of storming a town, which every officer laments, not
 
 28/d LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 only oil accouut of the evil thereby inflicted on the unfortunate 
 inhabitants, but on account of the injury it does to discipline, and the 
 risk which is incurred of the loss of all the advantages of victory at 
 the very moment they arc gained. 
 
 " It is hard that I and my general officers are to be so treated, as 
 we have been by the Xefe Politico^ and unrestrained libellers, because 
 un unavoidable evil has occurred in the accomplishment of a great 
 service, and in the acquirement of a great advantage. The fault does 
 not lie with us ; it is with those who lost the fort, and obliged us 
 by great risk and loss to regain it for the Spanish nation by storm. 
 
 " Notwithstanding that I am convinced it is impossible to prevent 
 a town in such a situation from being plundered, I can prove that 
 upon this occasion particular pains were taken to prevent it. I gave 
 most positive orders upon the subject, and desired that the officers 
 might be warned of the peculiar situation of the place, the garrison 
 having the castle to retire to, and of the danger that they would 
 attempt to re-take the town, if they found the assailants were 
 engaged in plunder. 
 
 " If it had not been for the fire, which certainly augmented the 
 confusion, and afforded greater facilities for irregularity ; and if by 
 far the greatest proportion of the officers and non-commissioned 
 officers, particularly of the principal officers who stormed the breach, 
 had not been killed or wounded in the performance of their duty, in 
 the service of Spain, to the number of 170 out of 250, I believe 
 that the plunder would have been in a great measure, though not 
 entirely, prevented. 
 
 " Indeed, one of the subjects of complaint, that sentries were placed 
 on every house, shows the desire, at least of the officers, to preserve 
 order. These sentries must have been placed by order, and unless it 
 is supposed, as charged, that the officers intended that the town 
 should be plundered and burned, and placed in sentries to secure 
 that object ; it must be admitted that their intention in placing these 
 sentries was good. 
 
 " It likewise most unfortunately happened that it was impossible to 
 relieve the troops which stormed the town till the 2nd instant, instead 
 of immediately after the town was in our possession. Those who 
 make these complaints forget that on the 31st August, the day this 
 town was stormed, the whole of the left of the army was attacked by 
 the enemy. 
 
 " I do not believe that I should have been congratulated and 
 thanked for having successfully done my duty on that occasion, if I 
 had either risked the blockade of Pampeluna, or the loss of the battle
 
 1813.] DEFENCE OF CHARGES. 281 
 
 fought on the 31st August, by keeping at San Sebastian troops to 
 relieve those which had stormed, in order that the inhabitants of San 
 Sebastian might suffer rather less by their irregularities. 
 
 '• la fact, it was not possible to allot troops to relieve them till the 
 2nd, at which time I assert that all irregularity had ceased, as I was 
 at San Sebastian on that day. 
 
 " In regard to the injuries done to the inhabitants, by the soldiers 
 with their fire-arms and bayonets, in return for their applause and 
 congratulations, it appears to me extraordinary that it did not occur 
 to the complainants that these injuries, if they were really done, were 
 done by accident, during the contest in the streets with the enemy, 
 and not by design. 
 
 " In regard to the charge of kindness to the enemy, I am afraid it 
 is but too well founded ; and that till it is positively ordered by 
 authority, in return for the ardonnance of the French government, 
 that all enemy's troops in a place taken by storm shall be put to 
 death, it will be diflGicuIt to prevail upon British officers and soldiers 
 to treat an enemy, when their prisoners, otherwise than well. 
 
 " I wish that the Xefe Politico had not made the charge against so 
 respectable a character as Lieutenant-Greneral Sir Thomas Graham, 
 that he omitted to apply for his assistance to extinguish the fire in 
 the town till it was entirely destroyed, leaving the inference to be 
 drawn, that he therefore wished that the town should be destroyed ; as 
 it would have saved me the pain of observing, that the total neglect of 
 the Spanish authorities to furnish any assistance whatever that was 
 required from them, to carry on the operations against San Sebastian, 
 did not encourage Sir Thomas to apply for the assistance of the 
 Xefe Politico in any shape. In fact, everything was done that could 
 be done to extinguish the fire by our own soldiers ; and I believe that 
 the truth is, that the assistance was asked by me, not only to 
 endeavour to extinguish the fire, but to bury the dead bodies lying 
 about the town and ramparts ; and it was not made sooner, because 
 the want of it was not felt at an earlier period. 
 
 " I certainly lament, as much as any man can, the evils sustained 
 by this unfortunate town, and those who have reason to complain of 
 their fate, and deserve the relief of Government ; but a person in the 
 situation of a Xefe Politico should take care in forwarding these 
 complaints, not to attack the characters of honourable and brave men. 
 who are as incapable of entertaining a design to injure the peaceable 
 inhabitants of any town, as they are of allowmg their conduct to 
 be influenced by the infamous motives attributed to them in the 
 enclosed libel.
 
 282 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [181 a 
 
 " I hear frequently of the union of the two nations, but I am quite 
 certain that nothing is so little likely to promote that union as the 
 encouragement given to such unfounded charges, and the allowing 
 such infamous libels to pass unpunished. 
 
 " I have only to add to what I have already stated in this letter, 
 in answer to the Minister of War's inquiries regarding the punishment 
 of the offenders on this occasion, that several soldiers were punished. 
 How many it is not in my power at present to state." 
 
 During the progress of the siege of San Sebastian, Marshal Soult 
 made great efforts to relieve the place. He formed columns of attack 
 in the Lower Bidassoa, near Irun, and the lofty ridge of San Marcial, 
 and fiercely attacked the Spaniards and Portuguese, and the British 
 brigades under Lord Aylmer and General Howard, at San Marcial and 
 Vera. The French fought well, as they always did, but victory 
 remained with the allies. The loss of the enemy was 3600 men. 
 After this, the prosecution of offensive operations would have been 
 folly. Soult, getting no assistance either from Napoleon or Marshal 
 Suchet, who could not, or would not, join him, from the east of Spain, 
 resolved henceforth to act upon the defensive. 
 
 The successful siege of San Sebastian had placed a large body of 
 troops at Lord Wellington's disposal for further operations. News 
 having reached him that Austria had declared against France, and all 
 chance of a pacific composition being at an end, he took measures for 
 the invasion of France. But this was done at the instance of the 
 British Ministry. Had he simply followed the dictates of his own 
 judgment, he would have preferred remaining in the Pyrenees — cold 
 and cheerless as they were — until Pampeluna had surrendered, for 
 he was apprehensive that (to say nothing of his rear being liable to 
 molestation, while that place held out), the Spanish troops would 
 have avenged on the French peasantry the wrongs their countrymen 
 had experienced, and he knew the policy of having the peasantry with 
 him on his entering upon the French soil. 
 
 The movement into France was delayed until the 7th of October 
 (1813), owing to the swollen state of the river Bidassoa. On that 
 memorable day, the pontoons having been carried down into the plains 
 on the previous night. Lord Wellington advanced with 44,000 men. 
 Of this number 24,000 were employed in six columns, under 
 Lieutenant-General Graham, to ford the river, while 20,000 were 
 detached under Major-General Charles Baron Alton to capture the 
 enemy's entrenchments and posts in the Puerta de Vera, and on a 
 mountain called Le Rhune. 
 
 Marshal Soult was completely unprepared for this movement.
 
 1813.] PASSAGE OF THE BIDASSOA 283 
 
 Taken by surprise, he was compelled, after a short series of combats, 
 to allow the sagacious foe to sweep across the river and occupy the 
 positions he had been fortifying for a month. The last atom of 
 Spanish ground should have been the scene of the most obstinately- 
 contested action in the Peninsula, and had Soult been aware of the 
 intention of Lord Wellington, he would undoubtedly have shown 
 a gallant front. But who could penetrate the suggestions of 
 Wellington's genius? He baffled conjecture by the originality of 
 his conceptions, and destroyed the best combination of an able 
 adversary, by the suddenness of his movements, in a direction the 
 very opposite of that which it was imagined he would take. Military 
 writers have blamed Soult's general negligence in one of the 
 most important measures in defensive warfare. There were no 
 outposts on the left bank of the Bidassoa. " Outposts," writes 
 Lieutenant Jervis,' " should be placed so as to discover everything 
 going on around them, without being seen themselves ; they are 
 therefore usuually posted upon heights, and are protected from 
 observation by every available obstacle, such as hedges, walls, houses, 
 clumps of trees, &c. If possible, they should not be placed in a 
 village, or the soldiers would then be likely to stray from their posts ; 
 neither should they ever be placed opposite obstacles that are near 
 enough to them to protect a surprise ; if there be a village, a wood, 
 or a field with high standing crops, and sentries cannot be placed 
 beyond, it would be more prudent to station the outpost at some 
 distance ; for however strict a watch may be kept, the post will 
 always be much exposed, and the videttes placed near the obstacles 
 may be suddenly attacked. This was one of the principal causes which 
 led to tlce defeat of tlie French army 7iear tJie Bidassoa o?i the 1th of 
 October, 1813." 
 
 Still cautious — still doubting if it were wise to advance while 
 matters wore a questionable aspect in Germany, Lord Wellington 
 halted his army, and pitched his camp along the right bank of the 
 Bidassoa. He now took leave of Sir Thomas Graham, who retired to 
 England to repose for a brief space upon his laurels. Lieutenant- 
 General Sir John Hope — the friend of the lamented Sir John Moore, 
 and an officer of great ability — succeeded Graham in the monotonous 
 and irresponsible office of " second in command." 
 
 We have for some time past lost sight of Sir Rowland Hill and his 
 admirable division. Planted at the head of the Val Carlos, in the 
 Roncesvalles and Alderides, he watched General Foy, who, with a force 
 
 1 " Manual of Field Operations."
 
 284 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. flSia 
 
 of 15,000 men, occupied an entrenched camp in front of St. Jean 
 Pied de Port, evidently awaiting an opportunity to relieve Pampeluna. 
 Yet the vigilant performance of this duty did not offer a bar to an 
 indulgence in retired pastimes, nor to the interchange of civilities 
 •with the French. It is a pleasant relief from the chronicle of the 
 sanguinary operations of war, to turn occasionally to the details of 
 courtesy preserved in countless journals and memoirs. Treating of 
 life in the Pyrenees with Hill's Divisions, "An Infantry Officer" 
 preserves these souvenirs : — 
 
 " We were often at a loss, during this inactive period, how to pass a 
 few of the dull hours which hung heavily on our hands, for none 
 could with safety leave the camp for more than an hour at a time, 
 and there our amusements were extremely limited. The fire-eaters 
 took delight in watching the progress of our field-works, reconnoitering 
 the enemy's advanced posts, and the roads leading to them. The 
 politicians confined themselves to their tents, and explored the pages 
 of the weekly packet of the London and Edinburgh newspapers, 
 which we received at that time pretty regularly. Those to whom the 
 rattle of the dice had greater charms than the sound of musketry, 
 generally assembled around a tent, or under a large tree, and when 
 the company was numerous, those who could not be accommodated 
 with active employment, laid bets upon the issue of each game. 
 Whist, however, was the favourite game amongst the officers, many 
 of whom, or their heirs, have still depending considerable sums of 
 money on the issue of rubbers begun in 1813. On the 25th of July, a 
 whist party had finished a game, and were nine all of the second, when 
 the bugle called upon them to take part in a game of a very dif- 
 erent description. Conceiving that they might steal as much time 
 as would permit their bringing the second game to a close, they 
 actually played it out, and then rushed from the tent, the whole 
 exclaiming, ' We will finish the rubber when we return ; the game ia 
 single to single.' The rubber is still in dependence, for the same 
 party never afterwards met. Two of them were wounded the same 
 day ; another was taken by the enemy on the 30th, and the fourth, 
 who escaped the balls of the enemy in Spain, is the only one of the 
 four now alive. 
 
 " A newspaper was the most acceptable present which any friend 
 could send to us, during the Peninsula contest. The French 
 officers acknowledged to us frequently, that they were miserably ill- 
 informed of the issues of their most important movements and engage- 
 ments. Papers they received, but their contents were generally so 
 much at variance with the truth, that it was quite a common saying,
 
 1813.] LIFE IN THE PYRENEES. 285 
 
 ' he lies like a Monituer,' or ' he lies like a bulletin. Even the 
 generals of brigade were often kept in ignorance as to the result of 
 their most important operations. For example, General Foj was so 
 imperfectly informed in regard to the issue of the battle of Vittoria, 
 that he sent a flag of truce by an aide-de-camp for the loan of a 
 London newspaper containing the details of that celebrated engage- 
 ment. The general's request was complied with. In a few days the 
 paper was returned, along with a few others of Parisian manufacture. 
 This was done by Foy, to show us that it was his wish to lesson 
 the horrors of war as much as was consistent with that military 
 etiquette so necessary to be observed by every officer entrusted with 
 the command of the advanced posts of an army in the presence of an 
 enemy." 
 
 The same writer supplies an entertaining picture of the amusements 
 and desagreniens of existence in the Pyrenees : — 
 
 " From the surrender of San Sebastian to the capitulation of 
 Pampeluna, we felt much more at our ease than we did previous to 
 the first event. For the fall of the former not only lessened Soult's 
 inducement to attack us, but added a considerable number of troops 
 to our effective force in the field. Our amusements were also 
 increased by this event. From that period we occasionally descended 
 to the village of Roncesvalles, and treated ourselves to a comfortable 
 dinner and a tolerable bottle of country wine. For some time we had 
 excellent races once a week, and a bull-fight every Thursday. The 
 mounted officers, who were lovers of the chase, had a rich treat 
 afforded them two or three times every week by Sir Kowland Hill, 
 whose pack of hounds was much at the service of the officers of his 
 corps. About the middle of October, however, our situation became 
 rather uncomfortable. The ground was so saturated with moisture, 
 that, wherever we encamped, in a day or two the whole of our 
 encampment was a perfect puddle. Previous to this we had slept on 
 the ground ; but we latterly made little bedsteads of the branches of 
 trees, and by raising them about nine inches from the earth, and 
 covering them with a little straw, grass, or fern, we reposed as 
 comfortably as we ever did on the best down bed in England. The 
 weather at last became so very bad, that all the troops on the right 
 of the positions were recalled from the heights, save the outlying 
 pickets, and a body of 500 men constituting the inlying picket, 
 to support the others in case of attack. On the 27th of October, I 
 made one of the party of 500. When we moved from Roncesvalles 
 the morning was fine, the frost was severe, but there was not a 
 breath of wind. In the afternoon the sky overcast— soon after snow
 
 286 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 began to fall, and before sunset the wind began to whistle. Every- 
 thing now portended a storm, and to meet it we made every prepara- 
 tion in our power. Throughout the whole of the night the snow fell, 
 and the wind howled, and at daybreak on the 28th, the snow was 
 drifted to a considerable depth. At ten o'clock a. m. on the 28th, we 
 were relieved by new bodies of troops, and instantly bade adieu, and 
 for ever, to the right of the allied position at Roncesvalles. In our 
 progress back to our encampment, the snow dealt with us mercifully ; 
 but we had scarcely reached our tents when it resumed the tricks of 
 the preceding night, and continued to fall without the slightest 
 intermission till one or two o'clock next morning, by which time it 
 was a foot and a half deep in the valley where not drifted, but on the 
 hills it was, in some places, twelve feet in depth. Part of the outly- 
 ing pickets were covered, and had to be dug out of the snow in a 
 pitiable state : some of them lost the use of their limbs. In con- 
 sequence of the quantity of snow which fell on my tent during the 
 night of the 28th, the pole of it snapped in two places about four 
 o'clock A. M. on the 29th, and without any warning down came canvas, 
 pole, and snow on the top of me. My bed being nine inches from 
 the ground, the snow and canvas pinned me so completely to it, 
 that, on awaking, I fancied myself bound hand and foot, for neither 
 the one nor the other could I move. Respiring for some time with 
 considerable difficulty, I began seriously to think that some persons 
 were attempting to smother me. But recollecting at length the 
 position of my bed, I made an effort to throw myself from it, which 
 with difficulty I accomplished. Placing my head under the bed, I 
 breathed more freely ; and, after a great struggle, I pulled a penknife 
 from my pocket, cut a hole in the canvas, made my escape, and after 
 wandering fully half an-hour, I at length got under the protection of 
 a friend, the pillar of whose dwelling was made of sterner stuff than 
 my own." 
 
 Lord Wellington remained in his camp on the Bidassoa until the 
 beginning of November. Intimation having reached him of the fall 
 of Parapcluna, and of the successes of the northern allies against 
 Napoleon, he now made up his mind to a forward movement into 
 France. 
 
 Perhaps not one of Wellington's measures cost him more anxiety 
 than this resolution to invade the French territory. He was aware 
 of the strong feeling of hostility which pervaded the hearts of the 
 soldiers of the allied army, and he dreaded the moral effect of any 
 disorder, induced by their vindictiveness and love of plunder, more 
 than he feared the power of his enemy. He therefore, on the 1st of
 
 1813.] ENTRY INTO FRANCE. 281 
 
 November, issued a Proclamation and an Order, both of which deserve 
 to be engraven in letters of gold on tablets of marble : — 
 
 "Head-Quarters, 1st JSTuv^ 1813. 
 
 '• Upon entering your country, I announce to you that I have given 
 the most positive orders (a translation of which is joined to this) to 
 prevent those evils which are the ordinary consequences of the inva- 
 sion of a hostile army (an invasion which, you know, is the result of 
 that which your government made into Spain), and of the triumphs of 
 the allied army under my command. 
 
 " You may be certain that I will carry these orders into execution, 
 and I request of you to cause to be arrested and conveyed to ray 
 head-quarters, all those who, contrary to these dispositions, do you 
 any injury. But it is required you should remain in your houses, 
 and take no part whatever in the operations of the war, of which 
 your country is going to become the theatre. 
 
 (Signed) " Wellington." 
 
 ORDERa 
 
 " Although the country which is in front of the army be an hostile 
 one, the General-in-Chief anxiously desires that the inhabitants 
 should be well treated, and properly respected, as has hitherto been 
 the case. 
 
 " The officers and soldiers must remember, that their nations are at 
 war with France, only because he who is at the head of the Govern- 
 ment of the French nation will not permit them to be at peace, and 
 wishes to oblige them to submit to his yoke. They must not forget 
 that the greatest evils which the enemy has suffered, in his shameful 
 invasion of Spain and Portugal, have proceeded from the disorders 
 and cruelties which tjie soldiers, authorised and even encouraged by 
 their chiefs, committed upon the unfortunate and peaceable inhabitants 
 of the country. 
 
 " It would be inhuman, and unworthy of the nations to which the 
 General-in-Chief alludes, to revenge that conduct upon the peaceable 
 inhabitants of France; and this vengeance would, in every case, 
 cause the army evils similar, or even greater, than the enemy has 
 Buffered in the Peninsula, and would be very opposite to the public 
 interests. '
 
 288 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1SI3 
 
 " The same regulations must therefore be observed in the cities and 
 villages of France, as have hitherto been practiced in the requisitions 
 and receipts for provisions, which may be drawn from the country ; 
 and the Commissaries belonging to each army of the diiferent nations 
 will receive, from their respective Generals-in-Chief, orders relative to 
 the mode of payment for the provisions, and the time within which 
 the payment must be made.'' 
 
 The spirit of our Henry V. spoke out in this order, and gave confi- 
 dence to the French peasantry. It is honourable to England, and 
 especially to the most chivalrous of her warlike sons, that, in the full 
 confidence of a future success, grounded on the triumphs of the past^ 
 they are mindful of the claims of innocence upon our sense of justice. 
 Froissart has preserved the language of Henry's Order, and Lord 
 "Wellington imitated what Shakspeare paraphrased. 
 
 " "We give express charge that in our marches through the country 
 there be nothing compelled from the villages — nothing taken but paid 
 for ; none of the French upbraided or abused in disdainful language. 
 For, when Lenity and Cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler game- 
 ster is the soonest winner." — Henry "V. 
 
 Nothing now remained but the capture of Pampeluna to complete 
 the expulsion of the French from the Spanish territory. 
 
 Pampeluna, or Pamplona, as it is sometimes written, is the capital 
 and frontier key of Navarre, and is in fact the first city of the plains. 
 It is situated on the left of the Arga, which here forms a horse-shoe 
 bend, and is one of the chief tributaries which, in the quaint phrase- 
 ology of the Spaniards, " make a man" of the Ebro : — 
 
 " Arga Ega y Aragoa 
 Hacere al Ebro, Baron." 
 
 The position of Pumpeluna is well adapted for a fortress, as it 
 overawes the plains, while its own sloping eminence is not commanded 
 itself The Pyrenees and spurs rise in the distance. The sons of 
 Porapey were induced by local considerations to rebuild this place in 
 the year 68 b c, whence it was called Pompeiopolis, which name the 
 Moors corrupted into Bamhilonah^ whence the present name.* The 
 city remained faithful to the cause of its founders, and was therefore 
 slighted by Augustus. In the middle ages it was called Irunia, " the 
 good town." 
 
 Bonaparte, whose poliSy was ruse doublce de force en meme temps, 
 
 1 Ford's " Hand-Book of Spain."
 
 1818.] BLOCKADE OF PAMPELUNA. 289 
 
 seized upon Pampeluna when he took possession of the Spanish 
 frontier in 1808, and. under the guise of an alliance with Charles IV., 
 he sent General d'Armagnac to the place. The French were quartered 
 in the citadel, at the voluntary expense of the Spaniards, who sup- 
 posed they were harbouring friends, and one day, under pretence of 
 playing at snowball, the former secured the drawbridge and captured 
 the town, which they held thereafter. 
 
 In the month of August, 1813, Lord Wellington caused the town 
 to be blockaded. This duty was entrusted to the allied divisions, 
 under Sir Thomas Picton and Sir Lowry Cole, both under the orders 
 of the Spanish general, Don Carlos de Espana. After carrying the 
 pass of Maya, Soult hurried down the mountains, in the hope of 
 reaching Pampeluua, but Picton had forestalled him. De Espana 
 enforced the blockade with great strictness during the three following 
 months. The French, commanded by General Cassan, the governor, 
 made some gallant sorties, and on each occasion were repulsed with 
 serious loss. On the 10th of September they came out in consid- 
 erable force, with a view, it was conjectured, of reconnoitering the 
 force by which the blockade was maintained. They were driven in, 
 but Carlos de Espana was wounded. At length the supplies of the 
 garrison began to fail them. The horses of the ofBcers, artillery, and 
 carriage were killed, and their flesh, meted out in small quantities, 
 became the only food of the beleaguered. Even this wretched apology 
 for diet was soon exhausted, and with a stern resolution, worthy of a 
 better cause, they began to feed upon rats, weeds, and whatever could 
 he converted into sustenance. But nature revolted at such expedients : 
 disease now broke out amongst the unfortunate men, and hundreds 
 lay stretched on their pallets in the hospital. Cassan was driven to 
 the alternative of either dying of starvation or capitulating. He 
 adopted the latter. A flag of truce was sent to Don Carlos, with a 
 proposal from the French commander to surrender the place on con- 
 dition that they should be allowed to march to France with six pieces 
 of cannon, with an engagement not to serve against the allies for a 
 year and a day. Carlos de Espana rejected the proposal, and told them 
 that his orders were, not to give them a capitulation on any terms 
 excepting that they should be prisoners of war. To this General 
 Cassan declared that they would never consent, and he then threatened 
 to blow up the defences. Hereupon Lord Wellington, who was at 
 hand, authorised De Espana, in case of Cassan acting in a manner so 
 oppoj!3d to the laws of war, to shoot him^ and all the officers, and 
 decim'*to the garrison. This led Cassan to alter his tone. He at 
 once surrendered, and Lord Wellington who, in spite of all the 
 
 YOL. I. V
 
 290 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 annoyances he had experienced from the Spaniards, delighted in giving 
 way to generous emotions, congratulated Don Carlos that it had fallen 
 to his lot to be the instrument of restoring to the Spanish monarchy 
 60 important a fortress as Pampeluna. 
 
 The terms in which the surrender was announced serve to illustrate 
 the style of Spanish despatches, which present a powerful contrast to 
 the simplicity of the British Field-Marshal. 
 
 " TO HIS EXCELLENCY FIELD-MARSHAL THE DUKE OF 
 CIUDAD RODRIGO." 
 
 • Most Excellent Sir, 
 
 " Glory be to God, and honour to the triumphs of your Ex- 
 cellency in this ever memorable campaign. I have the honour and 
 the great satisfaction of congratulating your Excellency on the sur- 
 render of the important fortress of Pampeluna, the capitulation of 
 which, having been signed by the superior ofl&cers entrusted with my 
 powers, and by those delegated by the general commanding the place, 
 I have, by virtue of the authority which you conferred upon me, just 
 ratified. The garrison remain prisoners of war, as your Excellency 
 determined from the beginning they should, and will march out to- 
 morrow, at two in the afternoon, in order to be conducted to the port 
 of Passages. Our troops occupy one of the gates of the citadel, and 
 those of France the place. May God guard the precious life of your 
 Excellency. 
 
 " Dated from the Camp in front of Pampeluna, 31st October, 1813. 
 
 " Carlos EspaSa." 
 
 CAPITULATION. 
 
 " The General of Brigade Cassan, Baron of the Empire, Member of 
 the Legion of Honour, Governor of the place and citadel of Pampeluna, 
 on the part of his Imperial and Royal Majesty Napoleon, and the 
 Mariscal del Campo, Don Carlos de Espana, Knight of the Order of 
 St. John of Jerusalem, Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish and allied 
 troops, forming the blockade of the said citadel and place, has named 
 to discuss and decide on the articles of capitulation, according to the 
 terms of which the place and citadel shall be delivered over to the 
 said troops, viz., Major-General Cassan names the Adjutant-Com- 
 mander L. de Maucune, Baron of the Empire, Member of the 
 Legion of Honour, Chief of the Staff; and Don Carlos de Espana
 
 1813.] SURRENDER OF PAMPELUNA. 291 
 
 names Baron Don Francis D. Vivos, Commandant-General of the 
 third district of the line of blockade ; Colonel Goldfinch, of his 
 Britannic Majesty's service, and Colonel de Ventura Mina, Chief of 
 the StaflF of the second division of the fourth corps of the Spanish 
 army. These officers having met between the advanced posts of the 
 place, and those of the blockading troops, on the spot of the hospital 
 of Saint Pierre, and having exchanged their respective powers, have 
 this day, 30th October, 1813, agreed upon the following articles, sub- 
 ject to the ratifications of their respective generals : — 
 
 "Art. 1. The garrison shall march out of the place with the 
 honours of war, for the purpose of returning to France, and shall be 
 escorted, as far as the outposts of the French army, by a detachment 
 of the allied army. A?isicer. The French garrison shall march out of 
 the place with all the honours of war, shall lay down their arms, and 
 colours, and eagles, at the distance of 300 yards from the barrier, 
 shall surrender themselves as prisoners of war to the Spanish and 
 allied armies, and shall march to the Port of Passages, there to 
 embark and be conveyed to England. The officer commanding the 
 escort of the garrison, on the march, shall take all the necessary 
 means for insuring the fulfilment of the articles of capitulation towards 
 all persons concerned. 
 
 " Art. 2. The subalterns and soldiers shall keep their knapsacks, and 
 the officers their swords and baggage. Ansive?: Granted : on condition 
 that the place and citadel shall be given up without any injury having 
 been done to them ; and that the shot, and all the ammunition 
 remaining, shall be found not to have suflfered any damage ; and that 
 there shall be left three days' provisions. If there should remain any 
 mines in the works of the citadel, the powder with which they are 
 charged shall be removed before the giving up of the place. Granted 
 also, in consideration that there remains no doubt that the French 
 garrison has behaved honourably towards the inhabitants of the town, 
 during the blockade. 
 
 " Art. 3. The officers of health, and others, holding employments in 
 the French army, shall be treated as the garrison, and enjoy the same 
 advantages. Afisiver. Granted : and they may be proposed by the 
 Marquis of "Wellington, Commander-in-Chief of the allied armies, to 
 the General-in-Chief of the French army, in exchange for Spaniards, 
 and particularly those of Navarr^ who are detained as prisoners in 
 France. 
 
 "Art. 4. The military who have suffered amputation, and all 
 others not in a state to serve, shall return to France, as soon as they 
 can support the fatigue of the journey. Answer. They shall remain
 
 292 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 prisoners of war till they are exchanged, and shall be treated as the 
 rest of the garrison. 
 
 " Art. 5. The sick remaining in hospital shall be treated with all 
 the care due to their situation ; there shall remain with them a 
 sufficient number of officers of health and attendants, and as soon as 
 they are perfectly recovered, they and the persons remaining to 
 take care of them, shall follow the destination of the garrison. 
 Ansicer. Granted. 
 
 " Art. G. The allied array shall provide the number of carriages, 
 horses, or mules, necessary for transporting the baggage, and disabled 
 men. Ansiver. Granted : with respect to everything which can be 
 provided by the country. 
 
 " Art. 7. Lodgings and provisions shall be furnished to the troops 
 of the garrison, at the halting-places, according to the arrangements, 
 and at the expense of the allied armies. Anstver. Granted. 
 
 " Art. 8. The military of the garrison being in a very feeble state, 
 in consequence of the privations they have endured, the halting-places 
 on their march shall be as near to each other as possible. Answer. 
 Granted. 
 
 " Art. 9. All French (non-combatants) who are at this moment in 
 the town of Pampeluna, shall not be considered as prisoners of war, 
 but shall have permission to return to France. A?isiver. They may 
 be proposed in exchange against Spaniards of the civil administration, 
 who are detained in France, and especially for inhabitants of Navarre. 
 
 "Art. 10. Passports to return to France shall be given to all old 
 men exceeding 60 years of age, to the wives and children of the mili- 
 tary, and others employed in the French army. Answer. This Article 
 shall be referred, and particularly recommended, by the general com- 
 manding the blockade, to his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, 
 the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo. 
 
 "Art. 11. The Spaniards and French who have taken up their 
 residence in Spain, prior to, and subsequent to, 1808, and who, since 
 that time, have served in any civil capacity, shall not in anywise be 
 molested, neither themselves nor their families, in their persons or 
 property, on account of their opinions, or the part they may have 
 taken. The families of such amongst them as, in the course of the 
 month of June last, have followed the French army, shall receive 
 protection for themselves and their property. Ansive?: These persons 
 shall remain under the protection of the laws of the Spanish Gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 " Art. 12. Officers actually prisoners of war, on parole at Pampe- 
 luna, not being released by the present capitulation, shall not be
 
 1813.] CAPITULATION OF PAMPELUNA. 293 
 
 allowed to serve against France or her allies, until regularly exchanged. 
 Ansiver. All Officers, of whatsoever rank, who shall be found upon 
 parole, or confined in the fortress of Pampeluna, shall be delivered up 
 unconditionally to the General commanding the blockading forces, it 
 being matter of right tiiat all military persons have their liberty 
 when found in a fortress taken possession of by an army of the 
 nation to which they belong. 
 
 "Art. 13. Commissaries shall be named on both sides for the de- 
 livery and receipt of everything concerning the artillery, the engineers' 
 department, and the general administration. Answer. Granted : all 
 plans belonging to the fortress, as well as all other public papers? 
 shall be faithfully delivered over to the commissary of the Spanish, 
 by the commissary of the fortress. 
 
 "Art. 14. The General, governor of the fortress, shall have the 
 option of sending an officer from Pampeluna by the shortest road, to 
 his Excellency the General-in-Chief of the French armies, in order to 
 transmit to him the present capitulation, and to explain to him the 
 reasons of it. Such officer shall be furnished with an escort, sufficient 
 for his personal safety, as far as the advanced posts of the French 
 army, and shall not be considered as a prisoner of war. Ansiver. 
 Granted, such officer not being above the rank of a captain ; he must 
 be considered as a prisoner of war on parole until his exchange, which 
 may immediately take place, for an officer of equal rank of the Spanish 
 army. All despatches with which he is charged must be open. 
 
 " Art. 15. As soon as the ratifications shall be exchanged, commis- 
 saries, named according to the 13th Article of the present capitulation, 
 shall be admitted into the fortresses to fulfil their mission. On the 
 same day, and immediately after the exchange of the ratifications, de- 
 tachments of the blockading troops shall occupy La Porte de Secours 
 of the citadel, and La Porte de France of the town ; and to avoid 
 disorder and confusion, the blockading troops are not to enter the 
 place and citadel until the French troops shall have retired. A7iswer. 
 Granted. 
 
 " Art. 16. The garrison shall evacuate the place on the 1st of 
 November, at two o'clock, p.m., by the Porte Neuve. Aiiswer. 
 Granted. 
 
 "Art. 17. It is to be distinctly understood, that the garrison of 
 Pampeluna shall enjoy all advantages which might be guaranteed by 
 any armistice, or such other arrangements as may have been con- 
 cluded between his Majesty the Emperor and King and the coalesced 
 powers, previous to the ratification of the present capitulation. 
 Answer. Refused.
 
 294 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 "Art. 18. If any discussion shall arise in the fulfilment of the 
 articles of the present capitulation, the interpretation shall always be 
 favourable to the Harrison. Answer. Granted." 
 
 CONDITIONS IMPOSED UPON THE GARRISON BY COMMANDING 
 OFFICERS OF THE ALLIES. 
 
 " No Spaniard, without regard to sex or class, can be allowed to 
 follow the French garrison to its destination ; and all such, whether 
 civil or military, will remain under the protection of the laws. 
 Ansiver. On the part of the garrison, no facility to expatriate will be 
 given to the persons here designated. 
 
 " All prisoners of war, without any exception, and all deserters, 
 belonging to the Spanish and allied armies, shall be given up to the 
 troops of the said armies without exchange, upon the ratification of 
 the capitulation. Aftsive?: Prisoners of war contained in this article, 
 shall be delivered over to the allied armies, as well as deserters, if any 
 should be found. 
 
 " The forced loan of twenty thousand duros, levied upon the 
 inhabitants during the blockade (the funds of which have been appro- 
 priated for the payment of the troops of the garrison), not being 
 recoverable, on account of the occupation of the country by the allied 
 armies, shall be recognised as a credit of Spain upon the French 
 Grovernment, and shall be taken into account when, at a peace, the 
 interest of the two nations shall be settled. Ansiver. It will be the 
 more easy to settle this demand when the two nations shall treat 
 upon their respective interests, as much is due to the French Govern- 
 ment on account of the arrears of the contributions of Navarre ; and 
 as the town itself, as well as many of the inhabitants of Pampeluna, 
 owned conjointly at the period of the 1st of January of the present 
 year, the sum of three hundred and thirty thousand six hundred and 
 fourteen realles de vellon. 
 
 " These presents done in duplicate before Pampeluna, the day, 
 month, and year, as below, and signed Francisca Dionisio Vives ; 
 Baron L. de Maucune ; W. Goldfinch, Captain of the Eoyal 
 Engineers ; and Lieutenant-Colonel Ventura de Mina. The present 
 capitulation ratified in all its ports, at Pampeluna, the Sist of 
 October, 1813. 
 
 " The General, governor of the town and citadel of Pampeluna, 
 
 " Baron De Cassan."
 
 1813.] CAPITULATION OF PAMPELUNA. 295 
 
 " The present capitulation, approved and ratified by the under- 
 signed Mariscal de Campo, of the National Armies of Spain, Knight 
 of the Royal Military Order of St. Louis, and of St. John of 
 Jerusalem, Commandant of the blockade of Pampeluna, in virtue of 
 the authority of the Marshal-General of the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, 
 General-in Chief of the National and Allied Armies of Spain. 
 
 (A true copy.) "Camp before Pampeluna, Oct. 31st, 1813. 
 
 (Signed) " Carlos de EspaSa, 
 
 " L. WlMPFEN." 
 
 " I, Don Joseph Joachin Foncellas, President of the Municipality 
 of Pampeluna, certify that Brigadier Don Francisco Dionisio Vivea, 
 Colonel Goldfinch, and Colonel Don Ventura Mina, officers appointed 
 by Field Marshal Don Carlos D'Espana, Commander-in-Chief of the 
 right of the line of blockade, having appeared before me, and required 
 that I would state what had been the conduct of the French garrison 
 during the blockade, I explained to them, that with respect to the 
 people, it had been conformable to good discipline, and that the ar- 
 rangements made by the governor during the scarcity, which pre- 
 vailed in consequence of the blockade, did not occasion the death of 
 any inhabitant. In order that this may avail those whom it may 
 concern, I give it in the Convent of St. Peter, this 30th day of Oc- 
 tober, 1813, 
 
 (Signed) " Marquis of Foncellas. 
 
 (True copy.) " A. Wimpfen."
 
 296 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1808, 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Battle of tho Nivelle— Proclamation of Louis XVUI.— Lord Wellington's view of the Freneb 
 feeling in respect to a successor to Napoleon— The War in Germany— The Battle of Leipsic— 
 Advance of the Northern Allies to Frankfort^Declaration of the Allies. 
 
 OUSED to a pitch of vengeance incom- 
 prehensible to an Englishman, the 
 Spaniards hovered upon the flanks of 
 the unfortunate garrison of Pampeluna ; 
 and, as they passed through the Spanish 
 lines, on their way to Passages, several of 
 them were massacred by the Navarrese. 
 All efforts to check these sanguinary 
 tendencies were futile. So unquench- 
 able was the thirst for blood and plunder, 
 that Lord Wellington at length found 
 it necessary to choose between sending 
 back a large portion of the allies to 
 their own country, and of thus reducing 
 his force, or of allowing his array to blacken its reputation, and 
 inflict grievous wrong by pillage and other enormities. He preferred 
 the former course. 
 
 The surrender of Pampeluna having placed the right of his army, 
 under Sir R. Hill, at Lord Wellington's disposal, a further stride 
 into the French territory became practicable. Since the passage of 
 the Bidassoa, Marshal Soult, remembering the effect of the Lines of 
 Torres Vcdras, had tried to imitate them, by raising works across tho 
 frontier, from the coast to the mountains beyond the right of the British 
 line. These works may be described as an entrenched camp, occupied 
 by three divisions, stretched inland along the summit of a series of 
 detached heights, towards the foot of the Petite La Ehune, covering 
 the great road to Bayonne, in advance of the river Nivelle. To the
 
 813.] BATTLE OF THE NIVELLE. 297 
 
 left of this camp was another, on the two banks of the river, occupied 
 by a division, and protected by field-works like the preceding. The 
 heights behind Sarra were occupied by three divisions, under General 
 Clauzel, covering the road from Vera to Bayonne by Echalar. This 
 camp was also defended by redoubts, entrenchments, and abattis ;' and 
 was covered on the right by the Petite La Rhune, on which a brigade 
 was stationed. 
 
 This position, strong in detail, wanted the great advantage of con- 
 nection. Taken collectively, it was feeble, because the intervals 
 were frequent, and the whole was commanded by the position of 
 the allies. 
 
 The heavy falls of rain and snow which distinguish a winter in the 
 Pyrenees seriously obstructed Lord Wellington's plans for some days. 
 It was not until the 10th of November that he was in a condition to 
 make an attack upon the enemy's position. On that day he assumed 
 the offensive, and " completely succeeded in carrying all the positions 
 on the enemy's left and centre, separating the former from the latter, 
 and thus turning the enemy's strong position, occupied by their right 
 on the Lower Nivelle, which they were obliged to evacuate during 
 the night." Lord Wellington took 51 pieces of cannon and 1400 
 prisoners from the enemy. Soult had also 4265 men and officers 
 killed in the battle. The loss of the allies amounted to 2694 men 
 and officers, killed and wounded ; and among the officers wounded 
 were two generals, — James Kempt and John Byng. The casualties 
 show that the contest must have been severe ; and no wonder, either. 
 The French were bent upon protecting their loved land from invasion. 
 The allies were eager for victory on the soil of the people who had 
 for so long a period been seriously aggressive to the south of the 
 Pyrenees ; and to say the truth, the English were heartily tired of 
 their quarters in the latter. 
 
 Lord Wellington received material assistance in the battle of the 
 Nivelle from the generals at the head of divisions. Marshal Beresford, 
 Sir John Hope, Sir Rowland Hill, Sir W. Stewart,' Sir H. Clinton, 
 
 1 Young trees, stripped of their leaves, and placed with their trunks in the ground nearly 
 horizontally. The ends of the branches being pointed, offered an obstruction like a chevaux 
 de frise, and the trees being young, and full of sap, could not easily be burnt or cut. 
 
 2 Sir William Stewart was an enthusiast in his profession. On service, his military duties 
 engrossed his whole attention. Late and early he was to be seen visiting the outposts 
 reconnoitring the approaches towards his posts and encampment, from the advanced posts 
 and encampment of the enemy — or in making observations, which, in case of an attack from 
 or upon the enemy, might be of service to him in making the necessary disposition of his 
 troops. And in regard to the comfort, &c., of the men, he trod as nearly as possible in the 
 footsteps of his gallant superior, Sir R. Hill. "Sir William being wotmded in the 'eg on the
 
 298 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1813. 
 
 General Alien, and Sir J. Hamilton, had all bought their expe- 
 rience in the Peninsula. They knew the enemy ; they knew their 
 own men ; and they also knew what was expected of them by 
 Wellington and England; and they took care not to disappoint 
 expectation. Urging forward their hardy soldiers, to whom victory 
 had become familiar, they dashed up the heights, extending over 
 several miles of ground, and, in the face of the enemy's artillery, 
 carried redoubt after redoubt, until night covering the earth with 
 her mantle, enabled the enemy to retire discomfited in front of 
 Bidart. 
 
 Early the next morning, the corps under Marshal Beresford and 
 Sir John Hope were pushed forward in pursuit of the enemy. The 
 
 FRENCH SOLDIERS. 
 
 weather was unpropitious ; the rain came down in torrents ; the rivers 
 swelled and overflowed their banks ; the roads became impassable ; 
 
 25th of July, was reluctantly forced to leave his Division on the 27th. But, on hearing of 
 the battle of the 30lh, he caused his leg to be properly bandaged, and, with a pillow fastened 
 so as to keep the leg from coming in contact with the stirrup, or the sides of the horse, 
 mounted, and rejoined us a little before we came up with the French, on the 31st. The loud 
 and enthusiastic cheers of the soldiers welcomed him back." But their joy was soon turned 
 into mourning ; for in less than three hours a muskct-ball passed through the General's arm, 
 a little above the elbow, and compelled him once more to go to the rear. On rejoining the 
 Division a few weeks afterwards, a party of the private soldiers of the 92nd Highlanders 
 placed themselves near to the road by which .Sir William had to pass to their corps, and on 
 his arrival one of them stepped forward, and said, "Oh, General, you maun drink wi' us!" 
 to which unexpected request the latter replied, "With all my heart, my man,"— a strong 
 proof of the bonhommie of the General and the affection of the Highland soldiers.
 
 1813.J BOURBON PRETENSIONS. 299 
 
 and the enemy, as he retired, destroyed all the bridges. To overtake 
 the enemy was impossible. Baffled in their energetic endeavours 
 Hope and Beresford halted, while Marshal Soult, reaching an en- 
 trenched camp on the Nive, and in front of Bayonne, which had long 
 previously been prepared took up a sheltered position, and for some 
 time bid defiance to the English commander. 
 
 From this period — the 11th of November, 1813, until the 7th of 
 December — the sound of cannon was rai-ely heard. Lord Wellington 
 fixed his head quarters at St. Jean de Luz, and, having purged his 
 army of a large propoftion of his Spanish plunderers, set himself 
 to work to probe the feelings of the French people in respect to a 
 Buccessor to Napoleon supposing that tbe French Emperor should 
 either be forcibly driven from the throne, or makea virtue of neces- 
 sity, and abdicate. 
 
 The question which Lord Wellington was invited by Lord Bathurst, 
 the Foreign Secretary, to consider and investigate was, the expediency 
 of superseding the authority of Napoleon by that of the Bourbon 
 dynasty, in the person of Louis XVIII., who, since the period of the 
 French Revolution, had been a resident in England under the protec- 
 tion awarded to all emigres. 
 
 From the moment of the secession of Prussia from the French 
 alliance, after Napoleon's retreat from Russia, it became evident that 
 the feeling of the French people towards Napoleon had undergone 
 a material change. The additional levy that was granted to carry 
 on the war in Germany was founded upon considerations purely 
 national, in which respect for the Emperor had no share whatever. 
 Louis XVIII. perceived that the tide had turned, and immediately 
 availed himself of the circumstance to issue a proclamation to the 
 people of France. This was early in 1813. The proclamation ran 
 thus : — 
 
 " The moment has at length arrived when Divine Providence ap- 
 pears ready to break in pieces the instrument of its wrath. The 
 usurper of the throne of St. Louis, the devastator of Europe, expe- 
 riences reverses in his turn. Shall they have no other efi"ect but that 
 of aggravating the calamities of France ; and will she not dare to 
 overturn an odious power, no longer protected by the illusions of 
 victory 1 What prejudices, or what fears, can now prevent her from 
 throwing herself into the arms of her king ; and from recognising, in 
 the establishment of his legitimate authority, the only pledge of union, 
 peace, and happiness, which his promises have so often guaranteed to 
 Ills oppressed subjects?
 
 300 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 " Being neither able nor inclined to obtain, but by their efforts, 
 that throne which his rights and their affection can alone confirm, 
 what wishes should he advance but those which he has invariably en- 
 tertained ? What doubt can be started with regard to his paternal 
 intention ? 
 
 '• The King has said in his preceding declarations, and he reiterates 
 the assurance, that the administrative and judicial bodies shall be 
 maintained in the plenitude of their powers ; that he will preserve 
 their places to those who at present hold thera, and who shall take 
 the oath of fidelity to him ; that the tribunals, depositories of the 
 laws, shall prohibit all prosecutions having relation to those unhappy 
 times, of which his return will have for ever sealed the oblivion ; 
 that, in fine, the code polluted by the name of Napoleon, but which, 
 for the most part, contains only the ancient ordinances and customs 
 of the realm, shall remain in force, with the expeption of enactments 
 contrary to the doctrines of religion, which, as well as the liberty of 
 the people, has long been subjected to the caprice of the tyrant. 
 
 " The senate, in which are seated some men so justly distinguished 
 for their talents, and whom so many services may render illustrious 
 in the eyes of France and of posterity — that corps whose utility and 
 importance can never be duly appreciated till after the restoration — 
 can it fail to perceive the glorious destiny which summons it to be- 
 come the first instrument of that great benefaction — which will prove 
 the most solid, as well as the most honourable guarantee of its exist- 
 ence and its prerogatives ? 
 
 " On the subject of property, the King, who has already announced 
 his intention to employ the most proper means for conciliating the 
 interests of all, perceives, in the numerous settlements which have 
 taken place between the old and the new landholders, the means of 
 rendering those cases almost superfluous. He engages, however, to 
 interdict all proceedings by the tribunals, contrary to such settle- 
 ments, to encourage voluntary arrangements, and on the part of him- 
 self and family, to set the example of all those sacrifices which may 
 contribute to the repose of France, and the sincere union of all 
 Frenchmen. 
 
 " The King has guaranteed to the army the maintenance of the 
 ranks, employment, pay, and appointments which it at present enjoys. 
 He promises also to the generals, officers, and soldiers, who sliall signa- 
 lise themselves in support of his cause, rewards more substantial, 
 distinctions more honourable, than any they can receive from an 
 usurper, — always ready to disown or even to dread their services. 
 The King binds himself anew to abolish that pernicious conscription,
 
 1S13.] WELLINGTON URGES PEACE. 801 
 
 which destroys the happiness of families and the hope of the 
 country. 
 
 " Such always have been, such still are, the intentions of the Kinc. 
 His re-establishment on the throne of his ancestors will be for France 
 only the happy transition from the calamities of a war which tyranny 
 perpetuates, to the blessings of a solid peace, for which foreign 
 powers can never find any security but in the word of the legitimate 
 sovereign. 
 
 « L." 
 
 "Hartwell, Ffb. 1st, 1813." * 
 
 According to Lord Wellington, the sentiments of the people of 
 France were uniform upon one point — they desired " to get rid of 
 Napoleon," from a conviction that, as long as he governed, they would 
 have no peace. But it was not so clear that they desired to see him 
 replaced by a member of the House of Bourbon. Twenty years had 
 elapsed since the princes of that House had quitted France, and they 
 were eq-ually, if not more, unknown to France than the princes of any 
 other royal House in Europe. Still, Lord Wellington was of opinion 
 that the allies ought to agree to propose a sovereign to France instead 
 of Napoleon, and it did not seem material whether it was from the 
 House of Bourbon or of any other royal family. Lord Wellington 
 continued, in a letter to Earl Bathurst, — 
 
 " I have taken measures to open correspondence with the interior, 
 by which I hope to know what passes, and the sentiments of the peo- 
 ple, and I will take care to keep your Lordship acquainted with all 
 that I may learn. In the mean time, I am convinced more than ever 
 that Napoleon's power stands upon corruption, that he has no adher- 
 ents in France but the principal officers of his army, and the employ ees '« 
 civUs of the Government, and possibly some of the new proprietors ; 
 but even these last, I consider doubtful. 
 
 " Notwithstanding this state of things, I recommend to your Lord- 
 ship to make peace with him, if you can acquire all the objects 
 which you have a right to expect. All the powers of Europe require 
 peace, possibly more than France ; and it would not do to found a 
 new system of war upon the speculations of any individual in what 
 he sees and learns in one corner of France. If Bonaparte becomes 
 moderate, he is probably as good a sovereign as we can desire in 
 France ; if he does not, we shall have another war in a few years ; 
 but if my speculations are well founded, we shall have all France 
 against him ; time will have been given for the supposed disaffection
 
 302 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 to his governineat to produce its effect ; his diminished resources will 
 have decreased his means of corruption, and it may be hoped that 
 he will be engaged single-handed against insurgent France and all 
 Europe. 
 
 " There is another view of this subject, however, and that is, the 
 continuance of the existing war, and the line to be adopted in that 
 case. At the present moment it is quite impossible for me to move at 
 all. Although the army was never in such health, heart, and condition 
 ^s at present, and it is probable the most complete machine for its 
 numbers now existing in Europe, the rain has so completely destroyed 
 the roads, that I cannot move ; and, at all events, it is desirable, be- 
 fore I go farther forward, that I should know what the allies propose 
 to do in the winter, which, I conclude, I shall have from your Lord- 
 ship as soon as the King's Government shall be made acquainted with 
 their intentions, by the Kings diplomatic servants abroad. As I shall 
 move forward, whether in the winter or the spring, I can inquire and 
 ascertain more fully the sentiments of the people, and the Govern- 
 ment can either empower me to decide to raise the Bourbon standard, 
 or can decide the question hereafter themselves, after they shall have 
 all the information before them which I can send them of the senti- 
 ments and wishes of the people. 
 
 " I can only tell you that, if I were a Prince of the House of Bour- 
 bon, nothing should prevent me from now coming forward, not in a 
 good house in London, but in the field in France ; and if Great Britain 
 should stand by him, I am certain he would succeed. The success 
 would be much more certain in a month or more hence, when Napo- 
 leon commences to carry into execution the oppressive measures which 
 he must adopt in order to try to retrieve his fortunes." 
 
 That the position of Napoleon at this juncture may be clearly un- 
 derstood, we must recur to the operations in Germany, of which no- 
 thing has been said since the close of the negotiations at Prague. 
 
 When the league was formed to eflfect the speedy deliverance of 
 Europe, General Moreau,' a soldier of the Revolution, who liad been 
 residing in America, was recalled at the instance of the Emperor 
 
 1 Moreau, an admirable military tactician, commanded a volunteer legion at the breaking 
 out of the Revolution. Attracting the notice of Pichcgru, he was soon promoted to the rank 
 of General of Division, and in 1792 distinguished himself at the liead of 25,000 men, by the 
 reduction of several strong places in Flanders. lie next commanded the armies of the Rhine 
 and Moselle, and in 1790 defeated the Austrian General VVurmser. Supposed to be impli- 
 cated in Pichegru's plot for the restoration of the Bourbon princes, he retired from the array. 
 When, however, Napoleon returned from Egypt, ha accepted the tender of Moreau's servicea
 
 1813.] BATTLE OF DRESDEN. 303 
 
 Alexander, to aid the emancipation of France ; Jomini, a Swiss, better 
 known afterwards by his military writings, likewise passed over to the 
 allies. The Emperor of Russia was by his position, courage, and 
 energy, the fittest man to command the allies, but the circumstance 
 of his having called these two distinguished soldiers to his councils, 
 excited the jealousy of Austria ; and the Emperor, rather than that 
 any disagreement should arise, assented to the chief command being 
 placed in the hands of Prince Schwartzenberg. 
 
 The first movement of the allies was directed upon Dresden. They 
 approached the town with an immense force, and after a very heavy 
 conflict with the French, under Napoleon in person, were driven back 
 with severe loss. General Moreau was among the killed !' He was 
 conversing with the Emperor Alexander when a cannon shot shattered 
 both his legs. Amputation was tried : it was of no avail. Mortifi- 
 cation ensued, and Moreau died five days afterwards.'' Contemporary 
 
 to effect the revolution of the 18th Brumaire, and procured him the command of the armies 
 of the Danube and the Rhine. At their bead, he defeated the Austrians at Hohenlinden, in 
 1800— 
 
 " When Bhooli the hills, with thunder riven. 
 
 When rushed the steed to battle driven. 
 
 And, louder than the bolts of Heaven, 
 
 Far flashed the red artillery 1" 
 
 Napoleon admired, but was jealous of Moreau, and a charge was established against him in 
 1804, that he had intrigued with the Royalists. He was tried, and sentenced to imprisonment. 
 The sentence was commuted into banishment, and he went to America. 
 
 1 An anecdote here occurs to us appositely distinctive of the characters of the two great 
 warriors of modern times. At the battle of Dresden, Napoleon perceived a group of 
 distinguished officers ride up to a conspicuous point, where they paused, and appeared 
 to be making a reconnoissance. Pointing to the place, he called out to the officer 
 directing a battery of artillery close at hand, " Jetez-moi une douzaine de boulets, la, a 
 la foist II y a peut-etre quelques petits generaux!''^ "Throw a dozen of bullets, yonder, 
 all at once. There are, perhaps, some little generals among them !" He was obeyed, and 
 Moreau was killed. At Waterloo, the colonel commanding the British artillery observed to 
 the Duke, " I have got the exact range of the spot where Bonaparte and his staff are standing. 
 If your Grace will allow me, I think I can pick some of them off." "No, no," replied he, 
 " generals-in-chief have something else to do in a great battle besides firing at each other." — 
 Dublin University Magazine. 
 
 2 Moreau's body was embalmed, and subsequently buried in the Catholic Church of St 
 Petersburg, by order of the Emperor Alexander, who announced the death of the General to his 
 widow, and presented her with 500,000 roubles (-20,000/.), in addition to a pension of 300O roubles. 
 The letter of Alexander communicating the tidings of Moreau's death, was eloquent and generous. 
 He was evidently a great admirer of Moreau's talents : — 
 
 " He died as he lived, in the full vigour of a strong and steady mind. There is but one 
 remedy for the great miseries of life— that of seeing them participated. In Russia, Madam, you 
 will find these sentiments everywhere ; and if it suit you to fix your residence there, I will 
 do all in my power to embellish the existence of a personage of whom I make it ray sacred 
 duty to be the consoler and the support. I entreat you. Madam, to rely upon it irrevocably, 
 never to let me be in ignorance of any circumstance in which I can be of any use to you, and to
 
 304 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 •with these transactions, General Vandamme was defeated by the 
 Russians and Prussians at Culm ; Marshal Macdonald, in Silesia, 
 was overthrown at Katzbach by the Prussians, under Marshal 
 Bliicher, and Oudinot was repulsed by Bernadotte, the Crown Prince 
 of Sweden and General Bulow, in an attempt upon Berlin, the 
 Prussian capital. The French lost nearly 30,000 men in these three 
 unsuccessful encounters, besides many guns, trophies, and warlike 
 stores. The triumph at Dresden was entirely neutralised by such 
 disasters. And they were followed by misfortunes to Napoleon's 
 arms of still greater moment. In a severe battle fought at Dennewitz, 
 Marshal Ney, who had superseded Oudinot, was beaten with very 
 heavy loss by Bernadotte, and a serious partisan warfare having 
 sprung up in Leipsic and in Westphalia, and Russian reserves being 
 on their way from Poland under General Benningsen, Bonaparte began 
 to lose something of that decision which had hitherto been his leading 
 characteristic, and one of the keys to his fortune. In ignorance of 
 the movements and strength of the enemy — uncertain where to deliver 
 or to receive battle — he oscillated in purpose, and marched and 
 countermarched his troops continually, until, thinned by fatigue, 
 sickness, and the sword, their spirits began to sink, and their generals 
 to avow their inability to undertake the offensive with any prospect 
 of success. 
 
 The good fortune which had attended the northern allies, and the 
 indecision which was evident at the French head quarters, gave the 
 former an opportunity of settling a course of action which seemed 
 calculated to bring matters to an issue. The invasion of Saxony was 
 resolved upon. The forces assembled in Bohemia, after the junction 
 of the Russian reserves, amounted to 150,000 men. With these the 
 invasion was to be effected, while Marshal Bliicher and Bernadotte 
 occupied the northern part of Germany with an equal amount of 
 Prussians and Swedes. 
 
 Napoleon, aroused from his mental paralysis, now resolved upon 
 attacking Berlin, while Murat was detached to check the allies in 
 Bohemia, and upon the 7th of October, the French Emperor com- 
 menced his march in the prosecution of his plan. But he was again 
 fated to disappointment. Bavaria, menaced by Austria, found herself 
 compelled to join the Grand Alliance, and the lesser German States 
 were gradually withdrawing their confidence and friendship. Napoleon 
 
 write directly to mc always. To anticipate your wishes will be a pleasure to me. The friendship 
 I vowed to your husband exists beyond the grave ; and I have no other means of showing it, 
 at least in part, towards him, than by doing everything in my power to ensure the welfare of 
 bis family."
 
 1813.] BATTLE OF LEIPSIC. 305 
 
 instantly retraced his steps to tlie Rhine, and reached the city of 
 Leipsic, where Murat and Augereau and Marmont joined him with 
 80.000 men. This accession raised his force to 140.000 infantry, 
 35,000 cavalry, and 720 guns. They were spread for many miles 
 over the country around Leipsic, and occupied advantageous positions. 
 Yet were the allies in far greater strength. Not less than 230,000 
 men and 1300 pieces of artillery constituted the army of the con- 
 federacy, and even this force was augmented when Bernadotte, who 
 was always tardily moving in the rear of Blucher, came up. 
 
 On the 15th of October, a signal of two rockets announced 
 to the allied armies, respectively under the command of Prince 
 Schwartzenburg and Marshal Blucher, that everything was in readi- 
 ness for an attack, and on the 16th the battle began. To say that 
 the French fought with determined bravery, only giving ground be- 
 fore superior nuinbers, and often, by their intrepid charges, placing 
 large bodies of the allies in peril, is only to repeat what has often 
 been i-ecorded of Napoleon's splendid legions. From nine a m. until 
 night-fall they confronted the northern batteries with heroic courage 
 and devotion. At length, overpowered by the enemy's artillery, they 
 fell back behind the Partha with the loss of 20 guns, and 4000 killed 
 and wounded, besides losing 2000 prisoners. Stunned with the disas- 
 ter. Napoleon sent proposals for an armistice, engaging to evacuate 
 Germany, and retire behind the Rhine. The proposal was not enter- 
 tained for one moment. Napoleon then contracted the line of defence, 
 and arrayed his troops in front of Leipsic, with the defect of having 
 only a single issue in his rear. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th of October, the allies attacked Napo- 
 leon in his new position. Never, perhaps, had so many troops been 
 brought into the field in one and the same engagement. The French, 
 reduced to 160,000 men, were assailed by nearly 280,000, and 1400 
 pieces of artillery. Against such odds the most distinguished valour 
 was unavailing. Poniatowski was driven back by the allied left under 
 the Prince of Hesse-Homberg ; three times was the centre of the 
 French dislodged back from its position, and three times did it regain 
 its ground. The Prussian Zeithen with his Hussars, and some thou- 
 sands of the Cossacks of the Don, under their Hetman Platoff, furiously 
 attacked the French left, and Schwartzenburg from the heights around 
 Leipsic poured an iron hail from 800 guns of large calibre upon the 
 massed bodies of French infantry. Elsewhere, Ney and Marmont 
 ■were vainly endeavouring to stem the torrent of war urged by 
 Blucher and Bernadotte. The world has never seen so dreadful a 
 battle as that of Leipsic. Before nightfall Napoleon's army had 
 
 VOL. I. W
 
 306 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 been driven close to the town with terrible loss. The city was filled 
 with the wounded, and thousands struggled along the road leading to 
 Lindenau. It was an awful moment for Napoleon. Holding a coun- 
 cil of war by a bivouac fire on the field, he decided to retreat, and the 
 next morning issued from the town, after taking a farcM'ell of the 
 King of Saxony. Lauriston, Macdonald, and Poniatowski remained to 
 resist the allies, who now, intoxicated with joy, poured into the town, 
 overcoming all barriers, and driving out every Frenchman upon the 
 river Elster. Unfortunately, the stone bridge leading to Lindenau 
 had been prematurely blown up. Poniatowski perished in the stream. 
 Lauriston and Regnier, with 28.000 men, were made prisoners. The 
 loss of the French at the battle of Leipsic was 60,000 men and 
 officers, killed, wounded and prisoners. 
 
 Blucher pursued the retiring French army to the Rhine. Napoleon 
 halted at Ernfurth, and reorganised his army, now reduced to 90,000 
 soldiers. The enemy pressed upon him. In two days the French 
 were on their hasty march to the Maine. The Cossacks, who had 
 tasted the blood of France in Russia harassed them vigorously, and 
 before the retiring force had got through the Thuringian forest, it 
 was reduced to 50,000. As it advanced towards Mayence a new 
 trouble arose. The Bavarians, united with the Austrians, occupied 
 the oak forest near Hanau, and blocked up the line of retreat. The 
 danger of the French positions animated them to renewed exertions. 
 Fighting their way through the forest, they overthrew the allied force, 
 45,000 strong, and made their way to Hanau, killing and taking 
 prisoners some 10.000 Austro-Bavarians. The French were well 
 commanded. Victor, Mortier, Macdonald, Marmont, and Sebas- 
 tiani, headed their columns. Marshal Wrede, who led the allies, was 
 their inferior in military skill. But there was no advantage to be 
 taken of the battle of Hanau ; it only simplified the retreat, which was 
 then continued without interruption. At Mayence, Napoleon quitted 
 his army, and proceeded to Paris on the 9th of November. Imme- 
 diately upon his arrival, he summoned his council, and urged the 
 importance of vigorous measures and vast sacrifices to avoid further 
 calamity. The vaults of the Tuilleries were filled with gold. Ex- 
 tracting thirty millions of francs from this invaluable mine, and 
 imposing new taxes, he procured the vote of a conscription of 
 300,000 more, declaring to the country that peace could not be 
 established until the allies were driven back, and Munich laid in 
 ashes. 
 
 From Leipsic the allied sovereigns proceeded triumphantly to 
 Frankfort, and after communicating to Napoleon the basis on whicl
 
 1813.] DECLARATION OF THE ALLIES. 307 
 
 they were prepared to listen to negotiations for peace, they thus ad- 
 dressed the French nation : — 
 
 " The French Government has ordered a new levy of 300,000 con- 
 scripts. The motives of the scnatus consultum to that effect contain 
 an appeal to the allied powers. They, therefore, find themselves called 
 upon to promulgate, in the face of the world, the views which guide 
 them in the present war, the principles which form the basis of their 
 conduct, their wishes, and their determinations. 
 
 " The allied powers do not make war upon France, but against that 
 preponderance, haughtily announced, — against that preponderance, 
 which, to the misfortune of Europe, and of France, the Emperor Na- 
 poleon has too long exercised beyond the limits of his empire. 
 
 " Victory has conducted the allied armies to the banks of the 
 Rhine. The first use which their imperial and royal Majesties have 
 made of victory, has been to offer peace to his Majesty the Emperor 
 of the French. An attitude strengthened by the accession of all the 
 sovereigns and princes of Germany, has had no influence on the con- 
 ditions of that peace. These conditions are founded on the indepen- 
 dence of the French empire, as well as on the independence of the 
 other states of Europe. The views of the powers are just in their 
 object, generous and liberal in their application, giving security to all, 
 honourable to each. 
 
 " The allied sovereigns desire that France may be great, powerful, 
 and happy ; because the French power, in a state of greatness and 
 strength, is one of the foundations of the social edifice of Europe. 
 They wish that France may be happy, — that French commerce may 
 revive, — that the arts, those blessings of peace, may again flourish ; 
 because a great people can only be tranquil in proportion as it is hap- 
 py. The powers confirm to the French empire an extent of territory 
 which France under her kings never knew ; because a valiant nation 
 does not fall from its rank, by having in its turn experienced reverses 
 in an obstinate and sanguinary contest, in which it has fought with its 
 accustomed bravery. 
 
 " But the allied powers also wish to be free, tranquil, and happy 
 themselves. They desire a state of peace which, by a wise partition of 
 strength, by a just equilibrium, may henceforward preserve their people 
 from the numberless calamities which have overwhelmed Europe for 
 the last twenty years. 
 
 •' The allied powers will not lay down their arms until they have 
 attained this great and beneficial result, this noble object of their 
 efforts. They will not lay down their arms until the political state of 
 Europe be re-established anew,— until immovable principles have re-
 
 308 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 sumed their rights over vain pretensions, — until the sanctity of treaties 
 shall have at last secured a real peace to Europe." 
 
 Napoleon hesitated to reply to the allies — he wished to gain time, 
 The allies placed a limit to the period when a reply was expected, and 
 the time passing before the French Emperor came to any decision, the 
 Rhine was passed. From this moment, Napoleon no longer found 
 willing, servile, and terrified agents in the Chamber of Deputies. 
 They raised their voices against the conscriptions, denounced the 
 occupation of Germany and Holland, and excited Napoleon's wrath 
 to so great a pitch, that he dissolved the Chamber on the 1st of Jan- 
 vvv I8I4.
 
 1813.1 
 
 PUBLIC OPINION IN ENGLAND. 
 
 309 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 The feeling in England— CanniDg's Speech— Passage of the Nive— Combats of Barroulihet, 
 Arcangues, and St. Pierre — Battle of Orthes — Declaration for the Bourbons— Remonstrance 
 with the Duo D'AngoulSme. 
 
 HE feelings of the people of 
 England had undergone a 
 very great change since the 
 meeting of Parliament in the 
 winter of 1812. Materially 
 influenced by the successes 
 of Lord Wellington, they 
 had, as has been shown, 
 viewed with dismay and sor- 
 row the retreat from Burgos. 
 They had begun to believe 
 the cause of Spain quite 
 hopeless, and to regard with 
 indiflference the operations of 
 the allies. The determination shown by Ministers and the Par- 
 liament to uphold Lord Wellington changed the current of senti- 
 ment. As reinforcement after reinforcement quitted England to 
 join the army on the Douro, the people began to cherish an expecta- 
 tion of a triumphant termination of the war, and their desire to 
 forward the great objects in view augmented with the successful 
 progress of the arms of Russia and Prussia in another part of the 
 continent. Many millions of public treasure had been expended 
 since war was declared against France in 1794, and taxation had 
 reached an oppressive height. The vast wealth and energies of the 
 country were, however, neither exhausted nor paralysed. When 
 occasion appeared to demand it, money was always forthcoming. 
 Private subscriptions were poured forth freely and largely in aid of 
 public expenditure, and whether the outlay was to give immediate
 
 SIO LIFE OF THE DUKE OP WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 aid to Englishmen or to foreigners, the assistance was equally prompt 
 and munificent, so long as the supplies were to be devoted to the 
 prostration of Napoleon's power. Thus, when the Spanish deputies 
 came over in 1808 to seek assistance in repelling French invasion, 
 the arsenals, fleets, and squadrons of the country were at once placed 
 at the disposal of the Peninsula. All that Spain could demand, or 
 England afford, was granted without hesitation. The Ministry 
 found that to be alert and profuse, was to be universally popular. 
 From the King on the throne to the pauper in the streets the 
 enthusiasm was universal. The Austrian deputies had not been iu 
 London many days before 300,000/. had been subscribed, and 
 thousands of muskets, pikes, and a large supply of ammunition put 
 on b8ard vessels for despatch to the Bay of Biscay. AVhat followed 
 is sufiSciently described in the foregoing pages. Again, when Russia 
 had commenced her patriotic struggle with France, 50,000 stands of 
 arms were presented to her as tokens of British sympathy ; and as 
 60on as the alliance had been formed between Russia, Prussia, and 
 Sweden, a subsidy of two millions sterling was granted to the latter 
 country, and a like sum to the two former conjointly, while the issue 
 of Prussian paper to the value of 5,000,000/. was guaranteed by Great 
 Britain, and, thus secured, immediately passed at par with specie 
 throughout Northern Europe — a memorable instance of the effect of 
 national credit, and of the inexhaustible resources of this country. 
 
 England had her first instalment of recompense for this generous 
 *o-operation in the results of the battle of Vittoria, and the opera- 
 tions in the Pyrenees ; and the battle of Leipsic came opportunely to 
 confirm her impression of the wisdom of her prodigality. The meet- 
 ing of Parliament in 1813 afforded a fine opportunity for the eloquent 
 expression of public satisfaction and public approbation. The bril- 
 liant oratory of Grenville, Wellesley, Grant, and Canning, happily 
 embodied the national sentiment. All party conflicts were for the 
 moment swallowed up and lost. Those persons who had, on previous 
 occasions, during the course of the protracted struggle, caHed upon 
 Parliament to pause — to retard its too rapid and too rash advance — 
 manfully and honestly stepped forward to join their congratulations 
 to the joyful intonations of the people ; while the staunch friends of 
 opposition to Napoleon, and the advocates of a common cause with 
 all Europe, were still more grateful. Canning, glowing with generous 
 delight, rose above himself He, the most constant and manful of 
 the champions of resistance, felt the true importance of the position 
 that had been attained by the courageous, and steady and skilful 
 efforts of Wellington and the allied armies, and gave utterance to
 
 1813.] CANNING'S SPEECH. 311 
 
 his sentiments in burning and soul-breathing words, which found a 
 prompt echo throughout the length and breadth of the kingdom. 
 
 " Peace," said Canning, " is safe now, because it is not dictated ; 
 peace is safe now, for it is the fruit of exertion — the child of victory ; 
 peace is safe now, because it will not be purchased at the expense of 
 the interest and of the honour of the empire ; it is not the ransom to 
 buy off danger, but the fruit of the mighty means which we have 
 employed to drive danger from our shores. I must, with heartfelt 
 delight, congratulate my country, that, groaning as she has done at 
 former periods under the heavy pressure of adverse men, still, peace 
 was despaired of ; for who could think of submission. Her strength 
 — her endurance — had been tried and proved by every mode of as- 
 sault that the most refined system of hostility could invent; not only 
 by open military attacks, but by low attempts to destroy her commer- 
 cial prosperity. The experiment has been made ; the experiment has 
 failed ; and we are now triumphantly, but not arrogantly, to consider 
 what measures of security should be adopted, or on what terms a 
 pea<ce should be concluded. 
 
 " But has this country gained nothing by the glorious contest, 
 even supposing peace should be far distant 1 Is it nothing to Great 
 Britain, even purchased at so large a price, that her military character 
 has been exalted? Is it no satisfaction — no compensation to her — 
 to reflect that the splendid scenes displayed on the Continent are 
 owing to her efforts ? — that the victories of Grermany are to be attri- 
 buted to our victories in the Peninsula 1 That spark, often feeble, 
 and sometimes so nearly extinguished as to excite despair in all 
 hearts that were not above it, — that spark which was lighted in 
 Portugal — which was fed and nourished there — has at length burst 
 into a flame that has dazzled and illuminated Europe. At the com- 
 mencement of this war, our empire rested upon one majestic column 
 — our naval power. In the prosecution of the war, a hero has raised 
 another stupendous pillar of strength to support our monarchy — our 
 military pre-eminence. It is now, that we may boast not only of 
 superiority at sea, but on shore ; the same energy and heroism exist 
 in both the arms of Great Britain ; they are rivals in strength, but 
 inseparable in glory. Out of the calamities of war has arisen a prin- 
 ciple of safety, that, superior to all attacks, shall survive through 
 ages, and to which our posterity shall look forward. Compare the 
 situation of England with her condition at the renewal of the war ! 
 Were we not then threatened by the aggressions of an enemy even 
 upon our own shores — were we not then trembling for the safety and 
 sanctity even of our homes ? Now, contemplate Wellington encamped
 
 312 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1812 
 
 on the Bidassoa ! I know that a sickly sensibility leads some to 
 doubt whether the advance of Lord Wellington was not rash and 
 precipitate. I cannot enter into that refinement which induces those 
 who aflfect to know much to hesitate upon this subject. I cannot 
 look with regret upon a British army encamped upon the fertile plains 
 of France. I cannot believe that any new grounds for apprehension 
 are raised by an additional excitement being afibrded to the irrita- 
 bility of the French people. I foresee no disadvantage from entering 
 the territories of an enemy, not as the conquered but as the con 
 querors ! I cannot regret that the Portuguese are now looking upon 
 the walls of Bayonne, that circle in those invaders which would have 
 devastated their capital, — that the Portuguese now behold, planted 
 on the towers of Bayonne, the standard which their enemy would 
 have made to float upon the walls of Lisbon. I cannot think it a 
 matter of regret that the Spaniards are now recovering from the 
 grasp of an enemy on his own shores, that diadem which was stripped 
 from the brow of the Bourbons, to be pocketed by an usurper ! I 
 cannot think it a matter of regret that England, formerly threateij^ed 
 with an invasion, is now the invader, — that France, instead of Eng- 
 land, is the scene of conflict ! I cannot think all this matter of regret ; 
 and of those who believe that the nation or myself are blinded by our 
 successes, I entreat that they will leave me to my delusion, and keep 
 their philosophy to themselves. 
 
 " That enemy, who enslaved the press, and made it contribute so 
 importantly to his own purposes of ambition, endeavoured to impress 
 upon other nations a belief that Great Britain fought only to secure 
 her own interests, and that her views were completely selfish. That 
 illusion is now destroyed, and the designs of this country are vindicated. 
 We call on all the powers with whom we have been and are at war, 
 to do us justice in this respect ; above all we claim it of America ! 
 I ask her to review her own and the policy of this country ! Let her 
 turn from scenes of bloodshed and horror, and compare with them 
 the efi"ect of British interference ! She will see that wherever this 
 country has exerted herself, it has been to raise the fallen and support 
 the falling ; to raise, not to degrade the national character ; to rouse 
 the sentiments of patriotism which tyranny had silenced ; to enlighten, 
 to reanimate, to liberate. Great Britain has resuscitated Spain, and 
 recreated Portugal ; Germany is now a nation as well as a name ; and 
 all these glorious efi"ects have been produced by the efibrts and by the 
 example of our country. If to be the deliverers of Europe ; if to have 
 raised our own national character, not upon the ruins of other king- 
 doms ; if to meet dangers without shrinking, and to possess courage
 
 1813.] LETTERS TO DUMOURIER. 313 
 
 rising with difficulties, be admirable, surely we may not unreason- 
 ably hope for the applause of the world. If we have founded our 
 strength upon a rock, and possess the implicit confidence of those 
 allies whom we have succoured when they seemed beyond relief, 
 then I say that our exertions during the last year, and all our 
 efforts during the war, are cheaply purchased ; if we have burdened 
 ourselves, we have relieved others ; and we have the reward, the 
 soul-felt, the proud satisfaction, of knowing that a selfish charge is 
 that which, with the faintest shadow of justice, cannot be brought 
 against us." 
 
 The thanks of Parliament were voted by acclamation to the Mar- 
 ,quis of Wellington, his generals, officers, and troops, and the people 
 rejoiced as much as if the despatches had actually conveyed the news 
 of Napoleon's fall. 
 
 While the army occupied its various and hurried positions on the 
 Nivelle — the head-quarters being at St. Jean de Luz (the " City of 
 Light," or, as Ford calls it, " the City of 3Iud"), Lord Wellington 
 occasionally varied the strict duties of his command with private cor- 
 respondence. To none does he seem to have more freely imparted 
 his sentiments on the war than to General Dumourier, with whom he 
 corresponded in excellent French, the result of his residence at An- 
 glers. He commented on the affairs of Germany and Catalonia, and 
 spoke of the probable result of the operations in those quarters with 
 au almost prophetic spirit. A spirit of sly humour pervaded his 
 letters to the old republican. Catalonia had given Lord Wellington 
 many " mauvais mornens" and he often thought of going there. 
 " Perhaps," he wrote, " if I only considered Spain, I ought to have 
 gone there, because Bonaparte holds, and will continue to hold, in 
 Catalonia, certain facilities of re-entering Spain. I say perhaps, be- 
 cause in this devil of a country, where I have carried on war for five 
 years, I have always found, like your Henri IV., ' that with little 
 armies we accomplish nothing, and with great ones we die of hunger ;' 
 and I feel that, with the means at my disposal, and the time I could 
 give to the task, I should not be able to place things in Catalonia 
 upon the footing on which they should be to enable us to keep in the 
 field the force that we have there, and that we ought to introduce into 
 the country. Besides, purely military views must give way to politi- 
 cal considerations. I have watched the progress of affairs in Germany, 
 and notwithstanding the grave reverses that have been experienced, I 
 thought I perceived the germs of that considerable success which has 
 since been attained." 
 
 With these views Lord Wellington tells Dumourier he had intended
 
 314 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 to carry the war into France, and he felt that he had it in his power 
 to do so with vigour. 
 
 "I think," concluded he, "that we are approaching the termina- 
 tion of the most atrocious and disgusting tyranny that ever afflicted 
 mankind." 
 
 To consummate the extinction of the tyranny, and at the same time 
 to give himself more elbow-room, Lord Wellington, on the 8th of De- 
 cember, moved the troops out of their cantonments. The weather had 
 improved. The materials for forming pontoon bridges had been col- 
 lected, and the swelling of the rivers had subsided. 
 
 Bayonne,' the possession of which place was Wellington's primary 
 object, was occupied by the French. Since the battle of Vittoria, the 
 town had been entrenched, with great labour ; and Marshal Soult's 
 position was now both strong and well chosen. It was in front of 
 Bayonne, its right resting upon the Adour ; a morass covered the 
 space between the town and St. Jean de Luz. Lord Wellington felt 
 it impossible to attack the enemy thus placed, without the certainty 
 of great loss, and even then he was far from confident of success, 
 for the entrenched camp was further protected by the guns of Bay- 
 onne. It therefore occurred to him to pass the river Nive, so as to 
 bring the right of his own position upon the Adour, by which opera- 
 tion, the enemy, already distressed for provisions, would, he supposed, 
 have lost the means of communicating with the interior, afforded by 
 that river, and would thus become still more distressed. Another 
 advantage which this measure promised was, that it would enable the 
 British commander to open a communication with the interior of 
 France for intelligence, &c., and thus to draw some supplies from the 
 country. 
 
 The passage of the Nive was entrusted to Sir Rowland Hill, sup- 
 ported by Marshal Beresford .and Sir H. Clinton. To Sir John 
 Hope and General Alton was committed the task of driving back all 
 the French advanced posts in front of their camp between the Nive 
 and the sea. The French troops were posted opposite Ustaritz, and 
 from Halzou in front of Laressore to the fords above Cambo, and on 
 some heights in advance of Mousserolls, and were severally commanded 
 by Generals D'Armagnac, Foy, Paris, and D'Erlon, the cavalry under 
 
 1 The Basque Bay-o-na, " the good port," standing on the Nive and Adour. Here the bayonet 
 was first used. Some Basques stuck their knives in the muzzles of their muskets. The Flem- 
 ings and French improved upon this system. They placed the bayonet on a cylindrical socket, 
 ■wliic>. left the muzzle of the musket clear. It was at a battle in Flanders, in William the Third's 
 time, that the English troops first became acquainted with the new method. They were rather 
 astonished to see the enemy /re, and then charge home.
 
 1813.] PASSAGE OF THE NIVE. 315 
 
 Marshal Soult's brother, Pierre. The pontoon bridges having been 
 laid down over night, the passage of the Nive was effected without 
 much opposition at an early hour of the 9th December. At mid-day 
 Marshal Soult himself appeared and offered battle, but no general 
 fight took place, because the deep roads retarded the rear of General 
 Hill's columns. A good deal of irregular skirmishing and isolated 
 fighting marked the remainder of the day, which terminated with the 
 loss of 800 of the allies. 
 
 For five successive days the vicinity of the Nive and the Adour was 
 the scene of conflicts of a very sharp character. At Arcangues, the 
 Light Division commanded by General Kempt, maintained an 
 irregular fight with Clauzel's troops, — Colonel Colborne of the 52nd 
 distinguishing himself a* he had always done. At Barrouilhet, three 
 distinct combats came off. Seldom had the French fought with so 
 much obstinacy. The 9th regiment was placed in imminent danger 
 through the rash directions of a Staff officer.' The 84th got into a 
 perilous position, and a number of the Portuguese were cut off. The 
 French had actually at one time got possession of the Barrouilhet, but 
 they were driven out through the bravery and perseverance of Sir 
 John Hope. '• Conspicuous from his gigantic stature and heroic 
 courage, he was seen wherever danger pressed, encouraging the troops ; 
 at one time he was in the midst of the enemy, his clothes were pierced 
 with bullets, and he was severely wounded in the ankle, yet he would 
 not quit the field, and thus, by his calm intrepidity restored the 
 
 1 Lord Wellington does not appear to have been fortimate in tlie selection of the subordinate 
 officers of his Staff. He had good Aides-de-Camp, and an excellent Adjutant-General and 
 Quartermaster General, in Generals Packenham and George Murray, but, to judge from the 
 following letter, the minor offices were not satisfactorily filled : 
 
 "I have to animadvert on the negligent conduct of the Staff officers. It is a fact, that 
 some Divisions, afler being on their feet from four o'clock in the morning, and having 
 marched, over swamps and through rivers, until seven o'clock in the evening, under a heavy 
 shower of rain, were kept waiting for the officers of the Staff whose business it was to show 
 Divisions where to bivouac for the night. I have heard many old and experienced officers 
 condemn, in strong terms, the negligent conduct of the Staff officers, particularly those educated 
 at High Wycombe. The remark is just, that those gentlemen are generally too high-minded 
 for their situation ; they all aim at being chiefs of departments, instead of being, as they are, 
 subordinate ; always occupying themselves in observations on positions. And the observation 
 is correct, that if active, intelligent officers were selected from the line to fill the departments 
 of Quartermaster General and Adjutants-General, the business would be well and correctly 
 done. These High Wycombe pedants may be well versed in the theory, but many of them are 
 incompetent to the practical part, either in respect to ability or activity: you may depend 
 upon it, that is the general sentiment on that subject; in short, I believe it is a fact well 
 established, this a youthful Staff is the ruin of an army. Taking, therefore, the various 
 retreats we have made, the distressing manner in which they have been conducted, our tardy 
 method of pursuit, our mode of assaulting fortified places, it will amount to this— that we have 
 evinced a greater ability in hard fighting than any other points of war."
 
 316 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [181b. 
 
 battle." ' Lord Wellington could not help noticing the indifference 
 to personal danger on Hope's part, and in a kindly spirit wrote to the 
 Adjutant-General : — 
 
 " I have long entertained the highest opinion of Sir John Hope, 
 in common, I believe, with the whole world, but every day's experience 
 convinces me of his worth. We shall lose him, however, if he 
 continues to expose himself in fire as he did in the last three days : 
 indeed his escape was then most wonderful. His hat and coat were 
 shot through in many places, besides the wound in his leg. He 
 places himself among the sharpshooters, without, as they do, sheltering 
 himself from the enemy's fire. This will not answer ; and I hope that 
 his friends will give him a hint on the subject." 
 
 Perhaps the finest of the five days' encQjinters was that which 
 has been called the battle of St. Pierre. Generals Stewart, Barry, 
 and Ashworth, immortalised themselves by their valour. General 
 Abbe, a " man noted for vigour," at the head of heavy columns of 
 infantry, supported by guns, furiously assailed Hill's Divisions, and 
 in spite of the determined attitude of the 50th and the 92nd Regi- 
 ments, and the gallantry of the 3rd and 71st, and the Portuguese 
 Caqadores, would have defeated the British, had not the Highlanders, 
 suddenly returning to the attack, with colours flying, and band 
 playing, raised some doubts in the minds of the French commander 
 as to the amount of the reserves he now believed to be coming to the 
 attack. Waving his sword, he commanded a retreat at the very 
 moment when victory was within his grasp ! 
 
 While the left of the British army was engaged before Bayonne, 
 the centre and right under the personal command of Lord Wellington, 
 effected the passage of the Gave d'Oleron, on the 24th of February, 
 1814, while Soult leaving Bayonne, drew back his whole force to the 
 heights of Orthes, behind the Gave de Pau, and here awaited the 
 approach of Wellington. At day-break, on the 27th of the month, 
 the British Field Marshal was in his presence, with 37,000 men, 
 including 4000 cavalry and 48 guns. Lord Wellington decided upon 
 an immediate attack. The left wing under Marshal Beresford, 
 attacked the enemy's right at St. Boes, while the 3rd and 6th 
 Divisions under Sir Rowland Hill, with Lord Edward Somerset's light 
 cavalry, were directed against Soult's left and centre. The British 
 movements were ably executed. Hill crossed the river in front of 
 the French left and turned their flank, the enemy holding their 
 ground with great obstinacy ; while the allied attack was as remark- 
 able for its impetuosity. A final and protracted struggle ensued ; 
 
 I Napier.
 
 1813.] WELLINGTON WOUNDED. 3lV 
 
 but the French unable to sustain the combined assault of the allies, 
 commenced retreating by divisions, and contesting every inch of 
 ground as they abandoned it. Hill's parallel march was speedily 
 discovered, and as that movement threatened their rear, the order 
 of the retreat was accelerated, and gradually assumed the character 
 of a flight. The British pressed rapidly forward — the French as 
 quickly fell back — both strove to gain Sault de Navailles — and though 
 charged by the English cavalry, the enemy crossed the Luy de Bearne 
 before Hill could succeed in coming up.* 
 
 The defeat of the French was decisive, and their loss in killed and 
 wounded immense. Six guns and a number of prisoners fell into the 
 hands of the British. The fugitive foe threw away their arms, and 
 many deserted altogether. Few defeats were marked by more 
 injurious results to the vanquished than those attendant upon that of 
 Orthes. 
 
 In this battle Lord Wellington received a wound from a spent ball 
 in the left thigh. It had penetrated the holster, and did him sufl&cient 
 injury to confine him for a few days afterwards, though he did not 
 at the moment dismount from his horse. 
 
 At the time that these operations were going on at Orthes, Sir 
 John Hope invested Bayonne more closely than he had hitherto 
 done, and attacking the village of St. Etienne (capturing a gun and 
 some prisoners from the enemy), he established his post within 900 
 yards of the outworks of the place. 
 
 The result of all the successful movements was that, by the 1st 
 of March, the army having passed the Adour, was in possession of all 
 the great communications across the river. Even the direct road to 
 Bordeaux was open, and by this Marshal Beresford and Lord 
 Dalhousie, with their respective divisions, advanced. 
 
 Symptoms of a decided change in the feelings of the French people 
 in regard to the Napoleon dynasty, now began to manifest themselves. 
 The white cockade, the Bourbon emblem, was openly worn, in 
 supersession of the tri-color, and nothing seemed to be wanting but 
 some specific declaration by the allies of their espousal of the Bourbon 
 cause to induce the populace to pronounce emphatically for the 
 Restoration. Lord Wellington saw this, and urged the point upon 
 the British Ministry. "Any declaration from us would," said he 
 to Lord Liverpool, " I am convinced, raise such a flame in the country 
 as would soon spread from one end of it to the other, and would 
 infallibly overturn Napoleon." And then came one of those pointed 
 paragraphs which disclosed the decided character of the man. He 
 
 1 " Victories of the British .■Vnnies," by MaxweU.
 
 318 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813. 
 
 despised the idea of temporising with an unscrupulous enemy. 
 Divide et impera was his ruling maxim in the contest with 
 Napoleon : — 
 
 " I cannot discover the policy of not hitting one's enemy as hard as 
 one can, and in the most vulnerable place. I am certain that he 
 would not so act by us if he had the opportunity. He would certainly 
 overturn the British authority in Ireland if it was in his power." 
 
 The Due d'Angouleme had, previous to this time, joined Lord 
 Wellington's head quarters incog., with the view of taking " advantage 
 of the advance of the allies to proclaim Louis XVIII., under covex 
 of their arras. He now proceeded with the divisions of Beresford 
 and Dalhousie, and as soon as he reached Bordeaux Louis XVIII. 
 was proclaimed by the Mayor, in terms which left it to be inferred 
 that the restoration of that monarch was the direct object of the allies. 
 
 Considering that a treaty of peace was negotiating at Chatillon 
 with Napoleon Bonaparte, this proclamation annoyed Lord Wellington 
 exceedingly. It was an evil he contemplated, and had taken great 
 care to prevent. The thing was badly timed, and it involved an 
 offensive usurpation of his prerogative as commander-in-chief, and a 
 misapprehension, if not a wilful disregard, of his sentiments. No 
 doubt he wished for peace ; it was with the view of attaining that 
 great desideratum he had entered France, and he was above all 
 anxious to see the hateful tyranny of Napoleon exchanged for a 
 more moderate rule. Yet he did not feel himself at liberty to give 
 the countenance of his name and the services of his soldiers, at that 
 particular juncture, to compel a submission to the authority of the 
 Bourbons. His instructions to Marshal Beresford and Lord 
 Dalhousie are very explicit on this head, and those generals, faithful 
 to their charge, had obeyed his orders to the letter. They kept the 
 troops compactly together in the neighbourhood of Bordeaux, so that 
 they should be free to act as circumstances might render necessary, 
 without being involved in the contests of opposite parties for 
 civic supremacy. It was by no means certain, while Napoleon 
 was yet strong enough to negotiate on equal terms with the 
 allies, that a counter-revolution might not take place in Bordeaux 
 if peace should be proclaimed, and his position as Emperor remain 
 undisturbed. 
 
 In spite, however, of all Lord Wellington's care, the Due 
 d'Angouleme persevered in encouraging a belief among the French 
 people that the allies had assembled in France " pour remplacer le 
 fleau des nations par un rnonarque 2)cre du peuple ;" ' that they had 
 
 1 "To replace the scourge of nations by a monarch who was the father of his people."
 
 1813.] REMONSTRANCE TO THE DUG D'ANGOULEME. 319 
 
 conducted the Bourbons into France, and that it was only through 
 Louis XVIII. that the French could hope to appease the resentment 
 of a neighbouring nation from letting loose upon it the most perfidious 
 of despotisms. Lord Wellington indignant at these statements, 
 addressed a powerful remonstrance to the Due d'Angouleme, which, 
 if it has not the merit of conciseness, left, in the iteration of his 
 sentiments, no ground of misconception : — 
 
 " I am much concerned to find that the statement which I had 
 repeatedly the honour of making to your Royal Highness of the 
 principles on which I was determined to act in regard to the cause of 
 your Royal Highness' family in France, had made so little impress- 
 ion on your Royal Highness' mind, as that your Royal Highness 
 did not perceive, till you had read my letter of the 16th, that the 
 proclamation of the Mayor of Bordeaux was not consistent with 
 what I had declared to your Royal Highness. This circumstance 
 renders caution on my part more than ever necessary. I am not 
 acting as an individual ; I am at the head of the army, and the 
 confidential agent of three independent nations ; and supposing 
 that, as an individual, I could submit to have my views and inten- 
 tions in such a case misrepresented, as the General of the allied 
 army, I cannot. 
 
 " I enclose to your Royal Highness the copy of a paper given, I 
 believe, by your Royal Highness to Lieutenant-General the Earl of 
 Dalhousie, which shows the consequences of these misrepresentations. 
 I occupied Bordeaux with a detachment of the army in the course 
 of my operations, and certain persons in the city of Bordeaux, 
 contrary to my advice and opinion, thought proper to proclaim King 
 Louis XVIII. These persons have made no exertion whatever; 
 they have not subscribed a shilling for the support of the cause, 
 and they have not raised a single soldier ; and then, because I do 
 not extend the posts of the army under my command beyond what 
 I think proper and convenient, and their properties and families 
 are exposed, not on account of their exertions in the cause (for they 
 have made none), but on account of their premature declaration 
 contrary to my advice, such persons are to be blamed, and, in a 
 manner, called to account. 
 
 " My experience of revolutionary wars taught me what I had to 
 expect, and induced me to warn your Royal Highness not to be in a 
 hurry. I beg your Royal Highness to tell the writer of this paper, 
 and all such persons, that no power on earth shall induce me to 
 depart from what I conceive to be my duty towards the Sovereigns 
 whom I am serving ; and that I will not risk even a company of
 
 320 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1813 
 
 infantry to save properties and families placed in a state of danger 
 contrary to my advice and opinion. 
 
 '• In reply to your Royal Highness' letter of the 24th inst, and 
 upon the whole of the subject, I have to state, that I hope your 
 Royal Highness will shape your conduct, and your Royal Highness' 
 counsellers will advise you to draw your proclamations and declara- 
 tions, in such manner, as that I may not be under the necessity of 
 declaring by proclamation, what my opinions and principles have 
 invariably been, and what I have repeatedly declared to your Royal 
 Highness. 
 
 " 1st. I consider your Royal Highness free to act exactly as your 
 Royal Highness may think proper, without consulting my opinion in 
 any manner. All that I ask is, that neither my name, nor the name, 
 nor the authority of the allied governments, may be adduced, more 
 particularly when I am not consulted ; or, if consulted, when I have 
 given my opinion against the measure adopted. 
 
 " 2ndly. I told your Royal Highness that, if any great town or 
 extensive district should declare itself in favour of your Royal 
 Highness' family, I would interfere in no manner with the 
 government of that town or district ; and that if there was a 
 general declaration throughout the country in favour of your 
 house, I should deliver into your hands the government of the 
 whole country which should have been over-run by our armies. 
 The fact is, that the declaration, even at Bordeaux, is not unanimous ; 
 that the spirit has not spread elsewhere, not even in La Vendee, nor 
 in any part that I know of occupied by the army. The events in my 
 contemplation, therefore, have not occurred ; and I should be guilty 
 of a gross breach of my duty to the allied sovereigns, and of cruelty to 
 the inhabitants of the country, if I were to deliver them over to your 
 Royal Highness prematurely, or contrary to their inclinations. 
 
 " 3rdly. I entertain no doubt whatever, that when once there is 
 
 any declaration in favour of the cause of your Royal Highness' 
 
 family, it is important that it should be general ; and I sincerely wish 
 
 it was so. But I can interfere in no manner to produce this general 
 
 declaration ; nay, more, I must, as an honest man, acquaint all those 
 
 who shall talk to me upon the subject with the state of aflfairs between 
 
 the allies and the existing government of France, as I have done to 
 
 this moment. 
 
 ****** 
 
 " It is not in my power, under existing circumstances, to make 
 your Royal Highness the advance of money you desire ; and, indeed,
 
 1814.] ADVANCE TO BORDEAUX. 821 
 
 after what has passed, I doubt whether I do not exceed the line of 
 my duty in affording your cause any countenance or support 
 whatever. 
 
 " In answer to the note enclosed by your Royal Highness, drawn by 
 your Royal Highness' council in the name of your Royal Highness, it 
 appears to me to be written in the same erroneous view with the proc- 
 lamation of the Mayor of Bordeaux. 
 
 " The object of the note is to show that I am bound to support the 
 operations of your Royal Highness' Grovernment by the military 
 power of the army, because your Royal Highness entered the country 
 with the army, and I have been the passive spectator of the declara- 
 tion of a part of the city of Bordeaux in favour of your Royal High- 
 ness' family. If I am to be bound by such means to employ the 
 army in this manner, it is still more incumbent upon me, than it was 
 before, to be cautious as to the degree of encouragement (and, to 
 speak plainly, permission), I shall give to the measures taken by your 
 Royal Highness' adherents, to induce the people in any district occu- 
 pied by the army, to declare in your Royal Highness' favour. 
 
 " I must say, also, that it is a curious demand to make upon me, 
 who, in any light, can only be considered as an ally, to permit troops to 
 support the operations of your Royal Highness' civil government ; 
 when I ought to have a right to expect military assistance from your 
 Royal Highness against the common enemy. 
 
 " In answer to this note, I must tell your Royal Highness that, 
 until I shall see a general and free declaration of the people in favour 
 of your Royal Highness' family, such as I know they are disposed, 
 and pant for an opportunity, to make, I will not give the assistance 
 of the troops under my command to support any system of taxation, 
 or of civil government, which your Royal Highness may attempt to 
 establish ; and I hope your Royal Highness may not attempt to 
 establish such a system beyond Bordeaux." 
 
 The divisions of Dalhousie and Beresford had moved towards 
 Bordeaux on the 8th of March. Simultaneously with their advance 
 Lord "Wellington penetrated further into France, still observing the 
 greatest caution and enjoining the kindest treatment of the people. 
 Upon the minds of the Spanish leaders he strongly impressed the 
 policy of conciliation. However France might have been reduced, 
 there was no doubt that the allies were not sufficiently strong to 
 make any progress, if the inhabitants should have taken part in the 
 war against them. What had occurred in the previous six years in 
 the Peninsula was an example to all military men on that point, and 
 provided a motive for endeavouring to conciliate the country, which 
 
 WM.. I. X
 
 322 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 was the seat of war, by " preserving the most strict discipline among 
 the troops, by mitigating as much as possible the evils which were 
 inseparable from war, and by that demeanour in the officers, in par- 
 ticular towards the inhabitants, which would show them that they, at 
 least, did not encourage the evils which might be suffered from the 
 soldiers." 
 
 The march into France offered much gratification to the troops. 
 Their footsteps, like their spirits, acquired an elasticity from the 
 novel circumstances of their situation. They were on the " sacred 
 soil " so much valued by their enemies — they had brought the 
 British standard triumphantly from the Tagus and the Douro to the 
 vicinity of the Garonne — they were in a land of comparative plenty 
 — the spring was advancing, and every day seemed to promise a con- 
 summation of the object with which they had toiled and fought and 
 bled, and suffered privations, since 1808. Every step forward brought 
 them change of scene, though the change was not invariably for the 
 better' — but there was a charm even in the variety. 
 
 1 "Nothing more exemplifies the vicissitudes of a soldier's life, than the different roofs that 
 cover our heads within a week. One day we have all the advantages of a palace, and the next 
 the dirt and misery of the worst chaumiere ; sometimes even in the same day. A fortnight ago, 
 just after the battle of Orthes, opposite Aire, our regiment being in the advance, we established 
 ourselves in a magnificent ch&teau, certainly the best furnished house I have seen since I left 
 England, decorated with a profusion of fine or-molu clocks. Just as we had congratulated our- 
 selves on our good luck and prospect of comfort, and I had chosen for myself a red damask 
 bed, an awful bustle was heard, indicative of no good, as was speedily proved to our discomfiture. 
 Whether it was a judgment upon us for looking so high as a chateau, on the principle of those 
 who exalt themselves being abased, I leave to divines to decide ; but we quickly learned that, 
 in consequence of the 4th Division treading on our heels, and Sir Lowry Cole having as sharp 
 an eye for an eligible chateau as ourselves, he had ordered his Aide-de-Carap to oust all its in- 
 mates, under the rank of a Major-General. 
 
 " It is astonishing how very soon, as if by intuition, one discovers what tends to personal 
 comfort and gratification, without consulting the reason. I found, very soon after I had 
 arrived in the Peninsula, that I had a remarkable preference and predilection for a domicile 
 in a padre's house. This is not so powerful since we have crossed the frontier ; as, perhaps 
 (I only hazard tht suspicion), the Revolution may not have left the houses of these gentlemen 
 of the same cloth equally desirable in Franco. But, to the south of the Pyrenees, the houses of 
 the clcrigns are almost invariably the best ; and not only recommended by good fare and ac- 
 commodation, but are desirable from their having, generally, should the divine celebs or celibita 
 (for our institutions render coining a word necessary) not have passed the prime of life, a pretty 
 girl, yclept a sobrina (niece), as an inmate, who does the honours admirably."- -Journal of an 
 Officer in miV$ Division,
 
 1814..1 
 
 CONfiRESS AT CHATILLON. 
 
 323 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Dissolution of the CJongress at Chatillon — Napoleon resists the Allies at Craone, Laon, and 
 Soissons — Revolution in Holland — Failure of Graham at Bergen-op-Zoom — The affair at Aire 
 —The Battle of Toulouse, and investment of Bayonne. 
 
 T the same time with the 
 battle of Orthes, events 
 were taking place on the 
 banks of the Rhine which 
 brought the affairs of Na- 
 poleon nearer to a crisis. 
 It has been said that a 
 Congress had been opened 
 at Chatillon, with a view 
 of coming to a pacific ter- 
 mination of the war with 
 the Emperor, and had the 
 decision of the questions at 
 issue rested only with Aus- 
 tria and Prussia, Napoleon 
 might have continued mas- 
 ter of the destinies of 
 France for some time long- 
 er. Happily, however, for 
 the interests of mankind, 
 two master-minds represented England and Russia, — Lord Castlereagh, 
 the British minister for foreign affairs, came in person to assist at the ne- 
 gotiations, which until then were carried on, as far as England was con- 
 cerned, by Lords Aberdeen and Cathcart and Sir Charles Stewart ; and 
 the Emperor Alexander was the representative of his own empire. The 
 principal obstruction to the continuance of hostile operations against 
 France was Bernadotte, the Crown Prince of Sweden. To force him 
 to an assent to the invasion of France, Lord Castlereagh threatened
 
 324 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON [1814 
 
 to witthold the monthly subsidies which England had granted. This 
 altered Bernadotte's tone, and he became a party forthwith to a com- 
 pact among the allied powers, signed at Chaumont on the 1st of 
 March, in which they bound themselves to maintain an army of 600,000 
 men (150,000 each. Great Britain at the same time contributing an 
 annual subsidy of 5,000,000/.) until Napoleon should agree to the re- 
 duction of France within her ancient limits — the formation of a fed- 
 erative union in Germany — the independence of Holland, Switzer- 
 land, and the lesser States of Italy — and the restoration of Spain and 
 Portugal under their ancient sovereigns. With regard to the re- 
 storation of the. Bourbons, the Congress determined to leave the 
 French people unconstrained. The treaty of Chaumont led to the 
 dissolution of the Congress at Chatillon, for all hopes of peace were 
 extinguished by Napoleon's determination to hold out for the frontier 
 of the Rhine. 
 
 Hostilities were now resumed. Marshal Bliicher pushed his forces 
 to Meaux in the direction of Paris, and General Sacken attacking 
 Meaux, the trembling inhabitants of the French capital distinctly 
 heard the Prussian cannon thundering in their neighbourhood. Bliichcrj 
 however, could not maintain his ground, for Napoleon was moving 
 on his rear. He therefore drew off his army to Soissons to form 
 a junction with Generals Winzingerode and Woronzow. Marshal 
 Oudinot, at the head of the French, came up with the troops of the 
 latter generals at Bas-sur-Aube, and a battle ensued on the 27th of 
 February, in which the French were compelled to give way before 
 superior numbers. Three days later, Oudinot being joined by Mar- 
 shal Macdonald, again offered battle to the allies, and with a heavy 
 loss was driven out of Troyes after a most gallant resistance. On 
 the 4th of March, Marshal Bliichcr formed a junction with Winzin- 
 gerode (who also had Bulow with him) after breaking down "all the 
 bridges on the Marne, and escaping Napoleon through the capitula- 
 tion of Soissons, which event made the passage clear between the 
 allied troops. 
 
 Napoleon endeavoured to retake Soissons by storm. In this he 
 failed. He next attacked the Prussians on the plateau of Craone, 
 and after a bloody encounter, only to be paralleled by Albuera and 
 Culm, the Ilussian and Prussian forces fell back towards Laon. 
 This victory, if it merits the name, cost the French 8000 men. A 
 brief respite, and then Napoleon advanced upon Laon and attacked 
 the allied forces posted there and in the vicinity, on the 10th of 
 March. He depended for a successful issue to the encounter on the 
 arrival of Marshal Marmont, but Marmont was surprised in his
 
 1814.] OPERATIONS IN HOLLAND. 325 
 
 bivouac by the Prussian corps of Zeithen and Prince William of 
 Prussia, and routed with the loss of 40 guns and 2500 prisoners. 
 Napoleon then drew off towards Soissons, after losing 6000 men 
 and 46 guns ; and had hardly reached the place when the news arrived 
 that Rheims had been captured by General St. Priest. With light- 
 ning speed he darted off to Rheims — assaulted and retook the town 
 with heavy loss to the allies — and then, on the 15th of March, held 
 his last review. The pitiable aspect of the troops — the broken ap- 
 pearance of the regiments — and the disordered state of the equipment, 
 conveyed to his mind in language not to be misinterpreted that his 
 sun was rapidly setting.* 
 
 Mention has been made of the disinclination of Lord Wellington, 
 to see the troops withdrawn from the south of France to operate in 
 Holland ; but the grounds of the wish of the British minister to as- 
 semble an army in the Low Countries are yet to be stated. 
 
 Down to the 15th of November, 1813, the United Dutch Prov- 
 inces had remained under the dominion of Napoleon Bonaparte. 
 On that day a counter-revolution broke out in part of the provinces ; 
 the people of Amsterdam rose in a body — proclaimed the House of 
 Orange with the old cry of Orange bovcn, and universally hoisted the 
 Orange colours. This example was immediately followed by the 
 other towns of the provinces of Holland and Utrecht, as Haul- 
 bern, Leyden, the Hague, Rotterdam, &c. The French authorities 
 were dismissed and a temporary government established and pro- 
 claimed in the name of the Prince of Orange, until the Prince, whose 
 son was then acting as aide-de-camp to Lord Wellington, should 
 arrive. The English were immediately invited to assist in placing the 
 Prince upon the throne, and the invitation being accepted, in the 
 month of January, Sir Thomas Graham, who had recently arrived in 
 England from the capture of San Sebastian, was despatched with 6000 
 men, to give countenance to the new revolution. But the expedition 
 was of little avail. In proportion as the cause of Napoleon waned 
 
 1 The tribute paid by Lockhart (Scott's Lite) to Napoleon's amazing activity of mind 
 and body, was not immerited. " Throughout this crisis of his history, it is impossible to survey 
 the rapid energy of Napoleon — his alert transitions from enemy to enemy ; his fearless assaults 
 on vastly superior numbers ; his imwearied resolution, and exhaustless invention — without the 
 highest admiration which can attend on a master of warfare. ... To complete our notions 
 of his energies— he had, through this, the most extraordinary of his campaigns, continued to con- 
 duct, from his perpetually changing head-quarters, the civil business of his empire. He occupied 
 himself largely with such matters, during his stay at Rheims; but it was there that the last de- 
 spatches from the Home Department at Paris were destined to reach him ; and before he could 
 return answers, there came courier upon courier with tidings which would have unnerved any 
 other mind, and which filled even his with perplexity."
 
 326 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON, . [1814- 
 
 the French armies augmented the stubbornness of their resistance. 
 General Bizarrct defeated Sir Thomas Graham with considerable 
 slaughter and the loss of many prisoners at Bergen-op-Zoom ; and 
 Carnot, the famous republican engineer, resisted all the efforts of the 
 British to take Antwerp. Marshal Davoust, the Prince d'Eckmuhl, 
 conducted also a resolute defence of Hamburgh, which will long be 
 remembered for the extremities to which the city was reduced. 
 Hamburgh, in fact, became a heap of ruins ; horses, dogs, the hides of 
 slaughtered animals, rats and offal of the most disgusting kind, were 
 used as food both by soldiers and citizens. Davoust fared as fared 
 his men, and resisted with heroic constancy and devotion the many 
 tempting offers and fierce threats that were alternately held out by 
 the enemy to induce him to surrender his trust. 
 
 After the battle of Orthes, Marshal Soult retreated towards 
 Tarbes, in order to secure a junction, if necessary, with Suchet in 
 Catalonia. He was followed by Beresford and Hill, the former 
 advancing by Mont de Marsan and the latter by Aire, where a short 
 affair,^ disastrous to the French, took place. The French at Aire 
 were well posted, but Hill saw the importance of instantly bringing 
 them to action, and sent De Costa's Portuguese to open the ball. 
 These were driven back in confusion, and the heavy French column 
 was on the point of taking advantage of their deroute^ when Sir 
 Rowland Hill detached General Byng's brigade to their relief. This 
 movement settled the fortune of the day — Byng gallantly charged the 
 enemy, and drove them from the field. Soult then abandoned the 
 town and the frontiers, and hastily crossed the Adour. 
 
 It was only two days after the affair at Aire that the Prince Regent 
 of Great Britain, ever generously watchful of the glorious career of 
 Wellington, granted him his permission to wear the insignia of the 
 Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Maria Theresa, bestowed by 
 Austria ; the Imperial Russian Military Order of St. George ; the 
 Royal Prussian Military Order of the Black Eagle, and the Royal 
 Swedish Military Order of the Sword. It was a most unquestionable 
 proof of the estimation in which the Northern allies held the services 
 of the British Field-Marshal that each should have evinced em- 
 pressement to do him honour. They felt that all the valour and 
 perseverance displayed in the North would have been as nothing, in 
 
 1 Three terms are used by Generals to denote the quality of a contest. A battle, a combat, 
 and an affair, represent the three degrees of importance. An affair means altogether a minor 
 matter, in which, though a large force may bo engaged, the duration of the contest is brief, and 
 th« Io«s trifliagv
 
 1814.] PASSAGE OF THE GARONNE 327 
 
 the general attempt to crush Napoleon, had not Spain been cleared 
 and the south of France occupied by the British. 
 
 The next measure of Lord Wellington was to invest Bayonne. 
 The necessary materiel for this enterprise was speedily obtained from 
 England through the port of Passages, and in the meanwhile Bordeaux 
 was left to the care of Lord Dalhousie, and Marshal Beresford was 
 recalled to the grand army with his corps. 
 
 Soult occupied positions on the right bank of the Adour, with ad- 
 vanced pickets on the town of Tarbes. On the 20th of March, Hill 
 drove in these pickets, while General Clinton with the 6th Division, 
 and General Ponsonby and Lord Edward Somerset crossed the river 
 between Vie Bigorse and Rabasters, with the view of turning the right 
 of the French, and so gaining Soult's rear. Soult saw his danger, 
 and, under the cover of the night, fell back upon Toulouse, destroy- 
 ing the bridges as he passed them. 
 
 The city of Toulouse is surrounded on three sides by the canal of 
 Languedoc and the river Garonne. The suburb to the left of the 
 river (called St. Cyprien) was fortified with strong field-works in 
 front of an ancient wall, and formed a good tete de pont. Each bridge 
 of the canal was likewise supplied with a tete de pont^ defended in 
 some places by musketry, and in all by the artillery on the ancient 
 wall. Beyond the canal to the eastward, and between that and the 
 river Ers, is a height which extends as far as Montaudran, and over 
 which pass all the approaches to the canal and town to the eastward, 
 which it defends. This height (called Calvinet) was additionally for- 
 tified with five redoubts connected by lines of entrenchments, and to 
 render the approach to Toulouse still more diflicult, Soult destroyed 
 all the bridges over the Ers within reach of the allied army. 
 
 In the beginning of April, Lord Wellington commenced operations 
 against Toulouse by forcing the passage of the Garonne, and by the 
 lOth of April he was prepared to attack the enemy in his very for- 
 midable positions. 
 
 The attack was commenced by Marshal Beresford, who, marching 
 over some very difiicult ground- carried the village of Montblanc. 
 General Don Freyre then moved forward with the Spanish corps under 
 his command, under a very heavy fire of both musketry and cannon, 
 and soon gained the heights of Pugade, where his men lodged them- 
 selves under some banks close to the enemy's entrenchments. They 
 then attempted the heights of Calvinet, but were driven back with 
 great loss. They rallied, but as they approached a hollow road which 
 lay in their path, the French poured upon them such a tremendous 
 fire that they fled in the utmost panic. Lord Wellington covered
 
 328 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 their flight with Ponsonby's cavalry and a heavy fire of reserve 
 artillery, which, joined to a threatened movement of the light division, 
 soon compelled their pursuers to retire. Meanwhile General Picton 
 had been ordered to make a false attack on the bridge of Jumeau, but 
 rashly leading his men across ground on which they were exposed to 
 a most awful fire, to reach works which could only be taken by 
 escalade, he 8ufi"ered a loss of 400 men, and a decisive repulse. Soult 
 had now only to improve the advantage thrown in his way, to have 
 secured a brilliant victory. In the interim, however, Beresford having 
 left his artillery at Montblanc, had been making with the 4th and 6th 
 Divisions a flank movement of two miles over marshy ground, never 
 out of cannon range, and often within musket-shot ; and having now 
 completed his dangerous and difl&cult march, he formed at the foot of 
 the French position, a height crowned by 14,000 infantry. Scarcely 
 were his preliminaries arranged when he was furiously attacked, but 
 a shower of rockets threw the French troops into disorder : a gallant 
 charge, and the hill was mounted, and two redoubts carried at the 
 bayonet's point. The combat was now suspended ; and, during the 
 truce, Soult reinforced his right with his reserves, and Beresford 
 received his artillery. About two o'clock, a Highland and a Portu- 
 guese brigade, which, on the failure of Freyre's opening attack, had 
 maintained their ground under cover of a hill, suddenly assaulted and 
 won the redoubts of Colombette and Calvinet, with the other defences 
 there. The French retorted by a murderous fire and a tremendous 
 onslaught, but though they regained Colombette, they could not 
 drive the Highlanders from the hill. The 6th Division now advanced, 
 and forced the enemy back, so that the whole hill was once more ia 
 the hands of the allies. Beresford had also gained the greatest part 
 of Mont Bave, and the battle was won — for Soult the next night 
 abandoned the town, now open to fire from the heights, and made a 
 forced march of twenty-two miles to Ville Franche. The losses on 
 both sides were very great. On the English 595 were killed, 4046 
 (including Generals Pack, Mendizabel, and Espelette) wounded, and 
 eighteen missing. Soult's loss might be a thousand less ; but he 
 left in the hands of the allies three generals (Harispe, St. Hilaire, 
 and Baurot), 1600 prisoners, eight cannon (one of which was taken 
 in the fight), and an immense magazine of stores of every description. 
 He had, in all, five generals disabled.' Amongst the British officers 
 killed in the desperate battle of Toulouse — the last fought during the 
 Peninsular War — Lord Wellington especially lamented Lieutenant- 
 
 1 * UniUxi Service Magazino."
 
 1814.] BATTLE OF TOULOUSE. 329 
 
 Colonel Coghlan of the 61st, and Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes of the 
 45th — officers of great merit. 
 
 On the 12th of April, Lord Wellington entered Toulouse in tri- 
 umph, the authorities declaring for the Bourbons, and the mob shout- 
 ing Vive notre Liber ateur ! On the evening of that day, Colonels 
 Cooke and St. Simon arrived at the allied head-quarters with intelli- 
 gence that, on the 3rd of April, hostilities between France and the 
 other Powers had ceased, and the war was virtually at an end, for 
 Napoleon Bonaparte had abdicated the throne of France.' 
 
 Marshal Soult was formally apprised of the abdication of Napoleon 
 on the night of the 13th. Indeed, it has been said that he was aware 
 of the abdication before the battle of Toulouse, and merely risked the 
 engagement in the hope of closing the war with the prestige of victory. 
 From this imputation, however, he was fully exonerated by Lord 
 Wellington, who proved to Soult's calumniators the physical impos- 
 sibility of his acquiring the information at that distance from Paris, 
 and in so short a time. But even when the news of the abdication 
 did come, Soult refused to give in his adhesion to the Bourbons, and 
 merely offered a suspension of hostilities. To this Lord Wellington 
 would by no means assent, and immediately commenced the pursuit 
 of the beaten divisions of the Marshal ; but Soult soon saw the utter 
 folly and inutility of continuing the contest, and in five days after- 
 wards halted his troops, and acknowledging the provisional govern- 
 ment, agreed upon a suspension of hostilities, to which Suchet, who 
 had joined him, became a party. The convention ran as follows : — 
 
 " Field Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, and the Marshals the 
 Duke of Dalmatia and the Duke of Albufera, being desirous of con- 
 sidering a suspension of hostilities between the armies under their re- 
 spective orders, and of agreeing upon a line of demarcation, have 
 named the undermentioned officers for that purpose; viz., on the part 
 of the Marquis of Wellington, Major-General Sir George Murray, 
 
 1 Intermediately, after the re-capture of Rheims, Napoleon's affairs had not prospered any- 
 where. Augereau languidly upheld his cause in Switzerland, and then retreated upon Lyons — 
 with, it is supposed, the treacherous intention of opeuiug the gates of that city to the Allies. 
 The Grand Army of the latter, forming a junction with Blucher and Bernadotte, pushed forward, 
 beating Napoleon at Acis-sur-Aube ; Marmont and Mortier, who had been left to confront the 
 enemy on the approaches to Paris, were compelled to retire, fighting fiercely ; and on the 29th of 
 March, the Prussians and Russians bivouacked on the banks of the Seine, within sight of Pans. 
 The Empress Maria Louisa and her son now fled, and Paris was placed in a state of defence, in 
 spite of a thousand declarations in favour of the Bourbons, by the middle and trading classes. 
 Marmont and Mortier, with only 25,000 men, vigorously defended the French capital, but were 
 compelled to succumb to superior numbers. A capitulation ensued. Napoleon hastened from 
 the field towards Paris, to resist the AUieSj but before he could arrive the capital was in their 
 possession. He then abdicated the throna
 
 330 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 and Major-General Don Luis Wimpffen, and on the part of the Duke 
 of Dalmatia and of the Duke of Albufera, the General of Division 
 Count Gazan. 
 
 " These officers having exchanged their full powers, have agreed 
 upon the following articles : — 
 
 " Art. 1st. — From the date of the present convention there shall be 
 a suspension of hostilities, between the allied armies under the orders 
 of Field Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, and the armies of 
 France, under the orders of Marshal the Duke of Dalmatia, and of 
 Marshal the Duke of Albufera. 
 
 "Art. 2nd. — Hostilities shall not be recommenced on either part 
 without a previous notice being given of five days. 
 
 "Art. 3rd. — The limits of the department Haute Garonne, with the 
 departments of Arriege, Aude, and Tarn, shall be the line of demar- 
 cation between the armies, as far as the town of Buzet on the river 
 Tarn. The line will then follow the course of the Saur to its junction 
 with the Garonne, making a circuit, however, on the left bank of the 
 Saur, opposite Montauban, to the distance of three quarters of a league 
 from the bridge of Montauban. From the mouth of the river Saur 
 the line of demarcation will follow the right bank of the Garonne, aa 
 far as the limits of the department of the Lot and Garonne, with the 
 department of La Gironde. It will then pass by La E-eole, Sanve* 
 terre, and Rauzan, to the Dordogne, and will follow the right hand of 
 that river, and of the Gironde, to the sea. In the event, however, of 
 a different line of demarcation having been already determined by 
 Lieutenant-General Dalhousie and General Decden, the line fixed 
 upon by those officers shall be adhered to. 
 
 " Art. 4th. — Hostilities shall cease also on both sides in regard to 
 the places of Bayonne, St. Jean de Pied de Port, Navarreins, Blaye, 
 and the castle of Lourdes. The governors of these places shall be 
 allowed to provide for the daily subsistence of the garrisons in the 
 adjacent country ; the garrison of Bayonne, with a circle of eight 
 leagues from Bayonne, and the garrisons of the other places named 
 within a circuit of three leagues round each place. Officers shall b6 
 sent to the garrisons of the above places to communicate to them the 
 terms of the present convention. 
 
 " Art. 5th. — The town and ports of Santona shall be evacuated by 
 the French troops, and made over to the Spanish forces. The French 
 garrison will remove with it all the property that properly belongs 
 to it, together with such arms, artillery, and otlier military effects as 
 have not been the property originally of the Spanish government. The 
 Marquis of Wellington will determine whether the French garrison
 
 1814.] SUSPENSION OF HOSTILITIES. S31 
 
 of Santona shall return to France by land or by sea, and, in either 
 case, the passage of the garrison shall be secured, and it will be 
 directed upon one of the places or ports most contiguous to the army 
 of the Duke of Dalmatia. 
 
 " The ships of war or other vessels now in the harbour of Santona, 
 belonging to France, shall be allowed to proceed to Kochefort with 
 passports for that purpose. The Duke of Dalmatia will send an 
 officer to communicate to the French General commanding in Santona 
 the terms of the present convention, and cause them to be complied 
 with. 
 
 " Art. 6th. — The fort of Venasque shall be made over as soon as 
 possible to the Spanish troops, and the French garrison shall proceed 
 by the most direct route to the head-quarters of the French army ; 
 the garrison will remove with it the arms and ammunition which are 
 originally French. 
 
 " Art. 7th. — The line of demarcation between the allied armies and 
 the army of Marshal Suchet, shall be the line of the portion of Spain 
 and France, from the Mediterranean to the limits of the department 
 of the Haute Garonne. 
 
 " Art. 8th. — The garrisons of all the places which are occupied by 
 the troops of the army of the Duke of Albufera, shall be allowed 
 to return without delay into France. These garrisons shall remove 
 with them all that properly belongs to them, as also the arms and 
 artillery which are originally French. 
 
 " The garrison of Murviedro and of Peniscola shall join the garrison 
 of Tortosa. and these troops will then proceed together by the great 
 road, and enter France by Perpignan. The day of the arrival of these 
 garrisons at Geuna, the fortresses of Fignuon and of Busas shall be 
 made over to the Spanish troops, and the French garrisons of these 
 places shall proceed to Perpignan. 
 
 " As soon as information is received of the French garrisons of 
 Murviedro, Peniscola, and Tortosa having passed the French frontier, 
 the place and ports of Barcelona shall be made over to the Spanish 
 troops, and the French garrisons shall march immediately for 
 Perpignan. The Spanish authorities will provide for the necessary 
 means of transport being supplied to the French garrisons on their 
 march to the frontier. The sick or wounded of any of the French 
 garrisons, who are not in a state to move with the troops, shall remain, 
 and be cured in the hospitals where they are, and will be sent mto 
 France as soon as they have recovered. 
 
 "Art. 9th. — From the date of the ratifications of the present 
 convention, there shall not be removed from Peniscola, Murviedro,
 
 532* LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1814, 
 
 Tortosa, Barcelona, or any of the other places, any artillery, arms 
 ammunition, or any other military effects belonging to the Spanish 
 government, and the provisions remaining at the evacuation of these 
 places shall be made over to the Spanish authorities. 
 
 " Art. 10th. — The roads shall be free for the passage of the couriers 
 through the cantonments of both armies, provided they are furnished 
 with regular passports. 
 
 "Art. nth. — During the continuance of the present convention 
 deserters from either army shall be arrested, and shall be delivered 
 up if demanded. 
 
 "Art. 12th. — The navigation of the Garonne shall be free from 
 Toulouse to the sea, and all boats in the service of either army 
 employed on the river, shall be allowed to pass unmolested. 
 
 " Art. 13th. — The cantonments of the troops shall be arranged, so 
 as to leave a space of two leagues at least between the quarters of 
 the different armies. 
 
 "Art. 14th. — The movements of troops for the establishment of 
 their cantonments shall commence immediately after the ratification 
 of the present convention. 
 
 " The ratification is to take place within twenty-four hours for the 
 army of the Duke of Dalmatia, and within forty-eight hours for the 
 army of the Duke of Albufera. 
 
 "Done in triplicate at Toulouse, on the eighteenth of April, 1814." 
 
 (Siffnei) G. MURRAY, M.-G., 
 &c., Q.-M.-G. . 
 
 (^pprouve) LE M. DUG D'- 
 ALBUFERA 
 
 I (Signed) LUIS WIMPFFEN, I (Signed) DE GAZAN, Le 
 Xefe deE.-M.-G.de ^ ■ ^. . . 
 
 Campana de los 
 exercitos Espanoles. 
 
 (Confirmed) WELLINGTON. 
 
 Lt.-G6nferal. 
 
 (Approuve) M. DUG DE DAL- 
 MATIE. 
 
 In publi.shing the foregoing convention to the army, the British 
 Field-Marshal took the opportunity of Congratulating the troops 
 upon the prospect of an honourable termination to their labours. 
 He thanked the generals, the officers, and soldiers for their uniform 
 gallantry and discipline in the field, and for their conciliatory conduct 
 towards the inhabitants, adding his hope that they would continue 
 the same good conduct while it might be necessary to detain them in 
 France, that they might leave the country with a lasting reputation 
 not less creditable to their gallantry and spirit in the field than 
 to their regularity and good conduct in quarters and in camp. 
 
 The same ignorance of what was passing in Paris, and caused the 
 battle of Toulouse, prevailed at Bayonne, and led on the 14th of 
 April to a needless waste of blood, which filled Lord Wellington
 
 1814.] SORTIE FROM BAYONNE. 333 
 
 with poignant regret. While Lieutenant-G-eneral Sir John Hope 
 was blockading the town, the garrison made a dashing sortie, and, 
 breaking through the allied line of investment, carried the village 
 of St. Etienne. The advanced pickets were promptly supported, and 
 the besiegers immediately recovered all their positions ; but not until 
 900 of the French had been placed liors de combat, and 600 of the 
 allies killed and wounded. The latter also lost 236 prisoners, among 
 whom was the brave Sir John Hope, the commander. Whilst bringing 
 up reinforcements to the deforced pickets, his horse was killed under 
 him, and he himself was wounded. Before he could extricate himself, 
 he was seized by a party of the enemy and carried away a prisoner. 
 
 It will surprise the English reader, not already versed in the 
 history of the Peninsular War, to learn that the battle of Toulouse 
 was claimed as a victory by the French, and that in long after years 
 the vanity of the nation was gratified by the grant of a sum of money 
 by the legislature in aid of a monument to be raised in honour of 
 the battle ! The grounds on which the claims rested were, the 
 repulse of Picton and the failure of Sir Kowland Hill to carry the 
 suburb. These, however, were only partial reverses, which, more or 
 less, distinguish every action. It is the upshot which determines 
 where the victory lies, and as Lord Wellington occupied Toulouse 
 within six-and-thirty hours after the battle, the French Marshal was 
 to all intents and purpose.? defeated. 
 
 The subject of the claims of the French to a " victory" at Toulouse 
 was ably discussed and disposed of in the Quarterly Review of 1838. 
 The astute reviewer showed that, although accidents certainly did 
 happen to the British army, such as the carrying away a bridge on the 
 Garonne after Beresford had passed it. Marshal Soult did not take 
 advantage of them ; and that if he had attempted to do so, the Duke 
 of Wellington was in a position to have thwarted him. " It was like 
 a game of chess — Soult, perhaps, might have taken Wellington's 
 knight, but Wellington, at the next move, would have taken his 
 queen, and checkmated him altogether." The reviewer further 
 established on the evidence of French writers, General de Vaudan- 
 court, a critic in the Revue du Midi, Marshal Suchet, Colonel La 
 Pena, and General de St. Denys, that the battle was, " beyond con- 
 tradiction, lost by Soult :" that, after the loss of Fort Sypiere, the 
 " prospect of victory was abandoned by the French ;" that Soult 
 himself admitted in letters that the communication with Montauban, 
 from which Lord Wellington '= cut him off," was of the greatest 
 importance to him ; that he was resolved to defend Toulouse '• at all 
 risks," because the preservation of the city was of tlie greatest
 
 384 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1814. 
 
 importance to him ; and yet that the enemy had succeeded in establishing 
 tJiemselves on the frontier he had occupied ; and that at last he found 
 himself under tlie 7iecessity of retiring from Toulouse before the 
 enemy, and did retire at a very rapid rate, full of apprehension of 
 being forced to fight for a passage to Ville Franche ! Finally, 
 Marshal Suchet speaks of the army under Soult as having been 
 ecrasee (destroyed) in a chapter of his Memoirs, written to defend 
 Soult. 
 
 But, after all, the proof of the victory lay in the result. If Lord 
 Wellington did not, by the valour and determination of his troops, 
 drive Soult out of Toulouse, why did the Marshal quit the town ?
 
 18U.1 
 
 CREATED A DUKE. 
 
 335 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 Lord Wellington created a Duke — Honoiirs to his Generals, Lords Combermere and Hill — The 
 Duke visits Paris and Madrid — Fresh Parliamentary grants — The Allied Sovereigns and their 
 Generals visit England— The Duke of Wellington also returns to England. 
 
 HE conclusion of the war in a manner 
 so honourable to the British and 
 allied arms, and with such apparent 
 definite results as the removal of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte to a little 
 island in the Mediterranean, dif- 
 fused universal happiness. Every 
 one concerned had done his part 
 nobly, and it was fully believed 
 that the restoration of the Bour- 
 bons, wrought by foreign arms, was 
 perfectly acceptable to the French 
 people. 
 
 To complete the honours which 
 the Prince Regent had delighted to bestow upon the man who had 
 led armies victoriously from the Tagus and the Douro to the 
 Garonne, in the presence of ten thousand difficulties, his Royal 
 Highness now advanced the Marquis of Wellington to the peerage 
 by the title of Marquis of Douro and Duke of Wellington. And 
 to impart all possible grace to this magnificence of reward, the 
 Prince at the same time conferred peerages on Sir John Hope, 
 Sir Thomas Graham, Sir Stapleton Cotton, Sir Rowland Hill, and 
 Sir W. Carr Beresford, who thus severally became Lords Niddry, 
 Lynedoch, Combermere, Hill, and Beresford. The Prince had pre- 
 viously shown some kindness to the Dowager Lady Morniugton, the 
 mother of the Duke of Wellington, upon the occasion of the battle 
 of Vittoria.
 
 336 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington was sensibly touched by the generosity 
 of the Prince — the rather that he always abstained from asking 
 for any favours for himself Excepting on one occasion, when we 
 find him protesting against the low salary of a Commander-in-Chief, 
 who. with 10/. per diem (reduced by income-tax and other charges to 
 eight guineas), was expected to keep up a good table, and dispense 
 money in charities, &c., he never complained of an inadequacy of 
 compensation. On the contrary, he allowed things to take their 
 course, and save when he bespoke distinctions for Sir R. Hill and Sir 
 Stapleton Cotton, he did not even venture to point out who should 
 be recompensed by the Sovereign for the services rendered under his 
 command. This did not spring from any want of generosity towards 
 his lieutenants, but from a deference to the supreme power of the 
 Monarch or his immediate locum tenens. It was when asked by 
 some one of high rank to solicit an honorary distinction for him, that 
 he wrote : — 
 
 " I have never interfered directly to procure for any officer, serving 
 under my command, those marks of his Majesty's favour by which 
 many have been honoured ; nor do I believe that any have ever 
 applied for them, or have hinted through any other quarter their 
 desire to obtain them. They have been conferred, as far as I have 
 any knowledge, spontaneously, in the only mode in my opinion in 
 which favours can be acceptable, or honours and distinction can be 
 received with satisfaction. The only share which I have had in these 
 transactions has been by bringing the merits and services of the 
 several officers of the army distinctly under the view of the Sovereign 
 and the public, in my reports to the Secretary of State ; and I am 
 happy to state, that no General in this army has more frequently 
 than yourself deserved and obtained this favourable report of your 
 services and conduct. 
 
 "It is impossible for me even to guess what are the shades of 
 distinction by which those are guided who advise the Prince Hegent 
 in the bestowing those honourable marks of distinction, and you will 
 not expect that I should enter upon such a discussion. What I 
 would recommend to you is, to express neither disappointment nor 
 wishes upon the subject, even to an intimate friend, much less to the 
 Government. Continue, as you have done hitherto, to deserve the 
 honourable distinction to which you aspire, and you may be certain 
 that, if the Government is wise, you will obtain it. If you should 
 not obtain it, you may depend upon it that there is no person of 
 whose good opinion you would be solicitous, who will think the worse 
 of you on that account.
 
 1814.] 
 
 LORD COMBERMERE. 
 
 337 
 
 "The comparison between myself, who have been the most 
 favoured of his Majesty's subjects, and you, will not be deemed 
 quite correct ; and I advert to my own situation only to tell you, 
 that I recommend to you conduct which I have always followed. 
 Notwithstanding the numerous favours that I have received from the 
 Crown, I have never solicited one ; and I have never hinted, nor 
 would any one of my friends or relations venture to hint for me, a 
 desire to receive even one ; and much as I have been favoured, the 
 consciousness that it has been given spontaneously by the King and 
 Regent, gives me more satisfaction than anything else, 
 
 " I recommend to you the same conduct and patience ; and, above 
 all, resignation, if, after all, you should not succeed in acquiring what 
 you wish ; and I beg you to recall your letters, which you may be 
 certain will be of no use to you." 
 
 Those who have followed the fortunes of Wellington, as detailed in 
 
 LOED COMBERMEEE. 
 
 the foregoing pages, will have met with the names of the five generals, 
 who now received peerages, often enough to be assured that they had
 
 338 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 well earned the titles bestowed on them. Lord Combermere was 
 particularly deserving of favour. lie had led the young and inex- 
 perienced cavalry of Great Britain and the allies against the admir- 
 ably-trained Dragoons and Cuirassiers of France, and was almost 
 always successful in his charges. His previous service in Flanders 
 and in India had given him considerable experience under the eye of 
 Wellington and Lake ; and at a very early period in the Peninsula, 
 Wellington deemed him so deserving of advancement that he applied 
 to have liim promoted to Lieutenant-General in Portugal, and, after 
 Salamanca, begged for a red ribbon on his behalf 
 
 Of Lord Hill's character, mention has already been made. No 
 General was ever more beloved. He always led his divisions to 
 victory ; always had care for his men and officers in quarters ; always 
 conducted his marches with skill, ensuring safety. And the troops 
 recognised his interest in them by exemplary conduct, devotion to 
 his will, and an anxiety to do him honour on all possible occasions. 
 A story is extant that when the 28th Regiment was quartered at 
 Galisteo, four leagues from Coria, in May, 1813, they determined to 
 celebrate the second anniversary of the battle of Albuera by giving a 
 dinner to their beloved chief This, in a camp on such service, was 
 not a very easy matter ; but what cannot Englishmen do when 
 prompted by a noble enthusiasm ? They had neither chairs nor 
 tables — two very important accessories to dinners in general, — and 
 they therefore hit upon the expedient of making Nature supply their 
 places. The softest and most even piece of turf that could be found 
 was selected, and on this Lieutenant Irwin, of the Engineers, marked 
 out the length and breadth of a table required for one hundred guests, 
 for the staff of the Second Division were invited to the banquet as 
 well as the General. The turf was pared off, and a trench dug 
 round outlines large enough for the company. The table was formed 
 in the centre, and the sods and mould duly levelled and excavated to 
 give ample room for the legs ; and then the green turf was once more 
 gently laid on, and supplied the place of the table-cloth. Each officer 
 invited was desired to bring his own knife, fork, and plate, and not to 
 be particular about having them changed. The cookery was of the 
 substantial order — the heavy artillery of the field cuisme. There 
 were ponderous joints roasted, and ponderous joints boiled. There 
 was soup in abundance, in which the shreds of meat gave assurance 
 that it was, at least, unsparingly concocted. There were pies baked 
 in camp-kettles turned upside-down, of dimensions and quality 
 Friar Tuck would not have disdained. " Then came the cordial 
 welcome of the chief guest — the man who never had an enemy but
 
 1814] THE DUKE'S EMBASSY TO PARIS. 339 
 
 on public grounds, whose bland smiles set the company at ease, while 
 his genuine dignity prevented in his presence every word and every 
 act that did not perfectly become it." ' 
 
 Lord Hill had a very narrow escape of being killed at the close of 
 the war. While engaged in a reconnoissance at St. Palais, in 
 company with Lord Wellington, a shot from a French battery killed 
 the horse on which Lord Hill was mounted. Both horse and rider 
 fell, the latter quite stunned, but sustaining no serious injury. The 
 escape was wonderful ; for the ball struck the horse's shoulder, passed 
 through his body, and between the knees of Lord (then Sir Rowland) 
 Hill. 
 
 The new relations with France rendered the despatch of a British 
 Ambassador to the French Court indispensable, and Lord Castlereagh, 
 who justly estimated the worth and talents of the Duke of Wellington, 
 oflFered him the appointment. Preparatory to accepting it, the Duke 
 wished to pay a visit to Paris. There were of course some consid 
 erations of delicacy influencing the mind of the illustrious warrior. 
 Would the presence of the conqueror of the French legions be 
 acceptable to the French people, whose minds had for years been 
 prejudiced against him by the lying newspapers of Paris — by the 
 published sneers of Napoleon — and the eflForts of the caricaturists? 
 Would he not be an eye-sore to those who identified him only as the 
 author of their own humiliation ? These were grave matters of 
 reflection, and to the generous mind of Wellington they addressed 
 themselves forcibly. On the other hand, would not the presence, 
 in a friendly capacity, of the recent enemy of France — as repre- 
 sented by NapoIeorCs tyranny^ and by that alone — offer a guarantee 
 of the perfect amity which had now been established between the 
 thrones of France and England, and offer a proof of the confidence of 
 the Ambassador in the chivalry of the nation whose armies he had so 
 long and so successfully opposed? Wellington could only appear 
 in Paris either in the offensive character of a conqueror, or in the 
 agreeable position of the representative of a Monarch whose soldiers 
 had contributed to restore peace to the land which Napoleon's ag- 
 gressions and thirst of conquest had drained of its resources. He 
 would not go in the former capacity — he did not think that he would 
 be obnoxious in the latter. Thus reasoning, and influenced by hia 
 duty to the Prince Regent, he decided to accept the embassy, and ac- 
 cordingly set out to pay his respects to the King, Louis XVIII. He 
 was very graciously received, and became an object of much curiosity 
 among the Parisians. The allied sovereigns were also marked in 
 
 • 1 " Life of Lord Hill."
 
 340 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1814. 
 
 their attentions to him. His stay, however, was very brief, for his 
 services were required for a short period at Madrid. 
 
 Restored to his throne unshackled by the conditions Napoleon 
 sought to impose, the King, Ferdinand VII., looked for counsel, in 
 the difl&cult position in which he found himself after so long an 
 absence, from the mighty soldier who had paved the way for his 
 restoration; and the Duke of Wellington, believing it to be his 
 duty, while yet holding office under the Spanish government, to 
 afford all the aid that might be required of him, did not delay to join 
 the King. Much anarchy and confusion prevailed in the Spanish 
 councils. Split into parties, the Cortes distracted themselves with a 
 multitude of amateur " constitutions," and none of these crotchets 
 seemed to promise a continuance of peace, or to promote the happi- 
 ness of the nation. This division was not to be wondered at. The 
 nation had been engaged in one of the most terrible and disastrous 
 contests by which any country was ever afflicted; its territory had 
 been occupied by the enemy, society torn to pieces by internal 
 dissensions, its ancient constitution destroyed, without being replaced, 
 its marine, its commerce, and revenue utterly annihilated ; its colonies 
 cast into a state of rebellion, and its credit with other countries 
 shaken to the brink. To devise a plan for restoring the country to 
 its pristine tranquillity, and to reduce the political agitators and 
 antagonists to moderation, was the task which Ferdinand committed 
 to the Duke of Wellington. His Grace's scheme, developed in a state 
 paper of remarkable clearness, was submitted to the King during his 
 stay at Madrid, It was fraught with wise suggestions and marked by 
 the candour and straight-forwardness which were alike conspicuous 
 in his diplomatic and military passages. Ferdinand seized the first 
 opportunity after the Duke's arrival of confirming all the honours 
 conferred upon him by the Regency and the Cortes ; but this act of 
 grace did not deter Wellington from the frank expression of his 
 sentinients. He advised the King to look at the geographical 
 position and topographical peculiarities of Spain, and to be content 
 to confine the nation within its natural limits. He showed that 
 Spain had benefited but little by the possession of anything beyond 
 the boundaries which Nature had prescribed. The branches of the 
 Royal House, established in Italy and elsewhere, had only adhered to 
 Spain when the adhesion was likely to be beneficial to themselves. 
 It was, therefore, the true policy of the government to attend only 
 to the internal interests of the country, especially as the then state 
 of Europe rendered a long peace probable. Giving the King credit, 
 then, for a desire to ameliorate the internal situation of his kingdom,
 
 1814.] ADVICE TO THE KING OF SPAIN. 341 
 
 to restore its marine, its commerce, and its revenue, and the settle- 
 ment of its colonies, the Duke proceeded to examine 'which of the 
 two powers, France or Great Britain, would be the most desirable 
 ally in assisting the King to restore his monarchy to its ancient 
 splendour. He at once decided that France, from her crippled condi- 
 tion and the injuries she had inflicted on the Spanish people, would 
 be both useless and unpopular. To preserve a commerce with Great 
 Britain was obviously a measure of policy ; for not only would it be 
 the most profitable, because Great Britain consumed in a greater 
 degree than other countries those articles in which the riches of Spain 
 principally consisted, but because the manufactures of Great Britain, 
 from their cheapness, would bear, on importation, larger duties than 
 those of any other country. The Duke of Wellington always 
 plumed himself a little on his capacity to fill the office of Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer, and in this advice he vindicated his claim to be 
 regarded as a financier. He further urged the policy of a strict 
 alliance with Great Britain, as the only means of settling the Spanish 
 colonies an-d adjusting satisfactorily the disputes with the United 
 States, who had unjustifiably seized some part of the Spanish colonies, 
 and aided and abetted the others in rebellion. Glancing at the 
 financial condition of Spain, the Duke pointed out that everything 
 was in disorder, and the revenue unproductive, the army in arrears, 
 and the means of maintaining a body of troops inadequate. From 
 Great Britain alone was pecuniary aid to be expected, but the Duke 
 honestly told the King that this would not be granted unless he 
 adhered to the promises he had made to his subjects on his restora- 
 tion, and would release the numerous innocent prisoners who had 
 been arrested for alleged political ofi'ences, and subject the presumably 
 guilty to judicial trials. The Duke wound up his able memorandum 
 in these words : — 
 
 " Great Britain is materially interested in the prosperity and great- 
 ness of Spain, and a good understanding and close alliance with Spain 
 is highly important to her, and she will make sacrifices to obtain it ; 
 and there is no act of kindness which may not be expected from such 
 an ally. But it cannot be expected from Great Britain that she will 
 take any steps for the firm establishment of a government which she 
 still sees in a fair way of connecting itself with her rival, and of 
 eventually becoming her enemy. Like other nations she must, by 
 prudence and foresight, provide for her own interests by other modes, 
 if circumstances should prevent his Majesty froiH connecting himself 
 with Great Britain, as it appears by the reasoning in this memorandum 
 is desirable to him."
 
 342r LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 A few days later the Duke offered the Spanish Minister of War his 
 advice as to the best method of organising the Spanish infantry, and 
 then resigning his ofl&ce of Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish army, 
 he returned to France. 
 
 Peace had been signed at Paris on the 30th of May. Considering 
 the relative positions of France and the other parties to the treaty, 
 who occupied Paris as conquerors, the treaty was exceedingly moderate 
 — nay, generous — in its provisions. It restored to France, with slight 
 exceptions, the possessions which she held in 1792, and placed the 
 boundaries of the kingdom nearly where they were. Such points as 
 could not be readily adjusted at the moment were referred to a Con- 
 gress of Sovereigns, to be thereafter held at Vienna, and the allied 
 troops immediately began to evacuate France. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington took leave of the army at Bordeaux, on 
 the 14th of June, publishing the following General Order on his 
 departure : — ■ 
 
 " The Commander of the Forces being on the point of returning to 
 England, again takes this opportunity of congratulating the army upon 
 the recent events, which have restored peace to their country, and to 
 the world. 
 
 " The share which the British army have had in producing these 
 events, and the high character with which the army will quit this 
 country, must be equally satisfactory to every individual belonging to 
 it as they are to the Commander of the Forces ; and he trusts that the 
 troops will continue the same good conduct to the last. 
 
 " The Commander of the Forces once more requests the army to 
 accept his thanks. 
 
 " Although circumstances may alter the relations in which he has 
 stood towards them for some years so much to his satisfaction, he 
 assures them he will never cease to feel the warmest interest in their 
 welfare and honour, and that he will be at all times happy to be of 
 any service to those, to whose conduct, discipline and gallantry, their 
 country is so much indebted." 
 
 The Duke, personally bidding farewell to the principal officers, im- 
 mediately embarked in H.M.'s sloop of war the Rosario, and, sailing 
 for England, reached Dover on the 23rd of June. The salute fired 
 by the sloop announced the valuable freight she bore. Immediately 
 the yards of all the vessels in Dover harbour were manned, and the 
 launch of the Nymjjhcn frigate was sent to convey on shore the 
 "hero of a hundred fights." The guns along the heights -and the 
 adjoining batteries thundered their welcome to the incomparable 
 soldier; and the news of his arrival spreading like wildfire
 
 1814.] ROYAL VISITORS IN ENGLAND. 343 
 
 thousands of persons assembled at the pier-heads and along the shore 
 to greet him with their cheers. A carriage stood at the pier to 
 convey him to the Ship Inn ; but "Wellington's foot was scarcely on 
 the shore, when he was lifted on to the shoulders of an enthusiastic 
 crowd and borne to his destination amidst the iterated cheers of the 
 populace. 
 
 A fortnight previous to the arrival of the Duke, the Emperor of 
 Russia, the King of Prussia, the sons, brother, and nephew of the 
 latter, the Grand Duchess of Oldenburgh, the sister of the Emperor ; 
 Marshal Bliicher; the Hetman of the Cossacks, Platoff; the Prince 
 of Orange, and a great many more princes and members of illustrious 
 foreign Houses, had arrived in England on a visit to the Prince 
 Regent ; and numerous appropriate fetes at Carlton Palace, the 
 Guildhall, the parks, &c., had been given in their honour. Public 
 enthusiasm was raised to a high pitch of effervescence. The Royal 
 visitors were the objects of great curiosity. The Duchess of Olden- 
 burgh gave a fashion to bonnets ; Platoff and his attendant Cossacks 
 were followed by crowds, and the trousers of the fierce horsemen of 
 the Don and the Volga were universally adopted by the petits 
 mditres of the day. But, perhaps, the visitor who attracted the 
 largest share of notice was the veteran soldier, Bliicher. For many 
 months his deeds of heroism and undaunted perseverance in the war 
 with Napoleon, had been in the mouths of thousands, and England 
 now panted to mark her admiration by the cheers which accompanied 
 his progress whenever he moved abroad. Marshal Prince Bliicher, 
 Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian army, was no common man. 
 Born in 1742, at his father's country-seat in Pomerania, he served 
 from his fifteenth year, beginning his military career in the " Seven 
 Years' "War," under the patronage and command of the celebrated 
 Zeiten, the friend and favourite of Frederic the Great. Ardent from 
 infancy, Bliicher preferred the cavalry and entered into the regiment 
 of Red Hussars, which had acquired peculiar distinction for its bravery 
 on different occasions, but particularly for defeating the French in 
 the memorable battle of Rosbach. Tn this regiment he continued 
 nearly twenty years, when he took offence at the promotion over him 
 of a junior officer. Superior influence caused his remonstrances to 
 be disregarded ; irritated at the injustice, he challenged the favoured 
 youngster — a duel took place ; and Bliicher, in disgust, demanded 
 and received his discharge. After this he lived some years in retire- 
 ment, occupying himself in the cultivation of his paternal estates, 
 which were tolerably extensive. In this seclusion he became par- 
 ticularly partial to literature and the arts. Bliicher did not remain
 
 344 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1814. 
 
 unknown to the different administrations of the Prussian government 
 while absent from his profession ; but the stern and unforgiving 
 disposition of the sovereign caused him to repel all attempts of the 
 friends .of Bliicher to procure his restoration to the service. He, 
 however, regularly appeared as a spectator at the grand annual 
 reviews, and at one of these, after the death of Frederic II., he was 
 noticed by Frederic William III., who restored him to his rank. 
 From this period he began to ascend most rapidly to eminence. He 
 very soon obtained a squadron in his old regiment of hussars. The 
 
 MARSHAL PEINCE BLUCHEE. 
 
 Colonel not long after died, and Bliicher obtained his rank. He 
 now came into perpetual service, his regiment being under the 
 orders of the Duke of Brunswick ; whose name and deeds are 
 familiar to this hour on the banks of the Rhine, where he distin- 
 guished himself in the revolutionary campaigns. The various attacks 
 which he made were all similar and characteristic. It was his plan 
 vO rush upon the enemy with irresistible impetuosity, to retire on
 
 1814.] MARSHAL PRINCE BLUCHER. 345 
 
 meeting with serious opposition ; to place himself at a distance and 
 minutely observe the enemy's movements, to take advantage of every 
 indication of weakness and disorder by a new attack, and then to 
 dart upon his opponents with the rapidity of lightning, cut his way 
 into the ranks, make a few hundred prisoners, and retire again. 
 This was the usual manoeuvre of Blucher, who, by such a mode of 
 warfare, acquired considerable reputation, particularly at Hientveller. 
 When the French invaded Prussia, in the year 1806, Blucher was fore- 
 jQOSt in opposing their progress through Westphalia, whence ho made 
 * masterly retreat in the face of GO, 000 French, his own force being 
 only 20,000. At the battle of Auerstadt, in 1806, Blucher very 
 nighly distinguished himself; and although he differed from the 
 Duke of Brunswick respecting the time and mode of attack, he 
 showed the most consummate generalship and determined bravery 
 during the whole of that memorable action. At the battle of 
 Preutzlau, where he likewise very much signalised himself, he had 
 the command of the cavalry, under Prince Hohenlohe Ingelfingen. 
 He also signalised himself by a gallant charge of the French at Frank- 
 enhausen ; but as their numbers were irresistible, Blucher was 
 obliged to retreat, which he did in admirable order, and threw him- 
 self into Lubec, where he was besieged by the French, who summoned 
 him to surrender, but with his characteristic bravery he replied in 
 these remarkable words — " Ich wercle mich nicht crgeben bis ich 
 meinen letztcn Bhdstropfen verlohrcn habe !" i. e. " I will not sur- 
 render till I have lost the last drop of my blood !" The French, 
 however, with an overwhelming force, stormed the city and took it, 
 after a most gallant resistance. Blucher was made prisoner, but 
 shortly after exchanged for Marshal Victor, Duke of Belluno. He 
 then returned to Konigeburgh, and was soon afterwards sent by sea, 
 at the head of a division to Swedish Pomerania, in order to assist in 
 the defence of Stralsund, and generally to support the operations of 
 the Swedes ; but the peace of Tilsit rendered his farther operations 
 unnecessary, and he once more retired to Prussian Pomerania, the site 
 of his birth. 
 
 After the unfortunate engagement near Halle, in October, 1806, 
 in which Bernadotte commanded, and which ended in the 
 capitulation of the Prussian army, under Prince Hohenlohe, 
 General Blucher, by a ruse de guerre, succeeded in saving the 
 5000 men under his command. He was separated from the 
 main body of the army by General Klein, to whom he sent 
 a message, stating that an armistice was concluded for six 
 months. This the general believed, and Blucher's division was
 
 346 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 consequently saved. After the peace of Tilsit he remained in appa- 
 rent inactivity, till the unexpected and important defection of General 
 Von Yorck gave the signal for a general insurrection in the Prussian 
 States against the French. Immediately after this event, we find 
 the veteran availing himself of every opportunity for vengeance. 
 By the end of the year 1812, he had raised a corps of volunteers, 
 composed of youths of the first families in Prussia, who rushed to 
 range themselves under his banner, and at the revival of the cam- 
 paign, we find him holding the important rank of Commander-in-Chief 
 of the Prussian army, which when united with certain divisions of 
 Austrians and Russians, was termed, froni the site of its operations, 
 the army of Silesia. Blucher had two sons, both men of distinguish- 
 ed bravery and abilities. The eldest signalised himself materially 
 in the campaign in Germany, in 1813, by destroying, — in the rear 
 of the French army, just at the time when the armistice in September 
 was concluded, — a large park of artillery and ammunition. Bona- 
 parte ordered a detachment against him, by whom he was captured 
 after a brave resistance. He was soon, however, exchanged for an 
 ofiicer of equal rank, but unfortunately he fell sick and died in a few 
 days. He was colonel of a regiment of Prussian hussars. His 
 brother was then a major in the light cavalry, under the immediate 
 orders of his father. The sequel to Blucher's career down to this 
 point has been described in the brief notices of the operations of the 
 northern allies in 1812-13. 
 
 At the moment when Wellington set foot in England, the allied 
 sovereigns were at Portsmouth with the Prince Regent, attending a 
 grand naval review. The Duke immediately proceeded to Portsmouth 
 to pay his respects to his Royal Highness, who, on returning to his 
 hotel after the review, met and embraced the British chief. The in- 
 stant it was known at Portsmouth that the Duke of Wellington had 
 arrived, the royal visitors ceased to be objects of attraction. The 
 hero of Salamanca and Vittoria, the Pyrenees and Toulouse, became 
 the cynosure of all eyes. Every man, woman, and child sought to 
 behold him, and to swell the sound of general welcome with their 
 voices. At dinner that evening, the Duke enjoyed the highest post 
 of honour ; and Regent, Emperor, and King felt themselves flattered 
 that they sat at table with one whose purity of character was on a 
 level with his military greatness. The town was brilliantly illumin- 
 ated, and for some hours after midnight the people walked the streets, 
 congratulating each other that they had lived not merely to see peace 
 established, but to look upon its illustrious author. 
 
 Proceeding to Loudon, the Duke of Wellington was hailed with
 
 1814.] WELLINGTON IN LONDON. 347 
 
 enthusiastic and grateful acclamations by the myriads who poured 
 out to line his path wherever he went. Coriolanus, after fluttering the 
 Volscians at Corioli, did not receive a more cordial welcome. 
 
 " All tongues spahe of him, and the bleared sights 
 Were spectacled to see him . . . 
 
 . . . Stalls, bulks, windows. 
 Were smothered up, leads filled, and ridges horsed 
 With variable complexion ; all agreeing 
 In earnestness to see him . . . 
 
 The matrons flung their gloves, 
 Ladies and maids their scarfs and handkerchiefs 
 Upon him as he passed ; the nobles bended 
 As to Jove's statue ; and the commoners made 
 A shower of thunder with their caps and shouts." 
 
 But gratifying as may have been those symptoms of popular admi- 
 ration and thankfulness, it was from Parliament that the Duke was 
 to receive the substantial reward of his great service. 
 
 The 28th of June was fixed upon for his formal reception. The 
 Lord Chancellor having taken his seat, the Duke of Wellington, 
 attired as a Field Marshal, with the addition of his robes, was intro- 
 duced, supported by the Dukes of Richmond and Beaufort, also in 
 military uniform, and in their ducal robes. Having arrived in the 
 body of the House, the Duke made the usual obeisance to the Lord 
 Chancellor, and showed his patent and right of summons, as Baron 
 and Viscount, Earl, Marquis, and lastly Duke, which were each read 
 by the clerks. The oaths were then administered, and the Test Bolls 
 having been signed by him, the Duke, accompanied by his noble 
 supporters, took his seat on the Dukes' bench, and saluted the House 
 in the usual manner, by rising, taking off his hat, and bowing 
 respectfully.' 
 
 The Lord Chancellor then rose, and pursuant to their lordships' 
 order, addressed his Grace : — 
 
 " My Lord Duke of Wellington, 
 
 " I have received the commands of this House, which, I am 
 persuaded, has witnessed with infinite satisfaction your Grace's per- 
 sonal introduction into this august assembly, to return your Grace 
 the thanks and acknowledgments of this House, for your great and 
 eminent services to your King and country. 
 
 " In the execution of these commands, I cannot forbear to call the 
 especial attention of all who hear me to a fact in your Grace's life, 
 
 1 "Annals of Parliament.''
 
 •548 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 singular, I believe, in the history of the country, and infinitely 
 honourable to your Grace, that you have manifested, upon your first 
 entrance into this House, your right, under various grants, to all the 
 dignities in the peerage of this realm which the Crown can confer. 
 These dignities have been conferred at various periods, but in the 
 short compass of little more than four years, for great public services, 
 occurring in rapid succession, claiming the favour of the Crown, in- 
 fluenced by its sense of justice to your Grace and the country ; and 
 on no one occasion in which the Crown has thus rewarded your merits 
 have the Houses of Parliament been inattentive to your demands 
 upon the gratitude of the country. Upon all such occasions they have 
 oflfered to your Grace their acknowledgments and thanks, the highest 
 honours they could bestow. 
 
 " I decline all attempts to state your Grace's eminent merits in 
 your military character ; to represent those brilliant actions, those 
 illustrious achievements, which have attached immortality to the 
 name of "Wellington, and which have given to this country a degree 
 of glory unexampled in the annals of this kingdom. In thus acting, 
 I believe I best consult the feelings which evince your Grace's title 
 to the character of a truly great and illustrious man. 
 
 '•' My duty to this House cannot but make me most anxious not to 
 fall short of the expectation which the House may have formed as to 
 the execution of what may have been committed to me on this great 
 occasion ; but the most anxious consideration which I have given to 
 the nature of that duty has convinced me that I cannot more 
 effectually do justice to the judgment of the House, than by referring 
 your Grace to the terms and language in which the House has so 
 repeatedly expressed its own sense of the distinguished and consum- 
 mate wisdom and judgment, the skill and ability, the prompt energy, 
 the indefatigable exertion, the perseverance, the fortitude, and the 
 valour, by which the victories of Vimiero, Talavera. Salamanca, and 
 Vittoria were achieved ; by which the deliverance of Portugal was 
 effectuated ; by which the ever memorable establishment of the allied 
 armies on the frontiers of France was accomplished ; armies pushing 
 forward, in the glory of victory at Orthes, to the occupation of 
 Bordeaux. 
 
 " These achievements, in their immediate consequences infinitely 
 beneficial to the common cause, have, in their final results, secured 
 the peace, prosperity, and glory of this country ; whilst your Grace's 
 example has animated to great exertions the other nations of Europe, 
 exertions rescuing them from tyranny, and restoring them to inde 
 pendence, by which there has been ultimately established among all
 
 1814.] IBANKS OF PARLIAMENT. 849 
 
 the nations of Europe that balance of power which, giving sufficient 
 strength to every nation, provides that no nation shall be too strong. 
 
 " I presume not to trespass upon the House by representing the 
 personal satisfaction which I have derived from being the honoured 
 instrument of conveying to your Grace the acknowledgments and 
 thanks of this House upon every occasion upon which they have been 
 offered to your Grace, or by endeavouring to represent the infinite 
 gratification which I enjoy in thus offering, on the behalf of the House, 
 on this day, to your Grace in person, those acknowledgments and 
 those thanks. Your Grace is now called to aid hereafter, by your 
 wisdom and judgment, the great council of that nation, to the peace, 
 prosperity, and glory of which your Grace has already so essentially 
 contributed ; and I tender your Grace, now taking your seat in this 
 House, in obedience to its commands, the thanks of the House in the 
 words of its resolution : — 
 
 " ' That the thanks of this House be given to Field-Marshal the 
 Duke of Wellington, on his return from his command abroad, for his 
 eminent and unremitting service to his Majesty and to the public' " 
 
 The Duke answered the address to the following effect : — 
 
 " My Lords, — I have to perform a duty to which I feel myself very 
 inadequate, to return your lordships my thanks for the fresh mark of 
 your approbation of my conduct, and of your favour. 
 
 '•' I assure your lordships that I am entirely overcome by the honours 
 which have been conferred upon me, and by the favour with which I 
 have been received in this country by the Prince Regent, by your 
 lordships, aud by the public. 
 
 " In truth, my lords, when I reflect upon the advantages which I 
 enjoyed in the confidence reposed in me, and the support afforded by 
 the Government, and by H. R. H. the Commander-in-Chief, in the 
 cordial assistance which I invariably received upon all occasions from 
 my gallant friends, the general officers of the army, who are an honour 
 to the country — the gallantry aud discipline of the troops, and in the 
 manner in which I was encouraged and excited to exertion by the 
 protection and gracious favour of the Prince, I cannot but consider 
 that, however great the difficulties with which I had to contend, the 
 means to contend with them were equal to overcome them ; and I am 
 apprehensive that I shall not be found so deserving of your favour as I 
 wish. 
 
 " If, however, my merit is not great, my gratitude is unbounded ; 
 and I can only assure your lordships that you will always find me
 
 860 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLTNGTOK [1814 
 
 ready to serve his Majesty to the utmost of my ability in any 
 capacity in which my services can be at all useful to this great 
 country." 
 
 His Grace then retired to unrobe, re-entered the House, for a few 
 minutes sitting on the extremity of one of the benches, and then took 
 his departure for the evening. 
 
 Three days after this ceremonial, the House of Commons offered 
 the Duke a similar tribute. In the middle of May the House, in 
 consequence of a message from the Prince Regent intimating that he 
 had conferred the rank and title of a Duke and a Marquis on "Well- 
 ington, and recommending the grant to him of an annuity that would 
 enable him to support the high dignity of the title, granted the sum of 
 400.000/., ncmine dissentiente. On the 27th of June the House of 
 Commons resolved further to honour the Duke, by '• paying him the 
 highest tribute of respect and applause that it was possible to bestow 
 on a subject — that of its thanks," accompanied by a deputation to 
 congratulate him on his return to England. The Duke fixed upon 
 the 1st of July to receive the compliment. 
 
 At about a quarter before five, says the precise Annual Register, 
 the Spoaker being dressed in his official robes, and the House being 
 crowded with members, some of them in military and naval uniforms, 
 and many in the Court dresses in which they had been attending the 
 Speaker with an address to the , Prince Regent on the peace, the 
 House was acquainted that the Duke of Wellington was in waiting. 
 His admission being resolved, and a chair being set for him on the 
 left hand of the bar. towards the middle of the House, his Grace 
 entered, making his obeisances, while all the members rose from their 
 seats. The Speaker then informing him that a chair was placed for 
 his repose, he sat down in it for some time covered, the Sergeant 
 standing on his right hand with the mace grounded, and the members 
 resumed their scats. 
 
 He then rose, and spoke, uncovered, to the following eflfect : — 
 
 "Mr. Speaker, — I was anxious to be permitted to attend this 
 House, in order to return my thanks in person for the honour they 
 have done mc in deputing a committee of their members to congratu- 
 late me on my return to this country ; and this, after the House had 
 animated my exertions by their applause upon every occasion which 
 appeared to merit their approbation, and after they had filled up the 
 measure of their favours by conferring upon me, at the recommenda- 
 tion of the Prince Regent, the noblest gift that any subject had ever 
 received.
 
 1814, J THA2TKS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 351 
 
 " I hope it will not be deemed presumptuous in me to take this op- 
 portunity of expressing my admiration of the great efforts made by 
 this House, and the country, at a moment of unexampled pressure 
 and difficulty, in order to support the great scale of operations by 
 which the contest was brought to so favourable a termination. By the 
 wise policy of Parliament, the Government was enabled to give the 
 necessary support to the operations which were carried on under my 
 direction ; and I was encouraged, by the confidence reposed in me by 
 His Majesty's Ministers, and by the Commander-in-Chief, by the gra- 
 cious favour of H.R.H. the Prince Regent, and by the reliance which 
 I had on the support of my gallant friends, the general officers of the 
 army, and on the bravery of. the officers and troops, to carry out the 
 operations in such a manner as to acquire for me those marks of the 
 approbation of this House, for which I have now the honour to make 
 my public acknowledgments. 
 
 " Sir, it is impossible for me to express the gratitude which I feel ; 
 I can only assure the House that 1 shall always be ready to serve His 
 Majesty in any capacity in which my services can be deemed useful, 
 with the same zeal for my country, which has already acquired for me 
 the approbation of this House." 
 
 This speech was received with loud cheers, at the end of which the 
 Speaker, who had sat covered during its delivery, rose, and thus ad- 
 dressed his Grace : — 
 
 " My Lord, — Since last I had the honour of addressing you from 
 this place, a series of eventful years have elapsed, but none without 
 some mark and note of your rising glory. 
 
 " The military triumphs which your valour has achieved upon the 
 banks of the Douro and the Tagus, of the Ebro and the Garonne, 
 have called forth the spontaneous shouts of admiring nations. Those 
 triumphs it is needless on this day to recount. Their names have 
 been written by your conquering sword in the annals of Europe, and 
 we shall hand them down with exultation to our children's children. 
 
 " It is not, however, the grandeur of military success which has 
 alone fixed our admiration, or commanded our applause ; it has been 
 that generous and lofty spirit which inspired your troops with un- 
 bounded confidence, and taught them to know that the day of battle 
 was always a day of victory ; that moral courage and enduring for- 
 titude, which, in perilous times, when gloom and doubt had beset 
 ordinary minds, stood, nevertheless, unshaken ; and that ascendancy 
 of character, which, uniting the energies of jealous and rival ua-
 
 352 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814 
 
 tions, enabled you to wield at will the fate and fortunes of mighty 
 empires. 
 
 " For the repeated thanks and grants bestowed upon you by this 
 House, in gratitude for your many and eminent services, you have 
 thought fit this day to offer us your acknowledgments ; but this nation 
 well knows that it is still largely your debtor It owes to you the 
 proud satisfaction that, amidst the constellation of great and illustri- 
 ous warriors who have recently visited our country, we could present 
 to them a leader of our own, to whom all, by common acclamation, 
 conceded the pre-eminence ; and when the will of Heaven, and the 
 common destinies of our nature, shall have swept away the present 
 generation, you will have left your great name and example as an im- 
 perishable monument, exciting others to like deeds of glory, and serv- 
 ing at once to adorn, defend, and perpetuate the existence of this coun- 
 try among the ruling nations of the earth. 
 
 '• It now remains only that we congratulate your Grace upon the 
 high and important mission on which you are about to proceed, and 
 we doubt not that the same splendid talents, so conspicuous in war, 
 will maintain, with equal authority, firmness, and temper, our national 
 honour and interests in peace." 
 
 His Grace then withdrew, making the same obeisances as when he 
 entered ; and all the members rising again, he was reconducted by the 
 Serjeant to the door of the House. After he was gone, Lord Castle- 
 reagh moved, that what the Duke had said on returning thanks to the 
 House, together with the Speaker's answer, be printed in the votes, 
 which was agreed to, 7iem. con. 
 
 If the great captain had not shared in the feelings of indifference 
 with which Coriolanus treated the homage of grateful Rome upon 
 his return from Corioli, it must have been difficult for him to suppress 
 BOme emotions of contempt when the Common Council of the City 
 of London besought him to accept a banquet at the Guildhall. 
 Only five years previously, the same Common Council, in the pleni- 
 tude of its wisdom, had denounced the campaign in Spain and 
 Portugal as useless, and freely censuring the victory at Talavera, 
 petitioned the Prince Regent not to confirm the grant which the 
 House of Commons, in the fulness of its gratitude, had made.' But 
 the Duke of Wellington was in no mood to quarrel with the testi- 
 monials of applause the citizens were now eager to offer. Forgetting 
 
 1 Home-bred Uannibals and civic .Scipios now denounced liis waiting, now deprecated his rasb 
 nesa. Even I.ondon'a train-bands, redolent of Finchley, sbot their goose-quill arrows at the war 
 tier's reputation.— CAaW«# Phillips.
 
 1814.] THE COMMON COUNCIL. 353 ' 
 
 and forgiving the folly suggested by ignorance, his Grace accepted 
 the splendid hospitality of the City of London on the 9th July ; and 
 from the profuseness of compliment emanating from the chief magis- 
 trate on that memorable occasion, it might have been imagined that 
 there had never been but one opinion east of Temple Bar of the great 
 public merits of the Duke ! Can it be a matter of surprise that, with 
 such startling evidence before him of the unsubstantial character of 
 popular applause, the Duke of Wellington should have acquired a 
 lofty indifference to public opinion, and cultivated a resolution to seek 
 no other guide than the dictates of his own conscience, and the will of 
 his Sovereign? He had seen and felt the fluctuating character of 
 the breath of the multitude, and garnered in his heart a manly scora 
 both of the praises and censures of the impulsive mob. While the 
 civic council fawned upon the fortunate hero present, whom they had 
 freely censured when absent and apparently unfortunate, the lan- 
 guage put into the mouth of the proud Roman must have occurred to 
 him : — 
 
 « Trust ye ? 
 With every minute you do change a mind, 
 And call him noble that was now your hate ; 
 Him vile that was your garland. 
 
 He that trusts yoa 
 Where he should find you lions, finds you hares, 
 WTiere foxes, geese ; you are no surer, no, 
 Than is the coal of fire upon the ice, 
 Or loadstone in the sun. Your virtue is 
 To make him worthy whose offence subdues him, 
 And curse that Justice did it. He that depends 
 Upon your favours, swims with fins of lead. 
 And hews down oaks with rushes." 
 
 Upon the occasion of the ftte at Guildhall, a superb sword was 
 presented to the Duke by the citizens of London, and the Chamber- 
 lain, in offering the gift, addressed the Duke in a speech of which the 
 following extract has been preserved : — 
 
 " I am conscious, my lord, how inadequately I express the sense of 
 my fellow-citizens of your Grace's merits — but they will recollect 
 that, where I have failed, no one has succeeded — the most eloquent of 
 the British senate, and the first authorities in the two Houses of 
 Parliament, have confessed themselves unequal to the task. But 
 ample justice will be done to your Grace by the world at large, who 
 will frequently and attentively peruse, with admiration and delight, 
 those inimitable despatches, which, like the Commentaries of Caesar, 
 will hand down with honour the name of their illustrious author to 
 the latest posterity. 
 
 VOL. I. Z
 
 354 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814 
 
 " Your Grace has been a chosen instrument in the hands of Provi- 
 dence during war. May you long enjoy in peace the love oi your 
 country, and the admiration of mankind ! and, in the discharge of that 
 honourable office to which his Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, has 
 recently appointed you, may you cement and perpetuate union and 
 good-will between Great Britain and France, so essential to the peace 
 and happiness of Europe ! 
 
 " The citizens of London can never forget the many signal victories 
 obtained by your Grace, in those regions which have been dignified by 
 the triumphs of an Alexander, an Aurungzebe, and a Clive. By the 
 exertions of your Grace, the British empire in India has been placed 
 in a state of security, which promises felicity to millions in that 
 country, and an extension of commerce to Great Britain. To enumer- 
 ate the brilliant actions of your Grace in Europe, would require 
 more time than the present occasion will permit, and would trespass 
 too much upon your Grace's delicacy ; but it is a truth which I can- 
 not refrain from declaring, that during the war in Spain and Portugal, 
 which terminated in the complete emancipation of those kingdoms, a 
 more illustrious instance is not recorded in history, of the caution 
 of Fabius, most happily combined with the celerity of Ca;sar ; and 
 when your Grace had planted the British standard in the heart of 
 the enemy's country, you gave a great example to the world of the 
 practicability of that lesson which the great Roman poet taught his 
 countrymen — 
 
 " ' Parcere subjectos, et debellare Buperbos.' " 
 
 The noble Duke expressed his high sense of the honour conferred 
 tipon him by the city ; and attributed the success of all his enter- 
 prises to the ability with which he was supported by his brother 
 officers, and to the valour and discipline of his Majesty's forces and 
 those of the allies. On receiving the sword, he with particular 
 energy declared his readiness to employ it in the service of his 
 Sovereign and his country, should it unfortunately happen that the 
 general wish of the nations of Europe for a permanent peace should 
 be disappointed, and that he should be again called upon to assist in 
 the public cause. 
 
 On the 11th of July, the Duke of Wellington was sumptuously 
 entertained by the Prince Regent, at a fete at Carlton Palace, at 
 which Queen Charlotte was present ; and soon afterwards he pro- 
 ceeded to Paris, to assume the duties of the embassy, to which he had 
 been nominated officially on the 4th of the month.
 
 1814.1 
 
 DISCUSSIONS ON SLAVERY. 
 
 355 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 DlsCTissioM on Slavery— The Duke moves Louis XVIII. to procure its abolition— The Congro»a 
 at Vienna— Lord Castlereagh. 
 
 Y the middle of the year 1814, the 
 steady efforts of Wilberforce and 
 Clarkson, continued through a 
 long series of years, to procure the 
 emancipation of the negroes in the 
 West Indies, and to annihilate the 
 horrible slave traffic on thS coast 
 of Africa, had begun to operate 
 upon the minds of the people of 
 England, and the inertness of a 
 quarter of a century was now suc- 
 ceeded by a passionate enthusiasm 
 in favour of the abolition of the 
 trade in human flesh. To such a 
 pitch indeed was the public mind 
 wrought upon the subject, that 
 much discontent was engendered by the slave article in the treaty of 
 peace signed at Paris. That clause gave the French five years' time 
 to put an end to the traffic, and as other clauses restored to France 
 many of the colonies in the West Indies and elsewhere, which 
 depended in a measure for their prosperity on slave labour, it was 
 expected that much suffering and misery would ensue from the 
 measures which would be taken to supply these colonies. In the 
 House of Lords and Commons, Lord Grenville and Mr. Wilberforce 
 spoke warmly on the subject ; and moved addresses to the Prince 
 llegent, praying that he would use his influence with the French 
 Government to procure a diminution of the period. They, and 
 others of the Liberal party, were of opinion that the clause in the
 
 356 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. |^1814 
 
 Treaty of Peace should have stipulated for the immediate renun- 
 ciation of the trade by France, instead of permitting its continuance 
 for five years. But Lord Liverpool in one House, and Lord 
 Castlereagh in the other, impressed upon the Anti-Slavery members 
 that it was a great mistake, founded upon a misconception of the 
 right of one nation to dictate a course of policy to another and an 
 independent nation, to suppose that such a clause could have been 
 insisted upon. Perseverance in a stipulation to which France was in 
 no mood to assent would in all probability have interrupted, or totally 
 stopped, the negotiations at Paris, and the war might have been con 
 tinned. Was the country disposed to accept the alternative 1 A 
 question not to be asked. 
 
 The result of the Parliamentary debates and the clamours of the 
 Press was, that, although the British Government would not pledge 
 itself to do more than refer the matter to the Congress about to 
 be holden at Vienna, it was an instruction to the Duke of Wellington 
 to press the subject upon the attention of the French Monarch ; and, 
 if possible, to procure a limitation of the period within which France 
 had engaged to terminate the trade. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington communicated with Talleyrand, the 
 Prince de Benevento, Prime Minister of France holding the direction 
 of Foreign AflFairs, and through his means sought an interview with 
 the King, which was readily granted. At this interview Louis XVIIL 
 went into the question with much intelligence and rationality. He 
 expressed his willingness and his determination to fulfil the terms 
 of the treaty ; but in reference to the arguments in favour of the 
 immediate abolition of the trade, His Majesty referred to the wishes 
 and sentiments of his own people. " The opinions in France are by 
 no means what they were in England upon this subject. Many 
 years had elapsed and much discussion had taken place, and great 
 pains had been taken by many individuals, and by societies, before 
 the opinions in England had been brought to that state of unanimity 
 upon this subject, in which they then were, and it could not be 
 expected that opinion in France should immediately agree upon it.' 
 The Duke, however, elicited from the French government a promise 
 that the navy should be employed to check the traffic on the coast 
 of Africa, and that was all. The Government had not that support 
 (in respect to the slave commerce at least) without which no govern- 
 ment can or ought to proceed — the support of public opinion. There 
 was no general knowledge in France of the horrors which for years 
 had been so forcibly exhibited to the British community, and there- 
 fore no strong sympathy on the subject. On the contrary, all the
 
 1814.] • LORD CASTLEREAGH. 357 
 
 sympathy, all the prejudice, went the other way ; for slavery was 
 supposed to be necessary to the ends of commerce and the prosperity 
 of the colonies. And there were not wanting writers in the West 
 India interest who fed the popular antipathy to change ; and they were 
 listened to with the greater relish because they represented that 
 England opposed slavery from motives of commercial jealousy alone 
 and a desire to monopolise all the profit of intercourse with the 
 colonies. Amidst these difficulties, enhanced by the violence of the 
 British press and its strictures upon the French people and the French 
 authorities, the Duke of Wellington drew up a note regarding the 
 trade, which was reserved for discussion by the Congress. Through- 
 out, one point, interesting to the biographer of Wellington, was 
 established. The Duke held the traffic in slaves in great horror, and 
 used every effort which the best feelings of humanity could dictate to 
 procure its overthrow. 
 
 The Congress assembled at Vienna on the 1st of November. 
 According to the treaty of Paris, it was to have met two months 
 after the signing of that document, but when business came to be 
 discussed among the ministers of the several Powers, it was found 
 that so much previous labor was requisite to bring the questions for 
 determination to a due state of maturity, that an adjournment to 
 the Ist of November, became unavoidable. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh, the brother of General Sir Charles Stewart,' 
 proceeded to Vienna as the representative of British interests. The 
 choice of this statesman was judicious. He was a man who thoroughly 
 understood wherein the true welfare of this country lay in her 
 relations with foreign countries. Possessed of a degree of personal 
 and political courage bordering on heroism, he suffered no considera- 
 tions to induce him to swerve from the diplomatic path chalked out 
 by the cabinet of which he was a member. Of an elegant person 
 and graceful manners, he won his way with the reserved and cautious ; 
 and by his manly bravery overawed the hostility of the stubborn. 
 At Chantillon his brave deportment and impregnable resolution 
 decided the allied sovereigns to push the war when all but the 
 Emperor Alexander were disposed to come to terms with Napoleon. 
 Even one of his greatest political opponents (Lord Brougham) has 
 done justice to his intrepidity while criticising the faults of his 
 oratory — which, to say the truth, was certainly very remarkable for 
 •'a nice derangement of epitaphs." "Lord Castlereagh," writes 
 Lord Brougham, " had some qualities well fitted to conciliate favour, 
 and even to provoke admiration, in the absence of everything like 
 
 1 Afterwards Marquis of Londonderry.
 
 368 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 eloquence. He was a bold and fearless man ; the very courage with 
 which he exposed himself unabashed to the most critical audience in 
 the world, while incapable of uttering two sentences of anything but 
 the meanest matter, in the most wretched language ; the gallantry 
 with which he faced the greatest difficulties of a question; the 
 unflinching perseverance with which he went through a whole subject, 
 leaving untouched not one of its points, whether he could grapple 
 with it or no. and not one of the adverse arguments, however forcibly 
 and felicitously they had been urged ; neither daunted by recollecting 
 the impression just made by his antagonist's brilliant display, nor 
 damped by consciousness of the very rags in which he now presented 
 himself — all this made him, upon the whole, rather a favourite with 
 the audience whose patience he was taxing mercilessly, and whose 
 gravity he ever and anon put to a very severe trial. Nor can any 
 one have forgotten the kind of pride that mantled on the fronts of 
 the Tory phalanx, when, after being overwhelmed with the powerful 
 fire of the Whig opposition, or galled by the fierce denunciations of 
 the Mountain, or harassed by the splendid displays of Mr. Canning, 
 their chosen leader stood forth, and presenting the graces of his 
 eminently patrician figure, flung open his coat, displayed an azure 
 riband traversing a snow-white chest, and declared ' his high satis- 
 faction that he could now meet the charges against him face to face, 
 and repel with indignation all that his adversaries had been bold and 
 rash enough to advance.' Such he was in debate ; in council he had 
 far more resources. He possessed a considerable fund of plain sense, 
 not to be misled by any refinement of speculation, or clouded by any 
 fanciful notions. He went straight to his point; he was brave 
 politically as well as personally. Of this his conduct on the Irish 
 Union had given abundant proof; and nothing could be more just 
 than the rebuke which, as connected with the topic of personal 
 courage, we may recollect his administering to a great man who had 
 passed the limits of parliamentary courtesy. ' Every one must be 
 sensible,' he said, ' that if any personal quarrel were desired, any 
 insulting language used publicly where it could not be met as it 
 deserved, was the way to prevent and not to produce such a 
 rencounter.' No one after that treated him with disrespect. The 
 complaints made of his Irish administration were perfectly well- 
 grounded as regarded the corruption of the Parliament by which he 
 accomplished the Union ; but they were entirely unfounded as 
 regarded the cruelties practised during and after the rebellion. Far 
 from partaking in the atrocities, he uniformly and strenuously 
 set his face against them. He was of a cold temperament and
 
 1814.] THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA. 859 
 
 determined character, but not of a cruel disposition; and to him. 
 more than perhaps to any one else, was owing the termination of 
 the system stained with blood." 
 
 The subjects discussed by the Congress of Vienna were of a com- 
 plicated and vexing character. The independence or otherwise of 
 Saxony, Poland, and Italy particularly agitated the assembled kings 
 and ministers. On the question of Poland, Lord Castlereagh was 
 opposed to the plans of the Russian cabinet, and he did not restrain 
 the expression of his dissatisfaction respecting the Polish suzerainete, 
 which the Emperor Alexander was desirous of reserving to himself 
 " There was a degree of steadiness, I may say of nobleness," writes 
 M. Capefigue,' " in his private conferences with Alexander, in the 
 midst of the splendid salons of Vienna, that was quite admirable. No 
 aristocracy in Europe is more magnificient than that of England. 
 Lady Castlereagh's parties at Vienna exceeded in splendour those 
 even of the Emperor of Austria ; while her ladyship, who was a 
 woman of extraordinary abilities, afforded considerable assistance to 
 the diplomatic proceedings of her husband." 
 
 The tendencies of the Congress were decidedly Russian, and there 
 was every reason to fear that if a stand were not made against the 
 Emperor's ambitious views, the effect of the new treaty of alliance 
 would be to give to the Czar a preponderating power almost as fatal 
 to the cause of liberty and the prosperity of British commerce as that 
 which had recently been destroyed. When, therefore. Lord Castle- 
 reagh was recalled to England to take his place in Parliament at the 
 beginning of 1815, it became necessary to select a person as his 
 successor at Vienna, the influence of whose name and the firmness of 
 whose character would be a guarantee for a perseverance in the 
 policy which Lord Castlereagh had chalked out. The choice naturally 
 fell upon the Duke of Wellington. He was not likely on any one 
 point to yield, if concession compromised the interests of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 The Duke promptly accepted the appointment. His position in 
 France — in spite of the means at his disposal for lending splendour 
 to the embassy — was not free from alloy. The King was unremitting 
 in his kindness and condescension, and all the Bourbons delighted to 
 render homage to the man who had so effectually fought their battles. 
 But the feeling in France, generally, was that of repugnance to the 
 English. Soult, as Minister of War, showed as much chivalrous 
 courtesy to the British Ambassador as if he had not been chased 
 from Oporto, baffled in the Pyrenees, and driven out of Toulouse ; 
 
 1 " Diplomatists of Europe." Edited by Major-General Monteith.
 
 360 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814, 
 
 and the other Marshals who held power were by no means deficient 
 in civilities. Still the people at large were dissatisfied. And it was 
 not only on account of the presence of Englishmen who had taken 
 the lead in conquering their veteran soldiers and experienced generals. 
 Poverty was all but universal. The revolution had ruined the 
 country, and the political institutions of France offered a bar to the 
 accumulation of riches and power by any private families. Con- 
 sequently every one sought public employment — not for the honour 
 of the thing, but for the sake of obtaining the wherewithal of 
 existence. Corresponding with his old friend Dumourier, the Duke 
 took an accurate view of the state of France at this juncture. 
 Bonaparte had left an army of a million of men in France. The 
 King was unable to maintain a quarter of the number. All who 
 were not employed were consequently discontented. Bonaparte 
 governed, directly, one-half of Europe, and indirectly the other half. 
 For reasons well understood, he employed an infinite number of 
 persons in public offices ; and all who had thus been entertained, 
 whether in civil or military duties, had been discharged. To this 
 numerous class were to be added a great many emigrants and others 
 who had returned to France, all dying of hunger, and all seeking 
 public employment, that they might live. Thus, more than three- 
 quarters of French society not in government pay, or pursuing 
 handicraft work, or labouring in the fields, were in a state of indigence, 
 and therefore discontented. 
 
 All these circumstances combined to make the Duke desirous of a 
 change of scene and occupation ; and Vienna, besides supplying scope 
 for his diplomatic talents, held out the promise of cheerful social 
 intercourse amongst the first personages of Europe, in a city always 
 remarkable for its elegant gaiety. 
 
 To Vienna the Duke of Wellington repaired. 
 
 It is time to advert to Napoleon Bonaparte, and the circumstances 
 attending his departure for the island of Elba. That island Napoleon 
 reached on the 3rd of May, the very day on which Louis XVIII. 
 made his public entry into Paris. The Emperor — for he was suffered 
 to retain the title — landed, as sovereign of the island, on the 4th of 
 May, under a salute of 100 guns from the batteries of Porto 
 Ferrajo. 
 
 Elba, which is situated between the Etrurian or Tuscan coast, from 
 which it is separated by a channel twelve English miles in breadth, 
 was added to the territory of France in August, 1802, by right of 
 conquest. The i.sland is covered with lofty mountains, which offer a 
 rich and spontaneous vegetation of multifarious odoriferous plants
 
 1814.] NAPOLEON AT ELBA. 361 
 
 and shrubs. There are, however, a few extensive places, of which 
 Lacona is the chief ; and these are as remarkable for their fertility, 
 under good agricultural mauagement, as the mountains. In miner- 
 alogy, the island is likewise peculiarly rich. Nature appears to have 
 heaped together all her treasures in this branch of produce. The 
 island possesses mines of gold, silver, copper, iron, magnet, lead, sul- 
 phur, vitriol, and quarries of marble, granite, slate, and others. But 
 it is from its iron mines that Elba draws the chief part of its wealth, 
 and the residue is derived from the tunny fishery. The country is 
 well watered by springs and brooks, which take their source in the 
 mountains. The population at this time numbered about 12,000 
 souls, and their affairs were managed by an electoral assembly of sixty 
 members. 
 
 Napoleon was received with every demonstration of joy. After 
 the formalities of reception were at an end, he proceeded to take a 
 survey of his diminutive empire, and, immediately discovering its 
 deficiencies, applied his active mind and the resources at his disposal 
 to their remedy. He caused new roads to be laid out ; fortified the 
 island of Rianosa, which had been left uninhabited on account of the 
 frequent piratical descents from the coast of Barbary ; built a house 
 for his sister Pauline; constructed stables for 150 horses; a new 
 lazaretto ; stations for the tunny fishery ; and buildings to facilitate 
 the operations of the salt works at Porto Longone. He changed the 
 name of the capital (Porto Ferrajo) to Cosmopoli, and hoisted a new 
 national flag, which had a red band dexter charged with three bees in 
 a white field. Towards the end of May, Cambronne arrived from 
 France with some hundreds of volunteers from the Old Guard, and 
 soon afterwards the Emperor's mother and sister Pauline joined 
 him. A British officer, Colonel Sir Neil Campbell, was likewise dis- 
 patched to the island, with the appellation of a British commissioner ; 
 but, in reality, to keep up a sort of espionnage over the movements 
 of Napoleon. 
 
 Elba became a place of great resort during the period of the Em- 
 peror's residence there. Numerous travellers, merchants, artizans, 
 and others, continually visited the place — some attracted by curiosity 
 — some by sympathy — many by the hope of advantage. Sir Walter 
 Scott likens the island at this time to a great barrack filled with 
 military, gens d'armes, refugees of all descriptions, expectants, de- 
 pendants, domestics, and adventurers.' Nobles and ladies were also 
 there, with statesmen, artists, warriors, and wealthy citizens. Never, 
 Bays Bussey, was Elba so busy or so prosperous as during the 
 
 ^ 1 " Life of Napoleon."
 
 362 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 abode among its sea-beaten rocks of " the Emperor ; " never did 
 its ships traverse seas infested with Moorish pirates with so much 
 impunity as while they were protected by the golden bees of Na- 
 poleon. 
 
 The revenues of Elba were, as may well be supposed, inadequate to 
 meet the expenses which the Emperor had incurred in improving the 
 island committed to his government. He depended, therefore, in a 
 great measure, upon the pension assigned to him by the allies upon 
 his abdication of the throne. This pension amounted to six millions 
 of francs, chargeable on the great book of France, and should have 
 been paid in advance. Unhappily, however, for the French govern- 
 ment, this salutary proceeding was neglected. By the middle of sum- 
 mer, Napoleon found himself deficient of the means of carrying on all 
 the improvements he had projected. The money he had brought from 
 France was exhausted, and he had no other resources than the pension. 
 He applied for it, and immediately adopted a system of retrenchment. 
 The allowances of his retinue and the wages of the native miners were 
 reduced. Part of the provisions laid up for his Guard were disposed 
 of, together with a small park of artillery. Napoleon called upon 
 the inhabitants for arrears of contributions, but they claimed exempt- 
 ion from pressure on this head on the ground of a want of a market 
 for their wines. The troops of the Emperor were then quartered upon 
 them, as a substitute for the enforcement of the contributions, and as 
 an economical way of supporting an army ; and the Emperor, morti- 
 fied at a condition so entirely new to one who had for years kept the 
 key of the treasury of France, shut himself up in his palace, and gave 
 utterance to his discontent. 
 
 The want of good faith conspicuous in the French Grovernment, 
 ehort-sighted as it was, attracted the attention of Lord Castlereagh, 
 and that acute minister, apprehending a world of danger from the 
 neglect of Napoleon's remonstrances, appealed to the ministry of 
 Louis XVIIL The reply which he received was, that Bonaparte had 
 manifested a spirit of infraction of the treaty on his part by recruiting 
 for his guards in Corsica and other places, and that Louis XVIII. 
 had dispatched a person to Elba to afford him some pecuniary aid, 
 but not to pay the entire stipend until a satisfactory explanation had 
 been given of some specious points of his conduct. Whether these 
 statements were true or false. Napoleon continued without his pen- 
 sion, and the idea of returning to France suggested itself to him, 
 as the only means of terminating the misery of his situation — a 
 misery increased by certain nervous apprehensions that some designs 
 upon his life and liberty were meditated by the British Government.
 
 1814.] PRANCE UNDER THE BOURBONS. 363 
 
 A man had been appointed Governor of Corsica who bad once 
 threatened his existence, and the British Ministry had purchased 
 St. Helena for the East India Company, with the apparent purpose 
 of transferring Napoleon to the rock-bound prison. 
 
 To return to France without some prospect of being received with 
 open arms by the inhabitants, would have been madness. The 
 memory of his tyranny was too fresh to warrant the belief that his 
 sudden re-appearance would be acceptable. It therefore became ne- 
 cessary to employ the agency of intrigue to feel the pulse of the 
 multitude, and especially to ascertain the sentiments of the army in 
 respect to the proposed resumption of power. 
 
 Happily for the project of Napoleon, the Bourbons had misruled 
 France most wofully since their accession to power. The " good 
 intentions" of the King were not sustained by a corresponding 
 amount of wisdom. In lieu of conciliating the people who had been 
 accustomed for twenty years to the institutions of the Republic and 
 the Empire, by preserving what was good and introducing only those 
 changes which affected few personal interests, the ministry of Louis, 
 — composed chiefly of returned eynigres who claimed favour as the 
 price of their loyalty. — completely disturbed every department of the 
 government. The soldiers of Marengo, Austerlitz, Dresden, and 
 Smolensko were either superseded by generals of the ancicnne noblesse 
 who had never seen a shot fired, or turned adrift with miserable 
 stipends ; the possessors of estates which had formerly belonged 
 to royalists, were ejected and their property handed over to those 
 in whose hands they were before the Revolution. Then the influence 
 of the priesthood revived and was encouraged ; the freedom of the 
 press, guaranteed by the charter, was abrogated for a censorship as 
 strict as any that had been in force during the government of Napo- 
 leon ; the consolidated taxes, the promised abolition of which had 
 been one of the strongest allurements of Bourbonism, were re- 
 established in all their oppressive rigour ; pensions to various classes 
 were withheld on the ground of the necessity for a rigid economy ; 
 the Legion of Honour, so prized by the French, was degraded by 
 distributions amongst the most despicable adherents of the Bour- 
 bons ; stage-players were again declared excommunicated, and Chris- 
 tian burial refused to their remains ; * and, by way of fixing upon 
 
 1 Mademoiselle Raucour, a celebrated actress of the Theatre Francais, and a woman of 
 respectable character, died at the age of sixty. Her corpse, attended by a train of carriages, 
 and a lai^e concourse of people of all ranks and descriptions, was brought for interment to 
 the Church of St. Brigue. By the rigorous ordinances of the Romish worship, actors and 
 actresses are in a state of excommunication. This, if strictly enforced, deprived them of tho
 
 364 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 the Revolution the deepest stigma of disgrace, the bones of Louis 
 XVI. and his queen were pompously removed to St. Denis. 
 
 The effect of all these and other measures was to disgust and 
 offend and alienate vast numbers of the French people. They began 
 to sigh for the days when Napoleon, at once tolerant and despotic, 
 gratified their passions while he trampled their true interests under 
 foot. They felt that they had exchanged one stork for another, the 
 gourmands differing only in the quality of their food. Soon it be- 
 came bruited about that Napoleon was dissatisfied, wronged, and 
 wished to be back among the people whose " grandeur " at any rate 
 he had always promoted. The active agents in his interest while 
 they disseminated the statement encouraged the expression of a 
 reciprocal feeling, and, with an ingenuity truly French, they typified 
 the Emperor and his advent in the spring by pictures of the violet, 
 
 beneflUi of Cliristian burial. Many years had passed since this barbarous exclusion had been 
 practised, and, certainly, the attendants on the remains of this performer were little prepared 
 for the disappointment which awaited them, when they found the gates of the church locked 
 against them, and admission peremptorily refused. The dismay of the spectators was succeeded 
 by universal indignation. An immense crowd began to assemble, and cries of fury and ven- 
 geance were heard in all the adjoining quarters of Paris. Tlie Rue Saint Ilonord;, and every 
 avenue within a quarter of a mile of the scene, were blocked up by the populace. 
 
 The church doors were broken open, but no priest appeared, and the most frightful disturbance 
 was apprehended, nor was it supposed that the effects of the popular agitation would end with 
 the cause which had produced it. 
 
 In the mean time, a message was sent to the King, supplicating his Majesty's interposition, (br 
 the sake of humanity, and for the public peace of the capital. .\n answer was immediately r^ 
 turned from the palace, that the affair belonged to the jurisdiction of the Church, and that the 
 King could not intermeddle with the spiritual authorities. 
 
 The tumult increased, and the danger of some movement approaching to insurrection became 
 ever)' moment more visible, when a second deputation proceeded to the Tuillcries. At the same 
 time a declaration was communicated to the Court, on the part of all the actors, actresses, and 
 attendants on every theatre in Paris, tliat if the remains of Mademoiselle Rancour were not 
 instantly admitted to the privileges of Christian sepulture, they would, in a body, read their re- 
 cantation, and adopt the Lutheran or Calvanistic faith. The second message succeeded better 
 than the first, and brought back .^n order from the King to the clergymen to receive the corpse, 
 and read the funeral service. This w.is accepted by the multitude as a pledge of peace ; long, 
 loud, and reiterated shouts broke from more than twenty thousand people— "Vive le Roi! 4 
 bas les Culottes! li has les Calotins! au diablc Ics Calotins!" The ceremony was then per- 
 formed, but with " maimed rites." The troops, instead of quelling the tumult, manifested a 
 disposition to support the people. They were ordered not to permit more than a certain num- 
 ber of the followers of the funeral into the church, but they gave free admission to all. The 
 church was crowded. The torches which had been prepared for an ensuing festival were 
 lighted up, and the performers of the Opera and the principal theatres sung a solemn anthem on 
 the occasion. 
 
 The disappointed did not fail to represent this as the commencement of the reign of superstition 
 and bigotry. It was asserted that fanaticism had attalne<l a powerful influence in the councils 
 of the sovereign, and would rapidly bring back all the burdens of the ptiesthood, without the 
 blessings of religion. Those calumnies were too easily credited, and made an indelible and 
 fatal impression.
 
 1814.]- NAPOLEON RETURNS TO FRANCE. 365 
 
 which were dispersed over the kingdom accompanied by the significant 
 notice, " ilreviendra avec le printemps?^ The intriguers established 
 a species of fraternity, and the violet worn at the button-hole was the 
 symbol of the commingled parties who now sank all other distinctive 
 appellations in that of Patriots. 
 
 Time waned. The Bourbons, who, as Talleyrand, the epigrammatist, 
 averred, " had learnt nothing and forgotten nothing " during their 
 absence, took no heed of the indications which wiser men would have 
 accepted as suggestive of precaution, and in the mean while Napoleon 
 Bonaparte matured his plans for a return to France. 
 
 On the 26th of February, 1815, assembling his guards on the 
 terrace in front of the castle of Cosmopoli, Napoleon announced to 
 them his intended departure for France on that day. The announce- 
 ment, not altogether unexpected, was received with enthusiasm. 
 Vive V Empereur ! was shouted by a thousand voices, and the pre- 
 parations for embarkation were made with such rapidity that by 
 four o'clock on the afternoon of the same day, 400 of the Old Guard 
 were embarked in the Inconstayit brig ; 200 light infantry, 100 Polish 
 light horsemen, and a battalion oi flanquerus were distributed among 
 five smaller vessels. As night fell, Napoleon embarked, accompanied 
 by Generals Bertrand and Drouet, and all sail was crowded for 
 France. 
 
 Three days later Bonaparte landed at Cannes, near Frejus, in 
 the south of France. Proclamations, prepared on board the Incon- 
 stant, were immediately printed and distributed, and at the head of 
 his handful of troops Napoleon moved towards Grenoble with 
 marvellous speed. In two days he had marched twenty leagues, 
 the people everywhere received him with acclamation.' The pro- 
 clamations denounced Augereau and Marmont as the cause of the 
 success of the allies, who, according to Napoleon, had been placed 
 in a desperate situation by the victories he had personally achieved. 
 He declared that he had exiled himself to serve the interests of the 
 people, and now returned with the same view. He reconciled the 
 French to disloyalty to the Bourbons by telling them that there was 
 no nation, however small, which had not the right to withdraw from 
 the dishonour of obeying a prince imposed by an enemy in the 
 moment of victory ; and he appealed to their prejudices against a 
 dynasty which held power through foreign favour, by telling them 
 
 1 "Once fairly set out on his party of pleasure, 
 
 Taking towns at his liking, and crowns at his leisure, 
 
 From Elba to Lyons and Paris he goes, 
 
 Making balls for the ladies, and bows to his foes."— Byros.
 
 366 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 that " when Charles VII. re-entered Paris and overthrew the 
 ephemeral throne of Henry V., he won his sceptre by the valour of 
 his followers, and held it not by permissio7i of a Prince Regent of 
 England /" 
 
 To the soldiers he addressed Proclamations of a still more exciting 
 kind : — 
 
 " Soldiers !" exclaimed he, " we have not been vanquished. Two 
 men, sprung from our ranks, betrayed our laurels, their country, their 
 Prince, Iheir benefactor. Those whom we have seen for twenty-five 
 years traversing all Europe to raise enemies against us, who have 
 passed their lives in fighting against us in the ranks of foreign 
 armies, and in venting execrations on our beautiful France ; shall 
 they who have been unable to sustain our troops, pretend to com- 
 mand or enchain our eagles ? Shall we suffer them to inherit the 
 fruits of our glorious toils ; to rob us of our honours, our fortunes, 
 and to calumniate our glory ? If their reign were to continue, all 
 would be lost, even the memory of our immortal achievements ; with 
 what fury do they misrepresent our actions ! They seek to tarnish 
 what the world admires ; and if they still remain defenders of our 
 glory, they are to be found among the very enemies whom we have 
 defeated on the field of battle. 
 
 " Soldiers I In my exile, I have heard your voice. I have returned 
 in spite of all obstacles and dangers. Your general, called to the 
 throne by the choice of the people, and raised on your shields, is 
 restored to you, come and join him. Cast down those colours which 
 the nation has proscribed, and which, during twenty-five years, served 
 as a rallying point to all the enemies of France. Mount again the 
 tri-colour ! You wore it in the days of our greatness ! It is our duty 
 to forget that we have been the mast-ers of nations ; but we ought to 
 sufier no foreign interference in our affairs. Who can pretend to be 
 our masters ? who has power to become so ? Resume those eagles 
 which you had at Ulm, at Austerlitz, at Jena, at Eylau, at Friedland, 
 at Zudila, at Echmukl, at Essling, at Wagram, at Smolensk, at the 
 Moskwa, at Lutzen, at Wurchen, and at Montmirail ! Think you 
 that the handful of French, at present so arrogant, will have courage 
 to meet our troops ? Let them return whence they came ; and then, 
 if they will, they may reign as they pretend to have reigned for nine- 
 teen years. 
 
 " Your fortunes, your honours, your glory — the fortunes, honours, 
 and glory of your children, have no greater foes than the Princes im- 
 posed on you by foreigners. They are the enemies of our glory ; 
 since the recital of the heroic deeds by which the French name has
 
 1814.] PROCLAMATION OF NAPOLEON. 367 
 
 been rendered illustrious — performed in order to escape from tyrannic 
 misrule — is their condemnation. The veterans of the armies of the 
 Sambre and Mouse, of the Rhine, of Italy, of Egypt, of the West, and 
 of the Grand Army, are humiliated. Their honourable scars are dis- 
 graced. Their successes would be crimes, the brave would be rebels, 
 if, as the enemies of the people pretend, the legitimate sovereigns 
 were always in the midst of the foreign armies. Honours, recom- 
 pences, and favours are reserved for those who have served against 
 the country and against us. 
 
 " Soldiers ! come and range yourselves under the banners of your 
 chief His existence is identified* with yours ; his rights are yours 
 and those of the people ; his interest; his honour, his glory are your 
 interest, honour, and glory. Victory shall march at the charging 
 step ; the eagle, with the national colours, shall fly from steeple to 
 steeple till it alights on the towers of Notre Dame. Then you will 
 be able to show your scars with honour ; then you may boast of what 
 you have done. You will be the liberators of the country. In your 
 old age, surrounded and honoured by your fellow-citizens, they will 
 listen with respect while you recount your high deeds ; while you 
 exclaim with pride, ' And I also was one of that grand army which 
 twice entered within the walls of Vienna, within those of Rome, of 
 Berlin, of Madrid, of Lisbon, of Moscow ; and which delivered Paris 
 from the stain imprinted upon it by treason and the presence of the 
 enemy.' Honour to those brave soldiers — the glory of their country ! 
 and eternal infamy to the French criminals, in whatever rank they 
 were born, who, for twenty-five years, fought beside foreigners, tearing 
 open the bosom of their country ! " 
 
 These proclamations at once rekindled the enthusiasm of the army 
 and the people, and one universal cry of " welcome ! " assured 
 Napoleon that he was still master of Prance.
 
 368 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OP "WEUvINGTON. 
 
 [1814. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The news of Napoleon's arrival in France received by the Congress at Vienna— Project for 
 meeting the new invasion— Tlic Duke's plan of fortifying the Netherlands. 
 
 HE Congress still sat 
 at Vienna. The most 
 voluptuous capital in 
 Europe had attrac- 
 tions for Sovereigns 
 and Ministers alike, 
 and they lazily dis- 
 cussed the questions 
 which had brought them together. 
 Business and pleasure had formed 
 so agreeable a partnership, that 
 the former was delayed that the 
 latter might be prolonged. Sud- 
 denly the news arrives — " Napoleon 
 has escaped from Elba, and has 
 landed in France ! " A bombshell 
 exploding in the council-chamber 
 could not have produced a greater consternation. The Emperor 
 Alexander grinds his teeth — the lips of Frederic William of Prussia 
 blanch and quiver — Talleyrand mutters an epigram — the pulse of 
 Metternich of Austria throbs violently. The Duke of Wellington 
 rises, and calmly turning to Talleyrand, exclaims — " Remember, 
 Monsieur de Talleyrand, I am the soldier of the King." 
 
 What was now to be done? Here was an occurrence which 
 threatened again to complicate the affairs of Europe, and throw back 
 the Congress upon its starting point. No questions now of readjust-
 
 1814.] PLAN FOR CHECKING NAPOLEON. 369 
 
 ments and partitions — of freedom here and dependence there. The 
 " new Sesostris " had reappeared — he 
 
 " Whose game was empires, and whose stakes were thrones, 
 Whose table, earth— whose dice were human bones." 
 
 All thoughts were now, and instantaneously, to converge towards one 
 point ; and that point, the certain means of crushing at once, and for 
 ever, the daring fugitive from Elba. The delegates of distant govern- 
 ments did not feel at liberty immediately to decide upon the course tu 
 be taken ; — references were therefore made to the principals ; but by 
 the 25th of March, 1815, a course had been settled, and a treaty was 
 concluded by which Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain 
 renewed their engagement to defend the restored order of affairs in 
 Europe, and specifically to maintain the conditions of the treaty of 
 Paris in May, 1814, and those of the Congress, against any attacks, 
 and especially against the projects of Napoleon Bonaparte. To this 
 end they bound themselves each to have constantly in the field 
 150,000 men complete; and not to lay down their arms but in con- 
 currence with each other, nor until the object of the war should be 
 accomplished, and Bonaparte deprived of the power of exciting 
 disturbances, and of renewing his attempts to obtain the chief power 
 in France. 
 
 TJie manner in which the allies contemplated carrying out this 
 design was to form a perfect line of troops from the channel to the 
 Mediterranean ; and, at a time to be afterwards determined upon, to 
 pour the whole of this vast army into the plains of France. Not a 
 moment was lost in giving substantial effect to the magnificent 
 scheme. The Emperor of Russia, with characteristic promptitude, 
 called the resources of his mighty empire — which, with amazing 
 elasticity, had recovered the shock of 1812 — into play, and his quota 
 of troops was in less than a fortnight prepared to take its part in the 
 operations to the south of the Prussian line. To England was 
 assigned the task of occupying the country nearest to the Channel, 
 and for every man less than the stipulated number it was her part of 
 the compact to supply, she engaged to pay a given sum. At this 
 time there was a considerable body of troops, British, Hanoverian, 
 Dutch, and Belgic, in the occupation of the Low Countries ; for, at the 
 Congress of Vienna, the seventeen provinces had been united under 
 one government, and the numerous strong places of the country were 
 garrisoned, to form a protection to Holland an4 Belgium against the 
 arms and the influence of France. In the month of September, 1814, 
 
 VOL. I. 2 a
 
 870 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814 
 
 when on liis way to Paris to assume the duties of the embassy, the 
 Duke of Wellington had taken a survey of the Netherlands, with a 
 view to the establishment of a system of defence against possible 
 French aggression. He found that there was no situation in the 
 country which afforded any advantages to be taken up as a fortress, 
 or which covered or protected any extent of country ; and no situation 
 to which the enemy could not have easy access both by land and by 
 water for the artillery and stores necessary to attack it. He likewise 
 perceived (what could escape his eagle glance?) that if any place 
 were fortified, the enemy could pass it without risk ; as, in case of 
 being defeated and obliged to retire, he could not fail to find innu- 
 merable roads which would lead him to some one or other of the 
 strong places on the French frontier. He therefore recommended 
 that the country should be fortified upon the old principle, all the old 
 situations being adhered to, and the old sites, with modern improve- 
 ments on the flanks, in every instance be followed. The advice was 
 adopted. The right line of the Scheldt to the sea was thus made so 
 strong as, with the aid of inundation, to be quite secure when well 
 garrisoned, leaving the armies disposable for operations to the left. 
 The Duke did not go very deeply into the subject of the positions 
 which it might be advisable for disposable armies allotted to th^e 
 defence of the Netherlands to take up ; but on a cursory view of the 
 topography of the country, he came to the remarkable conclusion — 
 the soundness of which was singularly justified by after events — -that 
 the entrance to the forest of Soignies by the high road which leads to 
 Brussels from Benit, Charleroi, and Namur, would, if worked upon, 
 afford an advantageous position. 
 
 The Congress of Vienna broke up ; but not until it had published 
 a declaration to the world of the sentiments and intentions — as 
 regarded Napoleon — of the allied powers of Austria, Kussia, Prussia, 
 Sweden, France, Spain, Portugal, and England. This declaration 
 proclaimed that Napoleon had destroyed the only legal title on which 
 his existence depended ; that he had, by appearing in France with 
 projects of confusion and disorder, deprived himself of the protection 
 of the law, and had manifested to the universe that there could be 
 neither peace nor truce with him. He was therefore declared beyond 
 the pale of civil and social relations, and liable to public vengeance} 
 
 1 The words used in the French copy of the Declaration were vindicte publigue, which the 
 Duke of Wellington contended meant public justice, and not vengeance. The phrase was much 
 canvassed in Europe, demonstrating the value of the opinion of the lato Duke of Sussex, that all 
 treaties should be drawn up in Latin.
 
 1814.] NAPOLEON ATTEMPTS CONCILIATION. 3ll 
 
 The allies further declared that they were resolved to maintain entire 
 the treaty of Paris of May, 1814, and would employ all their means 
 and unite all their efforts to prevent the disturbance of the general 
 peace. Although entirely persuaded that all France, rallying round 
 its legitimate Sovereign, would immediately annihilate what they 
 called the " attempt of a criminal and impotent delirium," the Sover- 
 eigns declared that if, contrary to all calculations, any real danger 
 should arise, they would be ready to give to the French King and 
 nation, or any other government that should be attacked, all the assist- 
 ance requisite to the restoration of public tranquillity. 
 
 The British Parliament was sitting at the moment of Napoleon's 
 return to France. But no measure could be brought before it in 
 reference to him until communications had been held with the allied 
 powers, and the effect of Napoleon's attempt to regain the crown had 
 been ascertained. Early in April, all doubts being at an end, the 
 ministry announced that by a convention with the allied powers, his 
 Britannic Majesty had engaged to furnish a subsidy of five millions 
 sterling, to be divided in equal portions amongst those powers which 
 could not be expected to supply 150,000 men for the new service 
 that might be required of them. Austria, Russia, and Prussia had 
 between them 750,000 men under arms ; but England and Holland 
 could only supply 50,000 each, and the states of Germany 150,000. 
 Some little opposition to this was offered by Burdett, Whitbread, the 
 Marquis of Wellesley, and others, on the ground that we had no 
 business to interfere in the affairs of France, and that Napoleon had 
 not been sufficiently watched at Elba; but, as usual, the "ayes" 
 carried their point triumphantly. 
 
 On the 4th of April Bonaparte had resumed the government of 
 France. Aware of the insecurity of his position, he began by at- 
 tempting the game of conciliation ; and therefore, through Caulain- 
 court, addressed letters to the Prince Regent of England, the Em- 
 peror of Austria, &c. ; the letters were either returned or left unan- 
 swered. In a letter from Lord Clancarty, the British representative at 
 Vienna, it was stated, in reference to the overtures made through 
 Caulaincourt, that, in this war, the allied powers did not desire to 
 interfere with any legitimate right of the French people : they had 
 no design to oppose the claim of that nation to chose their own form 
 of government, or an intention to trench in any respect upon their 
 independence as a great and free people ; but they considered they 
 had a right, and that of the highest nature, to contend against the 
 re-establishment of an individual at the head of the French govern- 
 ment " whoso past conduct had invariably demonstrated that in such
 
 372 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1814. 
 
 a situation he would not suffer other nations to be at peace, — whose 
 restless ambition.— whose thirst for foreign conquest — and whose 
 disregard for the rights and independence of other states must ex- 
 pose the whole of Europe to renewed scenes of plunder and devasta- 
 tion." 
 
 On the 12th of March, the Duke of Wellington had written from 
 Vienna to Lord Castlereagh : — 
 
 " I now recommend to you to put all your force in the Netherlands 
 at the disposal of the King of France; I ivill go and join it if you 
 like it, or do anything else that gove^-nvient choose?'' 
 
 Could it be doubted which way the wishes of the government 
 would tend at this imminent crisis 1 Was it possible that any other 
 soldier living could be expected to cope with the terrible warrior who 
 had embarked in the most desperate enterprise of a life of enter- 
 prises ? What name could have given confidence to Europe at thia 
 juncture, or warned Napoleon of the dangers of the precipice on 
 whose brink he stood but that which had become identified, through- 
 out the civilised world, with victory — and all that led to victory — with 
 truth, with honour, with justice, mercy, magnanimity, patience, fore- 
 sight, constancy, and valour 1 Kansack the page of history for 
 bright names — invoke the spirits of Cossar and Hannibal, of Scipio 
 and Alexander, — weigh them — conjure with them — none could " start 
 a spirit " as soon as Wellington. 
 
 The offer of the Duke was accepted joyfully, and on the 11th of 
 April he was appointed to command the armies of the Netherlands. 
 
 Our history has reached a point at which repose is necessary. Wo 
 have humbly followed the incomparable chief through the swamps of 
 Holland — the plains of India — the mountains and valleys of Portu- 
 gal and Spain — and the fair fields of France. We have tracked his 
 steps, sympathised with his vexations, disappointments, and sorrows, 
 gloried in his hard-worn triumphs, and rejoiced in his honours. Let 
 us breathe awhile, ere, accompanying him to Belgium, we behold 
 Napoleon prostrate at his feet.
 
 APPENDIX, No. I. 
 
 ON THE SPANISH ARMY (See page 231.) 
 
 TO SENOR DON ANDRES ANGEL DE LA VEGA, INFANZON. 
 
 « Frenada, 3rd Jlpril, 1813. 
 
 " Before I accepted the command of the Spanish armies and went 
 to Cadiz, I wrote a letter to the late Regency, on the 4th of Decem- 
 ber, in which I apprised them of my opinion of the state of the armies, 
 of the difficulty which I should find in exercising the command, and of 
 the powers with which it was necessary that the Government should 
 intrust me ; and after I went to Cadiz I wrote them a second letter 
 on the subject, on the 25th of December, in which I explained, and 
 again urged them to agree to what I had proposed in my first letter 
 of the 4th of December ; and, after repeated discussions, they did 
 fully agree to these proposals of mine, in a letter from the Minister 
 at War, of the 1st of January. My object in proposing these 
 measures was to place the armies of Spain on the same footing of 
 subordination and discipline with the other armies of Europe, and to 
 preclude all chance of the continuance of those intrigues, by applica- 
 tions to the Government which had brought the army to the state ia 
 which I found it. 
 
 '- 1 could have no object, or wish of ambition, personal to myself. 
 There are not ten officers in the army whom I know even by sight. I 
 can have no feeling for any but the public interest, connected as it \b 
 with the discipline of the army. . 
 
 " Another proof that I can have no object of that description, is to 
 be found in my letter to the Government, of the 27th of December, 
 in which I proposed that the Captains-General of the different armies.,
 
 374 APPENDIX. 
 
 and not myself, should be tlie Captains-General of the provinces 
 allotted for their support ; and that in their hands should be vested all 
 the power which the military were to have in the country. 
 
 " I am sorry to have to inform you, that whatever my views may 
 have been, they have been entirely frustrated by the departure of the 
 Government from every article of their engagements with me, as 
 sanctioned by their letter of the 1st of January. 
 
 "First they have removed officers from their stations, and have 
 placed them in others, without any recommendation from me, or any 
 other superior officer ; and without even acquainting me, or the 
 superiors of those officers, that they have made such arrangements. 
 
 " Secondly, they have appointed officers to stations without my 
 recommendation, or that of any other superior officer ; and have given 
 them assurances that they should remain in those stations, contrary to 
 their engagements with me ; and to the Royal Ordenanzas, by which 
 the powers and responsibility of the Captains-General of the provinces 
 are regulated. 
 
 " Thirdly, they have without my recommendation, or sending 
 through me their orders, and even without acquainting me with their 
 intentions, moved corps of cavalry and infantry from the army to 
 which they belonged to other stations, and this without any reason, 
 that I am acquainted with, of a public nature. By this last measure 
 the greatest inconvenience and confusion has been produced. 
 
 " I had proposed, and the Government had consented to, a reform 
 of the cavalry ; and they had ordered that it should be carried into 
 execution. I sent orders in consequence, and I might have hoped 
 that the armies would have had a tolerably well-organized cavalry by 
 the commencement of the campaign. Instead of that, I find that the 
 Government have likewise sent orders to the same corps, diffisrent 
 from those which I had sent ; and I am informed, but not by the 
 Minister at War, that the cavalry which I had destined to form part 
 of the army of Galicia, at the opening of the campaign in May, had 
 been ordered, some of it on the Gth of February, and others on the 
 6th of March, without my knowledge, to the Isla de Leon, there to 
 join a cavalry depot which had been formed at that station, likewise 
 without my knowledge. Another corps of cavalry, ordered by me 
 to Alicante, to receive its clothing and horse appointments at Ali- 
 cante, has been ordered by the Minister at War in the province of 
 Seville. 
 
 " I have frequently remonstrated upon these breaches of agreement 
 with me, and on the evils likely to result from them ; but I have 
 hitherto been unable to obtain from the Government any satisfactory
 
 APPENDIX. 375 
 
 reply, whether they intended to conform to their agreement with me 
 or not. 
 
 " To this statement add, that owing to the delays of the Govern- 
 ment in issuing the orders to the financial department in the provinces, 
 to carry into execution the measures decreed by the Cortes, and ar- 
 ranged with me to provide for the support of the armies, that branch 
 of the service is in the same confusion as it was in the end of last 
 year. All the armies are in the greatest distress, for want of pay and 
 provisions ; nothing can be realised, even from those provinces which 
 have been longest freed from the enemy ; and the expectations of the 
 country, and of the allies, that we should have a good Spanish army 
 in this campaign, will certainly be disappointed. 
 
 " I am fully alive to the importance which has been attached 
 throughout Spain, as well as in England and in other parts of Europe, 
 to the circumstance of my having been intrusted with the command 
 of the Spanish armies ; and the officers of the Spanish staff who are 
 here with me, will, I am convinced, do justice to the interest, the 
 devotion, and diligence with which I have laboured to place the mili- 
 tary affairs of the country in the state in which they ought to be. 
 But I have a character to lose ; and in proportion as expectation has 
 been raised by my appointment, will be the extent of the disappoint- 
 ment and regret at finding that Jihings are no better than they were 
 before. 
 
 " I confess that I do not feel inclined to become the object of 
 these disagreeable sensations, either in Spain, in England, or through- 
 out Europe ; and unless some measures can be adopted to prevail 
 upon the Government to force the Minister at War to perform the 
 engagements of the Government with me, I must, however unwillingly, 
 resign a situation and trust which I should not have accepted if these 
 engagements had not been entered into, and I had not believed that 
 they would have been adhered to. 
 
 '' I have written you this long story, because I believe you were 
 principally instrumental in producing the unanimous votes of the 
 Cortes, that the command of the army should be conferred upon me ; 
 and I wish you to communicate this letter to Sefior Argiielles and 
 the Conde de Toreno ; and to Sefior Ciscar, who, I believe, was the 
 person who first moved the subject in the Cortes. I wish them to 
 call for all my letters to the Minister at War and his answers, from 
 the 1st of December last to the present day ; and they will learn from 
 them the exact state of the case : and will be able to judge whether 
 any, and what measures ought to be adopted. But I must tell you 
 that, whatever may be their opinion regarding the measures to be
 
 876 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 adopted by the Cortes on this subject, I must reserve to myself the 
 power of acting according to my own judgment ; and if the agreement 
 made with me, or something substantially the same, is not adhered to 
 by the Regency, I must resign my situation. 
 
 '• I have now to tell you, that I propose to take the field at the 
 head of the Allied British and Portuguese army, as soon as the rain 
 shall have fallen, and the appearance of the green forage will enable 
 me to support the cavalry of the army ; but I am sorry to tell you, 
 that, owing to the measures which are the subject of this letter, I do 
 not believe that a single Spanish soldier will be able to take the field 
 till after the harvest." 
 
 APPENDIX, NO II. 
 
 OiT THE PORTUGUESE APwMY (See page 231). 
 
 TO H. R. K THE PRINCE REGENT OF PORTUGAL. 
 
 "Frenada, 12tA .Spril, 1813. 
 
 " I REQUEST permission to call the attention of your Royal Highness 
 to the state of your troops, and of all your establishments, in conse- 
 quence of the great arrear of pay which is due to them. 
 
 " According to the last statements which I have received, pay is 
 due to the army of operations from the end of last September ; to the 
 troops of the line in garrison, from the month of June ; and to the 
 militia, from February. The transports of the army have never, I 
 believe received any regular payment ; and none whatever since June, 
 1812. The honour of your Royal Highness's arms may perhaps suf- 
 fer greatly by these evils ; and I have repeatedly called, but in vain, 
 the attention of the Governors of the kingdom to this subject. 
 
 " I am now on the point of opening a new campaign with your 
 Royal Highness's army, to which pay is due for a greater space of 
 time than when the last campaign was concluded ; although the 
 subsidy from Great Britain has been hitherto regularly paid, granted 
 especially for the payment and maintenance of a certain body of 
 troops ; and even although it has been proved within the last three 
 months, that the revenue of the state has produced a sum nearer »
 
 APPENDIX. 377 
 
 third than a fourth larger than in any other three months during the 
 whole time I have been aufait of this matter. 
 
 " The serious consequences which may probably result from the 
 backwardness of these payments, affecting as much the honour of 
 your Royal Highness's arms, as the cause of the allies ; and the 
 uniform refusal of the Governors of the kingdom to attend to any 
 one of the measures which I have recommended, either for temporary 
 or permanent relief, have at last obliged me to go into your Royal 
 Highness's presence, for the purpose of stating the result of the 
 measures which I have recommended to the Governors of the 
 kingdom for the reform of the Custom-house, which measures have 
 not yet been carried into full effect, in consequence of the opposition 
 they encounter from the Chief of the Treasury ; although the Gov- 
 nors ought to have been convinced there was room for the suggestion 
 of improvements in the several branches of the public administration 
 of the kingdom of Portugal. But I cannot prevail against the influ- 
 ence of the chief of the Treasury ; this is what induces me to lay this 
 expose before your Royal Highness. 
 
 " In order to improve the resources and means of the kingdom, I 
 have recommended the adoption of some method by which the taxes 
 might be actually and really collected, and the merchants and capi- 
 talists really pay the tenth of their annual profits as an extraordinary 
 contribution for the war ; the effects of this system being first tried 
 in the great cities of Lisbon and Oporto. 
 
 " I can declare that no one knows better than I do the sacrifices 
 which have been made, and the sufferings which have been experienced 
 by your Royal Highness's faithful subjects during the war ; for there 
 is no one who has seen more of the country, or who, for the last four 
 years, has lived so much among the people. 
 
 " It is a fact. Sir, that the great cities, and even some of the 
 smallest places of the kingdom, have gained by the war ; the mer- 
 cantile class generally has enriched itself by the great disbursements 
 which the army makes in money ; and there are individuals at Lisbon 
 and Oporto who have amassed immense sums. The credit of your 
 Royal Highness's Government is not in a state to be able to derive 
 resources from these capitals, owing to remote as also to present 
 circumstances ; and it can obtain advantage only through the means 
 of taxes. The fact is not denied, that the tributes regularly estab- 
 lished at Lisbon and Oporto, as also the contribution of ten per 
 cent, upon the profits of the mercantile class, are not really paid to 
 the state ; nor is it denied that the measures which I have proposed 
 would, if efficaciously carried into execution in the above-mentioned
 
 378 APPENDIX. 
 
 cities, furnish the Government with great pecuniary resources. It 
 remains for the GiDvernment, therefore, to explain to your Royal 
 Highness the reasons why it has not put them in practice, or some 
 other expedient which might render the revenue of the State equal to 
 its expenses. 
 
 " All I have stated to your Royal Highness respecting the arrear 
 of payment to the troops is equally undeniable. The only motive to 
 which I can attribute the Government not having adopted the 
 measures aforesaid, is the fear that they might not be popular ; but 
 the knowledge I have of the good sense and loyalty of your Royal 
 Highness's subjects, the reliance I place therein, and my zeal for the 
 cause in which your Royal Highness is engaged with your allies, 
 induce me to offer myself, not only as responsible for the happy issue 
 of the measures which I have recommended, but to take upon myself 
 all the odium which they might create. I have, nevertheless, not been 
 able to overcome the influence of the Treasury. 
 
 " Another measure which I recommended, was the entire abolition 
 of the Jiinta de Viveres^ to put an end to a monthly expense of nearly 
 fifty cantos of reis, caused by the Junta, under the plea of paying 
 their old debts. Never was any Sovereign in the world so ill served 
 as your Royal Highness has been by the Junta de Viveres ; and I do 
 not think I have rendered a greater service to your Royal Highness 
 than that which I did in soliciting that it might be abolished. 
 
 '■ However, after its abolition, under the specious pretext of paying 
 its debts, it has received monthly from the Treasury, a little more or 
 less, fifty contos of reis. It cannot be doubted that the Junta de 
 Viveres is very much in debt ; and it is of great importance to your 
 Royal Highness's Government that some method of arranging and 
 paying these debts should be adopted. But I request that your 
 Royal Highness will order the Governors of the kingdom to let your 
 Royal Highness see in detail the manner in which the above-men- 
 tioned fifty contos of rds, granted monthly, have been applied. 
 
 " Have all the accounts of the Junta de Viveres been called in and 
 liquidated ? Who has performed this operation ? To what sum 
 does their debt amount? Has it been classified? Finally, have 
 measures been adopted to know with certainty how much is really 
 due to those to whom something has already been paid upon account 
 of their debt ? Is my part of the fifty contos of rm, which are issued 
 for many months by the Treasury, applied to the payment of the sala- 
 ries of the members of the Junta de Viveres^ abolished, I believe, by 
 your Royal Highness's orders? 
 
 "I request that your Royal Highhess will command that an
 
 APPENDIX. 379 
 
 answer be given to each of the questions aforesaid, which will enable 
 your Royal Highness to see the state of these transactions. 
 
 " But admitting that it be convenient to pay at this time the debts 
 of the Junta de Viveres, it would be almost superfluous to propose 
 the question, whether it be more important to pay those debts, or to 
 pay the army which has to defend your Royal Highness's kingdom 
 and Government; and, to protect the honour and property of your 
 Royal Highness's subjects, and everything most dear to them in life ; 
 without which, nothing could escape destruction. This army will 
 neither be able nor willing to fight, if it be not paid. 
 
 " Another measure which I have lately recommended, as a remedy 
 capable of putting the Government in a condition to pay the army of 
 operations for some time, in the same manner and to the same period 
 to which their comrades in the British army are paid, is, that there be 
 taken out of the hands of all the collectors of the revenue of the State 
 the balances which they may owe to the royal Treasury. 
 
 " My attention was called to this subject by a communication made 
 to me by a military officer in the province of Trasos Montes, relating 
 to a large sum of money in the hands of the collector of the revenue 
 at Braganza, at the time when the enemy made movements towards 
 the Esla ; and having inquired into this mattter, I found that, accord- 
 ing to the manner in which the Treasury manages its transactions, 
 every one of the collectors of the revenue of the State has always in 
 his possession the amount of the revenue he has received in the space 
 of a month. 
 
 '■ I recommended that the collectors should be obliged to deliver in, 
 every fifteen days, whatever they had received; but I have. not been 
 able to accomplish it. 
 
 ''Your Royal Highness has frequently deigned to make known to 
 the Governors of the kingdom your royal desire that they should at- 
 tend to my advice, and they have as frequently assured your Royal 
 Highness that they give it every attention. 
 
 " I can assure your Royal Highness, that when I devote myself to 
 the labour of taking into consideration the affairs of the State, and 
 giving my opinion upon them to the Governors of the kingdom, I have 
 no object in doing so, excepting the interest I feel in the good of the 
 nation, and the honour and prosperity of your Royal Highness ; and I 
 am not in any degree induced to do so from objects of personal in- 
 terest, for none can I have relatively to Portugal ; nor can I have any 
 with regard to individuals, for not having any relations, and being 
 almost unacquainted with those who direct, or would wish to direct, 
 the affairs of your Royal Highness.
 
 380 APPENDIX. 
 
 " Although the measures which I have hitherto recommended, and 
 which have at last been adopted — such as the payment of the interest 
 upon the national debt in paper currency,' the reform of the custom 
 houses, the establishment of a military chest, and others which it is 
 unnecessary to mention — have answered the ends of their adoption; 
 and perhaps I might say, that other measures which I could propose, 
 would have similar results ; yet I am ready to allow that I may 
 perhaps deceive myself Nevertheless, I request with great earnest- 
 ness that your Royal Highness will deign to be persuaded that the 
 motives which induce me to recommend these measures, and to appeal 
 against the chief of the Treasury, are founded upon my wishes to pro- 
 mote and forward the benevolent intentions of your Royal Highness, 
 as well as the best results to the cause in which your Royal Highness 
 is engaged. 
 
 " I venture to express again, in the^ost decided manner, my very 
 ardent wish that your Royal Highness will be pleased to return to 
 your kingdom, to take charge of its government ; which not only myself, 
 but all your Royal Highness's /aithful subjects, desire with the 
 greatest anxiety. 
 
 " May God preserve your Royal Highness many years ! " 
 
 APPENDIX, No. III. 
 
 THE CONTINENTAL PYRENEES, (See page 2G2). 
 
 They extend in a line of 22i miles from Cape Creux as far as Cape 
 Figuier. Their greatest breadth, which is towards the middle of 
 this line, is about 75 miles. They do not form one single straight 
 line, but are composed of two nearly parallel lines about 20 miles 
 apart from each other, and united at the middle of their mass by some 
 mountains which bend round at nearly right angles with the general 
 direction. Their vertical arrangement resembles somewhat that of 
 an amphitheatre whose several terraces, or steps, rise from 1968 to 
 11,150 feet. They sink down by successive declivities towards the 
 ocean and the Mediterranean, but the depression is not equally
 
 APPENDIX. 381 
 
 Bensible at the two extremities : in the eastern portion the chain which 
 had regularly decreased in elevation suddenly rises again for 25 miles, 
 and then sinks abruptly into the Mediterranean. 
 
 The principal mass of the Pyrenees is arid, rocky, precipitous and 
 covered with snow and ice ; but its spurs, being much less elevated, 
 form smiling and fertile valleys. These spurs are detached nearly 
 at right angles ; those on the south, although longer than those 
 on the north, have, notwithstanding, the steeper slope. Some of 
 them are very considerable, and reach to the Ebro, which they im- 
 pede in its course. The most remarkable and the longest of them 
 runs between the Segre and the Llobregat, like a long wall, parallel 
 with the coast, and proceeds to join, upon the Ebro, the last hillocks 
 of the Sierra Penagolosa. The highest part of the Pyrenees occurs 
 near the middle of the chain, its average elevation being about 
 9184 feet. The lowest portion of this chain are its two extremities, 
 which decrease in altitude to 2624 feet, and even to 1968 feet. The 
 limit of perpetual snow is here at 8858 feet. The culminating points 
 do not belong to the main ridge, but are found upon the southern 
 spurs; they are the peak of Malladetta, 11,168 feet in height. The 
 Pyrenees are interesting not only from their elevation and their 
 mass, but still more so by reason of their natural riches, their 
 picturesque beauty, their historical association's, their active and 
 intelligent population, and finally, from their position between two 
 powerful states, to both of which tbey form a protecting rampart. 
 The passes formed by the depressions of this chain are very numerous, 
 but very difiicult ; and the greater number of them are impracticable 
 for carriages. "We may note in the "Western Pyrenees, that is to 
 say, from the Gorge of Goritty to the sources of the Ad our and the 
 Cinco : — 
 
 1. The road from Pampeluna to Bayonne, passing first by the 
 Gorge of Belatte, in the great chain, and afterwards by the Gorge 
 of Maya, in the ridge into Bidassoa and Nivelle ; it is a bad one, 
 but important on account of the valley of Bastan, which it traverses 
 by the way of EUisondo. The two passes belong to Spain, and the 
 road does not reach the French frontier until it touches the 
 Nivelle. 
 
 2. The road from Pampeluna by Zubiri, the Gorge of the Alludes 
 and the valley of Baigorry, to Saint Jean Pied-de-Port ; it is exceed- 
 ingly bad, passing through frightful gorges. 
 
 3. The route from Pampeluna passes Roncesvalles, the Gorge of 
 Ibagnetta (at a height of 5771 feet), and Orisson, to Saint Jean 
 Pied-de-Port. This is a better road than the preceding, but runs
 
 382 APPENDIX. 
 
 from Roncesvalles as far as Orisson along the crest of the mountains : 
 it was followed in the campaign of 1813. 
 
 4. From Jaca by the pass of Canfranc to Oleron. In the Central 
 Pyrenees, that is to say, from the sources of the Adour and of the 
 Cinca, to those of the Ariege and the Segre, we meet nothing but 
 mere footpaths impracticable for armies, and which are scarcely 
 travelled even by smugglers. The principal of these are: — 1, that 
 from Venasque to Saint Gaudens ; and 2, that from Rialp to Saint 
 Gaudens. In the Eastern Pyrenees, that is from the sources of the 
 Ariege and of the Segre to the Mediterranean, there are : — 
 
 1. The road from Urgel to Perpignan by Puycerda, the Gorge of 
 la Perche, and Montlouis ; it has many defiles. 
 
 2. The road from Camprcdon to Perpignan. by Pratz-de-Mollo and 
 the Boulon. 
 
 3. The road from Figuieres to Perpignan, by the Junquera, the 
 Gorge of Pertus, the Fort of Bellegarde, and the Boulon: this is the 
 great eastern high road. 
 
 The two first-mentioned roads turn the third in skirting along the 
 Tesh and the Tet, the first lines of defence of France. Communica- 
 tion in a direction parallel with the crest of the chain is impossible, 
 by reason of the breadth of the spurs. The nearest road on the 
 southern face is that which runs from Pampeluna by Balbostro and 
 Lerida to Barcelona. 
 
 The invasion of Spain cannot therefore be eflfeeted on a continuous 
 line ; and as the want of roads prevents the. country from being 
 entered by the middle of the chain, an invading army can only 
 advance by the great western and eastern roads. That on the west 
 appears to be the easier of the two, because there are fewer fortified 
 places upon it ; but the aggressor has upon his flank the maritime 
 Pyrenees, from whence he may be shut up in the defiles of the Ebro. 
 On the east there is a quadruple line of fortresses, covered by winding 
 streams, and by a large river ; and by this road only the regions 
 bordering on the Mediterranean are reached ; it does not lead to the 
 centre of the Peninsula. It would be an act of the greatest impru- 
 dence to endeavour to penetrate by both these roads at once, for they 
 do not converge, and are separated by large expanses of territory, and 
 by natural obstacles of every description. An invader, therefore, 
 must advance by the one, and be satisfied with observing the other. 
 It is impossible to penetrate by the middle of the chain in the present 
 state of the passes. Napoleon dared not attempt it, but he enter- 
 tained the project of levelling the Pyrenees by excavating a great 
 road through the middle of them. If this were aflfected, then,
 
 APPENDIX. 383 
 
 indeed, an invading army might enter directly, by the centre, upon 
 Saragossa ; and two detached corps would suffice to observe the for- 
 tresses of the east and the west. (Lavallee.) 
 
 APPENDIX, No. IV. 
 (See page 269.) 
 
 TO EARL BATHURST. 
 
 Lesaca, 8th August, 1813. 
 
 " It is a very common error, among those unacquainted with 
 military affairs, to believe that there are no limits to military success. 
 After having driven the French from the frontiers of Portugal and 
 Madrid to the frontiers of France, it is generally expected that we 
 shall immediately invade France ; and some even expect that we shall 
 be at Paris in a month. None appear to have taken a correct view 
 of our situation on the frontier, of which the enemy still possess all 
 the strongholds within Spain itself; of which strongholds, or at least 
 some of them, we must get possession before the season closes, or we 
 shall have no communication whatever with the interior of Spain. 
 Then in France, on the same great communications, there are other 
 strongholds, of which we must likewise get possession. 
 
 "An army which has made such marches, and has fought such 
 battles, as that under my command has, is necessarily much deterio- 
 rated. Independently of the actual loss of numbers by death, 
 wounds, and sickness, many men and officers are out of the ranks for 
 various causes. The equipment of the army, their ammunition, the 
 soldiers' shoes, &c., require renewal; the magazines for the new 
 operations require to be collected and formed, and many arrange- 
 ments to be made, without which the army could not exist a day, but 
 which are not generally understood by those who have not had the 
 direction of such concerns in their hands. Then observe, that this 
 new operation is only the invasion of France, in which country every- 
 body is as soldier, where the whole population is armed and organised, 
 under persons, not. as in other countries, inexperienced in arms, but 
 men, who, in the course of the last twenty-five years, in which Fran fie
 
 384 APPENDIX. 
 
 has been engaged in war with all Europe, must, the majority of them, 
 at least, have served somewhere. 
 
 '• I entertain no doubt that I could to-morrow enter France, and 
 establish the array on the Adour, but I could go no further certainly. 
 If peace should be made by the Powers of the North, I must neces- 
 sarily withdraw into Spain ; and the retreat, however short, would be 
 difficult, on account of the hostility and the warlike disposition of 
 the inhabitants, particularly of this part of the country, and the 
 military direction they would receive from the gentry, their leaders. 
 To this add, that the difficulty of all that must be done to set the 
 army to rights, after its late severe battles and victories, will be much 
 increased by its removal into France at an early period ; and that 
 it must stop short in the autumn, if it now moves at too early a 
 period. 
 
 " So far for the immediate invasion of France, which, from what I 
 have seen of the state of the negociations in the north of Europe. I 
 have determined to consider only in reference to the convenience of 
 my own operations. 
 
 " The next point for consideration is the proposal of the Due de 
 Berri to join this army, taking the command of 20,000 men, who, 
 he says, are ready, organised, and even armed, in order to act with us. 
 My opinion is, that the interests of the House of Bourbon and of all 
 Europe are the same, viz., in some manner or other, to get the better 
 and rid of Bonaparte. 
 
 '• Although, therefore, the allies in the north of Europe, and even 
 Great Britain and Spain, might not be prepared to go the length of 
 declaring that they would not lay down their arms till Bonaparte 
 should be dethroned, they would be justified in taking this assistance 
 from the House of Bourbon, and their French party who are dis- 
 satisfied with the government of Bonaparte. It might be a question 
 with the House of Bourbon, whether they would involve their parti- 
 sans in France upon anything short of such a declaration, but none 
 with the allies whetlicr they would receive such assistance. Indeed, 
 there would scarcely be a question for the Princes of the House of 
 Bourbon, if they are acquainted with the real nature and extent of 
 Bonaparte's power. He rests internally upon the most extensive 
 and expensive system of corruption that was ever established in 
 any country, and externally upon his military power, which is sup- 
 ported almost exclusively by foreign contributions. If he can be 
 confined to the limits of France by any means, his system must 
 fall. He cannot bear the expense of his internal government and of 
 his army ; and the reduction of either would be fatal to him. Any
 
 APPENDIX. 385 
 
 measures, therefore, which should go only to confine him to France 
 would forward, and ultimately attain, the objects of the House of 
 Bourbon and of their partisans. 
 
 " If the House of Bourbon and the allies, however, do not concur 
 in this reasoning, we must then, before the Due de Berri is allowed 
 to join the army, get from the allies, in the north of Europe, a 
 declaration how far they will persevere in the contest with a view to 
 dethrone Bonaparte ; and the British Government must make up 
 their minds on the question, and come to an understandmg upon it 
 witli those of the Peninsula." 
 
 END OF VOL. L 
 \OU L 2 B
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 THE 
 
 DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
 
 I 1 "^ irTTT T- 
 
 ■' Ml Ml' I "11" 1 f 
 
 
 
 LAST MOMENTS OF Tilt IJUKK.
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 IIELD MAKSHAL 
 
 THE 
 
 .DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 (8T. mast's chcbch, wai.mkk.) 
 
 By J. H. STOCQUELER, Esq., 
 
 Author of «The British Officer," "The Handbook of British India," "The Military 
 
 Encyclopaedia," " Travels In Persia, Turltey, Russia, Germany, &c.," 
 
 and other works. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES, WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS 
 
 VOL. n. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PUBLISHED BY JAS. B. SMITH & CO., 
 
 NO. 146 CHESTNUT STREET- 
 
 1855.
 
 PREFACE TO THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 It was intended that tlie present volume should have followed 
 its predecessor at the interval of one month. The deep inter- 
 est, however, taken by the British public in all that in any 
 manner relates to the illustrious subject of this biography, led 
 to such an extensive pubhcation of facts and correspondence, 
 more or less bearing upon the career and character of the Duke 
 of "Wellington, that it was deemed advisable to await the com- 
 pletion of the array, ia order that everything that could throw 
 light upon his history might be accumulated and collected to 
 contribute to the perfection — if such a word may be unpre- 
 sumingly used — of these Memoirs. 
 
 In the author's anxiety to avoid the sin of book-making, he 
 has now reduced the ample materiel at his command within the 
 smallest compass consistent with justice to the reader and to 
 the theme. But a mere narrative, in the most enlarged form, 
 is insufficient to convey a fair idea of the true greatness of the 
 Duke of Wellington, even with the assistance of copious notes. 
 A reserved man — one of few words in conversation — and 
 scarcely accessible to any but his most intimate friends, — the 
 cast and comprehensiveness of the Duke's mind could only be 
 measured by an attentive study of his speeches, despatches, and 
 other writings. 
 
 Dr. Johnson said that a man might be known by his letters. 
 This is but partially true. Most men furnish additional and 
 necessary clues to their characters, whereas the Duke of Wel- 
 lington, justifying the dictum of the great lexicogTapher, left 
 his letters to speak for him entirely. Hence it has become es- 
 sential to transfer some of the documents emanating from his 
 Grace's pen to this volume ; and that the narrative might not 
 be needlessly broken, these are to be found in the Appendix,
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 and will account for the unusual space devoted to tliat part of 
 the work. 
 
 Amongst the papers to which the reader's attention is s}>e- 
 cially in\ated, is the Duke's memorable letter to Sir John Bur- 
 goyne on the National Defences ; — a document now so scarce 
 that not one of the numerous booksellers who had been applied 
 to was able to lay his hand upon a copy. Taken in connection 
 with the Duke's speech on the Militia Bill, it may be regarded 
 Q.S a legacy to all those persons to whom the preservation of 
 our liberty and independence is confided. Happily the Duke's 
 prediction, that he would live to see the day when hostile 
 armies should contend within the United Kingdom, has not 
 been verified ; but that day may not be remote, and its conse- 
 quences disastrous, if the wise counsel of the illustrious chief 
 is disregarded. 
 
 Next in importance to the letter to Sir John Burgoyne are 
 the extracts from the Review of Captain Siborne's Waterloo 
 book and Mr. Alison's History. It is known to us that this 
 Review was partly written by the Duke himself ; and the facts 
 which it relates, illustrative of the campaign in the Netherlands, 
 are therefore to be entirely relied upon. 
 
 Upon the other papers and articles contained in the Ap- 
 pendix no remark is necessary : they speak for themselves ; 
 and we shall be very much mistaken if they are considered su- 
 perfluous by a single reader who desires to possess a complete 
 record of the great and good man and devoted patriot, of whom 
 England has unhappily — ^but yet in the fulness of tune — been 
 bereft.
 
 CONTENTS; 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Napoleon's progress to Paris — Defection of the French troops — The Emperor's 
 preparations for War — The Duke's plan of operations for the Invasion of 
 France — Correspondence of the Duke when at Brussels — View of Napoleon's 
 aggression 1 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 The British Army in the Netherlands — Napoleon joins his Army at 
 Avesnes — Attacks the Prussians — Battle of Ligny — Battle of Quatre 
 Bras « 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Retreat from Quatre Bras— The Battle of Waterloo .... 22 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The night after Waterloo— The gains and losses — State of Brussels during 
 the 16th, 17th, and 18th of June — Advance of the Allies into France — 
 Louie XVIIL joins the British camp — The scenes in Paris — Napoleon's 
 political throes — The abdication of the Emperor — Proposals for Peace — 
 Capitulation of Paris — The Allied Armies enter Paris . . . .36 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Napoleon flies to Rochefort — Is taken to England, and deported to St. 
 Helena — Feeling in England on the news of the Battle of Waterloo — 
 TJjanks of Parliament, and Additional Vote of 200,000^.— Other marks 
 of Public Gratitude— Bli'ieher's design on the Pont de Jena frustrated — 
 Wellington created Prince of Waterloo, <fec. . . • ' • -64
 
 viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PAOS 
 
 The second Restoration — Condemnation of Political Offenders — Justification 
 of the Duke in reference to Alarshal Ney — The spoliation of the Louvre — 
 The Dukes honourable proceedings — The Army of Occupation . . 68 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Army of Occupation — The Duke's residence in Paris, from 1815 to 1818 — 
 The Army breaks up, and the Duke returns to England . . . .16 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Duke's, return — Appointed Master-General of the Ordnance — Birth of 
 Queen Victoria — Accession of George IV. — Queen Caroline — Unpopularity 
 of the Duke — Trial of the Queen — The Congress at Verona — Death of 
 Lord Londonderry — The Duke goes to Verona — Result of his mission . 84 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Three years of Idleness — Apsley House — The pictures — The Greek ques- 
 tion — Embassy to St. Petersburgh — Death of the Duke of York — The 
 Duke of Wellington appointed Commander-in-Chief — Death of the Earl of 
 Liverpool — Mr. Canning forms a ilinistry — Resignation of the Duke — His 
 reasons for resigning his seat in the Cabinet, and the command of the 
 Army 93 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Duke, by the amendmeut, destroys Mr. Canning's Corn Bill — Death of 
 Mr. Canning — I'he Goderich Ministry — The Duke resumes the conmiand 
 of the Army — Break-up of the Goderich Administration — The Duke be- 
 comes Prime Minister 116 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Catholic Question — The Duke and Dr. Curtis — The Duke urges Emanci- 
 pation upon the King — The Catholic Emancipation Bill brought forward 
 in the House of Lords — Carried — Tlie Duke's Duel with the Earl of Win- 
 chelsea — Death of the Earl of Liverpool — Appointment of the Duke to be 
 Lord Warden of the Cinque Porte 140
 
 CONTEM'S. ht^ 
 
 CHAPTEK XIL 
 
 PAGB 
 
 The Duke and the Press — Parliamentary Session of 1830 — The National Dis- 
 tress — The Duke on the Corn Laws, Currency, &c. — Death of George 
 IV. — Succession of William IV. — Revolution in France, Belgium, and 
 Poland-r-The Regency Question in England — The Civil List — Resignation 
 of Ministers 151 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Reform question — The Ministerial Bill defeated in Committee — Parlia- 
 ment dissolves — Re-assembles — New Bill introduced — Passes in the 
 Commons — Is resisted by the Duke in the House of Lords — The Duke's 
 Speeches ... 159 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Session of 1833 — The Duke's opinions on various questions — His views 
 of Principle and Expediency — The Duke elected Chancellor of the Uni- 
 versity of Oxford, in 1834 — Resignation of Lord Melbourne — Sir R. Peel 
 forms a Ministry — It is soon broken up — The Whigs recalled — Death of 
 William the Fourth 173 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Accession of Queen Victoria 192 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Hie Session of 1840 — The Duke on the religion of Prince Albert — The 
 Affghanistan Campaign — The Navy — Libels on the Proceedings of the 
 House of Commons — The Marriage of the Queen — The Whig Ministry 
 resigns, in 1841 — The Duke as an orator 203 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Duke resumes the command of the Army — Sessions of 1843 and 1844 — 
 Opinions on the Conquest of Seinde and the recall of Lord Ellenborough 
 — Equestrian statues of the Duke raised in the City of London and at 
 Glasgow— The Queen visits the Duke at Strathfieldsaye— The Duke's 
 letters — Accident to the Duke 217
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PAQE 
 
 Sir Robert Peel aad the Coru Laws — The Duke's resistance — Resignation of 
 the Peel Ministry — And their resumption of office on the failure of Lord 
 John Russell to form a Government — The Duke gives way — The Corn 
 Laws repealed — Erection of the statue on the Triumphal Arch at Hyde 
 Park Corner — Resignation of Sir Robert Peel — Lord John Russell forms a 
 Government — The Duke on our National Defences 2S0 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Chartists — Monster Meeting on Kenningtoa Common — London in "a 
 state of siege" — The Duke's military dispositions — The Chartist Meeting 
 dissolves peaceably — Presentation of the Chartist Petition in the House of 
 Commons 240 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The French Revolution— The Death of Sir R. Peel— The Great Exhibition- 
 Prince Louis Napoleon — The Embodiment of the Militia — Death of the. 
 Duke of Wellington — Tributes — Appointments consequent on his Death — 
 Public Funeral 253 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Character of the Duke of Wellington . . , . . . . .281 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Habits of the Duke of Wellington 295 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The Titles, Hoaours, aad Descent of the Duke . . . . . 808 
 
 AvpBUVa. 820
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 rAOB 
 
 WALMER CASTLE . . . . . . Frontispiece, 
 
 BT. Mary's church, walmer . . . . . vignette, 
 
 NAPOLEON 8 
 
 THE THEATRE OF WAR IN 1815, COMPRISING QUATRE BRAS, LIGNY, 
 
 AND "WATERLOO 9 
 
 THE EARL OF UXBRIDGE, AFTERWARDS MARQUIS OF ANGLESEY . 10 . 
 
 MARSHAL KEY 18 
 
 MONT ST. JEAN ...» 26 
 
 CHATEAU OF HOUGOUMONT 28 
 
 CHAPEL OF HOUGOUMONT 29 
 
 SQUARE AT WATERLOO — CHARGE OF THE FRENCH CUIRASSIERS . 32 
 
 THE EVENING OF THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. NAPOLEON AND 
 
 STAFF. ADVANCE OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD ... 33 
 
 VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGH S9 
 
 8TRATHFIELDSAYE 63 
 
 PRINCE TALLEYRAND 69 
 
 APSLEY HOUSE 84 
 
 LORD ELDON 86 
 
 LORD LIVERPOOL 87 
 
 THE WALL OF THE CHATEAU OF HOUGOUMONT . . , .88 
 
 THE RIGHT HON. GEORGE CANffiNO 90 
 
 the town of wellington 92 
 
 Copenhagen's grave 98 
 
 the duke of york in the coronation costume . . .101 
 
 column at trim 115 
 
 w. huski8s0n 130 
 
 column in phcenix park, dublin 139
 
 si LEST or ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LORD WIKCHKLSEA H*? 
 
 WALMER CASTLE 150 
 
 GEORGE THE FOURTH 155 
 
 LORD LYNDHURSX 169 
 
 COSTUME OF THE DUES AS CHANCELLOR l78 
 
 EARL GREY 185 
 
 SIR ROBERT PEEL 187 
 
 WILLIAM THE FOURTH ........ 190 
 
 LORD BROUGHAM 198 
 
 STATUE AT EDINBURGH 201 
 
 STATUE IN FRONT OF THE ROYAL EXCHANGE 222 
 
 THE STATUE AT GLASGOW 223 
 
 LORD PALMERSTON ......... 232 
 
 STATUE AT HYDE PARK CORNER 237 
 
 SANDOWN CASTLE 252 
 
 LAST MOMENTS OF THE DUKE .261 
 
 LORD HARDINGE « . . 268 
 
 LYING IN STATE . . « 274 
 
 THE FUNERAL CAR 275 
 
 THE CRYPT OF ST. PAUl's 278 
 
 PAMPELUNA 280 
 
 THE duke's room AT WALMER 296 
 
 OBELISK AT WELLINGTON, SOMERSETSHIRE 302 
 
 STATUE AT THE TOWER 304 
 
 ▼BLLINaiON's ORDERS AND DECORATIONS. — PLATES I. II. AND II) . 309
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Napoleon's progress to Paris— Defection of the French troops— The Emperor's preparations for 
 War— The Duke's plan of operations for the Invasion of France — Correspondence of the 
 Duke when at Brussels — View of Napoleon's aggression. 
 
 T has been stated that 
 Napoleon resumed the 
 Government of France 
 on the 4th of April, 
 1815. It is necessary to 
 take a retrospect of the 
 steps by which he as- 
 cended to that " danjrer- 
 ous eminence." 
 
 Immediately after land- 
 ing in the Gulf of St 
 Juan, Napoleon at the 
 head of his fragment of 
 an army, advanced to- 
 wards Paris. His jour- 
 ney lay through La Mure, Vizille, Grenoble, Lyons, Ma<;on, Montereau. 
 The cries of Vive I' Empereur were at first faint and scattered — the 
 peasantry did not know whether to curse or bless the chance that had 
 again brought them visd-vis the man who had conquered and reigned 
 through the conscription. At Vizille, the 5th Regiment of the Line 
 were drawn up to oppose his progress. He fearlessly presented 
 
 vol.. II. 1
 
 2 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815 
 
 himself before them. The apparition of the little chajjeau, the drab 
 frock, the green coat of the chasseurs de la garde, and the jack boots, 
 was too much for them. They forgot their vows to the Bourbons, 
 and after a moment declared for the Emperor. 
 
 " It was," exclaims Lamartine, " the junction of France, past and 
 present, embracing each other at the call of glory — the iyivoluritary 
 sedition of hearts.^'' One defection was an example for others — the 
 hearts of the army were with Napoleon ; hostility at a distance 
 became loyalty in his presence. The 4th Regiment of the Line 
 deliberately prepared themselves for a traitorous demonstration by 
 carrying the coloured cockades in their bosoms and in the drums, 
 displaying them under the auspices of Colonel Labedoyere, as soon 
 as the Emperor was in sight. The people of Grenoble, in defiance 
 of the garrison, burst open the gates and lowered the draw-bridge to 
 admit Bonaparte. » 
 
 Napoleon's marshals were not much disposed to second his enter- 
 prise. He flattered himself that it was because they had become 
 rich through his favour, and did not wish to be killed ; but the truth 
 was, that he had acquired no hold upon their affections. On the 
 contrary, he had treated every one of them in his turn with insolence 
 and injustice, and they did not forget it. He had stored their minds 
 with recollections of affronts and offences. There was not one who 
 had not been either censured or superseded, and those who had 
 not been spontaneously recalled had tendered their resignations. 
 He gave them fine names — fed them — occasionally caressed them 
 — trained them to hunt down the game, as if they were so 
 many dogs — rewarded them with a share of the spoil, but made 
 little scruple of whipping or kicking them when anything went 
 wrong. They were not displeased at his fall — could they be other- 
 wise than annoyed at hi.s sudden return ? Massena, who commanded 
 in the South, announced his arrival to the King, and declared tfiat all 
 the necessary military measures had been taken to arrest him. Soult, 
 who had become Minister of War, and was suiipuscJ to be sincere 
 towards the Bourbons, issued a proclamation to the army, in which he 
 spoke of Napoleon as a usurper. "What does he want?" ran the 
 document — " Civil war. What does he seek for ? Traitors. Where 
 will he find them ^ * * * • Bonaparte despises us enough to 
 believe that we can abandon a kgi(i??iate and %vcU-beIoved Sovereign 
 to share the fate of a man who is nothing more than an adventurer ' 
 He believes it, the madman ' His last act of lunacy shows him in 
 his true colours." And thus he, the crafty old soldier, who was 
 known to the army of the Empire by the soubriquet of '• Monsieur
 
 1815.] NAPOLEON ADVANCES TO PARIS. 3 
 
 Renard," and who had so often invoked fealty to the Eagle, called 
 upon the soldiers to rally round the banner of the Lilies. Ney was 
 even more enthusiastic in his new-born loyalty, and rushing to the 
 presence of the King on the eve of his joining an army assembled 
 under the Count d'Artois, the King's brother, to crush Napoleon's 
 invasion — swore to Louis XVIII. that he would bring his enemy 
 to Paris conquered and in chains in an iron cage ! 
 
 But all this enthusiasm did not assure the Bourbons that they 
 could rely upon the honour and fidelity of the marshals. Their sus- 
 picions — groundless as the result in some instances proved — led them 
 to move the King to at least dismiss Marshal Soult from his post. 
 
 At Lyons, Napoleon, it was supposed, would be annihilated ; for a 
 large force had been hastily assembled there under the Count 
 d'Artois, the Due d'Orleans (afterwards Louis Philippe), and 
 Marshal Macdonald — the latter of whom was adored by the soldiers, 
 because he had been true to the Emperor in the last hours of his 
 adversity. Never was calculation on loyalty more unfounded. At 
 the sight of Napoleon's advanced guard, the whole force declared for 
 the Emperor, and the three generals fled back to Paris in consterna- 
 tion. At Lons-le-Saunier, Marshal Ney, who, with all his bravery 
 and skill, was a man of small moral purpose, decided, after a racking 
 contest, between his sense of duty and the allurements of military 
 glory, to abandon the cause of the Bourbons. He harangued his 
 troops, vilified the Bourbons, declared their cause lost, and dignifying 
 Napoleon's invasion with the appellation of the " re-ascent to the 
 throne of the legitimate dynasty," announced that he was about to 
 lead the soldiers to the " immortal phalanx," which the Emperor was 
 conducting to Paris. " Vive I'Empereur !" 
 
 The soldiers took up the cry — the defection became universal. 
 The people, no longer assured of the protection of the army, joined 
 in the sedition, and the roads to Paris being thus opened. Napoleon 
 moved on to Fontainbleau, and, after a faint opposition, reached 
 Paris. The Bourbons had fled. Louis XVIII. to Ghent, in 
 Flanders. 
 
 What immediately passed at Vienna has been recorded. 
 
 The Bourbons now made an attempt to raise a civil war on their 
 own account. The Due d'Angouleme and the Duchess, " the only 
 man in the family," as Napoleon was accustomed to call her, 
 endeavoured to rally the people in the south — at Provence, 
 Marseilles, and Bordeaux — and all unavailingly. The Bonapartean 
 fever had seized the people, and the Bourbonism of a few months 
 evaporated rapidly. 
 
 2c
 
 4 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815 
 
 Napoleon, of course, made a multitude of fine promises to the 
 nation. He began to prepare for it a new Constitution. He 
 abolished slavery — and appealing to the souvenirs of the soldiers of 
 the Empire, he created a spontaneous enthusiasm for the military 
 service. The army had been reduced by the policy and servile 
 economy of the Bourbons to 90,000 men ; Napoleon raised it by his 
 artful appeals to 130,000 in a very few days; and numerous corps 
 were formed by the young men of France, who enrolled themselves 
 as volunteers under the denomination of " patriotic associations." 
 On the 1st of June, a grand and imposing military spectacle was held 
 on the Champ de Mars, when the deputies of departments and of the 
 Army and Navy attended, and the Emperor, in the presence of many 
 thousands of spectators, made a speech, the burthen of which was 
 that he held power for the people — that France was the sole object 
 of his thoughts and actions — and that the honour, glory, and happi- 
 ness of France were the only guides of his conduct. All this, 
 however, was unavailing with the Legislature. They appointed for 
 their President a man who had rendered himself peculiarly obnoxious 
 to Napoleon at the close of his reign in March, 1814. Napoleon 
 craftily confirmed the nomination, and trusted to the march of 
 events to give him back the popularity which it was clear he 
 had lost. 
 
 In the meantime the recruiting for the French army went on, to 
 prepare for the struggle which Napoleon saw was inevitable. To 
 meet the immense force the allies had resolved on collecting, he 
 managed to raise an army of 559,000 men, such as it was. Clothing, 
 and arms, and equipments of all sorts were necessary, but when the 
 regiments destitute of these came to be enumerated, there were not 
 absolutely more than 217,000 soldiers of the regular army fully 
 equipped for service. 
 
 The scheme of operations devised by the allies for extinguishing 
 the new power which had thus suddenly arisen was not unknown to 
 Napoleon, and he applied the resources of his mind to its counter- 
 action. Several plans suggested themselves to him. He at first 
 meditated awaiting their advance upon Paris, where he might, by the 
 time they could possibly have reached the capital, be prepared to 
 receive and defeat them. But the people dreaded the approach of 
 the allies, and the vast force they were accumulating seemed to 
 render all prospect of a successful opposition to their advance 
 perfectly futile. Under these circumstances Napoleon conceived 
 another plan of operations, and this, after many deliberations, he 
 adopted. Belgium, he concluded, wished to be re-united to France.
 
 1815.] PLAN OF HOSTILE OPERATIONS. 5 
 
 The presence of the English was an obstacle to the accomplishment 
 of this wish. The foe driven out, Belgium would again become a 
 French province, and the English parliamentary opposition, alarmed 
 at the expense of the war, would compel the Government to make 
 peace. He therefore resolved to anticipate attack, and endeavour to 
 defeat the allies in detail, as they reached the frontier. 
 
 To carry out this plan Napoleon distributed his army along the 
 frontier, and made peace with all the Generals of the empire, for the 
 sake of their services. He forgot their treachery in their revived 
 loyalty, and gave to Soult the post of Major-General of the army ; to 
 Masseua, the governorship of Metz ; to Ney, he assigned the command 
 of the first corps in the army, posted in the neighbourhood of Lille. 
 Lobau, Clausel, Grouchy, Kellerman, Excelmans, Gerard, Suchet, and 
 Vaudamme, were placed at the head of diflFerent corps, and Davoust 
 was continued at Paris as Minister of War. 
 
 The moment that it was decided the Duke of Wellington should 
 take an active part in resisting the new aggression of Napoleon, his 
 Grace began to direct his mind to the measures essential to the success 
 of the operations of the allies. He saw that, with such a force as they 
 could bring into the field, the contest would be a short one, and 
 decidedly successful. Nothing, he was satisfied, could be done with 
 a small or inefiicient force : " The war would linger on and would 
 end to our disadvantage." Motives of economy, therefore, supplied 
 an inducement to the British Government to bring the largest 
 possible force into action at the earliest and the same period of 
 time, and this force could only be assembled with the help of 
 subsidies which, as already shown, were granted. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington was quite satisfied that no chance of a 
 continuance of the peace of Europe existed so long as Napoleon held 
 power. His destruction was necessary as a prelude to tranquillity. 
 Addressing Lord Castlereagh from Vienna, on the 26th of March, 
 the Duke said : — 
 
 " It is the desire for war, particularly in the army, which has 
 brought Bonaparte back, and has formed for him every party and 
 given him every success ; and all my observations, when at Paris, 
 convinced me that it was the King alone who kept Europe at peace, 
 and that the danger which most immediately threatened his Majesty 
 was to be attributed to his desire to maintain the peace, contrary to 
 the wishes not only of the army, but of the majority of his subjects, 
 of some of his Ministers, and even of some of his family. 
 
 " Your lordship," continued the Duke, " will then judge what 
 chance there is of maintaining the peace if Bonaparte should be
 
 6^ LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815 
 
 entirely successful, considering his disposition for war, adverting to 
 the opinions he has delivered and entertains upon the peace, and to 
 the necessity under which he labours to cultivate his popularity with 
 the army, and to endeavour, at least, to flatter the vanity of the 
 nation by military success. Depend upon it, my lord," concluded 
 the Duke, '• that if he succeeds in establishing himself, we have uo 
 chance of peace, except by resigning all our conquests to the Rhine 
 at least ; and our chance then depends upon his moderation." 
 
 A Memorandum of the course of procedure most desirable for the 
 allied troops was drawn up by the Duke on the 12th of April, 1815. 
 In this he stated that the object of the allies should be, by their 
 rapidity, to be before-hand with the plans and measures of Bonaparte ; 
 and to throw such a force into France as would be capable of either 
 defeating the army in the field, or keeping it in check, and of 
 retreating upon supporting armies in case of misfortune. He recom- 
 mended the employment of allied British, Dutch, and Hanoveriau 
 troops, under his own command ; Prussian troops, under Count 
 Gneisneau ; allied Austrian, Bavarian, Wurtemburg, and Baden 
 troops (to be assembled on the Upper Rhine) under Prince 
 Schwartzenburg. He was of opinion that the British, Hanoverian, 
 Dutch, and Prussian troops should enter France between the Sambre 
 and the Mouse ; that he, the Duke, should endeavour to get 
 possession of Maubeuge or Avesnes, while General Gneisneau 
 directed his march upon Rocroy and Chimay. Corresponding opera- 
 tions were to be undertaken by Prince Schwartzenburg, and their 
 combined movements promised to give the allies possession of a 
 number of important fortresses, and to place 200,000 men in the 
 centre of France, with a reserve of 300,000, whose operations might 
 be directed upon Paris between the Meuse and the Oise. 
 
 Four days after drawing up this memorandum, the Duke of Wel- 
 lington wrote to the Prince Regent of Portugal, inviting him to 
 assist the great objects of the European Confederacy with a body of 
 troops ; and adverting to the impossibility of their operating on the 
 Spanish frontier with a Spanish corps in the then state of the financial 
 resources of the Government of Spain, the Duke urged the Prince 
 Regent to employ the troops of Portugal with the allied army 
 assembling in Flanders. 
 
 At the beginning of April, 1815, the Duke of Wellington estab- 
 lished his head-quarters at Bruxelles (Brussels), and from that time 
 until the beginning of June he was perpetually engaged in assem- 
 bling the army for ofi'ensive operations in France, and in discussing 
 the plan of operations with a number of persons of rank interest -d in
 
 1815.] WELLINGTON'S VIEWS OF THE WAR, 1 
 
 the destruction of Napoleon's power. He was in free communication 
 with Marshal Bldcher, Prince Schwartzenburg, Prince Metternich. 
 Lord Clancarty, Le Comte de Blacas, the Due d'Orleans, the Due 
 de Feltre, the Emperor of Russia, and others — and to each he 
 invariably expressed the same opinion — namely, that the misfortunes 
 of the King of France had arisen from the defection of the French 
 army, and that even if the faults and follies of his civil administration 
 had not been committed, the same results would have been produced. 
 Believing a combined aggressive movement upon France, and the 
 defeat of the French army indispensable to the restoration of the 
 King, the Duke of "Wellington anxiously awaited an intimation from 
 Prince Schwartzenburg of his readiness to commence operations. 
 Marshal Bliicher was prepared, and " very impatient to begin ;" but 
 the Duke would undertake no movement without the co-operation of 
 Prince Schwartzenburg." 
 
 Amongst the correspondents of the Duke at this juncture was one 
 man of rank — a Frenchman — who was desirous of joining in the 
 crusade against Napoleon, but who seemed to have some scruples of 
 conscience on the subject of warring with France. To set his mind 
 at ease on that point, the Duke entered into an elaborate exposition 
 of the real state of the case as regarded France and Napoleon, whose 
 interests he held to be antagonistic. 
 
 "The principle," he wrote (Brussels, 4th of June, 1815.) "on 
 which you proceed is generally true and sound ; a brave man cannot 
 serve in the ranks of the enemy of his country ; but I do not perceive 
 that such a case now exists. France has no enemies that I am aware 
 of, and, as far as I know, does not deserve to have any. We see the 
 enemies of one man and his adherents, who has availed himself of 
 his influence over the French army to overthrow the King's throne, 
 in order to subjugate France, and to revive all the days of misery 
 we fancied we had escaped. We are at war with him because we 
 feel he cannot be at peace. It is unfortunate for France that she is 
 to become the theatre of a war which this man renders necessary, and 
 of which he is the cause and the object ; but it must not be supposed 
 that the war is directed against her. On the contrary, the King of 
 France — he whom you desire to see restored to the throne, and to 
 serve — is the ally of all Europe in this conflict, in which also I 
 believe him to be the true representative of the sentiments and 
 wishes of his nation." 
 
 ' "Le Mar6chal Bliicher est pr6par(^, et tres impatient de commencer; mais je lui ai fait 
 dire aujourd'iiui qu'il me paraissait, que nous ne pouvions rien faire jusqu'a ce que nous fussions 
 certain du jour que vous commenceriez, et en g6n<5ral de vos idiies sur vo8 op6ration3." — 
 Letter to the Prince, 2;id June, 1815.
 
 8 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [iSlo- 
 
 This passage comprehends so just a view of the relations between 
 France and the allies, as distinct from those of the corrupt and 
 traitorous French army and its opponents, that it deserves to be 
 remembered and treasured in all discussions of the question as be- 
 tween England and France. It is clear that the sword was not now 
 drawn against France, but /or France, and against Napoleon. 
 
 The allies, it has been shown, intended to act upon the offensive. 
 It will presently be seen that Napoleon Bonaparte was beforehand with 
 them, and, in the attempt to carry out his design of destroying them 
 in detail, forced a decisive contest upon the plains of Belgium.
 
 1^6] 
 
 THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NETHERLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 The British Anny in the Netherlands— Napoleon joins his army at Avesnes— Attacks the 
 Prussians— Battle of Ligny— Battle of Quatre Bras, 
 
 HE army assembled under the 
 Duke of Wellington in the 
 Netherlands numbered 78,500 
 men. Two-thirds of the force 
 consisted of British, Hanove- 
 rians, and Belgians ; the remain- 
 der were from the Brunswick 
 and Nassau States. It was pre- 
 cisely such a force as the Duke 
 of Wellington would not have 
 taken the field with if he could 
 have helped it. The British 
 troops were, for the most part, 
 raw levies. After the Peninsular 
 War, a large proportion of the 
 troops was sent to Canada and 
 New Orleans ; disbandment also took place upon a grand scale ; and 
 the " astonishing infantry," with which the Duke felt that he could 
 have accomplished almost anything, was dispersed over the kingdom ; 
 small gratuities and trifling pensions marking the gratitude of the 
 country for all the scars they had earned, and the blood they had 
 freely shed. Still, in the raw troops now assembled under the Field 
 Marshal, there was the same British spirit — the same sense of duty 
 — and a perfect reliance upon the great chief by whom so many 
 victories had been won. And the army was well officered. Renouncing 
 the enjoyments of home, and the tranquillity of garrison existence, 
 every man who had distinguished himself in the fields of Portugal, 
 Spain, and France, sought employment at this juncture ; and the
 
 10 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1816 
 
 Duke soon found himself surrounded by the men he loved best, and 
 on whom he could place the most perfect dependence. Lord Hill was 
 with him, and commanded the right wing of the army near Ath. 
 The Prince of Orange was at the head of the left wing at Braine le 
 Comte and Nivelles. Lord Combermere was not present; but a 
 soldier distinguished by his intrepidity, and the admirable manner in 
 wliich he had covered Sir John Moore's retreat to Coruna, headed 
 
 THE EAEL OF OXBRIDGE, AFTEaWAEDS MAIiQUIS OF ANGLESEY. 
 
 the cavalry, and gave assurance that wherever he was, there victory 
 would be; — this was the Earl of Uxbridge.' Besides these men, and 
 
 1 "The Ear! of Uxbridgc was born the 17th of May, 17C8, and received the first rudiment* 
 of his education at Westminster, ■whence he was removed to Christ Church, Oxford. At 
 the beginning of the Revolutionary war, in 1793, the Earl, then Lord Paget, disdaining 
 ingloriouB repose, and anxious to embrace a military life, raised tho SUlh Regiment of Foot
 
 1815.J THE EARL OF UXBRIDGK 11 
 
 eeverally commanding divisions and brigades, were Picton, Clinton, 
 Alten, Colville, — all become Lieutenant-Generals, and covered with 
 
 or Staffordshire Volunteers, a flue body of young men, principally on the estates of his noble 
 father. On 600 men being raised. Lord Paget was presented with a Lieutenant-Colonelcy in 
 the army ; and on 400 more being added, his lordship was offered a Colonelcy, which he 
 refused, on the grounds of his not having then been on foreign service. Three months after 
 the letter of service. Lord Paget, with his regiment, embarked for Guernsey, and from thence, 
 in 1794, joined his Royal Highness the Duke of York in Flanders; and in that retreat, his 
 lordsliip being junior field officer, was entrusted with the command of Lord Cathcart's brigade, 
 the latter gallant officer having a separate corps, to which his attention was necessarily directed. 
 Lord Paget, who had been removed from the 80th to the command of the 7th Regiment of 
 Light Dragoons, accompanied His Royal Highness the Duke of York in the expedition to 
 Holland ; and in the general attack made on the 2nd of October, 1799, his lordship was attached 
 to the division under the command of the Russian general, De Hermann, and posted on 
 the sand-hills, where he had an opportunity of contributing materially to the brilliant victory 
 that day obtained by British troops, under circumstances of the most discouraging nature. 
 Late in the evening of that day, the enemy's cavalry having been defeated in an attempt 
 which they made upon the British horse artillery, were charged by the cavalry under Lord 
 Paget, and driven with considerable loss nearly to Egmont-op-Zee. In the retreat of that 
 army Lord Paget, with his cavalry, protected the rear ; and sonie skirmishing having taken 
 place, whereby several pieces of cannon fell into the hands of the enemy, bis lordship, with 
 one squadron, made a gallant attack upon the force of General Simon, amounting to above six 
 times that of his lordship's, totally repulsed them, and obtained back the British, and with them 
 several pieces of the enemy's cannon. After the return of the army from Holland, Lord 
 Paget devoted himself with the greatest assiduity to the discharge of his regimental duties, 
 and, by his unremitting attention, the 7th Light Dragoons became one of the first regiments 
 of cavalry in the British service. Lieutenant-General Lord Paget, with two brigades of 
 cavalry, consisting of the 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th Regiment of Hussars, followed the 
 division sent under the command of Sir David Baird to co-operate with Sir John Moore in 
 Spain. Lord Paget disembarked his forces at Conifia, amidst the Innumerable difficulties 
 opposed to his lordship from the want of forage, the apathy of the people of Spain, and the 
 tardy supplies they afforded, very different from what either the men or horses bad been 
 accustomed to, and proceeded in the route Sir David Baird's division was directed to take. 
 On the 10th of December, Lord Paget arrived at Zamora, and after a toilsome march, was 
 enabled to bring into the field a well-equipped body of cavalry ; and on the 24lh of November, 
 his lordship's division effected a junction with the army of Sir John Moore. At this period, 
 the critical state of affairs had determined the British commander to fall back upon Portugal. 
 Circumstances afterwards caused this movement to be suspended, and a jmiction was resolved 
 upon with the division under Sir David Baird, which was happily effected on the 20th of December. 
 Lieutenant-General Lord Paget was stationed with his division of cavalry twelve miles from 
 Sahagun ; and at the latter place a body of the enemy's horse, amounting to 700, had been posted, 
 which his lordship proposed by a rapid movement to cut off from the main body of the French 
 army ; and accordingly, at two o'clock on the morning of the 21st, Major-General Slade was 
 despatched by a different route from that his lordship proposed pursuing, with the 10th Light 
 Dragoons, whilst Lord Paget, with the 15th Regiment of Dragoons, moved with great celerity 
 in a contrary direction, reached Sahagun, and surprised a picket of the enemy ; unfortunately 
 some men escaped and gave the alarm, which afforded the French an opportunity of forming 
 In an advantageous position on the outskirts of the town. The strength of the post was 
 particularly favourable, from a hollow which opposed any regular charge of the British 
 cavalrj' ; and it was therefore necessary to manceuvre so as to gain the advantages of ground 
 for his intended operations. Here the abilities of Lord Paget were exercised with effect ; and 
 having succeeded in improving his position, a charge was made upon the enemy, drawn up In 
 line. The rapidity with which the British cavalry rushed on to the attack could not be
 
 12 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 decorations earned in the Peninsula. There ^vere also Major- 
 Generals Kempt, Ponsonby, Byng, Pack, Bradford, Lambert, 
 Maitland, Ilalkctt. and Adam. The staflF was admirably composed. 
 In the Adjutant-General's department were Sir Edward Barnes, 
 Sir George Berkeley, Colonel Waters — he who had managed the 
 passage of the Douro — and many more. Sir W. De Lancey was the 
 Quartermaster-General, and Lieutenant-Colonel Torrens, Sir. R. D. 
 Jackson, and Sir A. Dickson, were among those under him. Sir 
 George Wood commanded the artillery ; and in the Duke's personal 
 staff were Lord Fitzroy Somerset, the young Lord March, and the 
 gallant Marquis of Worcester.' 
 
 The cavalry comprised several regiments of heavy dragoons, includ- 
 ing the Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards (Blue), and 
 fourteen regiments of Light Dragoons. Five of the light corps 
 were composed of the German Legion. The infantry consisted of 
 thirty-five battalions and two complete regiments ; one of these was 
 the 33rd Foot, the corps in which the Duke first saw service, and 
 with which he had been connected for twenty years. 
 
 withstood by the French, their line was immediately Ijrolcen, and their whole force dispersed, 
 ■with considerable slaughter; two Lieutenant-Colonels, and upwards of 190 men, made 
 prisoners, were the fruits of this bold, yet well-planned operation. In the disastrous retreat 
 of Sir John Moore, Lord Paget, with his cavalry, brought up the rear, and the ardour of his 
 lordship frequently exposed him to imminent danger. Skirmishes daily took place, and the 
 masterly disposition of his lordship, and the alacrity he at all times evinced, enabled the 
 British troops to reach Coruiia with a trifling loss. At Majorga, a well-directed attack was 
 executed on a considerable force of the enemy by the 10th Hussars, under Colonel Leigh, in 
 which the British were successful, and 100 of the French made prisoners. At Benevento 
 Lord Paget's division was attacked by the chasseurs of Bonaparte's Imperial Guard ; the 
 pickets which were along the Esla river having been driven in, his lordship reinforced them 
 with the inlying pickets; these, with a part of the German Hussars, gall;uitly kept in checfc 
 six squadrons of the Imperial Guards. Lord Paget having arrived on the spot, found them 
 engaged in a very sharp skirmish ; he immediately sent for the 10th Hussars, and gave 
 orders for an attack with the pickets tlie instant he had formed the 10th in a second IJne. 
 This attack was conducted with so much gallantry that the Imperial Guards were overthrown, 
 with the loss of a General and several other officers, and 100 men made prisoners, and many 
 killed, wounded, and drowned. By a continual series of bold operations, Lord Paget acquired 
 for the British cavalry the high character they held during the rest of that campaign ; and 
 the very able manner in which the retreat of Sir John Moore was protected, throughout, by 
 the Hu.ssar Division, obtained the approbation of the lamented commander, and will ever 
 continue a theme for admiration and example to the rest of the army. Lord Paget succeeded, 
 on the death of his father, to tlie title of Earl of Uxbridge." — The Mititary Encydopadia. 
 
 1 "His military secretary and Quartcrma.ster-General were tried men. His Aides-de-Camp 
 and Oalopins were young men of the best families in England, who thought it an honour to 
 devote to their country and its greatest commander all the energies of their will and intellect, 
 Mounting the finest horses of England's famous breed, they made it a point of honour, when- 
 ever the Duke added the word ' quick' to a message, to cover three German miles in the 
 hour, or, for a shorter distance, one (German) milo in eighteen minutes."— j3«s mcinem Leben, 
 or "Passages of my Life," by General Mii filing.
 
 1815.] NAPOLEON WITH HIS ARMY. 13 
 
 Late in April, the Duke of Wellington received reports of 
 Napoleon's intended movement upon the northern frontier. He 
 accordingly issued orders for such a concentration of the troops as 
 ■would enable them to effect a junction with ease and rapidity in case 
 the Netherlands should be attacked. He soon afterwards obtained 
 accurate information of the strength and disposition of the French 
 army, and instead of attempting to carry out the original plan of 
 an irruption into France with the allies, he calmly awaited Napoleon's 
 attack. 
 
 At daybreak, on the 12th of June, 1815, Napoleon quitted the 
 Palace of the Tuileries, and proceeded to Avesnes, on the Belgian 
 frontier, where he threw himself with confidence into the midst of the 
 army, " his real people — his true capital." 
 
 To concentrate the grand army on the banks of the Sambre, push 
 it forward resolutely to Charleroi, attack the Prussians at the point 
 of junction where their right wing extended to the left wing of 
 Wellington's army, drive them back upon Luxembourg, penetrate 
 Belgium, manoeuvre on the rich plains of an almost level country, 
 leave an imposing force in front of Bliicher, to prevent him from taking 
 the Emperor in flank, throw himself to the left, and march upon 
 Brussels and upon Wellington, crush the English, return afterwards 
 as conqueror upon the two armies of the Lower and Central Rhine, 
 fight and conquer again the coalition of those two first armies, — such 
 was the plan of Napoleon, and the only oae suited to the circum- 
 stances of the hour, to the natural genius of the Emperor and his 
 soldiers, and finally to the genius of impetuosity and despair.' 
 
 The moment Napoleon found himself amidst his troops, he 
 addressed to them one of those written harangues with which on all 
 former occasions he was accustomed to stimulate their pride, excite 
 in them a thirst for glory, and fill them with hatred of the enemy 
 they were about to encounter. Believing in auguries, the troops 
 who had won so many battles in G-ermany, were easily moved to 
 enthusiasm if they were appealed to on the anniversary of any great 
 fight. Napoleon addressed them on the anniversary of Marengo and 
 Friedland. He charged the " princes whom he had suffered to remain 
 upon their thrones " with a coalition aimed at the independence and 
 the most sacred rights of France, and with the most unjust of aggres- 
 eions ! He reminded th(i soldiers that they had beaten the Prussians 
 at Jena and Montmirail when the odds were much against the 
 French. He endeavoured to make them believe that the Saxons, 
 the Belgians, and the Hanoverians bewailed the necessity of 
 
 1 Lamartine's " History of the Restoration of Monarchy iv T="r!.jce."
 
 14 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 " lending their arms to the cause of princes who are the enemies of 
 justice and the rights of nations." 
 
 " Soldiers ! " he concluded, " we have forced marches to make — 
 battles to wage — perils to encounter ; but, with constancy, the 
 victory will be ours. The rights, the honour, and the happiness of 
 our country will be recovered. For every Frenchman who has a heart, 
 the moment has now arrived either to conquer or perish." 
 
 Ths army now at Napoleon's disposal for service in the north 
 amounted to 130,000 men. The Prussian army, consisting of 110,000 
 men, stretched from Liege, where the left of the army, under General 
 Billow, was posted, forming a junction with the British. The 
 high road from Charleroi to Brussels ran between the two 
 armies. The advanced posts of the Prussian right wing were at 
 Charleroi, and a brigade of Nassau troops, forming the left of the 
 Duke of Wellington's army, was stationed at Frasne, on the same 
 road, Quatre Bras and Fleurus then became the centre and rallying 
 points of the entire mass of Anglo-German troops, assembled to 
 oppose an enemy advancing against Brussels by the road from 
 Charleroi. It was calculated that the British army could reach the 
 appointed post in twenty-two hours from the firing of the first gun, 
 and the Prussians in twenty-four hours. So difficult, however, is it 
 to ensure the fulfilment of the best laid plans, that 30,000 men were 
 absent from the Prussian army at the moment when they were most 
 wanted. Marshal Bliicher had but 80,000 men in position when the 
 French army were close upon him. 
 
 Bliicher's impatience to commence the contest arose from his 
 anxiety to fight by the side of the English. Convinced of the invin- 
 cibility of an Anglo-Prussian army, he was desirous of overthrowing 
 the French before the Russians — for whom he cherished a great 
 antipathy, because in former campaigns they had thwarted his plans 
 — could effect a junction with the English and himself He had not 
 long to wait for the opportunity. On the 15th, Napoleon, intending 
 to throw himself between the allied armies, to separate them and beat 
 them in detail, moved from Beaumont at daybreak, and pushing 
 through the deep and miry roads leading to the bridges over the 
 Sambre, effected the passage of the river, and took Charleroi, in spite 
 of the gallant resistance of a comparatively small corps under General 
 Ziethen. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington received early intelligence on the morning 
 of the 1 5th of the attack on the Prussian outposts. As yet, however, 
 it was not certain what direction Napoleon intended subsequently to 
 take, and it was consequently impossible for him to give orders for
 
 1815.] THE BRITISH AT BRUSSELS. 1.5 
 
 the movement of troops that should leave Brussels uncovered, until 
 that should be known. His Grace limited himself to the preliminary 
 orders to the army to be prepared to move at a moment's notice. Not 
 many hours afterwards expresses reached him with intelligence that 
 Napoleon had divided his army into two parts, and while one portion 
 advanced towards Fleurus, the other, under Marshal Ney — le plus 
 brave dcs braves, as he had been flatteringly called on more than one 
 occasion after his return to Paris from Russia, — was marching against 
 the English on the road to Quatre Bras,' by Frasne. Ney knew the 
 country : he had served there in his youth. With 40,000 men he 
 was. by the Emperor's orders, to entrench himself and hold the 
 position against the English. 
 
 As the news reached Brussels of the approach of the French, the 
 most intense anxiety began to prevail. The English had made great 
 way with the Belgians during the time they had occupied the country. 
 Mingling with the inhabitants in society, the innate worth of the 
 British character had come to be understood and valued, and it was 
 not the least among the recommendations of our countrymen, that 
 they spent a great deal of money among the Brussels shopkeepers. 
 Yet were there niany who cherished a great regard for the French. 
 The few months that had elapsed since the cry of Orange Boven was 
 roused had not served to completely dissever the ties established for 
 twenty years, and if the town could have been polled at the critical 
 moment of which we write, it is probable that as many persons would 
 have been found to hoist the tricolor de bonne volonte, as to wear the 
 orange cockade of the restored regime. 
 
 From the moment that the Duke of Wellington fixed his head 
 quarters at Brussels, the town had become the resort of the aris- 
 tocracy of England and Northern Germany. Among the former were 
 the Duke and Duchess of Richmond. Invitations to a ball for the 
 evening of the 1 5th had been issued by the Duchess, in which a great 
 number of the officers of the British army, quartered in and about 
 Brussels, had been included. The probability of the immediate 
 movement of the troops, and the evidently perturbed state of the 
 inhabitants, suggested a postponement of the entertainment. The 
 Duke of Wellington entreated that no change should be made in the 
 arrangement. He had nicely calculated the time that it would take 
 for Kis troops to reach Quatre Bras, and he deemed it better to carry 
 
 I Quatre Bras is the name given to the junction of four roads, about twenty-four miles from 
 Brussels, and twelve from Waterloo. One road, to the south-east, leads to Charleroi— one, to the 
 east, to Namur— a third takes a westerly course to Nivelles and Ilalle— and the fourth goes 
 north-westerly to Brussels.
 
 16 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 them into the field somewhat fatigued by their march than to create 
 a panic by a sudden summons to arms. His coolness and self- 
 possession contributed to give one more evening's enjoyment to many 
 a fond and fluttering heart, but the hurry of departure which followed 
 upon the ftte exposed the Duke for many years afterwards to the 
 imputation of having been surprised by the French — an imputation 
 which even Englishmen are disinclined to renounce lest the force 
 which some of the grandest lines ever penned by Lord Byron, derived 
 from their supposed truth, should be destroyed.^ The Muse of 
 History, dispelling the injurious fiction in which the sister muse de- 
 lights, has at length vindicated the reputation of the Duke. It is 
 now admitted that from first to last he was fully prepared, and 
 leisurely gave his orders.^ 
 
 The Duke of Wellington entered the Duchess's ball-i-oom shortly 
 after eleven o'clock, and remained for a few moments. At one o'clock 
 in the morning of the 16th the ball broke up, but for some hours pre- 
 viously the drums had been beating in the streets, and before mid- 
 night of the 15th the bugles and bagpipes had sounded the " Camer- 
 ons' gathering," and the " War-note of Lochiel." 
 
 Now came the excitement and the agony which had hitherto been 
 restrained. It was not the agony of fear but of sorrow, lest the 
 partings then taking place should be eternal. Assured by the calm 
 bearing of the Field Marshal and his officers, and the blithesomeness 
 of the men, the people of Brussels, freshly remembering the exploits 
 of the Peninsular army, did not so much apprehend that the French 
 would approach Brussels as that the efi'ort to drive them back across 
 the frontier would cost hundreds of the brave fellows they then 
 looked upon their lives or limbs. Tears were freely shed, lamenta- 
 tions and choking sighs mournfully accompanied the warlike sounds 
 which announced the march of regiment after regiment from the 
 Place Royale. The Highlanders (the 42nd and 92nd) were much 
 regretted, for the " douce" manners of the Scotch had endeared them 
 to the inhabitants. But, in truth, each regiment carried away its 
 share of hearts. 
 
 The 5th Division, commanded by Sir Thomas Picton, consisted of 
 the 28th, 32nd, 79th, 95th, 92nd, 44th, 42nd, and a battalion of the 
 Royals. The four first regiments formed a brigade under Sir James 
 
 1 "There was a sound of revelry by nifjht," &c. 
 
 2 " I did not hear of these events till in the evening, and I immediately ordered the troops to 
 prepare to march ; and afterwards to march to their left as soon as I had intelligence from other 
 quarters to prove that the enemy's movement upon Charleroi was the real attack."— Despatch of 
 the 19th of June.
 
 1815.] BATTLE OF LIGNT. lY 
 
 Kempt ; the four last constituted the left brigade, under Sir Denis 
 Pack. They were followed by the Duke of Brunswick's corps, the 
 Hanoverian infantry, and the contingent of Nassau, in all 15,000 
 men. This strong body of infantry, totally unsupported by cavalry 
 or artillery, marched at once to Quatre Bras. The Duke followed 
 some hours afterwards, awaiting in the interval fresh advices from 
 Blucher. 
 
 While Marshal Ney rapidly — as rapidly as the muddy roads would 
 permit— advanced towards Quatre Bras, Napoleon pushed on to 
 Fleurus. Emerging from the woods around the place about noon of 
 the 16th, he found the Prussians posted along some undulating and 
 elevated ground, called the heights of Bry, their left resting on the 
 village of SombreflF, their right on "Wagnele, the centre at Bry. 
 The rivulet of Ligny ran along the front of their position for about 
 three miles, and upon its banks were three or four small hamlets. 
 There were 70,000 infantry and 9000 cavalry, with 252 pieces of 
 artillery — a force about equal in strength to that of the French. By 
 two o'clock on the afternoon of the 16th, the Duke of Wellington 
 joined Marshal Bliicher on the heights, for the purpose of ascer- 
 taining if the operations meditated by the French upon the Prussian 
 line were their main attack, and having satisfied himself upon this 
 point he proceeded to join his own army. Napoleon began the attack 
 upon the Prussians, at three in the afternoon, with a discharge of 
 artillery from the rising ground behind his infantry and cavalry, 
 which moved forward in the usual way. The Prussian artillery 
 replied to the fire. The valleys and hamlets immediately became the 
 scene of a fierce and bloody contest, which continued until nine 
 o'clock at night with varying success. Encouraged by the intrepid 
 Blucher — who narrowly escaped death from his horse falling mortally 
 wounded upon him in a cavalry tnelie — the Prussians behaved nobly 
 throughout the day ; but when the injuries the old Msrshal received 
 in his crushing fall compelled him to quit the field, " the energy and 
 unity of command were gone," and a retreat was resolved upon. 
 The corps accordingly fell back upon Wavre, and early the next day 
 retired upon Gembloux, without being assailed or pursued by the 
 French. Twelve thousand men fell upon either side, and the French 
 remained masters of a field which offered them no other trophies than 
 thirty dismantled guns. But Ligny was a victory in the widest 
 sen.se of the term, and Napoleon did not delay to present it to the 
 people of Paris as the precursor of other achievements which were to 
 restore the prestige of his name. 
 
 Coevally with the operations of Napoleon between Fleurus and 
 
 VOL. IL 2
 
 18 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1815 
 
 Ligny, Ney was " cha«ging hardiment " -with the Belgian brigade 
 under the Prince of Weimar. On the evening of the 15th, not more 
 than 1500 Belgians occupied the approaches to Quatre Bras at 
 Frasne, but in the night a considerable body had moved through the 
 forest of Nivelles, and. when day broke on the 16th, the French 
 marshal found himself engaged with 8000 men — under the Prince of 
 Orange and General Perponcher. The Prince of Weimar at first lost 
 ground before the impetuous attacks of the French columns : rein- 
 forced, he regained his position, and thus commanded the communica- 
 tions leading from Nivelles and Brussels with Marshal Blucher. The 
 battle raged till noon, when, pressed by the superior numbers and 
 
 ■•WAttSHAL NEV. 
 
 resistless energy of the enemy, the Prince of Orange also fell back 
 to Quatre Bras, defending the woods around with determined
 
 1815.] BATTLE OF QUATRE BRAS. 19 
 
 obstinacy. A pause ensues — the French obtain reinforcements, and 
 resume the attack at half-past two in the afternoon, with the full 
 confidence of clearing the way to Brussels. The Belgians are im- 
 perilled — they begin to give way — victory is almost within the grasp 
 of the daring Ney, who has everything to gain by success, when 
 Picton's division, toil-worn, but animated by the sight of the battle- 
 field, suddenly comes to the rescue. With the rapidity of lightning, 
 the wood of Bossu, the roads to Ligny and St. Amand, are occupied by 
 the British and foreign infantry, and Wellington coming up with his 
 staff, takes post on a bank on the right of the latter road near Quatre 
 Bras. An attempt is made to push back the French. For the 
 moment they retire, but, strengthened by bodies of cavalry and 
 numerous pieces of artillery, they renew the combat. Forming 
 squares, the British infantry bravely repel the repeated assaults of 
 cuirassiers and dragoons. The Brunswick cavalry now come up, 
 headed by their gallant Duke in the costume of his Black Hussars,' 
 and for an instant check the fiery assaults of the French cavalry. 
 At this time (three o'clock), the Duke of Wellington appeared in 
 that part of the field of battle which was close to the village of Quatre 
 Bras. Halting with his aides-de-camp in front of the 92nd High- 
 landers, exposed to a heavy fire of round shot and grape, he took out 
 his watch, and appeared to calculate the minutes when the British 
 cavalry might be expected. His eye — clear — cold — intelligent — 
 looked from one part of the field to another. He was evidently 
 anxious, but not alarmed. He knew the British infantry. The shot 
 ploughing up the earth around him and even wounding men at his 
 side, the Duke sought shelter. Again the cuirassiers thundered on 
 and surrounded the squares — and again and again they were forced 
 to retire. The infantry became impatient, and would have charged 
 the cavalry, as the 5th and 77th had done at El Bodon, but Welling- 
 ton would not hear of it. He bid them stand, and, from their living 
 redoubts, hurl stout horsemen from their saddles. They obeyed, and 
 earned a tribute of praise from him who never used the language of 
 admiration but when the valour displayed was of the most brilliant 
 character. Kempt's brigade suffered severely — the Royals, the 42nd, 
 and 44th were sent to their support. For three hours the troops in 
 the centre were warmly engaged. The enemy kept up a heavy fire, 
 ».nd twice attempted to carry the British position. On their second 
 
 1 It was a corps which peculiarly bore the aspect of messengers of death. The dress was al- 
 together of black, and the death's head and cross-bones decorated the cap. This dress had been 
 assumed after the battle of Jena, where the Duke's father was killed. The Hussars vowed nevej 
 to leave off their mourning until his death had keen avenged. 
 
 2d
 
 20 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 attempt, the Brunswick cavalry reserved their charge amidst a 
 terrible fire of grape, and their intrepid chief, rushing into the thickest 
 of the fight, met the fate of his gallant sire. The infantry now re- 
 ceived permission to charge, and, deploying into line, frequently 
 dashed at the French columns, committing the greatest havoc in their 
 onslaught, and then re-forming square. The 79th signalised them- 
 selves on this occasion by the most heroic bravery. The 92nd and 
 42nd, the 32nd, 33rd, and 44th performed prodigies — the '■ Slashers" 
 (28th) resisted every cavalry charge — the Royal Scots also charged 
 under the personal direction of Sir Thomas Picton. Colonel Douglas 
 of the 79th was four times wounded. Colonel Macra, and many other 
 officers of the immortal 42ud, fell. At seven in the evening, the 
 French poured like a torrent upon the British, covered by a blinding 
 fire of artillery. " Ninety-second ! you must charge those fellows !" 
 energetically exclaimed the Duke. The order was obeyed. Colonel 
 Cameron and three other officers were struck down mortally wounded. 
 The Highlanders, infuriated, pressed the enemy, and his vast columns 
 fled before the daring band. 
 
 Evening was closing in. The battle raged in the centre and on the 
 right. Never was an action so severely disputed with such unequal 
 means. Infantry against the three arms of the first service in the 
 world ! But the steady endurance of the noble Fifth Division was to 
 reap its reward. The Guards, long and anxiously expected, appeared 
 upon the field, led by General Peregrine Maitland. Imitating the 
 conduct of the line, they flew into the wood, of which the French had 
 obtained possession, and clearing it of the tirailleurs^ emerged upon 
 the plain, encountering and overthrowing the French cavalry, who 
 now came upon them. For three hours did the enemy endeavour to 
 regain possession of the post. Every repeated eflFort was repulsed 
 with renewed vigour, a corps of Black Bruuswickers supporting the 
 Guards with the atmost spirit. 
 
 Night fell. The French were in confusion and despair. Ney, be- 
 coming desperate, sent for a corps he had left in reserve ; Napoleon 
 had withdrawn it to aid himself in contending with the Prussians. 
 The Marshal, intensely mortified, called up another reserve, to cover 
 his broken and dispirited battalions, and then retired, discomfited, to 
 Frasne. Quatre Bras was won by the British, the Hanoverians, and 
 Bruuswickers, after ten hours' incessant fighting. 
 
 The carnage at Quatre Bras was terrible. The English lost 2251 
 men and officers killed, wounded, and missing. Adding the loss 
 among the Belgians and IIanoverian.s, the casualties of the day did 
 not amount to fewer than 5000. The Highlanders were nearly
 
 1815.] 
 
 BATTLE OF QUATRE BRAS. 
 
 decimated. At ten o'clock at night the piper of the 92nd took post 
 in a garden in front of the village, and " setting his drone in order, 
 endeavoured to collect the scattered members of the regiment. " Long 
 and loud blew Cameron ; but although the hills and valleys echoed 
 the hoarse murmurs of his favourite instrument, his ultimate efforts 
 could not produce above one-half of those whom his music had cheered 
 on their march to the field of battle."
 
 22 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1815. 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 The Retreat from Quatre Bras— The Battle of Waterloo. 
 
 HE morning of the 1 6th of June," 
 •writes the eloquent writer of 
 " The Fall of Napoleon," ' "had 
 seen 310,000 men, all in the 
 pride of hope and strength, ad- 
 vancing from diflferent points 
 .. towards the plains of Fleurus. 
 Peace still rested on the fruit- 
 ful fields and noble woods that 
 skirt the fertile banks of the 
 Sambre and the Djle. Leaves, 
 grass, and corn, refreshed and 
 sparkling with the million dew- 
 drops of early summer, pre- 
 sented from the heights of Bry a sight of beauty and repose, to which 
 the scenes of the following morning offered a melancholy, but too 
 piquant contrast. The sun of the 17th of June rose on trampled 
 harvests, scorched forests, and on the smoky ruins of cottages and 
 hamlets ; it rose on heaps of broken arms, dismounted guns, over- 
 turned carriages, — on lines of cheerless bivouacs^ — on dead and dying 
 steeds, — on trains of wounded, — and on the naked, mangled, and un- 
 buried corses of ten thousand valiant men, who had fallen in the fierce 
 and fruitless strife at Ligny and Quatre Bras. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington passed the night upon the field. Some 
 of the 92nd made a fire for him ; for the fatigues and anxiety of the 
 
 J LieutenanWI!oloncl Mitchell, author also of "The Life of Wallenstein," "Thoughts on 
 Tactics," &.C. An able and ingenious writer ; addicted, however, to a theory that the bayonet ia 
 aa inefficient weapon when opposed to the broadsword.
 
 1815.] RETREAT FROM QUATRE BRAd. 23 
 
 previous day had worn and wearied the warrior ; and he had yet 
 great work before him. Every hour brought him reinforcements. 
 The cavalry and artillery quickly came up, and, at a very early hour 
 of the 17th, he was preparing to assume the offensive against Marshal 
 Ney at Frasne. 
 
 But soon the evil tidings came that Blxicher had fallen back upon 
 Wavre. The Duke had almost foreseen that the Marshal's position 
 would be untenable against such a force as Napoleon could bring 
 against him ; and he had therefore promised to assist him with his 
 own army, " if he were not attacked at Quatre Bras." 
 
 The result of the battle of Ligny rendered it necessary that the 
 projected attack upon Ney, at Frasne, should be abandoned ; and the 
 order was given for a retreat upon the field of Waterloo. There 
 were three roads, or chaussees, leading to different parts of the posi- 
 tion the Duke had made up his mind to take up. Prince Frederick 
 of Orange proceeded to Halle, with 18,000 men ; Lord Hill moved to 
 Braine la Leude ; and the Prince of Orange to Mount St. Jean. This 
 distribution was necessary, as Napoleon, who had moved to Rosonne, 
 towards Genappes, could have disposed of those roads to Brussels. 
 
 The retreat of the Duke of Wellington from Quatre Bras to 
 Waterloo has always been considered, by competent military judges, 
 a perfect model of operations of that nature, executed, as it was, in 
 the face of a powerful enemy. He had three objects to attain ; to 
 mask the retirement of the main body ; to secure the passage of the 
 defile in his rear ; and to ensure the orderly and regular assembly 
 of the several corps on the ground respectively allotted to them. The 
 manner in which this was accomplished " evinced a degree of skill 
 which has never been surpassed." * 
 
 The retreat of the infantry divisions was covered by the British 
 cavalry under the Earl of Uxbridge, the several brigades being com- 
 manded by Generals Hussey, Vivian, Vandeleur, and Lord Edward 
 Somerset. The regiments employed on this occasion were the 1st 
 and 2nd Life Guards and the Eoyal Horse Guards (Blue) ; the 1st or 
 King's Dragoon Guards, the 1st or Royal Dragoons, the Scots' 
 Greys, or 2nd North British Dragoons ; the 6th Enniskillen Dragoons, 
 the 1st, 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th Hussars, and three or four regi- 
 ments of German cavalry. These were supported by a battery of 
 horse-artillery. 
 
 No sooner had Marshal Ney discovered that the British were in 
 full retreat, protected only by their cavalry, than he launched a mass 
 of heavy dragoons and artillery upon the covering force. By the 
 
 1 Captain Siborne's " History of the War in France and Belgium."
 
 24 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815 
 
 advice of Lord Uxbridge, who deemed it impossible to offer any 
 serious resistance to the superior force of the French, Lord 
 Wellington had assented to the retreat of the cavalry. But the 
 pressure of the Cuirassiers rendered it indispensable that Lord 
 Uxbridge should show them a bold front. A great deal of skirmish- 
 ing, and several charges and counter-charges distinguished the 
 pursuit. On reaching the village of Genappes — harassed by the 
 vigorous and repeated attacks of the French — Lord Uxbridge resolved 
 on making a stand ; for the narrowness of the road, flanked on one 
 side by houses, would necessarily diminish the front of the enemy. 
 He therefore posted the 7th Hussars at the upper end of the village ; 
 and when the French Lancers entered, and got jammed together in 
 the limited space open to their advance, the Hussars gallantly charged 
 them. The Lancers halted, formed a chevaux de frise with their lances, 
 and repelled the assault. The Hussars retreating, the French, elated 
 at their success, furiously galloped after them, only to be overthrown 
 in their turn by the Life Guards. The counter-charge of the latter 
 has been described as " truly spendid : its rapid rush down into the 
 enemy's mass was as terrific in appearance as it was destructive in 
 its effect ; for although the French met the attack with firmness, 
 they were utterly unable to hold their ground a single moment." 
 The road was instantaneously covered with men and horses scattered 
 in all directions. " This brilliant and eminently successful charge," 
 adds Sibornc, " made a deep impression upon the enemy, who now 
 conducted his pursuit with extreme caution." No serious affair 
 succeeded this ; the fine manoeuvering of the brigade under Sir 
 William Ponsonby, and the activity of the skirmishers, supported by 
 the active fire of the artillery and rocket brigade, kept the enemy at 
 a distance until the fall of night, when the British army had taken up 
 its position in front of the village of Waterloo. 
 
 The 16th and 17th of June had been excessively hot. The march 
 upon the first of these days from Brussels — a distance of twenty 
 miles — followed by one of the severest actions on record, had sorely 
 tried the strength and patience of the soldiers, and the retreat upon 
 the following day had augmented the tax upon their powers. Towards 
 the evening of the 17th, however, a violent thunderstorm mitigated 
 the sultriness, but, flooding the earth, converted the roads into mire. 
 Gratefully, then, the troops hailed the hour which found them en 
 bivouac in the corn-fields around Mont St. Jean and near Waterloo ; 
 albeit they were not destined to enjoy uninterrupted and refreshing 
 repose ; for the rain fell in torrents during the night, and frequent 
 thunder-claps startled them from their slumber.
 
 1815.] THE EVE OF "WATERLOO." 2ft 
 
 The Duke of Wellington had written to Marshal Bliicher, upon 
 the commencement of the retreat, to intimate that he intended to 
 receive battle from the French at Mont St. Jean, if he could depend 
 upon receiving the assistance of two Prussian corps ; and Bliicher, 
 with characteristic warmth and earnestness, replied that he would 
 come not simply with two corps, but with his whole army. Thus 
 assured, the Duke felt confident of his ability to defend the 
 approaches to Brussels against the entire French force, and probably 
 cherished a conviction that he would ultimately drive Napoleon back 
 upon the frontier of France. 
 
 There was little to cheer and animate the British army as day 
 broke on the morning of the memorable 18th of June. The rain had 
 fallen heavily during the night, and the field ofiering but scanty cover, 
 it was with difficulty the men could keep their bivouac fires a-light. 
 " Like sacrifices," they 
 
 " Sat patiently and only ruminated 
 The morning's danger ; and their gesture sad 
 Investing lank, lean cheeks, and war-worn coats, 
 Presented them unto the gazing morn 
 So many horrid ghosts." 
 
 A singular parallel was presented between the scene of 1815 and 
 that which was enacted on the plains of Agincourt four hundred years 
 previously. The English were on a foreign soil — held in contempt 
 by the leader of the enemy — the weather very bad — and the British 
 chief enjoyed the same degree of confidence as the troops of the Fifth 
 Harry reposed in their dauntless king. 
 
 Gloom did not long pervade the British ranks. The trumpet, the 
 drum, and the bugle sounded an early reveillee, and soon the whole 
 camp was in motion, soldiers cleaning their arms, troopers their swords 
 and horses, aides-de-camp galloping from division to division, and 
 the great Duke himself arranging his plans, and indicating the posi- 
 tions to be assumed by the different brigades. 
 
 The field which was to be the scene of that mortal (or immortal) 
 strife extended about two miles from left to right. The centre of 
 the position was three quarters of a mile south of the village 
 of Waterloo, and three hundred yards in front of the farm- 
 house of Mont St. Jean, both of which are intersected by the high 
 road from Charleroi to Brussels. The British army occupied the 
 crest of a range of undulations, the eminences being separated by 
 gentle slopes sufficiently deep to conceal a large portion of the force 
 and the whole of the reserve, from the view of the enemy, who took
 
 26 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1815. 
 
 post upon heights of similar altitude, between 1000 and 1500 yards 
 from the British front. 
 
 To the right of the Duke's position, in a valley of no great 
 depth, was an old country-house and orchard, called Gouraont, or 
 Hougoumont (sometimes written Hougemont), and upon the high 
 road, to the north-east of Hougoumont, stood a farm-house and 
 gardens, called La Haye Sainte. These two places were immediately 
 occupied by troops, who lost no time in rendering them available as 
 posts of defence, by raising barricades, making loop-holes in the 
 walls, taking post behind the hedges, &c. ; for although they were 
 
 MONT ST. JEAN. 
 
 neither of them sufficiently formidable to offer a very stubborn resist- 
 ance to artillery, they were decidedly valuable as cover for infantry, 
 and, indeed, constituted the key to the British position. Hougou- 
 mont was occupied by a battalion of Brunswick troops, and the light 
 companies of the Guards, under Colonel Macdonncll of Glengarry 
 La Haye Sainte was held by the light battalion of the King's German 
 Legion. Behind the position, to the right and left of the road to
 
 1815.] l^E MORNING OF "WATERLOO." 27 
 
 Brussels, was the forest of Soignes/ which was also traversed by minor 
 roads from Braine la Leude, Ter la Haye, and other hamlets. Beiug 
 quite free from underwood, and everywhere passable for men and 
 horses, this forest not only offered a good second position along the 
 verge of the wood, if the wing should have been obliged to fall back from 
 the first position, but presented, in case of reverse, the best possible 
 security for a retreat. To the left of the British line, at a distance 
 of twelve miles, concealed by woods and rising ground, lies Wavre, 
 and from this place the Prussians marched, early on the morning of 
 the 18th, to unite themselves with Wellington. 
 
 It is related that as soon as the dawn of day enabled Napoleon to 
 distinguish the English army, he gave utterance to feelings of 
 exultation, that they were within his grasp. Believing that they 
 occupied their position, either because the roads and their exhausted 
 state prevented their continuing the retreat to Brussels, or were 
 unaware of the proximity of the French ; he savagely exclaimed, " Ah^ 
 je les tie}is, ces Aiiglais .'" It is quite certain that he believed it to 
 be in his power to crush them at any moment, for upon no other 
 ground can the manner in which he wasted his time between day-light 
 and noon be explained. He knew that the Prussians were hurrying 
 to join the British, and that if this junction were effected, the task 
 before him would become more difficult. Perhaps — and this con- 
 jecture has been hazarded by his apologists — he waited until the 
 earth, saturated with the rains of the previous night, should have 
 resumed some portion of its consistency, and enable his artillery and 
 cavalry to act with greater effect. Be this as it may, he devoted some 
 time to marshalling his troops in 
 
 " Battle's magoiflcently stern array," 
 
 and then rode along the line, attended by a brilliant staff, in order to 
 whet the appetite of his men for the contest. The French soldier 
 needed the stimulus of display, and did not fight the worse for the 
 fanfaronnade of pompous harangues, inspiring music, and the sight of 
 " le petit caporalP 
 
 At about twelve o'clock, the signal for the fight was given. The 
 Emperor directed his attack upon the British position at Hougoumont, 
 and as his six battalions of infantry, under the command of Prince 
 Jerome, advanced towards the chateau, the Guards and Bruns- 
 wickers met them with a volley of musketry, which was seconded 
 
 1 Scarcel' a vestige of this forest now remains. It is supposed to have been the Forest of 
 Ardennes, alluded to in Shakspeare.
 
 28 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 1815.] 
 
 and sustained by the fire of a British battery on its right. In a few 
 minutes the battle became general, for the discharge of musketry and 
 artillery augmented like thickening peals of thunder, and soon extend- 
 ed to the furthest extremity of the lines. 
 
 Within the limits of this biography it were impossible to attempt 
 to render justice to the details of a conflict which, without needless 
 expansion, has formed the material of ample volumes. Siborne and 
 Alison, and Mitchell, Gleig, and Scott, and a hundred writers beside, 
 have rendered the " current of the deadly fight" familiar to English- 
 men as household words. Innumerable valorous deeds, and tactical 
 
 
 CHATEAU or HOUaOUMONT. 
 
 operations of a high and ingenious class, distinguished the British. 
 The battle was at first purely defensive on the part of the Duke of 
 Wellington. The French attacked vigorously and in great force. 
 At Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte the conflict was terrible Several 
 times did the enemy obtain possession of the orchard and gardens 
 of Hougoumont, but they never penetrated the enclosure. The
 
 /815.J 
 
 ATTACK ON HOUGOUMONT. 
 
 29 
 
 Coldstream Guards immortalised themselves by the unconquerable 
 resolution with which they held the court-yard under their brave 
 leaders, Colonel Macdonnel, Sir John Byng, and Lord Saltoun, even 
 when the farm-house was in flames from the fire of the enemy's 
 howitzers. From time to time the Duke dispatched aides-de-camp to 
 urge the defence of the position, and upon each occasion received 
 words of encouragement from the intrepid leaders. '• Your Grace 
 need not fear for Hougoumont," exclaimed Lord March, after 
 courageously delivering his message under a hot fire, " for Saltoun is 
 there !" 
 
 The attack upon Hougoumont was followed by the assault of the 
 French line upon the British centre and left. Eighteen thousand 
 
 CHAPEL OF HOUGOU.MONT. 
 
 soldiers advanced in majestic order, under the personal direction of 
 Napoleon, who had galloped towards a public-house, called La Belle 
 Alliance^ whence to order, and to view the effect of the attack. 
 Shouting " Vive VEmpereur !" and " en avant — en avant .'" the 
 cohorts of the Emperor energetically pushed forward. The Belgian
 
 80 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [181 S 
 
 troops — young and inexperienced — gave way in confusion, after a 
 brief defence of La Haye Sainte. The Rifles also gave ground, boldly 
 turning at every opportunity to deliver their effective fire upon the 
 front of the daring foe. From La Haye Sainte, the columns of the 
 enemy ascended the exterior slope of the allied position, covered by 
 the fire of the French artillery, posted on the ridges above them. 
 But here they were destined to experience a check, for Picton, with 
 the remnant of the brigades which had fought so valiantly at Quatre 
 Bras, seized the favourable opportunity of a halt and deployment by 
 the French to pour into them a destructive volley, and then to charge 
 vrith the spirit and gallantry common only to British troops. The 
 struggle which ensued was frightful, and though the British infantry 
 triumphed in the collision, their glory and delight were dimmed by 
 the death of the brave Picton, who was struck by a musket-ball in 
 the right temple.' 
 
 About the same time that the infantry brigade repelled the masses 
 of French foot, the Union Brigade of cavalry, consisting of the 
 Enniskillen Dragoons, the Royal Dragoons, and Scots Greys, made 
 terrible havoc among the French Cuirassiers. The Earl of Uxbridge 
 renewed in this contest the proofs of judgment and intrepidity which 
 had made his command of the rear-guard, on the way from Quatre 
 Bras, so efficient. The Highland regiments, thinned by the previous 
 fight, again displayed the national valour, and the shouts of " Scotland 
 for ever !" which rang across the field, announced that, in conjunction 
 with the Scots Greys, they were driving the French cavalry like chaff 
 before the wind. In this desperate encounter, a Serjeant of the 
 Greys captured the eagle of the French " Invincibles," as the 45"°* 
 Regiment was called. The Union Brigade charged recklessly into 
 the French lines, until fresh bodies of the enemy's cavalry — chiefly 
 
 1 The death of Sir Thomas Picton was a subject of deep regret to the British army, and to 
 Uie nation at large. lie was the bravest of the brave. Ever foremost in the fray, the 
 division which ho commanded in the Peninsula was called emphatically the "Fighting 
 division." So devoted was he to his proiession — so regardless of all personal considerations, 
 in his eager anxiety to do his duty in the Held— that although severely wounded in the hip at 
 Quatre Bras, he concealed the circumstance from all about him, lest he should have been 
 ordered from the Held. It has often been said that the Duke of Wellington was jealous of 
 Picton. This was an absurd imputation. Their relative positions put jealousy, or even 
 rivalry and emulation, out of the question. It is possible that the Duk6 did not like Picton, 
 and found it difficult to ensure ready obedience from the stern old soldier. Napier has shown 
 that in his interconrse with General Craufurd, Picton was most unaccommodating. He was 
 enterprising and intrepid, but harsh and rigid in command, and not remarkable for skill in 
 handling troops under flre. "In fact," adds the historian of the war in the Peninsula, "to 
 compare him (or Craufurd) with Wellington, was to display ignorance of the men, and of the 
 art they profe.ssed."— They could never comprehend the profound military and political core 
 biuattous of tbo subject of this biography.
 
 1815.] FRENCH CAVALRY ATTACKS. 31 
 
 Lancers — held in reserve, came fiercely upon them, and forced them 
 to retreat. In this retrogressive movement the brave Sir William 
 Ponsonby, who commanded the brigade, fell beneath the deadly 
 thrusts of the Lancers. The whole of this cavalry charge, which, 
 frustrating the attack of the enemy, took 3000 prisoners, two eagles, 
 and put liors de combat 30 to 40 pieces of cannon, has been justly re- 
 garded as one of the grandest scenes which distinguished the mighty 
 drama of the day. 
 
 Simultaneously with these deeds of high emprise, the French 
 Cuirassiers had advanced to attack the British centre. Showers of 
 round and grape-shot saluted them as they slowly trotted across the 
 plain, but they moved bravely on to the slope of the position, where 
 the Life Guards and Blues, under Lord Edward Somerset, thundered 
 down the eminence, and, affer a sharp combat, forced them to quit 
 the field. 
 
 This kind of attack was frequently repeated. The enemy seemed 
 to grow like Hydra's heads, for, ever as they were repulsed, they 
 returned in augmented numbers to sweep the English from the field. 
 Four hours were passed in this way. Hundreds, nay thousands, of 
 brave men fell under the galling fire of a terrible and well-pointed 
 artillery, the concentrated discharges of musketry, and the diligent 
 sharp-shooting of the riflemen and tirailleurs. But the British were 
 rooted to their position. They yielded no foot of ground. By 4 p.m., 
 after a brief interval of slaughter, an immense force of French 
 cavalry of all branches was prepared to renew the attack; and 
 it was evident from their formation and direction that the anni- 
 hilation of the British infantry was their object. The infantry 
 were in line, with artillery at the intervals. An awful cannonade 
 opposed the daring and impetuous advance of the proud chivalry 
 of France — but still they moved down into the plain at a steady 
 pace. As they pushed at a gallop up the slopes, the infantry formed 
 squares, ^ and the artillerymen, abandoning their guns for the moment, 
 took refuge within these impregnable living redoubts. No persuasion 
 could force the horses of the Cuirassiers against the hedge of bayonets 
 bristling from the squares. They thundered on for a brief space — 
 opened out and edged away from every volley which the third ranks 
 in the squares fired upon them. " In this manner they flew from one 
 
 1 The square consists of four lines of men on either of four sides, the two exterior files 
 kneeling with the butt of the musket pressed against the knee, and the bayonet advanced. 
 The men in the third and fourth lines Are over the formidable chevaux-de-frise thus pro- 
 duced. All European nations have adopted the square. It enables infantry to defend Itself in 
 every direction.
 
 32 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLD' GTON. [1815. 
 
 square to another, receiving the fire of different squares as they 
 passed. They flew more frequently at a trot, however, than at a 
 gallop, from one side of the square to another, receiving the fire from 
 every face of the square. Some halted, shouted, and flourished their 
 sabres ; individuals and small parties here and there rode close up to 
 the ranks. It is said that, on some points, they actually cut at the 
 bayonets with their swords, and fired their pistols at the officers. But 
 nowhere was there one gallant effort made to break a square by the 
 strength and influence of the steeds on which these ignorant and inca- 
 pable horsemen were mounted.'' ' 
 
 As the cavalry, baffled in their attacks, retired, the infantry opened 
 out and saluted their departure with volleys which rattled against the 
 metal shells in which the Cuirassiers were encased, often prostrating 
 man and horse or emptying many a saddle. But still the cavalry 
 came on again and again — to be driven back in the same way, harassed 
 as they retired by the British Hussars. 
 
 And so the day wore on — and, as it waned, the anxiety of the com- 
 manders of the respective armies increased. Repeatedly did Napo- 
 leon turn to Marshal Soult and ask why the English did not give 
 way, " evidently beaten as they were," and as often as he put the ques- 
 tion so often did Soult, taught by bitter experience, assure him that 
 they never gave way, but preferred being cut to pieces. More than 
 once on the other side did the generals commanding brigades send to 
 the Duke of Wellington to announce that the ranks were rapidly 
 thinning — the men exhausted — the prospect of ultimate defeat in- 
 creasing. " Will the men stand ?" asked the immovable chief. " Unti,' 
 they die, your Grace," was the instant reply. " Then I will die with 
 them." was the rejoinder. " Lead us to the charge !" cried the im 
 patient soldiery wearied with the defensive inaction of twelve long 
 hours. " Not yet — not yet — my men," was the invariable answer. 
 Anxiously, feverishly, impatiently, Napoleon looked over the volumes 
 of smoke which lazily rested upon the right of his army : he had 
 ordered Marshal Grouchy to join him with a strong corps, and he 
 momentarily expected him — such an accession would fix the fortune 
 of the day — at least so thought the sanguine Emperor. With no less 
 anxiety — but with better concealed emotion — the Duke cast his 
 telescope in the same direction, for he knew that Bliicher was hasten- 
 ing from Wavre. The roads must have been a perfect quagmire, or 
 the energetic marshal, whose motto was " Forward !" could not have 
 consumed an entire day in marching twelve miles. " Would to 
 God that night or Bliicher were come !" was the expression which 
 
 1 Mitchell's " Fall of NafioleoD "
 
 
 
 ii'''!i|T^' ;•!■:• Vl™i'>'!'!' ' -^
 
 1815.] THE FINAL CHARGE AT WATERLOO. 33 
 
 escaped the lips of the over-wrought but invincible British chief. He 
 knew that night would close the battle, or Bliicher's presence convert 
 it into a victory. 
 
 At length, while infantry and cavalry debated the issue — while 
 Generals Adam and Halkett and Maitland, with diminished forces, 
 maintained the reputation of the British Guards and Line against the 
 onslaught of well-appointed veterans of all arms ; while artillery 
 roared over the plains and heights, and reverberated in the ancient 
 forest, intelligence reaches both sides that the Prussians approach 
 under General Bulow. Napoleon detaches 7000 men under Count 
 Lobau to hold them in check — and his quick perception of an imme- 
 diate necessity dictates a tremendous attack upon the whole of the 
 British line, that his troops may be free, afterwards, to assail the 
 Prussians. This attack is entrusted to the Imperial Guard, the com- 
 panions of all his old campaigns, the reapers of victory where the 
 British were not. The Emperor forms them into two columns, 
 10,000 strong, and sending hundreds of tirailleurs in advance to 
 cover their approach, he personally encourages them to strike the 
 first blow. Hastily the Duke arranges the remnants of the British 
 army — the gallant fragment which had survived the murderous com- 
 bats of the prolonged day. On, on, come the French — their artillery 
 still tearing up the ridges where the shattered British hold their 
 ground. Napoleon has advanced to the farm of La Belle Alliance to 
 be, as he expects, the gratified spectator of the destruction of his foes. 
 Meanwhile, the Allied artillery unceasingly sends an iron hailstorm 
 into the ranks of the French, while the British Guards lie down be- 
 hind a ridge to avoid the shot and shell from the opposite heights. 
 The Imperial cohorts gallantly move onwards — they are within fifty 
 yards of the Duke's position — the danger is imminent. A hundred 
 heavy shot for an instant tell upon their first rank — they reel — they 
 waver — " Up, Guards, and at them !"' is shouted by the Duke, by gen- 
 erals, by aides-de-camp along the line. The Guards arise — the appa- 
 rition staggers the enemy — " Charge !" — and the household troops, 
 who had shown their mettle at Hongomont, pour upon the imperial 
 troops with determined force. The first column of the French is de- 
 feated — the second advances to the rescue. Sir John Colborne at 
 once throws the gallant 52nd upon their flank — the Rifles take up the 
 attack — the Guards still press forward. The Duke sees the critical 
 moment has arrived — the Prussians are at Planchenoit. " Let the 
 whole line advance !" exclaims the excited chief. The welcome 
 order is obeyed with alacrity. The gallant Anglesey proceeds to 
 head the Life Guards — a cannon-shot takes off his leg — Vivian and 
 
 VOL. II. 3
 
 34 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815 
 
 Vandeleur and Somerset lead their brigades, now reduced to skeleton 
 squadrons, and amidst a waving of hats, shouts, and the encouraging 
 roll of drums, the unconquerable British army rushes down the 
 slopes. In vain the daring Ney, who had headed the Imperial 
 Guard, urges it to rally and resist — in vain Napoleon launches his 
 broken cavalry, till then held in reserve, upon the allies. Dutch, 
 Belgian, Hanoverian, and Nassau troops cheerfully join in the charge, 
 though some of the former had shown the white feather at earlier 
 periods of the day, and, terrified by their impetuosity, the French fall 
 into dire confusion. All is lost. Napoleon is quick to see that the 
 disaster is irretrievable. Panic has seized the flower of his troops, 
 and exhortations to renew the attack are futile. They abandon their 
 arms — they fling away their knapsacks. The Prussians thunder upon 
 the Emperor's right — already he is overwhelmed. Sauve qui pent! 
 is shouted by a hundred voices, and the sun which at length shoots 
 out some parting rays lights 30,000 fugitive Frenchmen upon an 
 inglorious retreat. At the heels of his animated soldiers, Welling- 
 ton, who, throughout the day has ever been amongst them when 
 danger was imminent and his presence important, follows with the 
 fragment of his staff. Fitzroy Somerset has been wounded — his 
 right arm is gone — Alexander Gordon has received a mortal hurt — 
 the Prince of Orange is hars dc comhat. Soon the position of the 
 French is cleared — Wellington reaches La Belle Alliance, the 
 chosen locality of Napoleon's anticipated triumph, and there he 
 meets the admirable Bldcher. The old Marshal embraces him 
 fervidly. But there is no time to lose. A few words from the 
 Duke to the effect that his troops are worn out and incapable of 
 continuing the pursuit, suffice for Bliicher. He casts his Prussian 
 cavalry upon the backs of the recreant French, and for miles they 
 follow the broken legions of the once proud Emperor, cutting them 
 to pieces in their helplessness, and avenging in their merciless 
 slaughter the wrongs inflicted upon Berlin, and Frederick William's 
 excellent Queen. 
 
 Slowly, and with mingled emotions of sorrow and gratification, 
 the Duke of Wellington retraces his steps across the field to take up 
 his quarters at the little village of Waterloo. The groans of the 
 wounded, the sight of the thousands of dead over whom his horse 
 ever and anon stumbles, smite his heart. He — the sternest of the 
 stem, where the claims of "duty" invoke the suppression of all 
 natural impulses, — gives way to grief at the moment when men of 
 Napoleon's mould", in whom exultation smothers all the better feelings 
 of Nature, would have been intoxicated with delight. Dismounting
 
 1816.] THE CLOSE OF THE BATTLE. 35 
 
 from " Copenhagen," ' who had borne him for seventeen hours — and 
 narrowly escaping a fractured skull from the heels of his charger, who 
 kicked out his sense of the relief he now experienced — the Duke of 
 Wellington — le vainqueur des vainqeurs — enters the little inn to seek 
 refreshment and repose. 
 
 1 " Copenhagen derived his name from the city in which he was foaled, his dam having been 
 taken out there in the expedition of 1807, by Held-Marshal Grosvenor. The horse was not 
 only thorough-bred, but he was also very fashionably bred, being on his father's side a 
 grandson of the celebrated Eclipse, and on his mother's of a well-known horse of his day — 
 John Bull. In the hands of General Grosvenor Copenhagen did not remain long, for he was 
 sold by him to the Marquis of Londonderry, then Adjutant-General to the Peninsular army, 
 who sent him with other horses to Lisbon, in 1813. While there he was selected and bought 
 with another horse, by Colonel Charles Wood, at the price of four hundred guineas, for his 
 Grace the Duke of Wellington, with whom he soon became, as he continued, an especial 
 favourite. On the memorable day of Waterloo, though the great captain had been on his 
 back for eighteen hours, yet Copenhagen gave little signs of his being beaten, for on the 
 Duke's patting him on the quarters as he dismounted after the battle, the game Utile horse 
 struck out as playfully as if he had only had an hour's ride in the Park. For endurance of 
 fatigue, indeed, he was more than usually remarkable ; and for the duty he had to fulfil as 
 proportionately valuable. However hard the day, Copenhagen never refused his corn, though 
 he eat it after a very »musual manner with horses, lying down. Copenhagen, whose coloui 
 was a full rich chesnut, was a small horse, standing scarcely more than 15 hands high ; 
 he possessed, however, great muscular power. His general appearance denoted his Arabian 
 blood, which his enduring qualities served further to identify. Though not much suited, from 
 bis size, for crossing the country, the Duke did occasionally ride him to hounds."— Sportino- 
 Magazine. 
 
 BelPs Life in London gives a different account of the pedigree of the horse. That journal 
 —the highest authority in such matters— says : "The horse was bred in the year 1808 by 
 the late Field-Marshal Grosvenor ; his sire was the famous little racer Meteor, son of Eclipse. 
 Meteor hardly exceeded 14| hands; he was, however, very strong and handsome, with a 
 remarkably good constitution and legs, which enabled him to stand the wear and tear of 
 training for seven years. Meteor was just a little short of the first class or form of race- 
 horses, running well at all weights and distances. His illustrious progeny, Copenhagen, 
 appears to have inherited the stoutness of his sire in no slight degree, although very unsuc- 
 cessful as a race-horse upon the tiu-f. His dam was a mare whose name was given in the 
 ' Stud-book' as Lady Catherine, by John Bull, a very large, strong horse, the winner of the 
 Derby Stakes in 1792; who, as well as Meteor, was in the stud of Lord Grosvenor, the 
 grandfather of the present Marquis of Westminster. By those who are versed in the 
 mysteries of the ' Equine Peerage,' Lady Catherine was always considered to be entitled to 
 the 'bend sinister.' In fact, she was not quite thoroughbred. The newspapers have 
 informed us that the Duke's charger was named in consequence of his having been foaled in 
 Copenhagen, which we must beg leave to doubt ; for, even supposing Field-Marshal Grosvenor 
 to have visited the Danish capital in 1808, either in a military or a civil capacity, which does 
 not anywhere appear to be the case, it is hardly possible that he would have taken a brood- 
 mare as a part of his travelling establishment. At that time it was a very common circumstance 
 to name race-horses after some illustrious event happening during the war. Thus we have tho 
 names of Albuera, Waterloo, Smolensko, St. Vincent, and many others. For a similar reason 
 Copenhagen most probably received that title. At the time Copenhagen was foaled. Meteor 
 was twenty-five years old. Copenhagen was taller than his sire, being very nearly if not 
 quite, 15 hands, but neither so strong nor so handsome." 
 
 2£
 
 36 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1815. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 
 The night after Waterloo— The gains and losses— State of Brussels during the 16th, 17th and 
 18th of June — Advance of the Allies into France — Louis XVIII. joins the British camp — 
 The scenes in Paris— Napoleon's political throes— The abdication of the Emperor — 
 Proposals for Peace — Capitulation of Paris — ^The Allied Armies enter Paris. 
 
 HERE was brief rest 
 for Wellington on the 
 night after the battle 
 of Waterloo. Nature 
 claimed some relief, 
 and had gifted him 
 with the singular 
 power of command 
 ing sleep, and deriving from hasty 
 snatches of slumber that vigora 
 tion which ordinary men only ob 
 tain after long hours of repose 
 After a frugal meal, he threw him- 
 self upon his cloak, laid over some 
 bundles of hay, for Sir Alexander 
 Gordon, one of his attached aides- 
 de-camp, severely wounded, had 
 been placed upon the Duke's bed. His sleep was sound — the sleep of 
 the good man and the brave, whose unconquerable resolution to fulfil 
 his duty, had found its highest reward in the liberation of mankind 
 from the renewal of a dreadful tyranny. 
 
 At three o'clock on the morning of the 19th of June, the Duke 
 was aroused to hear that the spirit of Gordon had fled. The gay and 
 gallant now lay a corpse in the adjoining apartment.' Reports had 
 
 ■.;f'^v 
 
 1 The Duke was much attached to Sir Alexander. In the afternoon of the 19th he wrote 
 lo the Earl of Aberdeen, Gordon's brother, and spoke of the " extreme grief his death had
 
 1815.] THE NIGHT AFTER WATERLOO, 3*7 
 
 in the meanwhile reached the little inn from the general officers at the 
 head of divisions and brigades, and the Duke in the stillness of the 
 night had opportunity to count his profits and his losses. Heavily as 
 the latter weighed upon his spirit — " they have quite broken me 
 down," he said to the Duke of Beaufort, the brother of Lord Fitzroy 
 Somerset — the gain was beyond all price. He felt it — proudly as a 
 soldier, humbly as a Christian — and if at the commencement of the 
 struggle he spoke in the animated tones of the Fifth Harry, like him, 
 he now exclaimed in the fulness of his gratitude, — 
 
 " O God, Thy arm was here ; 
 And not to us, but to Thy arm alone, 
 Ascribe we all." 
 
 The reports which came to the Duke of the casualties of the day — 
 determinable by the musters of the regiments — announced a much 
 heavier loss than he had contemplated, although he had seen the 
 field covered with the dead and the dying, and was a witness to the 
 continual removal of hundreds of wounded men to the rear. In the 
 morning of the 18th June he had gone into the field with an army of 
 67,661 men, and 156 guns.' Of that number 14,724 were ascertained 
 to be killed, wounded, and missing. But official duty demanded the 
 suppression of emotions, and by the dim light of a candle, the con- 
 queror of Napoleon penned the memorable despatch which was to 
 announce to anxious England the final triumph of her arms on the 
 continent of Europe. In this despatch, which simply records the 
 operations described in the foregoing chapter, the Duke of Wellington 
 revels in the expression of approbation of all who had aided him to 
 bring the struggle to a successful issue. Twenty-two British general 
 officers, and nine foreign general officers, received the tribute of his 
 honest praise. Many of them had been wounded. Besides those 
 already mentioned, there were among the seriously hurt, Lieut.-Gen. 
 Cooke, Lieut.-Gen. Baron Alten, Major-Gen. Barnes, General Baron 
 Vincent, and General Pozzo di Borgo. Of inferior officers, nearly 
 
 caused him. " He had served me most zealously and usefully for many years, and on many try. 
 ing occasions ; but he had never rendered himself more useful, and had never distinguished him 
 Belf more, than in our late actions.- * • * i cannot express to you the regret and sorrow with 
 which I look around me and contemplate the loss which I have sustained, particularly in your 
 brother. The glory resulting from such actions, so dearly bought, is no consolation to me, and I 
 cannot suggest it as any to you and his friends ; but I hope that it may be expected that this last 
 one has been so decisive, as that no doubt remains that our exertions and oiu- individual losses 
 will be rewarded by the early attainment of our just object." 
 
 1 See Appendix I^ for a detail of the strength, and the table of killed, wounded, and 
 missing.
 
 38 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1816. 
 
 500 were wounded, and 116 killed. But the loss of tlie enemy was 
 very much greater ; it has been roughly estimated at 40,000, besides 
 about 7000 prisoners, including Count Lobau and General Cambronne. 
 It was, in truth, a terrible fight. The Duke's private correspondence 
 sufficiently described his sentiments. To Lord Beresford he wrote, 
 " Never did I see such a pounding-match. Both were what the 
 boxers call ' gluttons.' Napoleon did not manoeuvre at all. He just 
 moved forward in the old style in columns, and was driven off in the 
 old style." And to Dumourier he observed, " Jamais je n'ai vu une 
 telle bataille que celle d'avant hier, ni n'ai remporte une telle victoire 
 — et j'espere que c'est fini de Bonaparte." To Prince Schwarzenberg 
 he wrote, " Our battle of the 18th was a battle of giants^ and our suc- 
 cess complete. Pray God that I may be so far favoured as never to 
 have another, for I am much afflicted at the loss of old friends and 
 comrades." 
 
 Early on the I9th, Wellington proceeded to Brussels for a few hours, 
 and then returned to Nivelles, to issue his orders for the march of the 
 allied army into France. 
 
 The scenes which had been enacting in Brussels while the battle 
 was raging at Quatre Bras, on the 16th, and at Waterloo on the 1 8th, 
 have furnished themes for five hundred pens. The general character 
 of the story is the same, simply varying in the details. Perhaps the 
 following is among the most comprehensive and graphic extant : — 
 
 " The agony of the British, resident in Brussels, during the whole 
 of this eventful day, sets all language at defiance. No one thought 
 of rest or food, but every one who could get a telescope flew to the 
 ramparts, to strain his eyes, in vain attempts to discover what was 
 passing. 
 
 " At length some soldiers in French uniforms were seen in the 
 distance, and, as the news flew from mouth to mouth, it was soon 
 magnified into a rumour that the French were coming. Horror 
 seized the English and their adherents ; and the hitherto concealed 
 partisans of the French began openly to avow themselves ; tri-colour- 
 ed ribbons grew suddenly into great request, and cries of ' Vive 
 VEmpcreur ." resounded through the air. These exclamations, how- 
 ever, were changed to ' Vive le Lord Vellingtoyi V when it was dis- 
 covered that the approaching French came as captives, not con- 
 querors. 
 
 " The wounded suffered dreadfully from the want of a sufficient 
 number of experienced surgeons able to amputate their shattered 
 limbs ;' and there was also a deficiency of surgical instruments and 
 
 1 "The Duke of WeUingtou had returned to Brussels to dine with those or his Staff who wene
 
 1815.J BRUSSELS ON THE 16th AND 17th JUNE 39 
 
 of lint. The Flemings, however, roused by the urgency of the case, 
 shook off their natural apathy, and exerted themselves to the utmost 
 to supply everything that was necessary. They tore up their linen to 
 make lint and bandages ; they assisted the surgeons in the difficult 
 operations, and they gave up even the beds they slept upon to accom- 
 modate the strangers. The women, in particular, showed the warmest 
 enthusiasm to succour the wounded. They nursed them with the ten- 
 derest care, and watched them night and day. In short, their kind- 
 ness, attention, and solicitude reflect immortal honour on the sex. The 
 very children were seen leading the wounded Highlanders into the 
 houses of their parents, exclaiming, ' Voici notre braves Ecossais !' 
 Even the national vice of covetousness was forgotten in the excite- 
 ment of the moment ; rich and poor fared alike ; and in most cases 
 every offer of remuneration was declined. 
 
 " The whole of Friday night ( 1 6th June) was passed in the 
 greatest anxiety ; the wounded arrived every hour, and the accounts 
 they brought of the carnage which was taking place was absolutely 
 terrific. Saturday morning (17th June) was still worse ; an immense 
 number of supernumeraries and runaways from the army came rush- 
 ing in at the Porte de Namur, and these fugitives increased the 
 public panic to the utmost. ' Sauve qui pent P now became the uni- 
 versal feeling ; all ties of friendship or kindred were forgotten, and 
 an earnest desire to quit Brussels seemed to absorb every faculty. 
 To effect this object the greatest sacrifices were made. Every beast 
 of burthen, and every species of vehicle, were put into requisition to 
 convey persons and property to Antwerp. Even the dog and fish- 
 
 able to join him on the 19th (it was now the 20th) of June. Some one who saw him said that 
 he appeared to feel much grief for the dead, mingled with his joy for the victory, and that he 
 acknowledged the Providential interference by which he himself had been preserved in the 
 hour of battle. We heard, also, that while at dinner, a French General, who had been taken 
 prisoner, insisted upon seeing the Duke of Welluigton, that he might communicate something of 
 importance. He was, therefore, escorted by a guard into the presence of his Grace, when, being 
 questioned by Colonel Fremantle, I believe, as to the object of his mission, the boasting French- 
 man said he could speak to none but the Commander-in-Chief! The Duke being pointed out, 
 monsieur thus began : — 
 
 " ' Sir,— I appear before you as a General of France, who claims, on behalf of himself and his 
 fellow-prisoners, the attendance of the British surgeons, besides all the medical attendance which 
 !t is your duty to bestow upon us.' 
 
 " ' Sir,' replied the Duke of Wellington, almost without looking the insolent General in the face, 
 I have but too many of my own brave fellows who are without surgical or medical attendance ; 
 you may therefore retire.' 
 
 " His Generalship did so, not a little abashed by this just rebuke, and those for whom he pe- 
 titioned soon learnt that British clemency toward the vanquished was better produced by the nat- 
 ural feelings of the conquerors than through the intervention of those leaders who had so long 
 been the abettors of ferocity in other countries." — JVew Monthly Magazine.
 
 40 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1816 
 
 carts did not escape ; enormous sums were given for the humblest 
 modes of conveyance ; and when all failed, numbers set off on foot. 
 
 •' The road soon became choked up : cars, waggons, and carriages of 
 every description were joined together in an immovable mass ; and 
 property to an immense amount was abandoned by its owners, who 
 were too much terrified even to think of the loss they were sustain- 
 ing. A scene of frightful riot and devastation ensued. Trunks, 
 boxes, and portmanteaus were broken open and pillaged without 
 mercy ; and every one who pleased helped himself to what he liked 
 with impunity. The disorder was increased by a rumour that the 
 Duke of Wellington was retreating towards Brussels in a sort of run- 
 ning fight, closely pursued by the enemy. The terror of the fugi 
 lives now almost amounted to frenzy, and they flew like maniacs 
 escaping from a mad-house. It is scarcely possible to imagine a more 
 distressing scene. A great deal of rain had fallen during the night, 
 and the unhappy fugitives were obliged literally to wade through 
 mud. 
 
 " During the panic of Friday and Saturday, the sacrifice of property 
 made by the British residents was enormous. A chest of di-awers 
 sold for five francs, a bed for ten, and a horse for fifty. In one in- 
 stance, which fell immediately under my own observation, some house- 
 hold furniture was sold for one thousand francs (about 40/.) for which 
 the owner had given seven thousand francs (2801.) only three weeks 
 before. This was by no means a solitary instance ; indeed, in most 
 cases the loss was much greater, and in many, houses full of furniture 
 were entirely deserted, and abandoned to pillage. 
 
 " Sunday morning (1 8th) was ushered in by one of the most dread- 
 ful tempests I ever remember. The crashing of thunder was followed 
 by the roar of cannon, which was now distinctly heard from the ram- 
 parts ; and it is not possible to describe the fearful effect of this ap- 
 parent mockery of heaven. I never before felt so forcibly the feeble- 
 ness of man. The rain was tremendous ; the sky looked like that in 
 Poussin's picture of the Deluge ; and a heavy black cloud spread like 
 the wings of a monstrous vulture over Brussels. 
 
 " The wounded continued to arrive the whole of Saturday night 
 and Sunday morning, in a condition which defies description. They 
 appeared to have been dragged for miles through oceans of mud ; 
 their clothes were torn, their caps and feathers cut to pieces, and 
 their shoes and boots trodden off. The accounts they brought were 
 vague and disheartening, — in fact, we could only ascertain that the 
 Duke of Wellington had, late on Saturday, taken up his position at 
 Waterloo, and that there he meant to wait the attack of the French.
 
 1815.] BRUSSELS ON THE 18th OF JUNE. 41 
 
 " That this attack had commenced we needed not to be informed, 
 as the roar of the cannon became every instant more distinct, till we 
 even fancied that it shook the town. The wounded represented the 
 field of battle as a perfect quagmire, and their appearance testified 
 the truth of their assertions. 
 
 " About two o'clock a fresh alarm was excited by the horses which 
 had been put in requisition to draw the baggage waggons being 
 suddenly galloped through tke town. We fancied this a proof of 
 defeat ; but the fact was simply this : the peasants, from whom the 
 horses had been taken, finding the drivers of the waggons absent from 
 their posts, seized the opportunity to cut the traces, and gallop ofi" 
 with their cattle. 
 
 " Sunday night was employed in enthusiastic rejoicing. The 
 tri-coloured cockades had all disappeared, and the British colours 
 were hoisted from every window. The great bell of St. Gudule 
 tolled, to announce the event to the surrounding neighbourhood ; 
 and some of the English, who had only hidden themselves, ventured 
 to re-appear. 
 
 " The only alloy to the universal rapture which prevailed was the 
 number of the wounded ; the houses were insufficient to contain half ; 
 and the churches and public buildings were littered down with straw 
 for their reception. 
 
 " The body of the Duke of Brunswick, who fell at Quatre Bras, 
 was brought in on Saturday, and taken to the quarters he had occu- 
 pied near the Chateau de Lacken. I was powerfully affected when 
 I saw the corpse of one whom I had so lately marked as blooming 
 with youth and health ; but my eyes soon became accustomed to 
 horrors." 
 
 On his return to Nivelles, the Duke put the allied armies in motion 
 for the French territory. In a General Order, issued preparatory to 
 the movement, he impressed upon their recollection that " their 
 respective sovereigns were the allies of his Majesty the King of 
 France, and that France ought, therefore, to be treated as a friendly 
 country." He reiterated his former injunctions, that nothing should 
 be taken, either by officers or soldiers, for which payment was not 
 made, and he expressly forbade the extortion of contributions. In 
 acknowledging the bravery of the troops in the action, the Duke was 
 somewhat chary of his words ; but, as the sequel will show, he was 
 not indifferent to the suitable recognition of their services by the 
 sovereign and the country. The paragraph of the General Order 
 ran thus : — 
 
 " The Field-Marshal takes this opportunity of returnmg to the
 
 42 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 army his thanks for their conduct in the glorious action, fought on 
 the 18th instant, and he will not fail to report his sense of their con- 
 duct, in the terms which it deserves, to their several sovereigns." 
 
 To the French people the Duke addressed a proclamation, some- 
 what similar iu language to that which he issued on the descent of the 
 allied army from the Pyrcnean heights to the southern plains of 
 France. 
 
 " I announce to the French people that I enter their country at 
 the head of an army already victorious — not as an enemy (excepting 
 of the usurper — the declared enemy of the human race, with whom 
 there is neither peace nor truce) but in order to aid them in throwing 
 off the iron yoke by which they are oppressed. I have consequently 
 issued the following orders to my army, and I beg that I may be 
 made acquainted with every instance in which they are infringed," &c.' 
 
 Leaving the subject of this memoir for a brief space, let us follow 
 Marshal Bliicher in his hot pursuit of the flying French. 
 
 " Nothing could exceed the devastation spread by the French and 
 their Prussian pursuers through the country. It seemed as though 
 the arm of a destroying angel had swept over the land, and withered 
 as it went. The trees were stripped of their branches, the hedges 
 broken down, and the crops trampled into the ground ; in short, 
 wherever the fugitives passed, like the blasting simoom of the desert, 
 ' they left their track behind.' 
 
 " Sauve qui peut was the order of the day with the French. The 
 fields and roads were strewed with their cannon, baggage, and stores ; 
 they even threw away their arms, that they might fly the faster. 
 They rushed into Charleroi about three o'clock on the morning of 
 the 19th, with such violence that a number of the country people, who 
 were coming to market, were trampled to death, and the provisions 
 they brought either carried ofi" or destroyed. The fugitives did not 
 stay to inquire what mischief they had done, but hurried on, the 
 Prussians following close behind, and putting so many to the sword, 
 that the road to Philipville was soon choked up with the wounded and 
 the dead. 
 
 " Bonaparte was saluted with yells and execrations in every place, 
 and the people who had so lately hailed him with rapture, now 
 shouted, ' There goes the butcher of France !' as he passed along. Sic 
 transit glcn'ia ! Never was a flight more ignominious : he only paused 
 at Laon to order that the National Guard should be mustered to slojj 
 all runaways, except himself, and then hurried on to Paris." 
 
 1 See Proclamation dated " Malplaquct, 22nd June, 1815," in Gurwood's selection of Despatches 
 (No. 957).
 
 1815.] SEQUEL TO THE BATTLE. 43 
 
 But although the army which fought at Waterloo had dissolved 
 itself, and the retreat was not even covered by the semblance of a 
 rear-guard, the places occupied by the French on the Belgian frontier 
 still held out, and Marshal Grouchy, who, after contending with 
 General Thielmann and the Prussians at Wavre, had fallen back 
 on Laon, when the news of Napoleon's overthrow reached him, 
 was yet in the field with 32.000 men and 100 guns. It was in- 
 dispensable that the fortresses should be captured, and Grouchy 
 crushed. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington crossed the French frontier on the 21st 
 of June, and immediately blockaded Valenciennes, Lequesnoy, and 
 Cambray. The Prussians, meanwhile, blockaded Maubeuge, Landrecy, 
 Avesnes, and Rocroy. A few days afterwards Cambray was stormed 
 by a corps under Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Colville,' Peronne 
 was taken on the 26th of June, and Marshal Bliicher, coming up 
 with the rear-guard of Grouchy at Villars Cotteret, on the 28th, de- 
 feated it with the loss of 1000 men and sis guns. 
 
 At Cateau, Louis XVIII., having quitted Ghent, joined the allied 
 army, and was received by the people with the utmost demonstrations 
 of joy. Upon the surrender of Cambray he proceeded thither with 
 his Court and troops, and the Duke of Wellington gave up the fort 
 to his Majesty. Upon the capture of Peronne, the Duke left some 
 of the troops of the Netherlands, who had behaved very well in storm- 
 ing the horn-work which covered the suburb of the town, in garrison 
 at Peronne, and then moved onward with Marshal Bliicher. The 
 necessity which the Duke was under of halting at Le Cateau, to allow 
 pontoons an^ stores to come up for the capture of the fortress, placed 
 Marshal Bldcher one march in advance of him, but it did not lead to 
 any separation of the armies. General Muffling, of the Prussian 
 army, suggested to the Duke that he would do well to keep better 
 pace with his ally. " Do not press me in this," replied his Grace, 
 " for I tell you it won't do. If you knew the English army, its com- 
 position and habits, better, you would agree with me. I cannot 
 separate from my tents and subsistence. My people must be kept in 
 camp and well taken care of, if order and discipline are to be main- 
 tained. It is better to arrive a couple of days later at Paris than 
 that discipline should grow slack." 
 
 1 This excellent soldier, who had served with much distinction throughout the Peninsular War, 
 and previously in other parts of the world, received, five years after the Peace, the appointment 
 of Ck)mmander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army. That Array had become much disorganised in the 
 Mahratta campaign. Drill and discipline were at a low ebb, and Sir Charles Colville effectually 
 ■restored them. He afterwards became Governor of MauriLius.
 
 44 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. riRis. 
 
 The diorama of our history shifts to Paris. 
 
 Paris, the chosen locality of excitement, had been, since the depar- 
 ture of Napoleon on the 1 2th, the theatre of an anxiety not less 
 intense than that which pervaded Brussels on the three days 
 described above. Intrigue had been at work to provide for either 
 the triumph or the overthrow of Napoleon ; but upon the 18th, 
 public feeling reached a crisis of alarm. " People interrogated each 
 other on meeting in the streets, and news from the north was 
 anxiously hoped for." At length it came, and was of a nature to 
 gladden the Parisians. Napoleon — telling his own story in the 
 " Moniteur" — had announced the " great " victory at Ligny. The 
 people of Paris congratulated each other — " they experienced the 
 noble pride of a military nation which learns that its name has been 
 exalted in history, and in the face of other nations by one more 
 victory." On the 19th and 20th, vague and incomplete reports 
 alloyed the prevalent delight. The Prussians had been defeated — 
 good — 'twas an old story — Jena and Montmirail revived — but what 
 of the English, had they been beaten ? There was to be a fight on 
 the 18th, and by the 21st of June Paris would illuminate — or go into 
 mourning. The suspense was horrible. Paris, with all her vanity, 
 could not feel sure that Napoleon would humble Wellington. The 
 souvenirs of Toulouse and Orthes, of Nive and Nivelle, were yet too 
 green. 
 
 As day broke on the 21st, " a sough and a surmise" went through 
 the proud capital of France. " Tout est perdu .'•" was muttered along 
 the banks of the Seine, in the parks of Versailles and St. Cloud — on 
 the Boulevards — and, worse than all, as the day grew older, the 
 disastrous news circulated on the Bourse. Shrouded by the darkness 
 of the night, Napoleon had slunk into the palace of the Elysee, and 
 there concealed his defeat and his despair ; but the intelligence of his 
 arrival spread rapidly, and people crowded around the gates to observe 
 the entrance and exit of ministers and to deduce the truth from 
 the expression of their faces. Soon the direful fact of the complete 
 rout of the French army forced itself upon the whole of the populace, 
 and murmurs " not loud but deep " circulated over the town. 
 Napoleon found comfort and consolation only in the presence of 
 Caulaincourt. He was exhausted in body — dreadfully agitated in 
 mind. The long nights, the anxieties of two battles, the fatigue of 
 riding, of standing in the midst of his army for many consecutive 
 hours, all told against him. He sought a bath and repose. Awaking, 
 he summoned his ministers, and, after recounting the disaster of 
 Waterloo, exclaimed " The enemy is in France, and to save the
 
 1815.] ABDICATION OF NAPOLEON. 45 
 
 country, I must have ample power — a temporary dictatorship !" 
 But no one responded to the hint. The proposition in the Chamber 
 of Representatives was anticipated by Lafayette, the old soldier of 
 the Republic, who moved the permanence of the Chamber, and the 
 treason of any one who should attempt to dissolve it. The motion 
 was voted nemine dissentiente. Napoleon summoned his brother 
 Lucien to his aid, — Lucien, whose eloquence and firmness, had carved 
 the way for Napoleon to despotic power during the Revolution of the 
 last century. Vain expedient ! The Frenchmen of 1792 were not the 
 Frenchmen of 1815. Lucien's oratory, directed as it was, to the 
 preservation of Napoleon's power at the expense of France, received 
 no sympathetic response — on the contrary, the Chamber demanded 
 the sacrifice of Napoleon to the welfare of the country. Napoleon 
 stubbornly resisted a measure, alike, as he maintained in interviews 
 with friends and ministers, destructive of the interests of the nation 
 and himself But wrought upon by the growing hostility of the 
 people, and the news of the advance of the allies, he abdicated in 
 favour of his son. This, however, did not content the Assembly, for 
 it involved a regency. Nevertheless, proposals were at once despatched 
 to the advanced posts of the allies, under Prince Frederick of the 
 Netherlands, near Valenciennes, and to those of the 1st Prussian 
 €07^^ cVarmie for a suspension of hostilities on the grounds of the 
 abdication ; the delegates stating, at the same time, that a provisional 
 government had been formed and had sent Ministers to the Allied 
 Powers to treat for peace. 
 
 The proposition for an armistice was peremptorily rejected. Both 
 the Duke and Blvicher regarded it as a trick, and not calculated to 
 satisfy the just pretensions of the allies. The Duke referred to the 
 treaty of the 25th of March, which bound the allies to force Napo- 
 leon to desist from his projects, and to place him in a situation, in 
 which he could no longer have it in his power to disturb the peace 
 of the world. 
 
 " I could not consider his abdication of usurped power in favour of 
 his son, and his handing over the government provisionally to five 
 persons, named by himself, to be that description of security which 
 the allies had in view, and which should induce them to lay down their 
 arms." — Letter to Earl Bathurst, Joucourt^ Jtme 25, 1815. 
 
 As for Bliicher, he had but one leading object in view, in marching 
 upon Paris, — the capture of Napoleon. The delivery of the 
 Emperor was the invariable condition stipulated by him in every 
 conference with the French commissioners sent to treat for peace or ar- 
 mistice. He directed General Muffling to state to the Duke that " as
 
 46 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1816. 
 
 the Congress of Vienna had declared Napoleon under outlawry 
 ( Voge/frei), it was his (Bliicher's) intention to shoot him whenever 
 he got him." Miiffling was at the same time desired to learn the 
 Duke's views on the subject, for the Prussian Field-Marshal wished, 
 if possible, to act in concert with the Duke. Miiffling, in his account 
 of the interview, illustrates the fine chivalry of the British chief. 
 " The Duke stared at me with all his eyes, and in the first place dis- 
 puted this interpretation of the Vienna declaration. However that 
 might be as concerned his own position, and that of the Field-Mar- 
 shal, with respect to Napoleon, it seemed to him that, after the battle 
 they had won, they were much too conspicuous persons to be able to 
 justify such a transaction in the eyes of entire Europe. ' I therefore 
 wish,' continued the Duke, ' that my friend and colleague may adopt 
 my views ; such an act would hand down our names to history with a 
 stain, and posterity would say of us, that we had not deserved to be 
 the conquerors of Napoleon ; the rather because the act would have 
 been superfluous and without an object or advantage.' " Bliicher 
 ultimately yielded to the Duke's wishes, but under a very mistaken 
 and unjust (though thoroughly Prussian) impression.* 
 
 1 The following official letters from General Von Gneisenau to General Miiffling exhibit 
 
 Bliicher's sentiments on the subject: — 
 
 " CoMPEiGNK, Jane 27th. 
 
 "The French General, De Tremolin, is at Noyons, with the intention of proceeding to the 
 Duke's head-quarters, and treating for the delivery of Bonaparte. Bonaparte has been 
 declared under ban by the Allied Powers. The Duke may possibly— /or Parliamentary 
 considerations — hesitate to fulfil the declaration of the Powers. Your Excellency 'will, 
 therefore, direct the negociations to the effect that Bonaparte may be delivered over to us, in 
 order to his execution. 
 
 "Tills is what eternal justice demands, what the declaration of March 13th defines, 
 and thus will the blood of our soldiers killed or mutilated on the 16th and 18th of June 
 be avenged. Von Gneisenau." 
 
 The third letter is as follows:— 
 
 "Senlis, June 29(A. 
 
 "I am directed by the Field-Marshal to request your Excellency to communicate to the 
 Duke of Wellington that the Field-Marshal had intended to execute Bonaparte on the spot 
 where the Due d'Enghien was shot ; that, out of deference, however, to the Duke's wishes, he 
 will abstain from that measure, but that the Duke must take on himself the responsibility for 
 its non-enforcement. Gneisenau. 
 
 " P.S. If the Duke declare himself against the execution, he thinks and acts in the matter 
 as a Briton. England is under weiglitier obligations to no mortal man than to this very 
 malefactor ; for by the occurrences of which ho has been the author, her wealth, prosperity 
 and power have attained their present elevation. They are masters of the seas, and have no 
 longer to fear a rival in their sovereignty of it, or in the commerce of the world. It is 
 otherwise with Prussia. We have been impoverished by Bonaparte. Our nobility will never 
 be able to right itself again. And ought we not to consider ourselves instruments of that 
 Providence which has given us such a victory, for the ends of eternal justice? Does not the 
 death of tha Due d'EnKhlen call for mch a vengeance? Rhnii we not draw upon us the
 
 1815.1 CAPITULATION OF PARIS. 47 
 
 The French commissioners i^turned to Paris mortified and humbled, 
 and the allies prosecuted their triumphal march upon the capital. 
 On the 29th June the British passed the Oise, and established them- 
 selves in the wood of Bondy, close to Paris, while Bliicher advanced 
 to the Seine. The French provisional government had collected at 
 Paris all the troops remaining after the battle of Waterloo, between 
 40,000 and 50,000 men, besides the National Guards, and a new levy, 
 called les Tirailleurs de la Garde^ and the Federes^ under the command 
 of Soult, Massena, and Davoust ; Carnot assisting to place Paris in a 
 state of defence. On the 30th of June, five fresh commissioners 
 waited on the Duke of Wellington at Etrees. and the subject of an 
 armistice was again pressed upon him. His Grace, however, contin- 
 ued inflexible. No suspension of hostilities could be listened t® 
 while Napoleon remained at Paris, or so near to it as Malmaison, 
 influencing the soldiery by his proclamations, and virtually exercising 
 a species of indirect control. The commissioners again retired. 
 
 On the 2nd July, Bliicher was strongly opposed by the enemy on 
 the heights of St. Cloud and Meudon ; but the troops under General 
 Zeithen surmounted every obstacle, and obtained possession of the 
 latter heights and the village of Issy. On the morning of the 3rd, 
 the French attacked them again, but were repulsed with considerable 
 loss, and finding that Paris was then open on its vulnerable side ; and 
 that a communication had been established between Bliicher and 
 Wellington ; and that a British corps was also advancing upon the 
 Seine towards the Pont de Neuilly, the enemy sent a flag of truce, 
 and proposed a capitulation of Paris. The firing ceased ; officers on 
 both sides met at St. Cloud ; and Napoleon having hastily quitted 
 Paris for Rochefort, the following Convention was signed in the 
 very chamber in which Napoleon had planned most of his military 
 operations : 
 
 "MILITARY CONVENTION. 
 
 "This day, the 3rd of July, 1815, the commissioners named by 
 the Commanders-in-Chief of the respective armies : that is to say, the 
 Baron Bignon, holding the Portfolio of Foreign Affairs ; the Count 
 Guilleminot, chief of the General Stafi" of the French army; the 
 Count de Bondy, Prefect of the Department of the Seine; being 
 furnished with the full powers of his Excellency the Marshal Prince 
 
 reproaches of the people of Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Portagal, if we leave unperformed the 
 duty which devolves upon ua? Be it so. If others will exercise theatrical magnanimity, I 
 shall not set myself against it. We act, in this, from esteem for the Duke."
 
 *8 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 of Eckmiihl, Commander-ia-Chief of the French army, on one side ; 
 and Major-General Baron Muffling, furnished with the full powers of 
 his Highness the Field-Marshal Prince Bliicher, Commander-in-Chief 
 of the Prussian army; and Colonel Hervey, furnished with the full 
 powers of his Excellency the Duke of Wellington, Commander-in- 
 Chief of the English army, — on the other side ; have agreed to the 
 following Articles : — 
 
 "Article 1st. — There shall be a suspension of arms between the 
 allied armies commanded by his Highness the Prince Bliicher and 
 his Grace the Duke of Wellington, and the French army under the 
 walls of Paris. 
 
 " Art. 2nd. — The French army shall put itself in march to-morrow 
 to take up a position behind the Loire. Paris shall be completely 
 evacuated in three days ; and the movement behind the Loire shall 
 be effected within eight days. 
 
 " Art. 3rd. — The French army shall take with it all its materiel : field- 
 artillery, military chests, horses, and property of regiments without 
 exception. All persons belonging to the depots shall also be removed, 
 as well as those belonging to the different branches of administration 
 which belong to the army. 
 
 " Art. 4th. — The sick and wounded, and the medical officers whom 
 it may be necessary to leave with them are placed under the special 
 protection of the Commanders-in-Chief of the English and Prussian 
 armies. 
 
 " Art. 5th. — The military, and those holding employments, to whom 
 the foregoing article relates, shall be at liberty, immediately after 
 their recovery, to re-join the corps to which they belong. 
 
 '• Art. 6th. — The wives and children of all individuals belonging to 
 the French army shall be at liberty to remain in Paris. The wives shall 
 be allowed to quit Paris for the purpose of rejoining the army, and 
 to carry with them their property and that of their husbands. 
 
 Art. 7th. — The officers of the line employed with the Federcs, or 
 with the tirailleurs of the National Guard, may either join the army, 
 or return to their homes, or the places of their birth. 
 
 " Art. 8th. — To-morrow, the 4th of July, at mid-day, St. Denis, 
 St. Ouen, Clichy, and Neuilly shall be given up. The day after 
 to-morrow, the 5th, at the same hour, Montmartre shall be given up. 
 The third day, the 6th, all the barriers shall be given up. 
 
 " Art. 9th. — The duty of the city of Paris shall continue to be done 
 by the National Guard, and by the corps of the municipal Gens- 
 d'armerie. 
 
 "Art. 10th. — The CommandGrs-in-Chiefofthe English and Prussian
 
 1815.] MILITARY CONVENTION. 49 
 
 armies engage to respect, and to make those under their command 
 respect, the actual authorities, so long as they shall exist. 
 
 "Art. 11th. — Public property, with the exception of that which 
 relates to war — whether it belongs to the government, or depends 
 upon the municipal authorities — shall be respected, and the Allied 
 Powers will not interfere in any manner with its administration and 
 management. 
 
 "Art. 12th. — Private persons and property shall be equally re- 
 spected. The inhabitants, and, in general, all individuals who shall 
 be in the capital, shall continue to enjoy their rights and liberties, 
 without being disturbed, or called to account, either as to the situa- 
 tions which they hold, or may have held, or as to their conduct or 
 political opinions. 
 
 "Art. 13th. — The foreign troops shall not interpose any obstacles 
 to the provisioning of the capital, and will protect, on the contrary, 
 the arrival and the free circulation of the articles which are destined 
 for it. 
 
 "Art. 14th. — The present Convention shall be observed, and shall 
 serve to regulate the mutual relations until the conclusion of peace. 
 In case of rupture, it must be denounced in the usual forms, at least 
 ten days beforehand. 
 
 " Art. 15th. — If any difficulties arise in the execution of any one of 
 the Articles of the present Convention, the interpretation of it shall 
 be made in favour of the French army, and of the city of Paris. 
 
 "Art. 16th. — The present Convention is declared common to all 
 the allied armies, provided it be ratified by the powers on which these 
 armies are dependent. 
 
 " Art. 1 7th. — The ratifications shall be exchanged to-morrow, 
 the 4th of July, at six o'clock in the morning, at the bridge of 
 Neuilly. 
 
 "Art. 18th. — Commissioners shall be named by the respective 
 parties, in order to watch over the execution of the present Con- 
 vention. 
 
 " Done and signed at St. Cloud, in triplicate, by the Commissioners 
 above named, the day and year before mentioned. 
 
 " The Baron Bignon. 
 " The Count Guilleminot. 
 " The Count de Bondy. 
 " The Baron de Muffling. 
 « F. B. Hervey, Colonel. 
 
 VOL. II. 4
 
 50 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 " Approved and ratified, the present suspension of arms, at Paris, 
 the 3rd of July, 1815. 
 
 " The Marshal Prince of Eckmuhl. 
 
 '= Afterwards approved by Prince Bliicber and the Duke of Wel- 
 lington; and the ratification exchanged on the 4th of July.'" 
 
 The terms of the Convention were literally fulfilled. On the 4th, 
 the French army, commanded by Marshal Davoust, quitted Paris, 
 and proceeded on its march to the Loire ; and the Anglo-allied troops 
 occupied St. Denis, St. Ouen, Clichy, and Neuilly. On the 5th, the 
 latter took possession of Montmartre. On the 6th, they occupied the 
 barriers of Paris, upon the right of the Seine ; and the Prussians 
 those upon the left bank. On the 7th, the two allied armies entered 
 Paris; the Chamber of Peers, having received from the Provisional 
 Government a notification of the course of events, terminated its 
 sittings. The Chamber of Deputies protested, 24th July, but in vain. 
 Their president (Languinais) quitted his chair, and on the following 
 day the doors were closed, and the approaches guarded by foreign 
 troops. 
 
 Immediately, as if by magic, the whole population of the city 
 became enthusiastically loyal ; all caricatures of the Bourbons dis- 
 appeared, and the streets echoed with songs in praise of Louis XVIIL 
 The first troops marched through the Barriere de I'Etoile, and across 
 the Place Louis Quinze ; but others soon after advanced by diflFerent 
 gates, from whence they proceeded to all parts of the city. Every- 
 where they were received with rapture, the Parisians crowding round 
 the English in particular, as they passed, and exclaiming repeatedly, 
 ' Quels braves hommes ! Quels beaux cJtevMix ! Quels jolis gargo7is I 
 QuHls so?it gentils !" &c., while the Messieurs Ca/zco^ of the Palais 
 Royal, and the Rue Vivienne, descanted learnedly on the bright steel 
 and well-tanned leather of the British saddlery, and the glossy coats 
 of their horses. The Prussians were not received so favourably j 
 however, upon the whole, the pageant, for as such alone it seemed to 
 be regarded, passed off with the greatest eclat. The whole city was 
 in a bustle, the people were dressed as for a holiday, their vanity 
 moving them to cut a respectable figure before their enemies; and 
 though the multitude was immense, the confusion was not so great 
 as might have been expected. " The quays and Boulevards were 
 enlivened by ballad-singers, tumblers, charlatans, fire-eaters, conjurors, 
 &c., &c., all trying their best to please the wealthy strangers, whilst 
 the soldiers, both English and Prussians, were highly amused, and
 
 1816.] THE ALLIES IN PARIS. 51 
 
 laughed heartily at their tricks, their hilarity being increased by the 
 cheap chopines de vin and verres de liqueur with which they were 
 abundantly supplied. English, Prussians, and French were soon 
 mingled together, all apparently enjoying themselves ; and no one 
 who looked on their merry faces, and heard their bursts of laughter, 
 could possibly have fancied they were the inhabitants of a conquered 
 city and their conquerors. 
 
 " The major part of the French had, indeed, quite forgotton their 
 troubles ; they enjoyed a grand spectacle, and that was quite enough 
 to make amends for anything. There were a few persons certainly 
 amongst the crowd who, looking unutterable things, betrayed that all 
 was not right within ; and these fellows, who were probably old 
 soldiers of Napoleon, though disguised en Juibit bourgeois, seemed 
 ready to foment any disturbance which might chance to arise. Old 
 Bliicher, however, had taken the precaution of planting cannon, like 
 open-mouthed bull-dogs, upon all the bridges, and the malcontents 
 were kept in good order by the certainty of having the principal 
 buildings in the city knocked about their ears if they dared to mis- 
 behave themselves. 
 
 " As soon as the officers and soldiers of the allies were settled in 
 their quarters, they were surrounded by crowds of marchands and 
 Jews, who came to purchase (a bo7i compte) any supernumerary arti- 
 cles which the warriors have picked up in their campaigns ; rings, 
 watches, snuff-boxes, and camp-equipages were bought for about a 
 fiftieth part of their intrinsic worth, and many of the marchands had 
 reason to bless the arrival of their conquerors. Commissionaires 
 and valets-de-place were also in great requisition, and the most ridicu- 
 lous mistakes were made every instant in bad English or worse 
 French. The soldiers who had received billets, got to the wrong 
 streets or houses, and blows were frequently given to obtain admis- 
 sion to domiciles which they had no right to enter. The baggage, in 
 particular, very seldom went in the same direction with its owner, as 
 the rueful appearance of many of the officers sufficiently evinced. 
 
 " The first bustle of taking up quarters being over, the strangers 
 began to enjoy themselves, and all the restaurants, ti-aiteurs, cafes, 
 cabarets, and wine-houses, soon overflowed with customers. The con- 
 sumption of provisions was enormous, and it was soon very difficult to 
 get either a glass of brandy or a crust of bread at any price. In the 
 evening there was a brilliant illumination. The Palais Royal looked 
 like a fairy palace ; the elegant little shops sparkling like gems, were 
 crowded with purchasers, who were served by the prettiest filles de 
 boutique that could be found in Paris. The soldiers were too gallant 
 
 2p
 
 62 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 to marchander, and the bright eyes of the fair Paridenncs grew still 
 brighter from the reflection of the English gold. The Salles de Mars 
 and de Florc^ in the Champs Elysees, were crowded with dancers ; 
 and whilst the soldiers were thus amusing themselves, the officers 
 were thronging Frescati and the gaming-houses in the Palai3 
 Royal. All the chairs on the Boulevards and in the public-gardens 
 were occupied by military ; whilst the innumerable lights around 
 flashed on the laced uniforms and bright accoutrements of the allies, 
 as they appeared and disappeared among the trees. The Prussians 
 were mostly in the estaminets smoking most devoutly ; the theatres 
 were thronged to suffocation, and the air resounded with every pos- 
 sible description of music ; drums and trumpets, however, preponder- 
 ating prodigiously. No one thought of rest ; the city was in move- 
 ment the whole night ; and before three o'clock the country people, 
 who had heard the news, came crowding in, loaded with provisions ; all 
 were greedily bought up, and there were many broken heads and 
 scratched faces in the eagerness of buying and selling. About five, 
 the heavy baggage began to arrive, and as it was placed on the quays 
 and Boulevards, the soldiers, in their various uniforms, crowded round 
 it ; each claiming a share, with such energy of gesticulation from the 
 difficulty of making themselves understood, as would have formed rich 
 materials for the pencil of a Hogarth. 
 
 " Considering the good humour and good understanding which 
 appeared to subsist between the French and their conquerors, it is 
 melancholy to relate that on the morning of the 8th the Morgue was 
 found nearly filled with the dead bodies of Prussians, who seemed to 
 have been thrown into the river during the night, probably whilst in a 
 state of intoxication. 
 
 " This disgraceful treachery, however, was scarcely noticed in the 
 bustle of the preparations made for the reception of the French 
 King. His Majesty arrived with a splendid cortege soon after noon, 
 and was received with shouts and acclamations of delight; flowers 
 were strewed in his path, and the power of music strained almost to 
 exhaustion, in order to bid him welcome. About half-past two he 
 alighted at the Tuileries. At that moment a scene of excessive con- 
 fusion took place ; a number of English and Prussian officers, who 
 had attended the King, gave their horses to commissioyiaircs to hold, 
 and these fellows rode off, and were seen no more. There was no 
 redress, as no effective government was yet established ; and the 
 National Guard, to whom alone the peace of the city was confided, 
 generally sided with their countrymen. The King of Prussia made 
 his entry at seven in the evening, the Emperor of Russia at half-past
 
 18T5.] 
 
 THE ALLIES IN PARIS. 
 
 63 
 
 eight, and the Emperor of Austria about nine. Loud plaudits 
 cheered the Autocrat of all the Russias ; but the monarchs of Prussia 
 and Austria were received very coldly, and considering everything, 
 perhaps no mighty kingdom ever changed its masters with more 
 indifference."* 
 
 1 " United Service Journal."
 
 54 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [181S 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Napoleon flies to Rochefort— la taken to England, and deported to St. Helena— Feeling in 
 England on the news of the Battle of Waterloo— Thanks of Parliament, and Additional 
 Vote of i200,000/.— Other marks of Public Gratitude— BlUcher's design on the Pont de 
 Jena frustrated— Wellington created Prince of Waterloo, &c. 
 
 every vestige of authority, and 
 hope for its restoration in any 
 form, Napoleon fled, as has 
 been stated, to Rochefort, 
 with the intention of pro- 
 ceeding to America. Ap- 
 plication was made on his 
 behalf to the Duke of 
 Wellington for passports. 
 The Duke very properly 
 refused them. He had no 
 authority to grant safe- 
 conduct to a man who, 
 wherever he was, would be certain to stir up strife, and probably 
 re-kindle a European war. The flight of Napoleon was a con- 
 tingency not foreseen by the British government, and arrangements 
 had not therefore been made to provide for it. But as soon as 
 the Duke communicated to the Ministry that the ex-Emperor was 
 a fugitive to the shores of France, Lord Bathurst ordered thirty 
 ships of war to environ those coasts, and arrest his departure. 
 Selfish to the last. Napoleon had latterly passed his time in getting 
 together the most valuable cfi"ects from the different palaces near 
 Paris ; and as these were all borne away by him on the occasion 
 of his quitting Malmaison on the 29th of June, he was well prepared 
 to establish himself comfortably wherever fortune might carry him. 
 " Fame and memory would have been sufficient for a great man who
 
 1816.] NAPOLEON SENT TO ST. HELENA. 55 
 
 had so long swayed the destiny of empires ; but Napoleon felt that 
 he could not dwell upon his, and therefore required toys and 
 trinkets ! " * The projects, however, which he had formed for a free 
 and independent existence were baffled by his active enemies. The 
 Provisional Government had given orders to the captains of the 
 frigates destined to convey Napoleon to the United States not to 
 execute their commission if it endangered the safety of the vessels — 
 and in the same breath they prohibited his being re-landed in France. 
 The British commanders, on the other hand, were directed by their 
 own government to obtain possession of his person, and carry him to 
 England. Several projects of escape were suggested to Napoleon, 
 but he had the sagacity to perceive that it was impossible to elude 
 the vigilance of the English cruisers. Dreading lest the resumption 
 of power by Louis XVIII. should be followed by an order for his 
 arrest, he at leijgiil came to the resolution of putting himself volun- 
 tarily on board an English frigate, trusting to the chapter of acci- 
 dents for a generous reception in England. He accordingly 
 embarked in the Bellerophon^ claiming, to use his own words, the 
 "protection of the Prince Regent and the British laws." He was 
 received, not as a guest — not under any pledge of protection — but 
 simply because he wished to go to England ; and Captain Maitland, 
 of the Bellerophon, had the orders, in common with others, to which 
 reference has been made above. Reaching England on the 24th of 
 July, 1815, Napoleon despatched a letter to the Prince Regent, in 
 which he complacently called himself a victiin to the factions thai 
 divided France, and to the hostility of the greatest powers of 
 Europe ; and, " like Themistocles," he cast himself, metaphorically, on 
 the hearth of the British people. The appeal was treated as it 
 deserved. The multitude who crowded around the Belkrophon at 
 Plymouth stared at him as at a caged monster ; and the British 
 government taught, by dear experience, the folly of trusting him in 
 any way, sent Napoleon a captive to the island of St. Helena, there to 
 expiate, during six years of painful exile, the enormous political 
 crimes which had stained his career, and which, rending asunder the 
 bonds of society and desolating Europe, had plunged half the 
 civilised world into mourning. 
 
 The events following upon the second restoration of Louis XVIIL, 
 and the occupation of Paris by the allied troops, now claim attention 
 as far as they bear any relation to the subject of this biography. But 
 before describing them, let us take a glance at what had been passing 
 in England since the middle of June, 1815. 
 
 1 MitcheU's "FaU of Napoleon."
 
 56 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1816. 
 
 Six years of a succession of victories had cast a halo around the 
 name of Wellington. The people, like the soldiery, had learnt to 
 believe him invincible. No undue estimate had been formed of 
 Napoleon's genius for war — nor were the resources suddenly placed 
 at his disposal at all underrated. But the nation could not bring 
 itself to look upon the contest, which it saw approaching in the 
 Netherlands, with anything like apprehension. If the truth were 
 told, the sentiment was rather the other way. Wellington had 
 beaten all of Napoleon's marshals who had been opposed to him, and 
 Great Britain had taught herself to think that her hero was more 
 than a match for the master of the marshals. She now desired to 
 witness the confirmation of this belief, and every post was looked 
 for with lively anxiety as it brought the unavoidable conflict nearer to 
 its issue. A great tournament was "coming off" — Europe the lists 
 — universal peace or tyranny, the stake — Wellington and Napoleon 
 the combatants. There was, of course, much anxiety in families, 
 whose male members had hastened to the field, and the financial 
 reformer, with a fixed idea, groaned over the prospect of fresh 
 taxation. Those English people, also, who had made the Continent 
 their residence after the peace of 1814, mourned the derangement of 
 their plans, and the cessation of a style of life to which they had 
 begun to accustom themselves. But with the exception of these classes 
 there was an enthusiasm afloat throughout the land, and the young 
 blood of England, Scotland, and Ireland circulated with increased 
 velocity as the hope of ultimate triumph ripened into moral conviction. 
 
 The Stock Exchange had been in a state of considerable excitement 
 from the hour of Napoleon's landing at Frejus in the previous March. 
 The funds — the unerring barometer of the fluctuations of prosperity 
 and adversity, in all well-regulated commercial countries — now rose 
 or fell with every report according to its sinister or cheering 
 character. After the Restoration in 1814, a great deal of money had 
 been vested in the French funds by English people, and on the 
 chances of peace or war depended the integrity of their property. 
 Much anxiety, therefore, prevailed. As the news arrived of Napoleon's 
 advance into the Netherlands, the mercury of the commercial barometer 
 fell, and a perfect stagnation of business succeeded to the most active 
 Bpeculation. But the news of the fight at Quatre Bras revived the 
 hopes of the jobbers, and when the horns of the itinerant venders 
 of " Extraordinary Gazettes" proclaimed a great victory at Waterloo, 
 with all the exaggeration cupidity could supply, the funds rose very 
 considerably.' 
 
 1 The 3 per cent. Consols fell from 65} to 58| when Napoleon returned, in March, but every 
 kind of Stock rose at the end of Jane.
 
 1815.] PARLIAMENTARY GRANT. 57 
 
 Well has the eloquent Alison written : 
 
 " No one who was then of an age to understand what was going on 
 can ever forget the entrancing joy which thrilled through the British 
 heart at the news of "Waterloo." 
 
 The wailings which covered the land when the long lists of killed 
 and wounded were displayed, were drowned in the tumultuous joy 
 which animated eighteen millions of human beings between the 
 Land's End and John o' Groat's. Parliament was happily sitting at 
 the time. Within three days of the receipt of the intelligence of the 
 victory, the Prince Kegent, the steadfast friend and generous 
 supporter of the Duke of Wellington, justly interpreting the feelings 
 of the country at this juncture, sent down a message to the House of 
 Lords, recommending it to concur in such measures as might be 
 necessary to afford a further proof of the sense entertained by Par- 
 liament of the Duke of Wellington's transcendent services and of 
 the gratitude and munificence of the British nation. 
 
 Parliament, never backward at such a call, unanimously concurred 
 in a vote for adding the sum of 200,000/. to the former grants, by 
 which its sense of his extraordinary merits had been demonstrated. 
 
 When this message was read in the House of Lords, the Earl of 
 Liverpool said he had one or two facts to relate. He was one of the 
 trustees of the grant already voted to the Duke of Wellington. It 
 v/as stipulated that out of the sum given, 100,000/. were to be applied 
 towards procuring a mansion fit to commemorate the nation's grati- 
 tude for the distinguished services of his Grace ; but it was soon 
 found to be absolutely impossible with such a sum to erect a house in 
 any degree adequate to the intended object. Every man, as soon as 
 he heard the account of the recent victory — a victory which he had no 
 hesitation in saying was unequalled in the history of this country — 
 anxiously inquired whether no other proof of the nation's gratitude 
 could be bestowed besides the thanks of Parliament ? Could the 
 House, under such circumstances, hesitate to furnish to the Duke the 
 means of supporting his exalted rank ? 
 
 In the House of Commons, Mr. Whitbread said he cordially agreed 
 in the grant. He conceived that the Duke of Wellington had done 
 more than had been achieved by any other human being than himself. 
 If we had read of such achievements in history, as having been per- 
 formed ten centuries ago, we should almost discredit the story. He 
 had understood that, during the battle, the Duke of Wellington had 
 repeatedly thrown himself into the centre of a square that was 
 attacked, thus placing the most entire confidence in the valour of the 
 soldiers that composed it. They also felt the same confidence in
 
 68 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1816 
 
 him, and the inestimable value of that commander whose life was en- 
 trusted to their defence. Although honour was the best reward for 
 such distinguished services, yet, as the Duke of Wellington had already 
 reached the climax of human honour, the House had no way to show 
 its gratitude but by a grant of money. The conduct of the British 
 army in all its parts had never been surpassed by any other troops. 
 As to the opinions, however, which he entertained about the justice 
 of the war, they rested upon principles which could not be altered by 
 the accidental circumstances of victory or defeat. 
 
 The thanks of both Houses were afterwards voted to the Duke of 
 "Wellington, and to many officers of distinction in his army, and to 
 Marshal Prince Bliicher, and the allied troops under the Duke's 
 command. 
 
 On this occasion, Earl Bathurst, on moving the thanks in the 
 House of Lords, said, '• he was aware that their lordships must be 
 eager to discharge the debt of gratitude to the Duke, who had now 
 so gloriously relieved them from the anxiety which all must have felt 
 for some time past. The campaign was begun by Bonaparte himself 
 He had not, for this time at least, to accuse the seasons, nor the de- 
 fection of those from whom he expected, support. He could not say 
 that he was obliged to commence the battle by those to whose mea- 
 sures he was compelled to yield, contrary to his own better judgment. 
 It was completely his own act and choice. Under these circumstances 
 he had failed. His attacks were repulsed ; the order was reversed — 
 he was attacked in his turn. His boasted genius shrunk under the 
 ascendancy of a mightier genius, and the result was, the complete 
 overthrow of the French army. An achievement of such magnitude 
 could not be performed without great loss. It had been wisely or- 
 dained by Providence that we should taste neither of joy nor of grief 
 unmixed ; and the pain at which this victory was gained must teach us 
 to check our exultation." 
 
 In the House of Commons Lord Castlereagh prefaced his motion 
 for a vote of thanks by observing " that it would be confessed that 
 whatever the former fame of the Duke of Wellington might have 
 been, yet, in all the various occurrences of his life — in all those great 
 achievements which he had performed, and which had called for the 
 thanks of the House, he had never before attained to a height of 
 glory like the present. And, in all the great events which he had 
 been engaged in, and those scenes that he had witnessed, ' had 
 never before fallen to the lot of the illustrious commander to ronder 
 so greak a service to his country, so extensive a benefit to the world. 
 There waa in the present victory an acknowledged pre-eminence over
 
 .1815.] 
 
 VOTE OF THANKS. 
 
 59 
 
 all those that had preceded it ; but when we looked at ita influence 
 and combination, in which are bound up all the interests of the 
 civilised world, it was almost impossible to conceive an idea adequate 
 
 VISCOUNT CASTLERKAGH. 
 
 to its magnitude and importance. The position of the allied army 
 previously to the late one was a very peculiar one : and without 
 meaning to impute blame, or to suppose any neglect of security, he 
 must say that the circumstance of the armies not being actually 
 engaged in hostilities necessarily led to a distribution of force, for 
 the more convenient obtainment of sustenance for so large an army. 
 The whole line of troops destined to act upon France not being 
 equally advanced, it was clearly not the interest of the Allies to 
 become the assailants ; the army, therefore, which was to act upon 
 the offensive making its point of union the point it chose for an 
 attack, must have a great advantage over an army situated as the 
 allied army was ; and yet it was impossible to alter that position ; for 
 if Marshal Blucher and the Duke of Wellington had concentrated 
 their forces, they must have left open a long line of country at the
 
 60 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1816. 
 
 mercy of the enemy^ wbo might have made use of such a lapse for 
 the most important ends ; and, therefore, not imputing any neglect 
 of preparation to the commanders, it must be evident that the attack- 
 ing army vrould have the advantage. With such a force on the 
 frontiers of France, it was with Bonaparte a great object to attack 
 it in some powerful point, before the combined powers were all per- 
 fectly ready for operations ; and accordingly he had acted with all the 
 decision of character and energy of mind that he was known to pos 
 sess ; and as soon as he could leave Paris he joined his army, and, 
 directing it to the north, commenced his operations. In considering 
 the nature and extent of the forces engaged, he must observe, that of 
 the ten corps d'armee which France possessed, the five which were 
 complete were united under Bonaparte, together with his guard and 
 other cavalry. These troops had certainly maintained their ancient 
 character ; and, one feature of the victory was, that it had been gained 
 over the best troops of France, and that, too, at a moment when they 
 displayed all their ardour, and when their conduct even surpassed all 
 that they had before performed." 
 
 A motion being afterwards made by Lord Castlereagh for an ad- 
 dress to the Prince Regent, that he would be pleased to give direc- 
 tions for a national monument in honour of the victory at Waterloo, 
 and in commemoration of those who gloriously fell in achieving it, the 
 same was unanimously agreed to. 
 
 The Duke of York, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, 
 always prompt to the expression of merited commendation, wrote to 
 the Duke of Wellington on the 21st of June, in reply to the despatch 
 of the 19 th, describing the battle of Waterloo : — 
 
 "HoRSE-GuARDP, 2Ut June, 1815. 
 
 " My Lord Duke, 
 
 " I have to acknowledge the receipt of your Grace's de- 
 spatch of the 19th instant, conveying a report of the military opera- 
 tions up to that date. 
 
 '• Marked and distinguished as these operations have been by the 
 glorious and important victory gained over the French army on the 
 l8th instant, I have infinite pleasure in communicating to your 
 Grace the high feeling of satisfaction and approbation with which 
 the Prince Regent has viewed the conduct of the troops upon this 
 memorable occasion. No language can do justice to the sense his 
 Royal Highness entertains of that distinguished merit, which has 
 even surpassed all former instances of their characteristic firmness 
 and discipline ; allow me to desire that your Grace will also accept
 
 1815.] THANKS OF THE PRINCE REGENT. 61 
 
 yourself, and convey, in my name, to the oflScers, non-commissioned 
 oflScers, and troops, under your command, the thanks of his Royal 
 Highness for the great and important services which they have ren- 
 dered their grateful country. 
 
 " From my partiality and well-known opinion of the Prussian nation 
 and their troops, your Grace will readily believe that I also concur in 
 that expression of admiration and thanks which have emanated from 
 the Prince Regent for the important services rendered to the common 
 cause by Prince Bliicher and the brave army under his command. 
 The triumph of success cannot lessen the regret which must be felt 
 by all for the loss of the many valuable lives which has unavoidably 
 attended the accomplishment of this great achievement ; and I par- 
 ticularly deplore the fall of Lieutenant-General Sir T. Picton and 
 Major-General Sir W. Ponsonby. 
 
 " FuEDEracK, Commander-in-Chief.'''' 
 
 And Lord Bathurst, Secretary of War and the Colonies, wrote 
 three days afterwards : — 
 
 "War Department, London, 24£A June, 1815. 
 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " Your Grace will be pleased to convey to General H. E.. H. 
 the Prince of Orange the satisfaction the Prince Regent has experi- 
 enced in observing that in the actions of the 16th and 18th, his Royal 
 Highness has given an early promise of those military talents for 
 which his ancestors have been so renowned ; and that by freely shed- 
 ding his blood in the defence of the Netherlands, he has cemented an 
 union of the people with the House of Orange, which, it is to be 
 hoped, will thereby become indissoluble. The Prince Regent is pretty 
 sensible of the meritorious services performed by the Earl of Uxbridge, 
 who had the command of the cavalry on the 18th, and commands me 
 to desire you will communicate to his lordship his Royal Highness's 
 most gracious acceptance of them. 
 
 " The judicious conduct and determined courage displayed by Gen- 
 eral Lord Hill and by the other general officers in command of 
 his Majesty's forces upon this glorious occasion, have obtained the 
 high approbation of the Prince Regent. Your Grace will be pleased 
 to communicate to the general officers his gracious approval of their 
 exertions ; and your Grace will also be pleased to make known to the 
 army at large the high approbation with which the Prince Regent 
 has viewed the excellent conduct and invincible valour manifested by
 
 62 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1816 
 
 all ranks and descriptions of the troops serving under your Grrace's 
 command. 
 
 " His Royal Highness commands me on no account to omit express- 
 ing his deep regret on receiving so long a list of officers and men who 
 have fallen or been severely wounded in the actions of the IGth and 
 18th instant ; and the Prince Regent particularly laments the loss of 
 such highly distinguished officers, as Lieutenant-General Sir T. Picton 
 and Major-General Sir W. Ponsonby. 
 
 " It cannot be expected that such desperate conflicts should be 
 encountered, and so transcendent a victory be attained, without con- 
 siderable loss. -The chance of war must at times expose armies under 
 the ablest commanders to great casualties, without any adequate 
 advantage to be derived in return. But whoever contemplates 
 the immediate efi"ects and the probable results of the battles fought 
 upon the 16th and 18th instant, cannot but think that, although on 
 the lists of killed and wounded several of his Majesty's most approved 
 officers are unfortunately inscribed, many endeared to your Grace, and 
 whose names have become familiar to the country by their distin- 
 guished services in the Peninsula ; the loss, however severe, and how- 
 ever to be lamented, bears but a small proportion to the magnitude of 
 the victory which has been achieved, and which has exalted the mili- 
 tary glory of the country — has protected from invasion and spoil the 
 territory of his Majesty's ally, the King of the Netherlands — and has 
 opened the fairest prospect of placing on a lasting foundation the peace 
 
 and liberties of Europe. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, &c., 
 
 " Bathurst." 
 
 Besides the foregoing tribute to the Duke's worth and ability, the 
 Duke of York wrote to him a letter, dated 23rd of June, desiring him 
 to recommend certain officers for the third class of the Order of the 
 Bath.' The Duke acknowledged the compliment, and named the de- 
 serving. His Grace at the same time suggested some modifications 
 of the Order, and asked for some consideration for the captains of the 
 army. 
 
 " I confess that I do not concur in the limitation of the Order to 
 Field Officers. Many captains in the army conduct themselves in 
 a very meritorious manner, and deserve it, and I never could see the 
 reason for excluding them from the Order or the medal." 
 
 1 Down to January, 1815, all offlccrs honoured with the miliUiry Order of the Bath were called 
 Knights Companions, or Knights of the Bath. Li that month and year a statute was passed, dJ. 
 viding the Order into three classes, C.B., K.C.B., and G.C.B.
 
 1815.] REWARDS OF "WATERLOO." 63 
 
 The Duke was, in a general way, very averse to the indiscriminate 
 issue of medals, but upon the present occasion he departed both from 
 his principle and his reserve, and wrote to the Duke of York : 
 
 " I would likewise beg leave to suggest to your Royal Highness the 
 expediency of giving to the non-commissioned officers and soldiers en- 
 gaged in the battle of Waterloo a medal. I am convinced it would 
 have the best eflfect on the array ; and, if that battle should settle our 
 concerns, they will well deserve it." 
 
 How that suggestion was acknowledged, every Englishman knows. 
 To this hour — December, 1852 — five hundred officers, and several 
 thousand men proudly bear the Waterloo medal upon their breast. 
 
 But the gratitude of the nation did not stop short with the issue 
 of the medal. Five hundred thousand pounds were raised by vol- 
 untary subscription, for the benefit of those who had been wounded 
 in the fight, and for the widows and orphans of the fallen. An 
 enthusiastic desire to perpetuate the name of " Wellington" and the 
 crowning scene of his triumphant career, pervaded every class of 
 his countrymen. In Ireland, a noble testimonial was erected in the 
 Phoenix Park, and in the British capital a magnificent bridge span- 
 ning the Thames was baptized Waterloo, in the presence of the 
 Prince Regent and Duke of York. With the money voted by Par- 
 liament the mansion and estates of Strathfieldsaye were purchased, 
 to be held by Wellington and his heirs, on condition of his presenting 
 a tri-coloured flag to the sovereign at Windsor Castle on the 18th 
 of June in every year. A more desirable property could not be 
 procured at the time, or it is certain that a preference would have 
 been given to an estate of a more productive character, and in a 
 more picturesque locality.* The Duke was heard to say in after- 
 
 I strathfieldsaye is situated about six and a lialf miles north-west of the VVinchfleld station, 
 and about the same distance north-east of the station at Basingstoke ; it is about three and a 
 half miles east of Silehester. The parish of Strathfieldsaye is partly in the County of Berkshire. 
 The park is not of very great extent, the average breadth being about a mile, and the length 
 about a mile and a half; but it is rendered pleasant, especially on the eastern side, by a 
 diversity of hill and dale, and some fine trees ; and it is also enlivened by the waters of the 
 river Lodden, which, widening through the grounds, are expanded Into various sheets of 
 water, near which the mansion is situated. The term "Strath," or "Strat," as it is usually 
 pronounced, seems to have been an old term signifying a "stretch" of level ground with 
 elevations running along the sides. In this sense it is frequently used in Scotland, and some 
 instances of its employment with this meaning may be found in Wales. The addition of 
 " Saye" seems to have been derived from a family of that name, who originally possessed 
 the domain, and from which it passed in marriage to that of the Dabridgecourts. who held it 
 from the time of Richard II. to the year 1636. About that time it was purchased by Sir W. 
 Pitt, an ancestor of the Earl of Chatham, to whom it descended, and who, as well as his 
 squally celebrated son, often resided there. The avenue of beech trees at Strathfieldsaye is very
 
 64 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 times, that it required the greatest frugality to prevent an annual loss 
 upon the estate. 
 
 During the period of the peace of Amiens, Canova, the renowned 
 statuary, sculptured a colossal figure of Napoleon. This, at the peace 
 in 1814, was presented by the King of France to the Prince Regent 
 of England. The Prince now caused it to be transferred to Apsley 
 House, the Duke's dwelling, in Piccadilly, in the very case in which 
 it was originally conveyed from Rome to Paris ; that case never hav- 
 ing been opened between the time of its first arrival in the French 
 capital and the capture of that city by the allies.* In addition to 
 this compliment, the countrywomen of the Duke subscribed a sum 
 for the erection of a bronze figure of Achilles, which was placed in 
 Hyde Park, contiguous to Apsley House. 
 
 Nor were the honours and rewards showered upon the Duke of 
 Wellington emanations of English gratitude and admiration alone. 
 The King of the Netherlands conferred upon him the title of Prince 
 of Waterloo ; and the King of France created him a Marshal of 
 France, a Knight of the Holy Ghost, and Duke de Brunoy." 
 
 Reverting to the proceedings of the allies upon their occupation of 
 Paris, we come upon a period of our history when the judgment, the 
 
 beautiful. There is an anecdote current, that Mr. C. J. Loudon, the botanist, wrote to the Duke 
 to ask leave to make drawings of them. The Duke mistook the signature for " C. J. London," 
 the name of the diocesan, and therefore wrote to the Bishop that he might do anything with 
 the trees but cut them down. Mr. Loudon, owing to this mistake, never received a reply to 
 bis letter, and was, perhaps, one of the very few men whose letters were unanswered by the 
 Duke. 
 
 1 Canova had several sittings from Napoleon for the head of this remarkable statue, and was 
 BO well pleased with its resemblance to the original, that he expressed the strongest interest In 
 this production of his chisel, and explained to an English gentleman who visited him, that the 
 reason why the statue had remained at the Hotel de Ville, in Paris, till the entrance of the Allied 
 Armies into that city, without the case ever having been opened, was, merely, that the habitual 
 Buperstition to which Bonaparte was so subject had induced him to forbid the opening of the 
 case, solely because, when he understood that the small antique figure of Victory which stands 
 upon the orb in the right hand of the statue had its back turned towards him, and had wings 
 upon its shoulder!', he was fearful that it would bo construed into an omen that Victory had fled, 
 or would fly, fr<jm him, and therefore would not allow anybody in Paris to see the statue ; and 
 thus it is remarkable that this 8l;itue, which Napoleon rejected as ominous of defeat, fell into the 
 possession of his Conqueror— a lasting memorial of Victory. The orb is supposed to represent 
 the globe. It is remarkably disproportioned to the size of the figure. An observation to thai 
 eflcct being made to Canova, we believe, he courteously replied, " Ah, you sec, Napoleon's world 
 did not include Great Britain !" 
 
 2 Bnmoy is a delightful village, situate in the beautiful valley of Yercs, on the Lyons road, 
 about twenty-flve kilometres from Paris. It was formerly a Royal residence, with a magnificent 
 chateau, and a display of water-works which must have rivalled St. Cloud or Versailles. Charlee 
 X. used to visit Bnmoy as a rendezvous de chase ; but the chilteau was partly destroyed at the 
 time of the great Revolution, and the remaining portions have since been converted into 'illas or 
 country residences.
 
 1815.J THE BRIDGE OF JENA. 65 
 
 patience, and the magnanimity of the Duke of Wellington were to be 
 put to a very severe test. 
 
 No two men could be more unlike in every respect than the Duke 
 and his colleague, Marshal Bliicher. The Prussian marshal had the 
 highest possible respect for the Duke. He offered him the homage 
 which the superior mind insensibly exacts of the inferior. The one 
 soldier, however, was the mere representative of brute force ; the other 
 was decorated with all the attributes of moral greatness. Bliicher 
 would have tarnished every success by the indulgence of a vindictive 
 spirit ; "Wellington sheathed the sword when the battle was won. 
 
 " Being angered— his revenge being nigh — 
 He bade the wrong stay, and the displeasure fly." 
 
 Thwarted in his project for seizing the person of Napoleon, the 
 Prussian marshal determined, on entering Paris, that she should feel 
 that she was a conquered city, and no longer permitted to boast of 
 the trophies of the subjugation and humiliation of Prussia. There 
 is a bridge on the Seine erected by Napoleon, and bearing the title of 
 the Pont de Jena, in commemoration of the battle which laid Prussia 
 at his feet. Bliicher conceived that he was at liberty to destroy the 
 bridge, in right of retribution, and at the instance and with the con- 
 sent (it is said) of the Emperor Alexander, he had caused excavations 
 to be made in some of the piers, filled them all with gunpowder, and 
 stripped the bridge of its pavement. At the same time, Bliicher 
 imposed upon the city a military contribution of one hundred millions 
 of francs, and threatened that, unless the sum were paid within twenty- 
 four hours, he would send a considerable number of the bankers and 
 merchants to prison ; in earnest of the sincerity of which menace, he 
 actually arrested two of the principal bankers, by placing guards in 
 their houses ! 
 
 The intelligence of these violent measures on Marshal Bliicher's 
 part reaching the ears of the Duke of Wellington, he addressed the 
 following letter to the Marshal — a letter than which nothing that he 
 ever penned more fully illustrated the loftiness of his character, his 
 sense of delicacy, and his regard for the interests of justice and 
 humanity. 
 
 " TO MARSHAL PRINCE BLUCHER. 
 
 "Paris, 9th June, 1815. 
 
 " The subjects on which Lord Castlereagh and I conversed with 
 your Highness and General Compte Gneisenau this morning, viz., 
 
 VOL. II. 2 G
 
 66 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 the destruction of the bridge of Jena, and the levy of the contribution 
 of one hundred millions of francs upon the city of Paris, appear to 
 me to be so important to the allies in general, that I cannot allow 
 myself to omit to draw your Highness's attention to them again in 
 this shape. 
 
 " The destruction of the bridge of Jena is highly disagreeable to 
 the King and to the people, and may occasion disturbance in the city. 
 It is not merely a military measure, but is one likely to attach to the 
 character of our operations, and is of political importance. It is 
 adopted solely because the bridge is considered a monument of the 
 battle of Jena, notwithstanding that the Government are willing to 
 change the name of the bridge. 
 
 " Considering the bridge as a monument, I beg leave to observe 
 that its immediate destruction is inconsistent with the promise made 
 to the Commissioners on the part of the French army, during the 
 negotiation of the Convention, viz., that the monuments, museums, 
 &c., should be reserved for the decision of the Allied Sovereigns. 
 
 " All that I ask is, that the execution of the orders given for the 
 destruction of the bridge may be suspended till the Sovereigns shall 
 arrive here, when, if it should be agreed by common accord that the 
 bridge ought to be destroyed, I shall have no objection. 
 
 " In regard to the contribution laid on the city of Paris, I am con- 
 vinced that your Highness will acquit me of any desire to dispute the 
 claim of the Prussian army to any advantage which can be derived 
 from its bravery and exertions, and services to the cause ; but it ap- 
 pears to me that the allies will contend that one party to a general 
 alliance ought not to derive all the benefit resulting from the opera- 
 tions of the armies. Even supposing the allies should be inclined to 
 concede this point to the Prussian army, they will contend for the 
 right of considering the question whether France ought or ought not 
 to be called upon to make this pecuniary sacrifice, and for that of 
 making the concession to the Prussian army, if it should be expedient 
 to make it. 
 
 " The levy and application of this contribution ought, then, to be a 
 matter for the consideration and decision of all the allies ; and in 
 this point of view it is that I entreat your Highness to defer the 
 measures for the levy of it till the Sovereigns shall have arrived. 
 
 " Since I have had the happiness of acting in concert with your 
 Highness and the brave army under your command, all matters have 
 been carried on by common accord, and with a degree of harmony 
 unparalleled in similar circumstances, much to the public advantage. 
 "What I now ask is, not the dereliction of your measures, but th<
 
 1815.] THE ANSWER TO CALUMNY. 67 
 
 delay of them for the day, or at most two days, which will elapse 
 before the Sovereigns will arrive, which cannot be deemed unreason- 
 able, and will, I hope, be granted, on account of the motive for 
 making the request." 
 
 Yet did not the Duke escape calumny. He was assailed virulently 
 in every possible manner. To anonymous letters he gave no heed ; 
 but some one even personally addressed him, charging him with 
 participating in the outrageous conduct of the Prussians and their 
 labours at the bridge. He calmly replied to the writer, that had 
 he (the writer) known any of the circumstances connected with 
 the attempted destruction, he would have found that the Duke 
 did not deserve the reproach levelled at him. He attributed them 
 to the ease with which false impressions are made upon an excitable 
 people. " If," he added, " the injustice which you have done me in 
 your letter should have the effect of inducing you hereafter to be 
 cautious and reflective before you accuse a public man on any future 
 occasion that may present itself, I forgive you the present wrong."
 
 C8 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1815. 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 The Second Restoration— Condemnation of Political Offenders— Justification of the Duke in 
 reference to Marshal Ney— The spoliation of the Louvre— The Duke's honourable 
 proceedings — The Army of Occupation. 
 
 the 7th of July, Louis XVIII. 
 entered Paris, under the protec- 
 tion of the Allied Armies. He 
 was less welcome now than in 
 March, 1814, for Bourbonism 
 and its priestcraft, its partiali- 
 ties and prejudices, had been 
 tried and found wanting. Before, 
 he had everything to forgive: 
 in 1815, he had something to 
 avenge. 
 
 A decree, dated 9th of July, 
 announced the formation of the 
 new French Ministry. The 
 Prince de Talleyrand was ap- 
 pointed President of the Council 
 and Secretary of State for the department of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 Talleyrand was the French Vicar of Bray. He had been a member 
 of almost every Government France had known from the hour ho 
 entered into political life. A man of consummate abilities, of great 
 wit and unsparing sarcasm — familiar with, and attached to, the 
 ceremonials of Courts — he had rendered himself rather necessary 
 than agreeable to the dominant authorities. Of aristocratic origin 
 he was sent to college preparatory to taking holy orders ; for as 
 there had always been a prelate of the noble house of Talleyrand, he 
 was intended for the ecclesiastical dignity. At the age of thirty-five 
 he had become Bishop of Autun, without having acquired a high
 
 1815.J 
 
 PRINCE TALLEYRAND. 
 
 69 
 
 reputation for piety and church learning. Establishing a friendship 
 with Mirabeau, he adopted the free opinions of that popular orator, 
 and when the Constituent Assembly met, Talleyrand was an important 
 agent in the reforms it planned and enforced. He was despatched to 
 England to endeavour to bring about a community of feeling between 
 France and ourselves on the subject of legislative change. The 
 decapitation of Lous XYI. brought things to a crisis and shocked 
 all Europe. Talleyrand was then compelled, under the Alien Act, to 
 fly to America. He there turned his attention to commercial affairs, 
 lived by them, prospered by them ; but when the republic was 
 established he was recalled, through the influence of Madame de 
 
 PRINCE TALLEYRAND. 
 
 Stael, and became a member of the Government as Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs. He soon quarrelled with the Directory. Sieyes 
 and he never could agree. Napoleon, quick to discover talent and 
 pliable instruments, found both in Talleyrand, and confirmed him as 
 Foreign Minister when he assumed the Consulate. Talleyrand served 
 the Emperor as Grand Chamberlain, but a misunderstanding arose
 
 '^O LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1816. 
 
 owing partly to the war with Spain, and partly to Talleyrand's spirit 
 of intrigue with England and the Bourbons, and Napoleon dismissed 
 him with a handsome douceur. With the Restoration, Talleyrand, 
 who had always carried on a clandestine correspondence with Louis 
 XVIII., returned to power. He was immediately sent as Ambas- 
 sador to the Congress of Vienna, and influenced the Congress 
 to oppose Napoleon. Could Louis XVIII. do less than make him 
 the chief of his first ministry, after the battle of Waterloo had con 
 Bolidated (for a time) the throne of the Bourbons ? The Duke of 
 Wellington liked Talleyrand, his society, his wit, his cleverness, and 
 no doubt he dropped a word in season, which ensured his present 
 elevation. 
 
 One of the first acts of Talleyrand, in conjunction with the Due de 
 Richelieu, the Prime Minister, was to dismiss from the Chamber of 
 Peers all those who had accepted seats in the Chamber recently 
 established by Napoleon. In this act of dismissal were comprehended 
 Marshals the Dukes of Elchingen, Albufera (Suchet), Cornegliano, 
 and Treviso (Mortier). This was followed by a decree, dated 24th 
 of July, directing that the generals and officers who betrayed tJie king 
 before the 23rd of March, or who attacked France and the Govern- 
 ment with force and arms, and those who, by violence, gained possess- 
 ion of power, should be arrested and brought before competent 
 courts-martial in their respective divisions. Amongst the officers 
 included in this decree were Marshals Ney and Grouchy, Colonel La- 
 bedoyere, Generals Drouet d'Erlon, Clausel, Laborde, Cambronne, and 
 Lavalette. By the same decree numbers were banished Paris, and 
 ordered into the interior of France, there to await until the Chambers 
 should decide which of them ought to depart the kingdom, or be de- 
 livered up to prosecution. Soult, Excelmans, Carnot, Vandamme, and 
 Regnault de St. Jean d'Angely were included in the eight-and-thirty 
 thus exiled. 
 
 Of those who were ordered to be arrested and brought to trial, 
 Colonel Labedoyere and Marshal Ney were found guilty and shot to 
 death. The circumstance created a great sensation in Paris and in 
 England, for the character of Ney for courage and soldiership — a 
 character which he maintained to the latest hour of his life — had 
 created a great deal of sympathy in his favour. The Bourbons 
 were denounced in France and in England for a want of humanity, 
 and much obloquy was cast upon the Duke of Wellington for ab- 
 staining from an interference in Ney's behalf " The share of the 
 Duke of Wellington in that lamentable butchery, if it reflect no 
 discredit on him, certainly cannot be told to his honour." So spake
 
 1815.] THE DUKE AND MARSHAL NET. 71 
 
 an influential part of the liberal press of England ; and the Muse of 
 Byron, in her " savage imbecility," bespattered him with tirades un- 
 worthy of a poet capable of sublime and lofty efforts. Passion and 
 prejudice evidently had more to do with these contemptible censures 
 than reason and common-sense. Calmly and patiently reviewing the 
 circumstances at this distance of time, and looking at the consequences 
 of Marshal Ney's atrocious treachery, apart from the simple act of 
 his betraying the cause of the King, it seems impossible to imagine 
 that the Duke of Wellington could, as a soldier in love with honour, 
 as a statesman abhorring the author of the frightful bloodshed arising 
 out of Napoleon's being permitted to march on Paris, move hand or 
 foot to save the perfidious Marshal. Every English soldier who had 
 been executed for desertion or betrayal of his trust, under a warrant 
 signed by the Duke, would unquestionably have been murdered had 
 Ney been spared. The Marshal's defence of himself was the weakest 
 that could be conceived. He said he had " lost his head" when he 
 approached Napoleon — he was " disconcerted" — he was in " no relation 
 with things as they were" — he was, " doubtless, wrong in reading 
 his proclamation to the troops at Lons le Saulier, but he was im- 
 pelled by circumstances," all of which amounted to a confession that 
 he had no fixed principles in the first instance, no justification what- 
 ever to offer in the second. It was established on the clearest 
 evidence, that if battle had been given to Napoleon when Ney, 
 with his corps, encountered the returned Emperor's small force, the 
 troops might have remained faithful to the King ; but the procla- 
 mation defeated everything !" The circumstances connected with 
 that proclamation have been already given to the reader. Can 
 any candid Englishman, recalling those circumstances, hold Ney 
 guiltless of all the blood of our countrymen spilt at Quatre 
 Bras and "Waterloo ? Would any British ofiicer who might thus 
 betray his Queen, and consign his country to all the horrors of 
 war, be deemed worthy of the slightest clemency? Many efforts 
 were made to save Ney ; by personal application to the Duke of 
 Wellington of Madame Ney; by appeals to the allies in Paris, 
 and to the Prince Regent in England ; but they were properly un- 
 avaiJing. Ney himself made no appeal to the generosity of the 
 soldier who had defeated him at Quatre Bras, and driven him back 
 at Waterloo ; his letter claimed mercy on the faith of a clause in the 
 Military Convention of Paris. It was more of a lawyer-like than a 
 soldier-like appeal. That clause expressly exempted all persons 
 found in Paris at the time of the capitulation from any measure 
 of severity at the hands of the allied troops, but it certainly did not
 
 72 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815 
 
 tie up the bands of any existing or future French government from 
 acting in that respect as it might seem fit ; and so wrote the Duke 
 of Wellington to Marshal Ney.* 
 
 A great many negotiations took place, and treaties were entered 
 into at Paris at this time, for the due settlement of the affairs of 
 Europe, and in most of these the Duke of Wellington took an active 
 part, exhibiting as much ability as a statesman as he had hitherto 
 manifested as a general. Whilst acting as the British representative 
 on these occasions, a circumstance occurred, which forcibly exemplified 
 his forbearance, firmness, and disinterestedness. 
 
 At a very early conference of the ministers of the allies at Paris, 
 the minister of the King of the Netherlands put the direct question 
 to the Duke of Wellington, whether he had received any instructions 
 from, or knew the intentions of, his Court as to the integrity or 
 demolition of the Louvre and other Parisian galleries ? to which the 
 Duke distinctly replied, that he had not received any instructions 
 from his Court upon the subject; and as his Court did not interfere 
 with the galleries on the former occasion, (meaning upon the first 
 restoration of the Bourbons,) he had no reason to suppose they 
 would interfere on the present occasion. This seemed to be received 
 as satisfactory at the moment, and nothing further was said upon it 
 at that time. But at a subsequent conference, a considerable time , 
 afterwards, the minister of the King of the Netherlands renewed the 
 
 1 If there could have been any doubt aa to the interpretation put by the Duke of Wellington 
 upon the clause, the following letter from Earl Bathursl must have removed it, and at the same 
 lime imposed upon the Duke the obligation, as a good and loyal subject, of continuing to act 
 with perfect neutrality in the matter : — 
 
 "FROM EARL BATHURST TO THE DUKE OF WELLtNGTOX. 
 
 "Downing Street, 7(/t July, 1815. 
 "My Lord, 
 
 " Although your Grace has stated distinctly that the convention entered into by you 
 
 and Marshal Prince IJIiicher on the one hand, and certain French authorities on the other, 
 
 upon the 3rd instant, while it decided all the military questions, had touched nothing 
 
 political ; and although it camiot be imagined that, in a convention negotiated with these 
 
 authorities by Prince Bliicherand your Grace, you would enter into any engagement whereby 
 
 it should be presumed that his most Christian Majesty was absohitoly precluded from the just 
 
 exercise of his authority, in bringing to condign punishment such of his subjects as had, by 
 
 their treasonable machinations and unprovoked rebellion, forfeited all claims to his Majesty's 
 
 clemency and forbearance ; yet. In order that no doubt shall bo entertained as to the sense 
 
 with which this article is to bo considered by the Prince Regent, in conveying his entire 
 
 approbation of the convention, I am commanded to state that his Royal Highness deems the 
 
 twelfth article of it to bo binding only on the conduct of the British and Prussian commanders 
 
 and the commander* of such of the allies as may become parties to the present convention, by 
 
 Uieir ratiflcation of it "I have, &c. 
 
 " BAXHUKaT."
 
 1815.] SPOLIATION OF THE LOUVRE. 13 
 
 subject, and stated, to the surprise of all present, that a positive 
 promise had been made by the King of France (Louis XVIII.), 
 during the short period of Bonaparte's resumption of the throne, to 
 his master, the King of the Netherlands, that if he (Louis) should 
 ever recover the Crown, he would restore to the King of the Nether- 
 lands all the works of art belonging to Holland and Belgium, which 
 Napoleon had removed from those countries into France, and were 
 then in the Louvre ; and that as all matters connected with the settle- 
 ment of affairs appeared then to be nearly brought to a satisfactory 
 conclusion, he considered it proper that he should, without further 
 delay, insist upon the performance of the King's promise in this 
 respect to his master. Upon this disclosure, Marshal Bliicher, as 
 the representative of Prussia, declared, that if the works of art 
 belonging to the Kingdom of the Netherlands were to be restored to 
 the King of those countries, he (Marshal Bliicher) must insist upon 
 a similar restoration being made to his master, the King of Prussia. 
 These two claims having been so strongly put forward, the Duke of 
 Wellington felt that it was his duty, in fairness to all interests con- 
 cerned, to require, without any further loss of time, that in the event 
 of the King of the Netherlands and the King of Prussia being allowed 
 the works of art in the Louvre belonging to them respectively, an 
 option should be secured for all other powers interested in the same 
 question to reclaim such works as belonged to them, if they should 
 think proper to do so. The requisition of the two first-mentioned 
 claimants being adhered to, it soon became evident that the disso- 
 lution of the galleries was inevitable, and serious discussions on the 
 subject immediately ensued between the Duke of Wellington and 
 the Duke de Richelieu, at that time the Prime Minister of France. 
 From the Duke of Richelieu he obtained no satisfactory decision, and 
 subsequently had an audience of the King, which was as little decisive 
 in its result ; the effectual part of the King's promise was evaded, 
 and the Duke was again referred by his Majesty to the Duke de 
 Richelieu upon this momentous and still undecided question. By the 
 Duke de Richelieu the Duke was at length referred to Denon (the 
 principal officer of the Government as regarded the Fine Arts). A 
 great deal of discussion ensued, and ultimately, when Denon found 
 that there appeared to be no escape from this demand upon the 
 French Government, he said to the Duke, "If you are to have the 
 galleries you must take them." This settled the question, and a 
 guard was immediately placed over the Louvre, and preparations 
 made for removing all those works which were claimed in con- 
 sequence of the original promise of Louis XVIII. to the King of the
 
 V4 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 Netherlands. This occurrence caused extraordinary excitement in 
 Paris. The bitter hatred of the Prussians by the French appeared to 
 be superceded by the virulence which manifested itself in a few hours 
 against the English on this occasion, as the supposed authors of this 
 formidable blow to the vanity and exultation by which the French 
 had always been actuated with respect to these possessions ; and the 
 Duke of "Wellington, who, as appears from the above statement of facts 
 to have been perfectly innocent of any spontaneous assault upon the 
 Louvre, became the subject of the most unmeasured and opprobrious 
 invective. From this unmerited and painful position the Duke could 
 in an instant have relieved himself, and have transferred the fury to 
 which he was exposed to the real instigators of the movement, if he 
 had chosen to state the fact, that Louis XVIII. had falsified his word, 
 by first voluntarily promising in part to demolish the galleries, and 
 then practically opposing the execution of that promise ; but it needed 
 not one-tenth part of the penetration and sagacity of the Duke of 
 Wellington to enable him clearly to foresee what would have been 
 the eflfect upon the interests of that monarch and his crown, and 
 probably upon all Europe, if in the then excited state of Paris, such a 
 disclosure had been made. Here, then, is another extraordinary 
 instance, in which private feeling and personal interest were nobly 
 sacrificed by this high-minded man, in the faithful and intrepid 
 discharge of what he felt to be his paramount duty to the general 
 interests of those for and with whom he was called upon to act.' 
 
 1 The reader is referred to Appendix II., for the Duke's explanation of this affair to the 
 British Ministry.
 
 181 5.J 
 
 THE ARMY OF OCCUPATION. 
 
 75 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Army of Occupalion— The Duke's residence in Paris, from 1815 to 1818— The Army breaks up, 
 and the Duke returns to England. 
 
 y the aOth of November, 1815, after 
 a great deal of protocolling, anxious 
 and sometimes angry discussions, 
 the Allied Powers made a treaty 
 with the French King, settling the 
 future limits of the Kingdom, de- 
 fining the compensation France 
 was to make for the expenses of 
 the long war, and the spoliation 
 inflicted on diflferent states during 
 the Revolution, and fixing the sums 
 she was to pay for the maintenance 
 of an allied army in the difibrent 
 French fortresses for the period of 
 five years. The burthen thus im- 
 posed upon the nation did not fall short of seventy millions sterling — 
 a terrible pressure upon the industry of the people and produce of 
 the country for many years in prospect. The allied army in oc- 
 cupation of the fortresses was 150.000 strong, and the Ministers 
 Plenipotentiary of the four great powers determined that that army 
 should be placed under the command of the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 The state paper, in which the ministers intimated their wishes upon 
 the subject, was so highly honourable to the Duke, that no biography 
 of his Grace can be complete without it. The document is at the 
 same time a remarkable specimen of diplomatic courtesy. The Duke 
 de Richelieu — the grand-nephew of the famous cardinal — was the 
 Prime Minister of France at the time. He had struggled with 
 patriotic fervour to obtain for his country the complete restoration of
 
 76 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815 
 
 her power and position, and the departure of the whole of the foreign 
 troops. Sound policy, however, dictated to the allies an adherence 
 to the plan they had chalked out, and it was considered a great act of 
 clemency that 550.000 of the troops, then in the French territories, 
 should be withdrawn, and that some of the posts, such as Conde, 
 Giret, and Charlcmont, and the forts of Joux and Ecluse should not 
 be included in the territorial cession. Another point yielded to the 
 earnest entreaties of the Duke de Richelieu, was the diminution of the 
 tribute by one hundred millions of francs. 
 
 The following is the paper, in which the arrangement of the 
 command of the allied armies was notified to the Duke de Richelieu : 
 
 " TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE DUKE DE RICHELIEU. 
 
 " The Allied Sovereigns having confided to Marshal the Duke of 
 Wellington the command in chief of those of their troops which, 
 according to the 5th article of the treaty concluded this day with 
 France, are to remain in this country during a certain number of 
 years, the undersigned ministers, &c., &c., &c., think it their duty to 
 give some explanation to his Excellency the Duke de Richelieu as to 
 the nature and extent of the powers attached to this command. 
 
 " Although chiefly guided with respect to the measure by motives 
 tending to the safety and welfare of their subjects, by being very 
 far from having any intention of employing their troops in aid of the 
 police, or of the internal administration of France, or in any manner 
 that might compromise or interfere with the free exercise of the royal 
 authority in this country ; the Allied Sovereigns have, however, in 
 consideration of the high interest which they take in supporting the 
 power of legitimate sovereigns, promised to his most Christain 
 Majesty to support him with their arms against every revolutionary 
 convulsion, which might tend to overthrow by force the order of 
 things at present established, and to menace also again the general 
 tranquillity of Europe. They do not however dissemble, that in the 
 variety of forms under which the revolutionary spirit might again 
 manifest itself in France, doubts might arise as to the nature of the 
 case which might call for the intervention of a foreign force ; and 
 feeling the difiiculties of framing any instructions precisely applicable 
 to each particular case, the Allied Sovereigns have thought it better 
 to leave it to the tried prudence and discretion of the Duke of 
 Wellington to decide when, and how far, it might be advisable to 
 employ the troops under his orders, always supposing that he would 
 not in any case so determine without having concerted his measures
 
 1815.] THE DUKE IN PARIS. 77 
 
 with the King of France, or without giving information, as soon as 
 possible, to the Allied Sovereigns of the motives which may have in- 
 duced him to come to such a determination. And as, in order to 
 guide the Duke of Wellington in the choice of his arrangements, it 
 will be important that he should be correctly informed of the events 
 which may occur in France, the ministers of the four Allied Courts, 
 accredited to his most Christian Majesty, have received orders to 
 maintain a regular correspondence with the Duke of Wellington, and 
 to provide at the same time for an intermediate one between the 
 French Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the allied troops, 
 for the purpose of transmitting to the French Government the com- 
 munications which the Duke of Wellington may have occasion to ad- 
 dress to it ; and of communicating to the Marshal the suggestions or 
 requisitions which the Court of France may wish in future to make 
 to him. The undersigned flatter themselves that the Duke de Riche- 
 lieu will readily recognise in these arrangements the same character, 
 and the same principles, which have been manifested in concerting 
 and adapting the measures of the military occupation of a part of 
 France. They carry with them, also, on quitting the country, the 
 consoling persuasion that, notwithstanding the elements of disorder 
 which France may still contain — the effect of revolutionary events — 
 a wise and paternal government, proceeding in a proper manner to 
 tranquillise and conciliate the minds of the people, and abstaining 
 from every act contrary to such a system, may not only succeed in 
 maintaining the public tranquillity, but, also, in the re-establishing 
 universal union and confidence, relieving, likewise, as much as the 
 proceedings of the government can prevent it, the Allied Powers from 
 the painful necessity of having recourse to those measures which, in 
 case of any new convulsion, would be imperiously prescribed to them 
 by the duty of providing for the safety of their own subjects, and the 
 general tranquillity of Europe, &c. 
 
 " The undersigned have the honour, &c. 
 
 " Metternich. 
 
 " Castlereagh. 
 
 " Hardenberg. 
 
 " Capo d'Istria." 
 
 The four names will be familiar to the reader. Metternich was the 
 astute minister of Austria, and through life the most ardent upholder 
 of the monarchical principle in its most despotic form. Of Lord 
 Castlereagh we have already spoken. Baron Hardenberg repre- 
 sented the Prussian Crown. He was a highly-educated man, of
 
 18 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815 
 
 excellent business habits, and had filled important diplomatic offices 
 for many years, and in the most troublous days of the Prussian mon- 
 archy. Count Capo d'Istria, a Greek, enjoyed the confidence of the 
 Emperor of Russia, and in all the negotiations common at this period 
 among the Allied Powers, sought to maintain a preponderance for 
 Russian interests. 
 
 Ten days after the Definitive Treaty with France had been signed, 
 the allied armies quitted the country. The Duke of Wellington, in 
 his capacity of Field Marshal, bade them adieu in a complimentary 
 order, observing that in the late campaign they had given proofs to 
 the world that they possessed in a remarkable degree all the good 
 qualities of soldiers. He bore testimony to their good conduct in 
 their camps and cantonments, as well as when engaged with the enemy 
 on the field. 
 
 The life led by the Duke of Wellington during th« period of his 
 command of the army of occupation, was peculiarly agreeable to his 
 feelings, for it combined the claims of duty wiSh the allurements of 
 pleasure. The French, who at first were disposed to give vent to 
 their mortification in caricatures of the British and puns at the 
 expense of the Duke,' gradually become reconciled to one who never 
 interfered with their affairs but to obtain for them some con- 
 cession from the allies, and whose splendid hospitalities attracted 
 hundreds of wealthy English families to spend their fortunes in Paris. 
 Capefigue, a Frenchman, says, — " The generalissimo resided in Paris, 
 where he saw a good deal of Louis XVIII., and his English principles 
 were in perfect agreement with a system of moderation and freedom. 
 He possessed an honest and upright heart, and a habit of judging with 
 ease and simplicity of the state of events ; and we must do him the 
 justice to say that when, on various occasions, he was constituted 
 arbiter of the claims of the allies, he almost invariably gave his 
 j|jinion in favour of our unfortunate country." Numerous anec- 
 dotes are preserved of the " Duke in Paris," many of them of an 
 apocryphal character, and some embellished or distorted according 
 to the fancy or prejudices of the writer. It is certain that he felt 
 himself quite secure among a people towards whom he entertained 
 the most friendly feelings. He was accustomed to ride out every 
 day on horseback attended by a single groom. You were sure to 
 meet him either in the Boulevards, the Bois de Boulogne, or the 
 Champs Elysces." He had " a French guard at his residence, which 
 
 1 "Oh, Wellington— or yUainton, for fame 
 Sounds the heroic syllables both ways." — Byron. 
 9 " I have met him when he stopped his horse to speak to my companion, addressing bia<
 
 1815.] THE DUKE IN PARIS. 19 
 
 rendered any attack near his own house hazardous. The returned 
 emigrants hated the English at heart much more than the Bonapart- 
 ists, because they found the Duke would have nothing to do with the 
 population of France, from the sovereign to the poorest subject, 
 much less aid to place such miserable incompetent individuals at the 
 head of affairs. ' We hate your government,' said the Bonapartists ; 
 ' you have beaten us — it is the fortune of war, — but we have no 
 hatred to individual Englis"hmen, and we are happy to see you.' The 
 old emigrant party hated us altogether, adding an implacable re- 
 ligious antipathy to ingratitude, of which antipathy the Bonapartists 
 had none. 
 
 " ' Apropos of the French guard,' says a recent writer ; ' there 
 was a cover for the officer laid every day at the Duke's table. 
 The restoration of Louis XVIII. was accompanied, as far as 
 possible, with the absurdities of the old time, fi'om the Court 
 being under that influence, and a monarch, even poor old gorman- 
 dising Louis, was a Dieu viortel in their eyes, or all others were 
 to esteem him so. The late King of Prussia visited Paris in 1917, 
 incog., as the Count de Ruppin. The Duke of Wellington invited 
 the king-count to dinner. Louis XVIII. invited himself to meet 
 him. Covers were laid for six only. A sort of avant-courier of 
 old Louis proceeded to the Duke's to examine whether all was 
 en regie. On being told that six covers were laid — if I recollect 
 rightly, the Duke de Richelieu and Sir Charles Stuart, with the two 
 kings and the Duke, made up five of the party — " Who," the 
 officious official asked — '• who is the sixth cover for ? I must an- 
 nounce it to his most Christian Majesty." He was 'told it was for 
 the officer of the guard, a French captain. He at once declared that 
 the King could not dine that way, with a subject in such a station ; 
 it was contrary to all rule — all etiquette. The Duke of Wellington 
 was appealed to, who replied he could not alter the rule of his house, 
 and have his table changed ; that he was a soldier himself The 
 official went back to the Tuileries, and made his report. They 
 then attempted to prevent the King from going, but Louis cared 
 
 familiarly by his Christian name 'Bob.' Except an occasional ' God-dem !' from some lower-class 
 Frenihman, spoken often in the same tone to any English passenger, I never heard of the Duke'3 
 meeting an insult in his daily rides about — at least none that caused any public remark or 
 complaint. I have still his inflexible figure when on horseback before my eyes, almost 
 savouring of the drill ; his, on the whole, fresh, healthy complexion, and active make, notwith- 
 standing his services in the burning climate of the south. He had the appearance of being taller 
 than he really was; latterly he had seemed to shorten, and grow broad. His countenance was 
 always striking, the upper part, above the mouth, being exceedingly fine."—" Reminiscences^^ 
 from the JVcw Monthly Magazine,
 
 80 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1815. 
 
 nothing about the matter, he said, and shocked some of his old 
 courtiers in no slight degree — the relics of the race %ho thought 
 France was ruined for ever when Necker came to court with strings 
 in place of buckles in his shoes. On the present occasion, it may be 
 added that no one was more surprised than the officer of the guard 
 himself, to be seated at table so unexpectedly with two crowned 
 heads.' " 
 
 The fair Parisiemics were much captivated by the elegant manners 
 of the British officers ; but the Duke himself — his achievements — his 
 martial bearing — particularly enslaved their imaginations. It is re- 
 lated by a lady of the Court of Louis XVIII., that the Comtesse de 
 
 Bl no sooner saw him than she became deeply enamoured of him.* 
 
 Nor was she the only one whose heart was temporarily enchained, 
 although, be it observed, the Duke wasted very little of his time in 
 paying general court to the sex. He admired spirituclle women, and 
 was often found in the company of those who enjoyed the highest rep- 
 utation for their conversational powers ; but he was not much of a 
 wooer. Lady Hester Stanhope gave it as her opinion that he was " a 
 plain, blunt soldier, who pleased women because be was gallant, and 
 had some remains of beauty" (he was now nearly forty-six) " but he 
 had none of the dignity of courts about him." 
 
 To the honourable and friendly conduct of the Parisians towards 
 the Duke there were two disgraceful exceptions. Upon one occasion, 
 a quantity of gunpowder was placed in his cellar for explosion, on the 
 occurrence of Sifete — and upon another, a miscreant named Cantillon 
 discharged a pistol into his carriage. To Napoleon Bonaparte's eternal 
 infamy, it is to be remembered that when he heard of the circum- 
 stance, he included in his will a bequest to this latter ruffian, who 
 escaped the vengeance of the law.* 
 
 1 The anecdote, as published some fifteen years since, runs as follows: — " His eagle-like coun- 
 tenance completely captivated her. The lady's Royalist sentiments might certainly have some 
 share in this enthusiasm ; but, be this as it may, the poor Countess was in love. When in com- 
 pany with the Duke, she sighed and assumed all sorts of languishing airs. She, no doubt, 
 thought it a very fine thing to have a hero for her lover. At length a rendezvous was solicited 
 and granted ; but its result did not appear to convince the lady that the Duke wa.s quite as 
 amiable and gallant as he w.is reported to be. She was greatly enraged, and she spoke of Iho 
 Duke in the most contemptuous terms. There are some things which a woman can never 
 pardon ; when the Countess heard that the Duke had received the baton of a French Marshal, 
 ehe said that he deserved a cudgel rather than a baton. Only those who witnessed the state of 
 things in France in 18M and 1815, can form an idea of the exlravag."jit political fanaticism which 
 then prevailed, and which, in several instances, was converted into love. The above story I had 
 
 from my friend the Viscountess de Vau who was exceetlingly intimate with the Countess de 
 
 Bl . I communicated it to the King, who was much amused by it." — Souvenirs of a Lady vf 
 
 the Court of Louis XVIII. 
 
 'i " On February 11, 1818, as the Duke, in his carriage, was entering the gate of his hotel
 
 1817.] THE WATERLOO "PRIZE MONEY." 81 
 
 Judging from the general orders issued by the Duke of Wellington 
 during the period of the occupancy of France by the troops under 
 his command, the charge was by no means free from anxieties. He 
 paid frequent and prolonged visits to Cambria, in I816^and 1817, 
 and on each occasion he is to be found rep^hending irregularity and 
 disorder — the terms by which he expressed drunkftiwegs, violence, 
 and robbery. It was also necessary to check the conduct of officers, 
 some of whom, in hunting, would ride over the corn-fields, or, in garri- 
 son, invade the boxes of the theatres without requital, to the dismay 
 of the box-keepers, and the disturbance of the entertainment. Dis- 
 putes often took place between the French people and the British 
 troops, and as the former never scrupled to resort to violence, the 
 Duke gave peremptory and frequent orders that the latter should not 
 go about without their fire-arms. 
 
 Early in the year 1817, the Prince Kegent accorded twenty-five 
 millions of livres to the army as prize booty, captured on the 15th, 
 16th, 17th, and 18th of June, 1815. This proved a seasonable addi- 
 tion to the pecuniary resources of men and officers, and rendered a 
 residence in France even still more attractive than it had hitherto 
 proved. The share of the Duke of Wellington was 60,000/. 
 
 It has been stated above that the period stipulated for the occupa- 
 pation of France by the troops under the Duke was five years. It 
 has also been mentioned that certain heavy sums were to be paid on 
 
 at Paris, a wretch named Cantillon fired a pistol at his Grace, but happily missed his aim. The 
 Ministers of the Allied Sovereigns, as well as the King of France, warmly congratulated the 
 Duke on his escape, and the Prince Regent sent him an autograph letter on the occasion. Lord 
 Castlereagh, in consequence of this atrocious attempt, procured an extension of the Alien Act 
 for two years. Cantillon, and his accomplice, named Marinot, were tried in the next year, but 
 were acquitted. Napoleon (died May 5, 1821) left Cantillon a legacy of 10,000 francs for this 
 atrocity, in the fifth item of the fourth codicil of his will, as follows : — 
 
 " ' We bequeath 10,000 francs to the subaltern officer, Cantillon, who has undergone a trial 
 upon the charge of having endeavoured to assassinate Lord Wellington, of which ho was 
 pronounced innocent. Cantillon had as much right to assassinate that oligarchist, as the 
 latter had to send me to perish on the rock of St. Helena. Wellington, who proposed Jhis 
 outrage, attempted to justify himself by pleading the interest of Great Britain. Cantillon, if he 
 really had assassinated that lord, would have excused himself, and have been justified by the 
 same motives — the interest of France — to get rid of a general who had, moreover, violated the 
 capitulation of Paris, and by that had rendered himself responsible for the blood of the martyrs, 
 Ney, Lab6doy6re, &.C., and for the crime of having pillaged the museums, contrary to the text of 
 the treaties.' 
 
 " ' This clause in the last will of a dying man' (we quote the words of Sir Walter Scott) 
 'is not striking for its atrocity merely, but from the inaccuracy of the moral rea.wning which 
 it exhibits. Napoleon has drawn a parallel betwixt two cases, which must be therefore both 
 right or both wrong. If both were wrong, why reward the ruffian with a legacy ? but, if both 
 were right, why complain of the British government for detaining him at St. Helena?'"— 
 Wellinirtoniana. 
 
 VOL. II. 2 H
 
 82 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1818 
 
 various accounts to the Allies — enough to bear down the richest nation 
 upon the face of the earth. But a stipulation was made in favour of 
 private ii^ividuals whose fortunes had suffered by the revolutions 
 and wars, ^d these having been invited to send in their claims, they 
 poured in dn every side. * The payment, according to the first arrange- 
 ment, was to^ljS" effected by inscriptions on the great book of the 
 public debt of France, and nine millions a year were set aside for 
 thart purpose. The time, however, for presenting claims was not to 
 expire until the 28th of July, 1817, when the sum total amounted to 
 a sum " of almost fabulous magnitude, which surpassed the value of 
 the two budgets of France." What was to be done, asks the author 
 of '• The Diplomatists of Europe," under circumstances of so much 
 difficulty ? Russia was so situated as naturally to assume the cha- 
 racter of a mediator, for she had but few claims ; and the Emperor 
 Alexander, convinced that unless the negotiation were carried on by 
 an arbiter common to all parties, it would fall to the ground before 
 the diversity of views and opinions, proposed to intrust it to the 
 Duke of Wellington, making, at the same time, a sort of appeal to his 
 generosity. 
 
 Those who trusted to the liberal character of the Duke of 
 Wellington, rendered justice alike to him and to themselves. It was 
 not in his nature to scorn a claim addressed to his generosity, even 
 though, as in this case, his own pecuniary interests and public func- 
 tions were likely to sustain much damage from an abridgment of the 
 five years during which he had expected to hold command. He ac- 
 cepted the mediation. A congress of plenipotentiaries assembled at 
 Aix-la-Chapelle, to discuss the subject. Their deliberations were 
 brief France had kept her engagements religiously up to this point. 
 Order had been re-established, and everything justified the hope of a 
 progressive consolidation of the repose and prosperity of the nation. 
 It was needless — it would have been cruel — to have checked her ad- 
 vance in happiness by rigidly insisting upon the observance of the 
 Treaty. Influenced by his own convictions, the arguments of Pozzo 
 di Borgo, the llussian plenipotentiary, and the urgent appeals of the 
 Due de llichclieu, the Duke of Wellington energetically adopted the 
 cause of France, and procured the assent' of the allies to the 
 evacuation of France by the troops he commanded, and the surrender 
 of a portion of the indemnity. France, to this hour, remembers the 
 great service thus rendered by the man she had been taught to hate. 
 
 Early in November, 1818, the Duke quitted the army of occupation 
 after giving expression to his feelings in the following Genera! 
 Order : —
 
 1818.] EVAC^Uj^.^ of FRANCK 83 
 
 rintp- 
 
 •'Field-Marshal the H^Tof Well.^gtoir ,,3ifcT,ot t.l.p l-^v nf the 
 troops whom he had the hon to 
 
 them his gratitude for the good cc)i|^M|H^tuh u^s > 
 during the time they have been unoi^^^ordeis. 
 three years since the Allied Sovereigns crofided to the F; 
 the chief command of that part of these forces which cin 
 rendei'ed it necessary to keep in France. If the measures whi? 
 Majesties commanded have been executed in a manner to give 
 satisfaction, this result must be wholly attributed to the prudent and 
 enlightened conduct manifested on all occasions by their ExcellenciiB 
 the Generals commanding in chief; to the good example which they 
 have given to the other generals and officers who were subordinate to 
 them ; and, lastly, to the excellent discipline which has always pre- 
 vailed in the contingents. 
 
 " It is with regret that the Field-Marshal has seen the moment 
 arrive when the dissolution of this army was to put an end to his 
 public connection and his private relations with the commanders 
 and other officers of the corps of the army. The Field-Marshal 
 deeply feels how agreeable these relations have been to him. He 
 begs the Generals commanding in chief to receive, and make known 
 to the troops under their orders, the assurance that he shall never 
 cease to take the most lively interest in everything that may concern 
 them ; and that the remembrance of the three years during which 
 he has had the honour to be at their head will be always dear to 
 him. 
 
 • (Signed) " G. Murray, 
 
 " Lieutenant-General, and Chief of the Staff of the Allied Army." 
 
 The Allied Armies began to evacuate France on the 21st of No- 
 vember, 1818. A week previously, the Emperors of Austria and Rus- 
 sia, and the King of Prussia, to mark their great regard for the 
 Duke of Wellington, created him a Field-Marshal of their respective 
 armies.
 
 LIFE 
 
 .A 
 
 APSLEY HOUSE. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Duke's return — Appointed Master-General of the Ordnance — Birth of Queen Vicloria — 
 Accession of George IV.— Queen Caroline— Unpopularity of the Duke— Trial of the Quern 
 —The Congress at Verona— Death of Lord Londonderry — The Duke goes to Verona- 
 Result of his mission. 
 
 HE return of the Duke of Wellington to 
 England for a permanency was a source of 
 very great satisfaction to many of the high- 
 est members of the nobility, who had for too 
 long a time been denied the opportunity of 
 testifying their regard for one of their own 
 order who had, by a long series of tri- 
 umphs, adorned the peerage and exalted the 
 British character. To no one, however, 
 was his arrival more agreeable than to the 
 Prince Regent, who was beginning to feel 
 the value of the presence of a councillor and 
 companion who had, throughout his career, 
 given the strongest imaginable proofs of his 
 loyalty and truth. 
 The Duke of Wellington took up his residence at Apsley House 
 in Piccadilly. He had purchased the mansion of his brother some
 
 1819.] BIRTH OF QUEEN VICTORIA. ' 85 
 
 time previously, and under the professional superintendence of 
 Mr. Wyatt, the celebrated architect, it had been enlarged and 
 repaired — in fact it was almost entirely re-built. Here he began to 
 give those annual dinners known as the " Waterloo Banquet." At 
 first they took place in the dining-room, and the guests were forty-two 
 in number ; but they gradually increased to eighty or ninety — seldom 
 falling short of eighty-six — and then the entertainments were given in 
 the drawing-room, which acquired the title of the " Waterloo Gallery." 
 
 To the active mind of the Duke of Wellington, idleness would 
 have been intolerable. The Government, moreover, were sensible 
 that they would be guilty of an absurd piece of self-denial if they 
 did not avail themselves of his services in a position of importance 
 adequate to his great talents and merits. Fortunately, at the 
 moment of his return (December, 1818) the office of Master-General 
 of the Ordnance — an appointment second only in responsibility to 
 that of Commander-in-Chief — was vacant, and this was immediately 
 conferred upon the Duke of Wellington. The office has a salary 
 attached to it of £3000 per annum, and the Master-General is allowed 
 a Secretary at £1000 per annum. The duties comprehend the com- 
 plete control and management of the Artillery branch of the service, 
 and all that relates to it. It was therefore in every way suited to 
 the dignity, the tastes, and the military rank of the Duke. 
 
 On the 24th of May, 1819, the gracious lady of these realms, 
 Queen Victoria, came into the world at Kensington Palace. Amongst 
 the dignitaries and officers of state present at the auspicious event 
 was the Duke of Wellington. The circumstance could not fail to 
 have its influence upon the mind of the Duke. It imparted an 
 increased degree of interest to his connection with the Crown in 
 after years, casting a halo of parental affection around the Royalty 
 which, under any circumstances, he would have been proud to mani- 
 fest towards his sovereign — and that sovereign a female. 
 
 In the same year the sinecure office of Governor of Plymouth was 
 conferred upon the Duke. It seemed to be the special pleasure of 
 the Prince to heap honours and rewards upon the man who had for 
 60 long a time sustained the glory of the British arms, and was now 
 the chosen companion of the Regent's luxurious leisure. The 
 Court Circular of the time continually makes mention of the visits 
 of the Duke at Carlton Palace, and it is not too much to say that 
 his presence imparted dignity even to a Court, which, under the 
 auspices of Queen Charlotte, relaxed nothing of the severity of cere- 
 monial and coldness of punctilio by which it was distinguished through- 
 out the reign of George III. Early in the following year, the Duke
 
 86 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1820 
 
 received the appointment of Colonel-in-cliief of the Rifle Brigade — 
 an appointment of more honour than profit, and invariably held by a 
 military oflacer of the highest rank.' 
 
 George III. dying in 1820, the crown devolved upon the Prince 
 Regent, who had for several years exercised the monarchical preroga- 
 tive, and, in all but the title, was the sovereign of the country. 
 
 This event was followed by the appearance in England of the 
 wife of George IV., who had for six or seven years been residing 
 
 LORD ELDON. 
 
 and travelling abroad. She came, contrary to the advice of her wisest 
 and best friends, to claim the right of being crowned with her 
 husband. It was a fatal piece of folly. Her life on the continent 
 had been remarkable for its irregularity, its indiscretions and sensuali- 
 ties. If absolutely innocent, she had been so entirely regardless of 
 public opinion, that guilt was generally inferred. But although 
 narrowly watched by the emissaries of tlie King, she would probably 
 have been left to pursue her mad career with impunity had she not, 
 
 I The emoluments are only 238/. loi. Od. per auniun.
 
 1820. 
 
 QUEEN CAROLINE IN ENGLAND. 
 
 87 
 
 by coming to England, raised a commotion and a scandal, and forced 
 the issue of the question as to whether she should continue a Queen. 
 To destroy her title by establishing her incontinency became now the 
 almost unavoidable alternative of the King. A Bill of Pains and 
 Penalties was brought in, and the Queen was tried by the House of 
 Lords. The evidence was of a revolting description. Some of the 
 witnesses grossly perjured themselves — others, of unquestionable 
 integrity, adduced a sufficiency of damnatory facts, to shake the belief 
 
 LORD LIVERPOOL.. 
 
 which a generous public wished to entertain of her purity. Great 
 excitement was produced out of doors by the trial — society divided 
 itself into parties — the press became either her champions or perse- 
 cutors — family feuds arose out of the antagonistic opinions as to her 
 innocence — and the King himself, who, in legal parlance, came not 
 into court with clean hands, was especially the object of public vitu- 
 peration. Lords Liverpool and Eldon (the latter Lord Chancellor of 
 England), were the King's chief advisers in the matter, and conducted 
 the proceedings with courage and perseverance ; but the principal
 
 88 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLmGTON. 
 
 [1821 
 
 supporter of the monarch was the Duke of Wellington. Standing 
 by the King (his favourite expression) in the time of difficulty, he 
 disregarded vulgar clamour, and beheld with supreme indifference the 
 waning of a popularity on which he had never set much store. He 
 could not contemplate without horror the attempt, as he conceived it, 
 to pollute the throne, and he was keenly aflfected by the deplorable 
 spectacle presented to other nations, by the contest in which the 
 highest personages in the realm were involved. These feelings nerved 
 his defence of George IV. 
 
 The issue of Queen Caroline's visit to England is written in the 
 page of history. The Bill of Pains and Penalties was abandoned, 
 because the Ministerial or Tory majority was insignificant. The 
 Queen continued in England, however, and when George IV. was 
 crowned, in 1821, she renewed her claims, and even attempted to 
 force herself into Westminster Abbey during the ceremonial. The 
 mob — as much from dislike to the King, who had always kept himself 
 
 THE W.^LL OK TUE CHATKAU OF IIOUGOUMONT. 
 
 aloof from the people, as from any settled convictions of the Queen's 
 innocence, and the integrity of her pretensions — espoused her cause ; 
 but the clamour was borne down by the agents of authority, and the 
 pageant of the coronation soon diverted attention from the alleged 
 persecution, and afforded the many-headed monster a fertile subject 
 of agreeable excitement. 
 
 At the coronation, which took place in the autumn of 1821, the
 
 1822.] THE CONGRESS AT VERONA. 89 
 
 Duke of Wellington officiated as Lord High Constable of England. 
 Soon afterwards George IV. visited Ireland, and subsequently pro- 
 ceeded to his Hanoverian dominions. Upon the latter occasion, the 
 Duke of "Wellington accompanied him. The King took the route by 
 way of Ostend and Brussels. The vicinity of the field of Waterloo 
 tempted his Majesty to proceed to the locality of the great battle, 
 and he enjoyed, when there, the inestimable advantage of the society 
 of the Duke, who, acting as cicerone^ pointed out to the King the 
 scenes of the various contests of the 18th June, 1815. George IV. 
 was gifted with a strong comprehension, military tastes, and a perfect 
 acquaintance with the science of war. With all the details of the 
 great struggle fresh in his memory, he realised with facility the images 
 conjured up by the exact description of the Duke. The contests at 
 Hougoumont particularly interested the King. It is difficult to 
 say who was the proudest man on that day — the King who heard 
 upon the battle-field the story of the battle from the lips of the 
 mightiest soldier in the memorable fight — or the Field- Marshal, who 
 " showed how fields were won," with the proudest sovereign in 
 Europe for his auditor. 
 
 The year 1822 saw the subject of this biography again employed 
 on an important diplomatic mission. The affairs of Europe were 
 terribly out of joint. Five years' experience of peace and absolutism, 
 contrasting as it did very forcibly with the laissez allcr of Juntas and 
 a state of war, had fostered a restless and angry spirit among the 
 people in many parts of the continent of Europe. Naples and Pied- 
 mont became the theatre of revolutions designed to destroy authority. 
 The spirit of innovation spread in Spain to such an extent that the 
 country was kept in a state of constant distraction — on the very 
 verge of social dissolution : not so much by the struggle between the 
 partisans of the new system and the old, or by the dissensions of the 
 Liberals themselves, as by mutual jealousies, their ignorance of all 
 practical modes of administration, and their atrocious want of all moral 
 or political principle. Turkey too had presented a scene of continual 
 disorder ; there had been an insurrection in Albania, and two insur- 
 rections north of the Danube. And in Greece and its islands a revolt 
 had, amid outrages and butcheries disgraceful to humanity, acquired 
 so much strength as to render the struggle with the Ottoman Power 
 of exceedingly dubious issue. In France, the Ministry had been 
 wavering and unsteady, and the increase of the public prosperity had 
 failed to diminish the discontent of the people. 
 
 Uneasy at the prospect of a disturbance of the monarchical prin- 
 ciple, the Sovereigns who had assisted at the Congress of Vienna
 
 90 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [18i 
 
 now determined to meet at Yerona, to concoct measures for the 
 suppression of the liberalism — as they denominated the resistance to 
 tyranny — disseminating itself over Europe. Lord Castlereagh, who 
 had become Marquis of Londonderry, was to represent Great Britain 
 at the second Congress, but the eflforts he had long made to sustain a 
 position of responsibility requiring higher intellectual powers than he 
 possessed, had now begun to operate upon him. His mind was rap- 
 idly giving way. The Duke, at one of his interviews with Lord Lon- 
 donderry, detected the approach of insanity, and bis impressions 
 received a dreadful confirmation in the self-destruction of the unfor- 
 tunate nobleman. On the 12th of August, 1822, just as his physician, 
 who was latterly in frequent attendance upon him, was entering his 
 dressing-room, Lord Londonderry fell a corpse into his arms. He 
 had inflicted a deep and mortal womid upon himself in the carotid 
 artery, with a small penknife he had concealed in a letter-case.' 
 
 THE RIGHT UOX. GEORGE CANNING. 
 
 The Right Hon. George Canning succeeded Lord Londonderry in 
 
 I As Lord Castlereagh, he had become so very unpopular, from liis resistance to progrese, hi* 
 adherence to the interests of absolute monarchy, and his domestic Toryism, that the multitude
 
 1822.] THE BRONZE STATUE OF ACHILLES. 91 
 
 the office of Foreign Minister. Immediately addressing his attention 
 to the great European question at issue, he selected the Duke of 
 "Wellington to proceed to Verona, as the best substitute for Lord 
 Castlereagh available. As it was agreeable to George IV. that he 
 should accept the office, the Duke received his instructions from 
 Mr. Canning and departed. 
 
 Among the subjects which the Sovereigns assembled at Verona 
 regarded with anxious solicitude was the state of Spain. The Spanish 
 people had peremptorily demanded the realisation of those consti- 
 tutional prospects with which they had long been beguiled, and it 
 seemed probable that Ferdinand VII. would be compelled to yield. 
 Such a compulsion was viewed at Verona in the light of a political 
 sacrilege, and it was determined by France, with more or less assent 
 on the part of the Allied Crowns, to maintain the royal prerogative in 
 Spain by force of arms. When the actual invasion of Spain by a 
 French army, in support of absolutist principles, was announced to 
 the world, it was loudly exclaimed, that either the instructions 
 given to the Duke by Mr. Canning must have been disregarded, 
 or that the Government had been grossly inattentive to its duty, 
 in permitting such an outrage upon the independence and liberties 
 of a people. The debates in Parliament were long and violent, 
 and though those were not times of Ministerial minorities, the 
 Opposition produced some impression by their protests. The 
 Duke defended himself by proving what could never, of so strict 
 a disciplinarian, have been seriously disbelieved — that he had faith- 
 fully conformed to his instructions, that those instructions included 
 no authority to use menace, but that, as far as influence or remon- 
 strance could go, he had strongly dissuaded such interference with 
 the affairs of the Spanish nation, and had set the difficulties of 
 Peninsular intervention in the fullest light from his own experience. 
 At this distance of time we can see that the affair, like many of our 
 own day, was magnified beyond its due proportions for party 
 purposes. It is not unreasonable to suspect that the Duke, who 
 had no personal sympathies with Canning, and few. as yet, with his 
 politics, may have co-operated somewhat ungraciously with the liberal 
 successor of Castlereagh ; but, apart from his invariable fidelity to 
 his duties, it is perfectly certain, from his known opinions, that he 
 must have been opposed to the renewal of war in the Peninsula 
 under circumstances like these. He may have had very little 
 affection for Spanish patriots, and he may have thought that the 
 
 exulted at his death. In the " Life of Lord Eldon" it is stated, that when the corpse was 
 taken out of the hearse at Westminster Abbey, the mob cheered for joy that he was no morel
 
 92 
 
 LITE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1823. 
 
 neutrality professed by his Government would have been as truly 
 violated, by contesting the decisions of Russia or France, as by dic- 
 tating terms to Spain ; but his opposition to the project was doubtless 
 exerted as cordially as his position allowed.' 
 
 In this year (1822), on the 18th of June, the bronze statue of 
 Achilles, subscribed for by the ladies of England, between 1819 and 
 1821, and alluded to in a foregoing page, was erected in Hyde Park, 
 is a memorial of the warrior Duke. 
 
 I Memoir of Uie Duke published in the Time* of the ICth September, 1852. 
 
 TUE TOW.V OF WELLINOTON.
 
 1826.] 
 
 THE PICTURES AT APSLEY HOUSK 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 
 Three yeara of Idleness— Apsley House— The pictures— The Greek question— Embassy to St. 
 Petersburgh— Death of the Duke of York— The Duke of Wellington appointed Commander- 
 in-Chief— Death of the Earl of Liverpool— Mr. Caiming forms a Ministry— Resignation of 
 the Duke— His reasons for resigning his seat in the Cabinet, and the command of the 
 Army. 
 
 HE feeling which had been engen- 
 dered in England by the Duke's 
 espousal of the cause of the King 
 on the occasion of Queen Caroline's 
 return, and the absence of any ne- 
 cessity for his appearing prominently 
 in the House of Lords, or elsewhere, 
 rendered the three years between 
 1823 and 1826 a blank in his Grace's 
 public existence. Mention is rarely 
 made of him in the papers and 
 periodicals of the day, excepting 
 in connection with the ordinary 
 chroniclings of " The Court of 
 Fashion." He passed much of his 
 time in improving his country seat, and in decorating his mag- 
 nificent town dwelling. The latter became the receptacle of a 
 great number of beautiful works of art, many of which had for- 
 Eierly graced the palace of Joseph Bonaparte at Madrid, falling 
 into the possession of the Duke after the battles of Salamanca 
 and Vittoria. The front drawing-room of Apsley House was 
 particularly distinguished by the high character of the paintings. 
 The Italian and Spanish masters occupied conspicuous places, but 
 the Duke generally preferred the Dutch school. The familiar pictures 
 of Jan Stein and Cuyp found an ardent admirer in him, and our own
 
 §4 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1826. 
 
 AVilkie came in for a share of Lis patronage. The celebrated picture 
 of " TJte Che/sea Pensioners reading an account of the Battle of 
 Waterloo]'' was purchased for, and still adorns the walls of Apsley 
 House/ and near to it is a companion picture, " Tlie Greemoich Pen- 
 
 1 The JHuitraUd London .Vews of the '20th November, 1852, gives the following interesting 
 abstract of U'llkie's own account of the preparation of the picture :— 
 
 "When it was known (says Cunningham, in his 'Life,') that Wilkie was engaged on a 
 picture for the Duke of Wellington of a military nature, great was the stir in the ranks of the 
 array, and likewise in society ; Uie current of a heady flght was in the fancy of some, while 
 others believed he would choose the field after the battle was fought, and show the mangled 
 relics of war— 
 
 '• ' ^Vith many a sweet babe fatherless, 
 And many a widow mourning ;' 
 
 bat no one guessed that out of the wooden legs, mutilated arms, and the pension lists of old 
 Chelsea, he was about to evoke a picture which the heart of the nation would accept as a re- 
 membrance of Waterloo, a battle which had filled the eyes of Britain with mingled gladness and 
 tears. Amongst those who were touched by the subject was Sir Willoughby Gordon, a soldier 
 of the old Scottish stamp, whose name appears early in the list of the painter's admirers ; of 
 whom the following entries in the painter's journal speak : — 
 
 " ' JVov. 28/A, 1818. Sir Willoughby Gordon called, and expressed a strong wish to possess 
 my sketch of 'The Chelsea Pensioners.' I mentioned the price of sixty guineas, to wliich he 
 agreed. 
 
 ^^Dee. ii3rd. Left a note at Apsley House, to inform his Grace the Duke of Wellington that 1 
 had prepared a sketch of ' The Chelsea Pensioner?,' and would be proud to submit it to his 
 Grace's consideration either at Apsley House or at Kensington.' 
 
 "Subsequent entries show how the Duke and the artist were at cross purposes for some little 
 lime, ere they could come to a meeting upon— to the latter all-engrossing point— the order of 
 the day for his great work : — 
 
 ^*Jan. 24tA, 1819. Went to dine with Haydn, and when absent was so unfortunate as to 
 miss the Duke of Wellington, who did me the honour to call about three o'clock. His Grace 
 looked at the sketch, but made scarcely any remark upon it ; but both the Duke and the friend 
 that was with him seemed to look with attention at 'The Wedding' and at 'Duncan Gray.' 
 His Grace said, when going, that ho would call again. 
 
 "'20£A. Sent a note to the Duke, to express my regret, and to say that, after Tuesday, when 
 my picture (' The Penny Wedding ') was to bo delivered at Carlton House, I should be at home 
 constantly. 
 
 "■^ Feb. 264A. Called .it Apsley House. The Duke sent me out word that he had to attend a 
 committee, and begged tliat I would call some other day. 
 
 "'27tA. Went to .Apsley House again, and took my sketch with me. The Duke still could not 
 see me, but requested that I would leave my sketch.' 
 
 " At length on the 7th of March, he calls again at Apsley House, has an interview with the 
 Duke, ' who told me he wished to have In the picture more of the soldiers of the present day, 
 instead of those I had put of half a century ago. He wished me to make a slight sketch of the 
 alteration, and would call on me in a week or ten days and look at it. 
 
 "The alterations were put In progress, but the Duke does not appear to have called till the 
 18th of June, the anniversary of the battle, when Wilkio unfortunately was again absent, dining 
 with Haydn, and so missed the Duke. 
 
 "'On coming home in the evening,' the journal says:— 'found that the Duke of Wellington 
 had called about five o'clock, with two ladies, one of whom sccraed to be the Duchess. My 
 fistcr saw them, and showed them the pictures and sketches. His Grace mentioned what be 
 liked and disliked in the last sketch I made, and leiX word that be should be at home if I
 
 1826.] WILKIE'S CHELSEA PENSIONERS, 95 
 
 sioners 2^enising the Description of Trafalgar. In later years, the 
 Duke purchased and adorned his walls with Sir W. Allan's gigantic 
 
 called any morning before twelve o'clock.' Accordingly, Wilkle called a week after, but the 
 Duke ' sent out word he was engaged, but requested the sketches to be left, and he would call 
 upon me in a few days.' 
 
 " The above notes show that the Duke had a will of his own, even in regard to a picture, 
 and was precise in explaining his views. In the following passage we find that he was open 
 to conviction, and could yield a point or two to others in matters of which they might be sup- 
 posed to know more than himself. 
 
 " In his objections to the introduction of the man with the ophthalmia the Duke was firm ; 
 and he was right, both in point of feeling and of artistic taste : — 
 
 " ' July lith. Called at Apsley House. Mr. Long (afterwards Lord Famborough) there, and, 
 after waiting a considerable time, the Duke of Wellington came from a review in the Park. He 
 showed Mr. Long the two sketches of 'The Chelsea Pensioners,' stating what he liked and 
 disliked, and observing that out of the two a picture might be made that would do. He preferred 
 the one with the young figures ; but, as Mr. Long remonstrated against the old fellows being 
 taken out, the Duke agreed that the man reading should be a pensioner, besides some others 
 in the picture. He wished that the piper might be put In, also the old man with the wooden 
 leg ; but he objected to the man with the ophthalmia. I then asked the Duke if I might now 
 begin the picture, and he said immediately if I pleased. I brought the sketches home with me.' 
 
 "Wilkieset to work accordingly, and painted ou so miremittingly, as to Injure his health. 
 On the 30th of October, 1820, he writes to Sir George Beaumont :—' My picture of 'The 
 Chelsea Pensioners' is in progress ; but, previous to my leaving town, imderwent a complete 
 alteration, or rather transposition of all the figures. The effect has been to concentrate the 
 interest to one point, and to improve the composition by making it more of a whole. The 
 background is almost a correct view of the place itself, and is remarkably favourable for the 
 picture.' 
 
 " Mr. Cunningham says :— 
 
 " ' The ■• Waterloo Gazette' was like a spell on Wilkie during the whole of the year 1821, 
 and as far into the succeeding year as the month of April, when it went to the Exhibition : 
 those who were curious in such things might have met him after measuring the ground, as it 
 were, where the scene of his picture is laid, watching the shadows of the houses and trees, 
 eyeing every picturesque pensioner who passed, and taking heed of jutting houses, projecting 
 signs, and odd gates, in the odd rabblement of houses which, in days before the cholera and 
 amended taste, formed the leading street, or rather road, of Chelsea. Nor had he seen without 
 emotion, as I have heard him say, the married soldiers when they returned from the dreadful 
 wars ; sometimes two legs, as he observed, to three men, accompanied by women, most of 
 whom had seen, and some had shared in, the perils and hardships in the Spanish campaigns, 
 or had witnessed the more dreadful Waterloo, and soothed or ministered to the wounded as 
 they were borne from the field — 
 
 " ' When, from each anguish-laden wain, 
 The blood-drops laid the dust like rain.' 
 
 " ' With these, Chelsea mingled veterans who had been at Bimker's-hill and Saratoga ; 
 others were blinded with the hot sands of India or Egypt, or carried the scars of the Duke of 
 York's campaign in the outbreak of the great war of the French Revolution. He brooded 
 over all these matters. Every time he visited Chelsea, and saw groups of soldiers pnid and 
 disbanded, and observed their convivialities, the more was he confirmed that the choice of the 
 picture was excellent, and that even the desire of the Duke to mingle the soldiers of his own 
 great battles with the hoary veterans of the American War had its advantages.' 
 
 "Mrs. Thompson, wife of Dr. A. T. Thompson, states, in a pleasing narrative, how Wilkie 
 used to go continually to Jews'-row, Chelsea, to sketch an old projecting house, under the 
 shade of which some of his groups were placed.
 
 96 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLrNQTON. [1521 
 
 picture of the Battle of Waterloo, the only faithful representation 
 of the battle that had ever appeared. It possessed the peculiar 
 
 « ' I remember,' proceeds this accomplished lady, ' how he rejoiced over the picturcsquo 
 attributes of Jews'-row, and loved to emimerate its peculiarities. I do not know whelher you 
 know it : it is a low Teniers-like row of extremely mean public-houses, lodging-houses, rag- 
 shops, and huckster-shops, on the right hand as you approach Chelsea College. It is the PaU 
 Mall of the pensioners; and iU projecting gables, breaks, and other irregularities, were 
 admirably suited, in the artist's opinion, for the localities of the picture which then was formed 
 in his mind. Tlicre is, you know, a young child in the picture half springing out of its mother's 
 arms. The attitude of the child, which is nature itself, was suggested by a momentary motion 
 which he observed in one of my children ; and he asked again and again to see the child, in 
 order to confirm that impression, and fix the same effect.' 
 
 "At length the picture was finished, and ready for the Exhibition in 1822. On the 27th 
 of February, ^Vilkie writes: — 
 
 " 'Had the honour of a call from the Duke of Wellington to see the picture. He seemed 
 highly pleased with it; took notice of the black's head and old Doggy, and of the black dog 
 which followed the Blues in Spain; observed that it was more fini-shed than any I had done; 
 was interested with what I told him of the people, and where they had served; and seemed 
 pleased with the young man at the table, and with the circumstance that old Doggy had 
 been at the siege of Gibraltar.' 
 
 "The picture was hung at the Royal Academy in the centre, on the fire-place, with 
 Jackson's portrait of the Duke of York on the one side, and Lawrence's portrait of the Duke of 
 Wellington on the other ; an arrangement with which the artist was much pleased. The 
 Duke was pleased also. He was present at the opening dinner, and 'appeared much pleased 
 with the picture, and with the satisfaction it seemed to give to other people.' 
 
 "The crushing and crowding to see this picture were greater than had ever been known in 
 any similar case : — 
 
 " ' The battle of Waterloo itself,' says Cunningham, ' made scarcely a greater stir in 
 the land than did 'The reading of the Gazette,' when it appeared in the Academy 
 Exhibition. The hurry and the crush of all ranks to see it, which Wilkie has described tn 
 his journal, was surpassed by the reality ; a crowd, in the shape of a half-moon, stood before 
 it from morning to night, the taller looking over the heads of the shorter; while happy was 
 the admirer who could obtain a peep, and happier still they who, by patient wailing, were 
 rewarded witli a full sight, as some of the earlier comers retire<l, wearied but not satisfied. 
 Soldiers hurried from drill to see it ; the pensioners came on crutches, and brought with them 
 their wives and children to have a look ; and as many of the heads were portraits, these were 
 eagerly pointed out, and the fortunate heroes named, sometimes with a shout. Such was the 
 enthusiasm which the picture inspired.' 
 
 "The artist, trembling for the safety of his picture, wrote a letter to the President, 
 requesting him to cause a railing to be erected round it; a request which Sir Thomaa 
 Lawrence, with his usual good and gentlemanly feeling, himself superintended before eight o'clock 
 on the very day following. 
 
 "The Duke of Wellington, if not a lavish man, was a liberal man; ho thought every man 
 who did his duly should have his due. Accordingly, wo find the following entries in the 
 artist's journal :— 
 
 "'Ju/y20«A. Received a no le from the Duke of Wellington, asking what he was indebted 
 for the picture. 
 
 "'This pictiu-e contains sixty figures, and took me full sixteen months' constant work, 
 besides months of study to collect and arrange. It was ordered by the Duke in the summet 
 of 181G, the year afler the battle of Waterloo. Ilia Grace's object was to have British 
 soldiers regaling at Chelsea; and, in justice to him, as well as to myself, it is but right to 
 state that tho introduction of the Gazette was a subsoquent idea of ray own, to unite tho 
 Interest, aiKl iflve importance to tiic business of the piotujrft
 
 182Y.] EMBASSY TO RUSSIA. 97 
 
 recommendation, in the Duke's eyes, of giving prominence to 
 Napoleon and the French troops, merely showing the British Field- 
 Marshal in the distance.' But this homage to Napoleon's military 
 genius shone conspicuously in other rooms in the mansion. There 
 vfere — there still are (for they are inalienable from the title of 
 Wellington) numerous portraits of Napoleon and his generals, Soult, 
 Massena, &c., but not a single picture of the Duke himself His 
 own friends and favourites in every variety of style, from the kit- 
 cat to the life-size portrait, abounded ; Lords Anglesey and Fitzroy 
 Somerset, &c , and the present Duchess of Wellington (then Mar- 
 chioness of Douro), to whom the Duke was always much attached ; 
 while of the noble owner of the mansion there was but one effigy — a 
 bust by Nollekens — which occupied by no means a conspicuous situa- 
 tion in the dwelling. 
 
 Strathfieldsaye, as each autumn came round, presented a succession 
 of visitors, many of whom partook of the sports of the field. " The 
 Duke was a fox-hunter,"" spending as many hours in the saddle in 
 this country, in the pursuit of healthful pleasure, as he was accustomed 
 to spend in the Peninsula and the Netherlands, in the service of his 
 country. 
 
 At Strathfieldsaye the Duke raised a monument to poor old Copen- 
 hagen^ his favourite Waterloo horse. 
 
 In the year 1826 it became necessary to despatch a special Ambas- 
 sador to St. Petersburgh. The struggle of the Greeks for liberty 
 was approaching a climax. Aided by the money and the sympathy 
 of Englishmen — among whom Lord Byron occupied a foremost 
 position^ — and still more by the clandestine contributions of Russia, 
 
 "'S^nii. Sent the picture to Apsley House, with a bill of the price, which, after mature con- 
 sideration, 1 put at 12C0;., i. e. twelve hundred guineas. 
 
 " ' 23r<i. Was told by Sir VVilloughby Gordon that his Grace was satisfied to give twelve hun- 
 dred guineas for the picture, and gave Sir W. leave to tell me so. 
 
 "'25fA. At the Duke's request, waited upon him at Apsley House, when he counted out the 
 money to me in bank-notes, on receiving which I told his Grace that I considered myself hand- 
 somely treated by him throughout.' " 
 
 1 It is from a recollection of the general character of this picture, which the writer of this 
 biography had an opportunity of seeing in Apsley House some time since, that the pictorial 
 sketch of the Battle of Waterloo, in a foregoing page, has been taken. 
 
 "- Mr. Apperly (Nimrod, as he called himself) in his articles on the Turf and the Chase, in the 
 " Quarterly Peview," could not find a more suitable peroration than this simple phrase. It em- 
 bodied at once a justification and a recommendation of the sport, and exhibited its connection 
 with the highest modern chivalry. 
 
 3 Byron's sympathies with the cause of Greece, " But living Greece no more," are familiar 
 to the reader. He went thither to assist her with his influence and money in 1823, 
 »nd after his arrival at Missolonghi, in January of the following year, he was appointed 
 VOL, II. 2 I
 
 98 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 j;i827. 
 
 whose connection with the Greek Church, independently of her 
 political interests, had rendered her keenly alive to the results of the 
 struggle, the Greeks had made considerable head against their 
 Mussulman persecutors, and had established a species of Provisional 
 Government of their own. Nothing was wanting but the open 
 
 COPENHAGEN S GRAVE. 
 
 espousal of her interests by some great European Power to sever the 
 connection of Greece with Turkey. Russia was prepared to make 
 the declaration, and, of course, to reap her recompense, in the 
 establishment of her power and authority in the Mediterranean. 
 Canning saw the danger which menaced British interests. To pre- 
 vent altogether the interference of Russia was impossible. The only 
 way in which it could be kept within due bounds was by inducing 
 the Court of St. Petcrsburgh to act in common with England, and 
 other powers, as meditators in the quarrel between Turkey and 
 Greece. To this end a special embassy became necessary, and the 
 
 Coraraander-in-Chief of nn expedition against Lcpanto, then held by the Turks, He was seized 
 viUi illness in the following montti, and died in April, 1824.
 
 1827.] THE DUKE OF YORK. 99 
 
 Duke of Wellington was solicited to fulfil the delicate and important 
 mission. His firm unbending character — his rigid adherence to the 
 path of diplomacy chalked out for him — were guarantees that the 
 interests of Great Britain were safe in his hands. The friendship 
 which the Emperor Nicholas — for the Czar Alexander had died — 
 entertained for the Duke, likewise encouraged a belief that Kussia 
 would be more disposed to give way than if the negotiations were con- 
 ducted by an English ambassador who was personally a stranger at 
 the Court. 
 
 The Duke proceeded to St. Petersburgh. The coronation of the 
 Emperor Nicholas supplied an excuse for the splendour of the em- 
 bassy. His reception was all that could be desired — it certainly was 
 deserved. Upon the anniversary of the entrance of the allied 
 armies into Paris, the Emperor paid him a very high compliment. 
 He addressed him an autograph letter, in which he told the Duke that 
 in order to testify to him his particular esteem of his great qualities, 
 and for the distinguished services he had rendered to the whole of 
 Europe, he had given orders that the Smolensko Regiment of In- 
 fantry, formed by Peter the Great, and one of the most distinguished 
 of his army, which was formerly under the Duke's command in 
 France, should thenceforward be called " The Duke of Wellington's 
 Regiment." 
 
 The mission of the Duke was perfectly successful. It was agreed 
 between England and Russia, in concert with France, who readily 
 became a party to the arrangement, that the Ottoman Porte should 
 be called upon to offer certain terms to the Greeks, which the 
 Greeks should be called on to accept ; and that ulterior -measures^ — 
 a significant phrase, comprehending a resort to arms, — should be 
 adopted to obtain the assent of such of the parties as might prove 
 refractory. The terms to be proposed were, that the Turkish Sultan 
 should still retain a nominal sovereignty over the Greeks, receive 
 from them a fixed annual tribute, and have some determinate voice 
 in the nomination of the authorities by whom they were to be 
 governed ; but those authorities should be directly chosen by the 
 Greeks themselves. All Mussulmans possessing property in Greece 
 were to give it up, and receive indemnification by some arrangement 
 to be afterwards concocted. The object of the plan was " to bring 
 about a complete separation between the two nations, and to 
 prevent the collisions which are the inevitable consequences of so 
 long a struggle." The result of this proposal will be hereafter men- 
 tioned. 
 
 At the close of 1826, the Duke of Wellington was appointed
 
 100 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1827. 
 
 Constable of the Tower of London, vacating the Governorship of 
 Plymouth. 
 
 Early in 1827, died, Frederick Duke of York, the second son 
 of George III., and Commander-in-Chief of the British army. His 
 death was a subject of national grief; — to the army the loss was 
 irreparable. He had been for thirty-two years at its head, and his 
 administration of it did not merely improve, — it created an army. 
 From the earliest date of his appointment he applied himself to the 
 correction of the abuses which at that time disgraced the internal 
 organisation of the force, rendering its bravery ineffectual. His 
 personal experience in the Netherlands, during the war of the French 
 Revolution had bitterly proved the necessity of extensive reforms, and 
 he only waited the opportunity which supreme command gave him, 
 of carrying them out vigorously and rapidly. He at once identified 
 himself with the welfare and the fame of the service. He possessed 
 great readiness and clearness of comprehension in discovering means, 
 and great steadiness and honesty of purpose in applying them. By 
 unceasing diligence he gave to the common soldier comfort and 
 respectability ; the army ceased to be considered a sort of pest-house 
 for the reception of moral lepers ; discipline and regularity were 
 exacted with unyielding strictness ; the officers were raised by a gradual 
 and well-ordered system of promotion, which gave merit a chance, 
 instead of being pushed aside to make way for mere ignorant rank 
 and wealth. The head as well as the heart of the soldier took a 
 higher pitch the best man in the field was the most welcome at 
 the Horse Guards ; there was no longer even a suspicion that 
 unjust partiality disposed of commissions, or that peculation was 
 allowed to fatten upon the spoils of the men. The officer knew that 
 one path was open to all ; and the private felt that his recompense 
 was secure. The spirit thus produced soon showed its effects in the 
 field. 
 
 " The private character of the Duke of York, frank, honourable, 
 and sincere — was formed to conciliate personal attachments ; a 
 personal enemy he had never made ; and a friend once gained, 
 he had never lost. Failings there were ; he was improvident in 
 pecuniary matters ; his love of pleasure, though it observed the 
 decencies, did not always respect the moralities of private life ; 
 and his errors, in that respect, had been paraded in the public 
 view by the labours of unsparing malice, and shameless, unblushing 
 profligacy. But in the failings of the Duke of York there was 
 nothing that was un-English — nothing that was un-princcly ; and 
 those whose own reflections while they enjoy tranquillity of conscious
 
 1827.] 
 
 THE DUKE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 
 
 101 
 
 virtue, tell them likewise through what difficulties that tranquillity 
 must be pursued, even in the more uniform paths, and under the 
 more sober lights of private life, will most easily forgive the aberra- 
 tions into which the less fortunate are seduced, amid the devious 
 
 THE DUKE OF YORK IN THE COEONATION COSTUME. 
 
 paths and false and dazzling glare of courtly temptation. Never was 
 man more easy of access, more fair and upright in his dealings, more 
 affable, and even simple, in his manners. Every one who had inter- 
 course with him was impressed with the openness, sincerity, and kind- 
 ness which appeared in all his actions ; and it was truly said of him 
 that he never broke a promise, and never deserted a friend. Beloved 
 by those who enjoyed the honour of his private intercourse, his ad- 
 ministration of a high public office had excited one universal sentiment 
 of respect and esteem." 
 
 The Parliament met soon after the death of the Duke of York. 
 All parties in both Houses joined in panegyrising his good qualities
 
 102 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1827 
 
 Mr. Peel said : — " The Duke had been forty-sis years a soldier ; and 
 when he came into office he had declared, that no man should, for the 
 future, labour under the disadvantages which he had had to contend 
 with. To enumerate all the benefits which the Duke had conferred 
 upon the array, it would be necessary to go through many details of 
 various regulations connected with religious duties, with military 
 schools, with points of discipline, and with the security of fair hopes 
 of promotion to every man in the service. But it was sufficient to 
 recollect that, while the Duke of York held the office of Commander- 
 in-Chief, every man knew that justice would be done him ; and it was 
 by this, and not by the minute regulations of discipline, that the 
 English army had obtained that plastic energy which distinguished 
 the free soldier from another. During the long period — during the 
 ten thousand days in which the Duke of York had been in office — he 
 (Mr. Peel) did not think that one of those days had passed without 
 bis devoting some portion of it to the business of his official situation. 
 No letter ever came to the office which, if it had a signature, was not 
 read and attended to. Individuals might frequently have mistaken 
 the proper quarter to which their applications should be addressed ; 
 but even in these cases a civil answer was always returned, accom- 
 panied by a direction to the applicant respecting the department to 
 which he ought to apply. The impartiality of the royal Duke had 
 always been the theme of applause in that House, whenever his 
 disposal of promotion had been brought under its notice. On the 
 augmentation of the army in 1825, the only lieutenants who were 
 promoted were senior lieutenants ; no interest was allowed to inter- 
 fere in this ; and the only exception to the rule which the Duke had 
 here laid dovra, was one which reflected anything but dishonour. It 
 was in the case of a lieutenant of the year 1814, who was promoted on 
 account of his conduct at the battle of Waterloo, where the command 
 of his regiment devolved upon him, all the other officers of the regi- 
 ment having been disabled or slain. In 1825, twenty-two captains 
 were promoted to the rank of majors, without purchase. The power 
 of conferring promotion without purchase was certainly a means of 
 conferring favour ; but the average service of these twenty-two 
 captains, who had thus obtained majorities without purchase, was 
 twenty-six years. Sixteen majors were also raised to the rank of 
 lieutenant-colonels ; and the average service of these, fifteen years. 
 During the whole of the time in which the Duke of York was in 
 office, there had never been an instance of an officer being raised by 
 purchase over the head of another, without the offer being previously 
 made to that officer, or unless ho had for some reason forfeited hia
 
 1827.] THE DUKE OF YORK. 103 
 
 claims to promotion. Three-fourths of the commissions which had 
 been given away in the year 1825, without purchase, were conferred 
 upon the sons or relations of old officers. The Duke had possessed 
 extraordinary advantages, from having been in the army for forty-six 
 years, and having filled the office of Commander-in-Chief for thirty- 
 «ix years. It was no slight encouragement to a soldier to know that 
 an experienced eye observed him, while there was no greater advantage 
 in a Commander-in-Chief than to know who had seen service." 
 
 Mr. Brougham considered it no small praise to the Duke of York, 
 that, "having for so long a time held. the office of Commander-in-Chief, 
 he had never allowed his political principles, by which he (Mr. 
 Brougham) meant party principles, to interfere in the discharge of 
 the duties of his office. The best testimony of the sincerity and 
 honesty with which the late Duke entertained those strong political 
 sentiments which he was known to hold upon some subjects, was, 
 that he entertained them free from all asperity towards the persons 
 who differed from him." 
 
 Sir R. Wilson . said : '• It was worthy of observation, that the 
 improvement which the Duke of York had effected in the discipline 
 of the army was maintained without any exaggerated severity. When 
 his Eoyal Highness came into office, corporal punishment, which had 
 been carried to so great an extent as to become a matter of oppro- 
 brium in the eyes of foreigners, was considerably reduced by him ; 
 and it was to be hoped that the House would complete what the late 
 Commander-in-Chief had begun. The kindness, the benevolence, 
 and the impartiality of the Duke of York, were well known ; and 
 although parties upon whose cases he judged might sometimes think 
 bis decisions harsh, yet in no case had any one impeached the motives 
 upon which he had determined." 
 
 Upon the death of the Duke of York, the King placed the com- 
 mand of the British army in the hands of the Duke of Wellington. 
 In what other hands, indeed, could it so fitly have been deposited ? 
 He who had led the army to victory in every part of the world in 
 which he had been called upon to serve ; who had become identified 
 with its honour and greatness ; who, by his rank and his position, his 
 familiarity with every branch of the service, and whose name 
 throughout Europe and Asia filled the trumpet of fame, was indicated 
 by the common voice as the only individual in whom the serious and 
 honourable trust could appropriately be confided. The Duke, 
 however, always alive to the favour of the monarch, appreciated the 
 compliment, and George IV. to render it complete, gave the Duke 
 the colonelcy of the Grenadier Guards.
 
 104 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1827 
 
 We now approach a new epoch in the life of the Duke of "Wellington. 
 Hitherto we have known him only as the warrior and the occasional 
 diplomatist — the invincible commander, the astute minister-plenipo- 
 tentiary, the courteous ambassador, or the inflexible envoy. We are 
 now to recognise the politician and the minister. 
 
 The Earl of Liverpool, who had held the office of Premier since the 
 death of Mr. Spencer Perceval, was struck with paralysis in the month 
 of February, 1827. The event was disastrous in its immediate efi"ects, 
 because it broke up a firm government, and gave rise to serious dis- 
 sensions ; but there is no doubt that its ultimate consequences were 
 essentially favourable to the course of political and religious freedom. 
 The Cabinet of the Earl of Liverpool was singularly constructed. It 
 comprised men of great talent — good men of business, and experienced 
 debaters — but the opinions they represented were of a varied and 
 antagonistic character. The Earl himself was inveterately opposed 
 to the claims of the Roman Catholics to political equality with Pro- 
 testants and Dissenters — equally opposed to those claims were 
 Lords Eldon, Bathurst, and Castlereagh; and Mr. Peel and the 
 Duke of Wellington, were supposed to share their opinions. Mr. 
 Canning, on the other hand, was the eloquent supporter of the 
 Catholics. It had been agreed, however, between them, that 
 " Catholic Emancipation,"' as it was called, should remain an open 
 question, that is to say, every minister was at liberty to maintain his 
 own individual opinion, without attempting to lend it the influence 
 and patronage of his particular department. Such an anomalous 
 state of things could not have lasted under any other man than Lord 
 Liverpool. The weight of his character alone cemented the discordant 
 materials. He was not distinguished by any brilliancy of genius, and 
 was inferior to several of his colleagues as a public speaker. But he 
 possessed a " sound, cautious, business mind," well stored with 
 political knowledge. His habits of business were regular and con- 
 firmed, and his integrity was pure and unquestioned. He was most 
 disinterested, and the public gave him credit for his honesty. The 
 Earl was never once suspected of governing to suit mere party pur- 
 poses — be never made a speech for the pleasure of victory — he never 
 entered into an intrigue to acquire or to retain power.' He was as 
 open and manly in his conduct as he was honest and prudent in his 
 resolves. And as he was quite independent of office in a pecuniary 
 sense, the world knew that, while he would do nothing unworthy of 
 his position, he did not care to hold it if it were incompatible with 
 his convenience, or rendered harassing by cabinet dissensions. Each 
 
 1 " Annual Register," 1827
 
 1827.] MR. CANNING AND THE DUKK 105 
 
 of his colleagues knew if he resigned there would be a difficulty in 
 selecting a successor, and a common interest therefore held them 
 together. 
 
 The King sent for Mr. Canning immediately that it became neces- 
 sary to provide a successor to Lord Liverpool. On the subject of 
 the Catholic claims, the King was inflexible. He would not hear of 
 concession. Mr. Canning proposed then to retire ; advising his 
 Majesty to form a Cabinet of men opposed to the Catholics d 
 I' out ranee. This would have deprived the Ministry of its only hold 
 upon the popular regard, and essentially weakened its foreign 
 influence. The proposition was inadmissible. Canning's colleagues 
 then suggested the placing an anti-Catholic peer at the head of the 
 Government — continuing, in fact, the system adopted by the Earl 
 of Liverpool. Where was a peer combining all Lord Liverpool's 
 qualities and influence, to be found ? And what right had the anti- 
 Catholic Ministry to suppose that Canning himself, pro-Catholic as 
 he was, could not conduct the afi"airs of the country without making 
 emancipation a cabinet question ? Three months were consumed in 
 negotiations and correspondence. At length, on the lOth of April, 
 the King insisted that Mr. Canning should be at the head of the 
 Administration,' but that that Government, like its predecessor, must 
 continue divided on the Catholic question. 
 
 Within eight and forty hours from this declaration, seven of the 
 Ministers sent in their resignation. The Duke of Wellington not 
 only resigned his seat in the Cabinet — he threw up the Command of 
 the Army and the Master-Generalship of the Ordnance. 
 
 The suddenness of the resignations caused a great commotion in 
 the Houses of Parliament and in the country, albiet some such issue 
 was expected in many quarters. None, however, excited greater 
 interest than that of the Duke of Wellington. " His retirement " — 
 we quote what follows from the " Annual Register " — " not merely 
 from the Cabinet, but from the command of the army, which was by 
 no means in itself a cabinet office, and might be held with perfect 
 propriety by a person who stood in no political intimacy with the 
 Cabinet, seemed expressive of hostility to the new arrangements 
 of a peculiar and very decided character. Accordingly, his Grace's 
 
 J " Canning's refusal to give way to his colleagues upon the subject of a Premiership, was 
 natural. He looked upon the office as his 'inheritance.' He was the last survivor of the 
 great race of statesmen who had been contemporaies with Pitt and Fox. As second 
 Minister, also, in the administration of Lord Liverpool, ho had a right, upon being thus con- 
 eulted, to vindicate in his own person the principle of direct succession."— il»6er« BclC$ 
 ^^ Life of Canning. '■
 
 106 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1827 
 
 explanations on this occasion were, on both points, expected to be full 
 manly, and satisfactory. It is due to him that they should be given 
 here in all their length and breadth. ' He should be obliged,' he 
 said, ' to trouble their lordships with some details ; but he would 
 make them as short as possible, as he had no other reason for entering 
 upon them then a wish to vindicate his character against the attacks 
 which had been made upon it in another place — to say nothing of 
 the abuse which had been poured on him, day after day, by a press, 
 which, if not in the pay, was under the direct influence of Govern- 
 ment. There were two points on which he intended to trouble their 
 lordships; the first was, his retirement from the councils of his 
 Majesty ; and the second, his resignation of the ofi5ce of Commander- 
 in-Chief In regard to the first, he had received from Mr. Canning, 
 on the 10th of April, a letter,' stating that the writer had been desired 
 by the King to form a new Administration, on the principles of Lord 
 Liverpool's, and expressing a hope that his Grace would continue to 
 form part of it. This letter, their lordships would observe, did not 
 contain one word of information who the persons were of whom it 
 was intended that the new Cabinet should consist, or what members 
 of the old Cabinet had resigned, or were expected to resign. He was 
 not desired to come and receive explanation^ as to the evident 
 omissions of the letter ; nor was he referred to any person who could 
 give him information on these points. He had since learned, from 
 authority which could not be questioned, that this was not the line 
 of conduct pursued towards his other colleagues. They had been 
 invited to go to the intended minister, and receive such explanations 
 as they required ; or the Minister had gone to them in person to give 
 them these explanations ; or had sent his personal friends to give them 
 for him. To himself, however, no explanation was ever given, nor 
 was he referred to any person who could give it. Although, as he 
 
 I « TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 "Foreign Office, .Opril 10th, 6 p. m., 1827. 
 "Mv DEAR Duke op Wellinoto!*, 
 
 "The King has, at an audience from which I have just returned, been graciously 
 pleased to signify to me his Majesty's commands to lay before his Majesty, with as little loss 
 of time as possible, a plan for the reconstruction of the Administration. In executing these 
 commands, it will be as much my own wish as it is my duly to his Majesty, to adhere to the 
 principles upon which Lord Liverpool'a government has so long acted together. I need not 
 add how essentially the accomplishment must depend upon your Grace's continuing a member of 
 the Cabinet. , 
 
 " Ever, my dear Duke of Wellington, your Grace's sincere and faithful servant, 
 
 "Georoe Canniko."
 
 1827.] THE DUKE'S EXPLANATIONS. 107 
 
 had been on the most friendly terms with that right honourable gentle- 
 man, he was somewhat surprised at this departure from the forms of 
 intimacy which had distinguished their intercourse, still he felt no 
 pique against him for his omissions, and therefore determined that 
 nothing should prevent him from communicating with him in the 
 most open and amicable manner. In that spii'it he wrote to him the 
 same evening,' expressing his anxiety to continue in his Majesty's 
 councils, but stating his wish to be informed who was to be placed at 
 the head of the Ministry. Next day he received Mr. Canning's reply.' 
 It stated, that it was usually understood, that the individual who 
 was entrusted by the King with the formation of a government was 
 to be himself at the head of it, and that it was not intended to depart 
 from that custom in the present instance ; that his Grace's letter, 
 however, had been submitted to the King, and his Majesty's orders 
 received, to inform his Grace that he, Mr. Canning, was to be the 
 Prime Minister. His Grace said, that this did not tend to convince 
 him that there was any serious design that he should form a part of 
 the new Cabinet ; but he still thought it was his duty not to let his 
 private feelings towards the right honourable gentleman influence 
 
 1 "TO THE RIGHT HON. GEORGE C.'VNNING. 
 
 "London, .IprU 10th, 1827. 
 "My dear Mr. Canning, 
 
 " I have received your letter of this evening, informing me that the King had desired 
 you to lay before his Majesty a plan for the reconstruction of the Administration ; and that, in 
 executing these commands, it was your wish to adhere to the principles on which Lord Liver- 
 pool's Government had so long acted together. I anxiously desire to be able to serve his Majesty, 
 as I have done hitherto in his Cabinet, with the same colleagues. But, before I can give an 
 answer to your obliging proposition, I should wish to know who the person is you intend to 
 propose to his Majesty as the head of the Government. 
 
 " Ever, my dear Mr. Canning, yours most sincerely, 
 
 " Wellington." 
 
 2 "TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 "Foreign OrncK, ^pril llth, 1B27. 
 
 "My DEAR OlJKE OF WELLINGTON, 
 
 " I believed it to be so generally understood, that the King usually entrusts the forma- 
 tion of an Administration to the individual whom it is his Majesty's gracious intention to place at 
 the head of it, that it did not occur to me, when I commmiicated to your Grace yesterday the 
 command wluch I had just received from his Majesty, to add, that, in the present instance, his 
 Majesty does not intend to depart from the usual course of proceeding on such occasions. I am 
 sorry to have delayed some hours this answer to your Grace's letter ; but, from the nature of the 
 subject, I did not like to forward it without having previously submitted it (together with your 
 Grace's letter) to his Majesty. 
 
 " Ever, my dear Duke of Wellington, your Grace's sincere and faithful servant, 
 
 "George Cannino."
 
 lOS LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1827. 
 
 his decision on this great and important public question. He there- 
 fore considered it entirely upon its own grounds, and turned his atten- 
 tion particularly to the point whether he could, consistently with his 
 avowed principles, join in the new Administration. He sincerely 
 wished that he could bring himself to a conviction, that the new 
 Govcrnm^t was to adhere to the line of policy pursued by Lord 
 Liverpool. He thought that it would be a great advantage, if it could 
 be so constituted ; but he was afraid that it would not. He conceived 
 that the principles of Lord Liverpool's policy had been already aban- 
 doned, and that the measures of a government, constituted on the 
 principles of Mr. Canning, would be viewed with suspicion by foreign 
 governments, and would give no satisfaction to the people at home. 
 Under these circumstances, his Grace requested Mr. Canning to com- 
 municate to his Majesty, that he wished to be excused from forming 
 
 a part of the new Cabinet,' ' 
 
 # # * * * 
 
 " Such were the communications which had taken place — so stood 
 the facts. ' I have heard,' continued his Grace, ' that Mr. Canning 
 states to his personal friends, that my letter to him of the 10th 
 instant, in which I inquired who was to be the head of the Govern- 
 ment, gave him great offence ; and I therefore wish the point to be 
 fully examined, in order that your lordships may see, whether any- 
 thing was done by me which could justify him in taking offence. I 
 must here inform your lordships, that early in the month of April, 
 
 1 uTo THE RIGHT HON. GEORGE CANNING. 
 
 "London, .9prit Ulh, 1827. 
 " My dear Mr. Cannino, 
 
 "I have received your letter of this day, and I did not understand tlie one of 
 yesterday evening as you explained it to me. I understood from yourself that you had in 
 contemplation another arrangement, and I do not believe that the practice to which you refer 
 has been so invariable as to enable me to affix a meaning to your letter which its words, in 
 my opinion, did not convey. I trust that you will have experienced no inconvenience from 
 the delay of this answer, which 1 assure you has been occasioned by my desire to discover a 
 mode by which I could continue united with my recent colleagues. I sincerely wish that 1 
 could bring my mind to the conclusion that, with the best intentions on your part, your 
 Government could be conducted jiractic.iUy on the principles of that of Lord Liverpool ; that 
 it would be generally so considered; or that it would bo adequate to meet our difficulties in a 
 manner satisfactory to the King, or conducive to the interests of the country. As, however, 
 I am convinced that these principles must be abandoned eventually ; that all our measures 
 would be viewed with suspicion by the usual supporters of the Government ; that I could do 
 no good in the Cabinet ; and that at last I should be obliged to separate myself from it, at the 
 moment at which such separation would be more inconvenient to the King's service than it can 
 be at present ; I must beg of you to .request Ills Majesty to excuse me from belonging to his 
 
 councils. 
 
 " Ever, my dear Sir. Canning, yours most sincerely, 
 
 "Wellington."
 
 1827.] THE DUKE'S EXPLANATIONS. 109 
 
 I had a conversation with the right honourable gentleman, in which he 
 stated to me, that in case his Majesty should desire him to reconstruct 
 the Grovernment, one of his plans was to recommend that 
 Mr. Eobinson, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, should be called up 
 to your lordships' House, and should be made First Lord of the 
 Treasury ; and I confess that it was my intention, if I had heard 
 anything more of that scheme, to have proposed such a modification 
 of it as would have kept the members of the old Administration 
 together. I mention this to your lordships, in order that you may 
 see that the language of my first note was founded on his previous 
 communication to me. Not only was the offence which Mr. Canning 
 took at my note unfounded, but it was quite unjustifiable, even upon 
 the grounds on which he himself had put it. When negotiations 
 were going on for the formation of a ministry in 1812, the present 
 Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland waited on a noble lord and a noble earl 
 for the purpose of consulting with them to that effect ; but, on both 
 of these occasions, he was only commissioned by the Prince Regent 
 — he did not know what place he himself was to occupy in the Admin- 
 istration, or who was to be at its head — nor did he desire any place 
 in the Government. This is one instance of a command to form an 
 Administration, not necessarily implying that he to whom such com- 
 mand is given is to be at the head of the Government. After that 
 had failed. Lord Hastings (at that time Lord Moira) carried a com- 
 munication to a noble lord, for the purpose of forming a ministry, but 
 he stated, that he did not know how a single seat was to be disposed 
 of, or who was to be at its head. This is another instance in which 
 the principle alluded to was not observed. But there is still an 
 authority, which, in this case, would not be disputed, proving that 
 the question which I had asked ought not to have been construed 
 into an offence. After the death of Mr. Perceval, Lord Liverpool 
 waited on Mr. Canning, by command of the Prince Regent, and 
 requested that he would consent to form part of the Administration. 
 From a memorandum of what took place on that occasion, it appears 
 that the very first question which Mr. Canning put to Lord Liverpool 
 was, who was to be at the head of that Administration ? Now, if 
 that was the first question which the right honourable gentleman 
 thought proper to put in 1812, I do not see why I should be censured 
 in 1827. Moreover, in the right honourable gentleman's letter it was 
 stated, that, in the formation of a ministry, it was not intended to 
 depart from the line of policy adopted under the Administration of 
 the Earl of Liverpool. Now, if that policy were to be continued, I 
 could never suppose that the right honourable gentleman would be
 
 110 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1827 
 
 at the head. I am sure that the right honourable gentleman is 
 utterly incapable of misrepresenting my meaning, or of wilfully taking 
 offence ; but I had no intention of giving offence in asking the 
 question. If Mr. Canning were Minister on the 10th why had he 
 felt it necessary to lay ray letter before his Majesty ? This fact 
 proves that he was not then minister. It is further proved, that he 
 was not minister on the 11th, by what was done in another place. 
 In fact, he was not minister until he kissed hands on the acceptance 
 of office, which was not till the 12th, and on that day he had repre- 
 sented to his Majesty, that he could not go on in the formation of a 
 ministry till his new writ was moved for, which was done on the same 
 day. Now it is too much that I should be accused of being peevish, 
 hasty, ill-tempered, and so on, for having asked such a question, and 
 then for having sent in my resignation, after having received the 
 answer which I did receive.' " 
 
 It was impossible for the Duke to remain in office under a Minister 
 whom he would feel himself bound to oppose on at least one vital 
 question of domestic policy. He would suppose, he said, that the King 
 himself differed from his Ministers on some important principle of 
 policy, and that he, forming part of the right honourable gentleman's 
 Cabinet, but agreeing with his Majesty, were called upon to give his 
 opinion, how could he give the right honourable gentleman that fair 
 support which one member of the Cabinet had a right to expect from 
 another ? lie could have no secret understanding upon the great 
 and important question to which he was now alluding ; but he must 
 know the principle on which the Government was hereafter to be 
 conducted ; and that principle must not only be known to him, but 
 also to the public at large. Would he not have been degrading 
 himself, and deceiving the public, in sitting in a Cabinet with the 
 right honourable gentleman at its head, whose principles he felt 
 himself bound to oppose? It was no answer to tell him that the 
 present Cabmet acted upon the same principles with that of which 
 Lord Liverpool had been the head. The two Cabinets materially 
 differed ; and the chief difference between them was this, that the 
 Cabinet of Lord Liverpool was founded on the principles of main- 
 taining the laws as they now were, — whilst that of the right honour- 
 able gentleman was founded on the principle of subverting them. 
 Those who formed part of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet knew well what 
 it was to which they pledged themselves ; for they knew that his 
 lordship was conscicntiou.sly opposed to all changes in the existing 
 form of government. But those who coalesced with the right honour- 
 able gentleman had no idea how far their coalition was to carry them ;
 
 1827.] THE DUKE'S EXPLANATIONS. Ill" 
 
 for the right honourable gentleman was the most able, and active, 
 and zealous partisan of those changes with which the country was at 
 present threatened. The principles of the noble earl were principles 
 by which any man might safely abide : the principles of the honour- 
 able gentleman fluctuated every day, and depended upon transitory 
 reasons of temporary expedience. These were the conscientious 
 reasons of his resignation. # # » * They knew little of the 
 King who imagined he could be moved by intimidation ; and still 
 less did they know of himself, who thought his ambition ran in such 
 a channel. " Can any man believe," asked his Grace, in a spirit of 
 honest and justifiable pride, " Can any man believe, that after I had 
 raised myself to the command of the army, I would have given it up 
 for any but conscientious reasons? I say raised myself — not because 
 I undervalue the support received from my noble and gallant friends 
 around me — not because I have forgotten the services of the officers and 
 soldiers who acted under me — not because I do not entertain a proper 
 sense of the gracious favour and kindness of his Majesty towards me. — 
 but because I know that, whatever his Majesty's kindness might have 
 been towards me, he could not have exalted me through all the 
 grades of military rank to the very highest, if I had not rendered to 
 him and to my country some service of which he entertained a high 
 sense ? Will any man then believe, that, when I was in a situation 
 which enabled me to recommend to the notice of his Majesty all my 
 former friends and companions in arms, and to reward them according 
 to their merits, for the exertions which they had formerly made 
 under my command in the field, I would voluntarily resign a situation 
 so consonant to my feelings and my habits, for the mere empty ambi- 
 tion of being placed at the head of the Government? I know that I 
 am disqualified for any such office ; and I therefore say, that feeling 
 as I do, with respect to the situation which I recently filled at the 
 head of the army, — liking it, as I did, from the opportunities which 
 it gave me to improve the condition of my old comrades-in-arms, — 
 knowing my own capacity for filling that office, and my incapacity for 
 filling the post of first Minister, I should have been mad, and worse 
 than mad, if I had even entertained the insane project which certain 
 individuals, for their own base purposes, have imputed to me. It is 
 equally base to say that there was any conspiracy between myself and 
 my colleagues, to dictate to the King the construction of a new 
 Administration. I call upon any individual to whom I ever men- 
 tioned my opinions as to the formation of a new Government, to 
 state in direct terms what those opinions were. I call on the noble 
 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who himself resigned, and
 
 112 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1827. 
 
 wbo, from having re-accepted his office, would be a fair witness, to say 
 whether there was any concert between him and any of his colleagues 
 as to their common resignation. There is no conspiracy. It is a foul 
 falsehood to say that there was such a conspiracy. I repeat it is a 
 foul fiilschood, and I care not who has said it." 
 
 In regard to his resignation of the command of the army, his Grace 
 said he would candidly state to the House that, when he retired from 
 his Majesty's councils, he was perfectly aware that he could not 
 retain any office under the new Government. The office of Com- 
 mander-in-Chief placed the holder of it in a constant confidential 
 relation with his Majesty and the Government. With the Prime 
 Minister the Commander-in-Chief was in communication every day. 
 The Commander-in-Chief had not a control over the army, for the 
 chief control was placed in the hands of the Prime Minister. On 
 the other hand, the Minister could not withdraw any part of the 
 army in Portugal, or elsewhere, without consulting the Commander- 
 in-Chief; he could not make up his budget, nor introduce any reform 
 into the army in England, Scotland, Ireland, or indeed in any part of 
 the world, without seeking the opinion of the Commander-in-Chief. 
 The difference which existed between himself and Mr. Canning, in 
 political opinions, would not of itself have prevented him from retain- 
 ing the office of Commander-in-Chief. He would have followed the 
 example of his illustrious and royal predecessor, and would have held 
 himself aloof from all considerations of party feeling. No political 
 opinions would have prevented him, under ordinary circumstances, 
 from continuing either at the Horse-Guards, or at the head of the 
 army in the field ; but from the tone and tenor of the communica- 
 tions which he had received from his Majesty, — from the nature of 
 the invitation the right honourable gentleman had originally given 
 him in his first letter, to join in the new Administration, — and from 
 the contents of the last letter which he had received from Mr. Canning 
 by his Majesty's commands, he saw that it would be impossible for 
 him to consider the continuance of his relation with that honourable 
 gentleman either serviceable to the country, or creditable to himself. 
 He therefore sent in to his Majesty the resignation of the two offices 
 which he held under the appointment of the Crown. In regard both 
 to them and to his situation as a member of the Cabinet, his conduct 
 had not been hastily adopted. He had adopted it only after the 
 most mature deliberation which he could give to the subject ; and the 
 more he reflected on it, the more he felt satisfied that he had acted 
 consistently and correctly. He had no other object in making this 
 statement but that the truth should be laid before their lordships and
 
 1827.] MR. CANNING'S MINISTRY. 113 
 
 the public, and he felt fully confident that they would concur in think- 
 ing that he had been most unjustly and wantonly accused. 
 
 Such was the Duke of Wellington's defence. 
 
 Posterity, with all the advantages of accumulated evidence and the 
 Duke's clever justification before it, will form its own conclusions. It is 
 difficult to believe, after all, that the verdict will be entirely favour- 
 able to the Duke of Wellington. As far as human motives can be 
 penetrated through a cloud of somewhat plausible correspondence 
 and apologetic oratory, it is not impossible that the desertion of 
 Mr. Canning will be found among the least defensible of the Duke of 
 Wellington's acts. Canning was not of aristocratic origin : his 
 father had been a barrister ; the highest positions attained by his 
 ancestors were those of mayors and county members ; one had been 
 a city knight in 1456; and his mother when widowed, married a 
 country actor. These were crimes which the proud peers of England 
 never could forgive. They were rather magnified than palliated by 
 the brilliant talents of George Canning ; for the pre-eminence which 
 his ability assured him added the pangs of jealousy and mortification 
 to the intensity of patrician dislike " Parvenu " was ever upon the 
 lips of those who held by their pedigrees ; and they rendered homage 
 to an intellectual brilliancy they could neither comprehend nor rival, 
 with marked and ungracious reluctance. The Duke of Wellington 
 was not of this latter class, for he had a mind fully capable of esti- 
 mating the high qualities of others ; but, nevertheless, he stood very 
 much upon his order — he was at the head of the aristocracy of rank, 
 and never could thoroughly relish contact with men of plebeian descent. 
 All his favourite generals and aides-de-camp were persons of family, 
 and he delighted in advancing to posts of consequence those who cast 
 the lustre of an ancient name upon their trust. 
 
 Besides this foundation for a disinclination to serve under Canning, 
 the Duke was obnoxious to the imputation of desiring supreme 
 power. It was natural that he should seek the Premiership. He 
 had been so long accustomed to almost irresponsible command, that 
 it may be presumed he wished for a revival of absolute authority. 
 It is true that he modestly chid himself when his ambitious views 
 were hinted, and that he even declared he should be " mad " to covet 
 an office for which he was disqualified ; yet in the face of all this he 
 soon afterwards became Prime Minister, and carried out the very 
 policy which he professed to constitute the obstacle to his co-opera- 
 tion with Canning ! The inference is fair, that, in refusing to serve 
 under Canning's premiership, the Duke hoped that great embarrass- 
 ment would be experienced by Canning in the formation of a 
 VOL. u. 2 k
 
 n4 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1827. 
 
 Ministry ; and that in abandoning the task in despair, the Duke 
 himself — avowedly the first of the Anti-Catholic section of the 
 Cabinet — would be sent for. The Duke was premature in that 
 calculation, if he really made it. Canning formed his government, in 
 which were comprehended some very superior men:' Lord Dudley, 
 
 I " Mr. Canning and Lord Dudley especially, the men of the greatest talents in the party, 
 were truly formidable. Possessing in an equal degree all the resources of accurate and 
 extensive information, all the powers of acute reasoning and lively fancy, and all the accom- 
 plishments of the most finished classical education, they dilTered rather in the degrees to which 
 habit and accident had fitted them for actual business, and in the strength of their under- 
 Btandings as influenced by their inclinations, than in the genius or the acquirements which 
 might inspire or had trained their oratory. Mr. Canning was the more powerful declaimer — 
 Lord Dudley had the more original fancy and the sharper wit ; although in every kind of wit 
 and humour, Mr. Canning, too, greatly excelled most other men. Lord Dudley could follow 
 an argument with more sustained acuteness, while Mr. Canning possessed a skill in statement 
 which frequently disposed of the matter in dispute before his adversary was aware that 
 his flank had been, as it were, turned, and thus spared himself the labour of an elaborate 
 attack by argumentation. Both prepared for their greater exhibitions with extreme care, 
 and wrote more than almost any other modern orators ; but Mr. Canning had powers of 
 extempore debating which Lord Dudley had either never acquired, or hardly ever ventured to 
 exert. In habits of business, and the faculties which these whet, or train, or possibly 
 bestow, Mr. Canning had, of course, all the advantage which could be derived from a. long 
 life in ofl3ce acting upon abilities of so high an order. But that Lord Dudley only wanted 
 euch training to equal him in these respects, was apparent from the masterly performance of 
 his oflicial duties, which marked his short administration of the Foreign Department in 1827. 
 Here, however, all parallel between these eminent individuals ends. In strength of mind, in 
 that firmness of purpose which makes both a man and a statesman, there was, indeed, little 
 comparison between them. Both were of a peculiarly sensitive and even irritable tempera- 
 ment ; and this, while it aflected their manner, and followed them into debate, quitted them 
 not in the closet or in the Cabinet. But in Mr. Canning the weakness liad limits wliich were 
 not traced in the nervous temperament of Lord Dudley. He suffered all his life under what 
 afterwards proved to be a diseased state of the system, and, after making the misery of part 
 of his existence, and shading the happiness even of its brightest portions, it ended in drawing 
 a dark and dismal curtain over his whole faculties towards the close of his life. Tlie result of 
 the same morbid temperament was a want of fixed inclination — a wavering that affected his 
 Judgment as well as his feelings — an incapacity to form, or, ofter forming, to abide by any 
 fixed resolution. With these men was joined Mr. Huskisson, than whom few have ever 
 attained as gr^at influence in this country, with so few of the advantages which are apt to 
 captivate senates or to win popular applause, and, at the same time, with so few of the 
 extrinsic qualities which, in the noble and the wealthy, can always make up for such natural 
 deficiencies. He was not fluent of speech naturally, nor had much practice rendered him a 
 ready speaker ; he had none of the graces of diction, whether he prepared himself (if he evei 
 did so) or trusted to the moment. His manner was peculiarly ungainly. His statements 
 were calculated rather to excite distrust, than to win confldcnce. Yet, with all this, he 
 attained a station in the House of Commons, which made him as much listened to as the most 
 consummate debaters; and upon the questions to which he, generally speaking, confined 
 himself, the great matters of commerce and finance, ho delivered himself with almost oraculai 
 certainty of effect. This success he owed to the thorough knowledge which he possessed of 
 his subjects; the perfect clearness of his understanding; the keenness with which he could 
 apply his information to the purpose of the debate ; the acuteness with which he could unravel 
 the argument, and expose an adversary's weakness, or expound his own doctrines. In respect 
 Df bis political purity, be did not stand very high with any party. He had the same intense
 
 1827.] 
 
 MR. CANNING'S MINISTRY. 
 
 115 
 
 Mr. Huskisson, &c. ; and Lord Hill became the " General Com- 
 manding-in-Chief " of the army, without a seat in the Cabinet. The 
 Master-Generalship of the Ordnance was given to the Marquis of 
 Anglesey. 
 
 love of ofiSce which was and is the vice of his whole party, and to which they have made such 
 Bacriflces, reducing indeed into a principle what was only a most pernicious errror, the source 
 of all unworthy compliances, the cloak for every evil proceeding, that no one can effectually 
 serve the state in a private station. Yet whoever has known either of these three great men, 
 and casts his eye on those followers whom they have left behind, may be justified in heaving a 
 
 Bigh as he exclaims, Eheu I quam multo minus est cum reliquis versari, quam tui meminisse /" 
 
 Lord Brougham's " Statesmen." 
 
 COLUMN AT TBIM.
 
 118 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WFJLLINGTON 
 
 [1827. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Duke^ by an amendment, destroys Mr. Canning's Corn Bill— Death of Mr. Canning— The 
 Goderich Ministry — The Duke resumes the command of the Army — Break-up of the 
 Goderich Administration — The Duke becomes Prime Minister. 
 
 EW Parliamentary Sessions have 
 been of greater interest and im- 
 portance than that of 1827-28. 
 All the great questions which then 
 divided the State councils into 
 strong parties of decided opinions 
 were agitated and discussed with 
 vehemence, and not unfrequently 
 with rancour. The claims of the 
 Roman Catholics to manumission 
 from political trammels — the Corn 
 Laws, with their protective evils — 
 the state of Parliamentary Repre- 
 sentation — the condition of the Law — and the Shipping Interests — 
 engaged close attention, and gave rise to acrimonious debate and 
 personal difference.' 
 
 The Corn Law question again brought the Duke into antagonism 
 with Mr. Canning. 
 
 1 Moore's lively lament over Com and Catholics may be recalled to the reader's recolle» 
 •on:— 
 
 What ! still those two infernal questions 
 
 That with our meals, and slumbers mix — 
 That spoil our tempers and digestions, 
 Eternal Com and Catholics I 
 
 Gods ! were there ever two such bores ? 
 
 Nothing else talk'd of, night or mom — 
 Nothing in doors or out of doors 
 
 But endlees Catholic* and Com !
 
 IS21.] DEATH OF MR. CANNING. 117 
 
 Previous to the recess, occasioned by the interregnum in the 
 Ministry, a corn bill had passed the House of Commons. It was 
 brought up to the House of Lords in May, 1827; was read a first 
 and a second time. A debate took place on the 28th May, pre- 
 paratory to its being referred to a committee, and an amendment, 
 proposed on that occasion by Lord Malmesbury, was defeated. In 
 committee, some important amendments were made, and several 
 which were proposed were lost. But one, brought forward by the 
 Duke of Wellington, sealed the fate of the bill. By the bill, as it 
 had been sent up from the Commons, the duties payable on foreign 
 grain and the prices in the home market at which they should 
 become payable were the same, whether that grain were brought 
 directly from the foreign port into the home market, or having been 
 imported, was stored up in bond under the warehousing system. The 
 Duke of Wellington, insisting on the absolute necessity of preventing 
 the warehousing system from being a vehicle of fraud, by its operations 
 on the averages, moved that " no foreign corn in bond should be 
 taken out of bond until the average price of corn should have reached 
 sixty-six shillings ;" and he added his belief that the Ministers were 
 not indisposed to accede to this proposal. Lord Goderich, the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer stated, on the contrary, that so far from 
 being ready to give an assent to such a clause, it was at direct 
 variance with the essential principles of the bill, as an establishment 
 of that system of prohibition which the bill removed, and would, if 
 persisted in, occasion the loss of the bill altogether ! Lord Goderich 
 added, that it was singular that the noble Duke, with all his opportu- 
 nities, should only now have discerned the imperfections of the bill ; 
 for, be it remembered, the bill was passed while the Duke was a 
 member of the Government. The Duke rejoined that he was no 
 party to the framing of the bill, which he had never seen until it was 
 printed ; and although he had supported its general principles for the 
 benefit of the country, he was not therefore to be considered as 
 pledged to the whole detail of its particular clauses. On a division, 
 the Ministry were left in a minority, and the bill was lost. 
 
 Never were such a brace of pests, 
 While Ministers, still worse than either,- 
 
 Skill'd but in feathering their nests, 
 Plague us with both, and settle neither. 
 
 So addled in my cranium meet 
 Popery and Corn, thai oft I doubt, 
 
 Whether this year 'twas bonded wheat 
 Or bonded Papists they let out.
 
 118 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1827. 
 
 Of course there was a great division of sentiment upon the suhject 
 of the virtues or otherwise of the lost bill. The great body of the 
 public, however, seemed more alive to the nature and cause of the 
 Duke of Wellington's opposition, than to the probable mischiefs or 
 prospective advantages of the bill itself; and it became necessary 
 that a long correspondence, explanatory of the source of the mis- 
 understanding, should be published. This correspondence took place 
 between the Duke of Wellington and Mr. Huskisson, who was 
 alleged to have been favourable to an amendment ; and from this it 
 appeared that the Duke had mistaken Mr. Huskisson, and had also 
 mistaken Lord Goderich, who, he conceived, had consented to the 
 Duke's proposition. 
 
 Mr. Canning was exceedingly hurt at the failure of the bill ; and 
 in the House of Commons, upon a later night, he declared that, from 
 the correspondence between the Duke and Mr. Huskisson, he " was 
 not convinced that the former did not labour under some misapprehen- 
 sion, and did not think that he was doing that which was beneficial." 
 He could not, he said, " exclude from his consideration, that even so 
 great a man as t/te Dulce of Wellington luuL been made an instrument 
 in tlhe liamls of otlicrs on tltat occasmi. History afforded other 
 instances in which equally great men had been made the instruments 
 of others for their own particular views." 
 
 This was an unfortunate, and, there can be no doubt, a most 
 unmerited imputation. The Duke was the very last man in the 
 world not to perceive the designs of others, and the very first to 
 resent any attempt to convert him into a tool. Mr. Peel particularly 
 animadverted on the unlucky expression, characterising it as a vain 
 attempt to cast obloquy on a public man, who, on the anniversary of 
 Waterloo,' if on no other, ought not to be subjected to unfounded 
 charges. The House of Lords, as far as etiquette and the rules of 
 the House permitted, took notice of the unwise imputation, and out 
 of doors it was freely canvassed, — neither the Duke nor Mr. Canning 
 gaining much by the occurrence. 
 
 Mr. Canning's Ministry was brought to an abrupt conclusion by 
 his death, which took place on the 8th of August, 1827. He had 
 caught cold at the funeral of the Duke of York ; before he had fairly 
 recovered from it, he was assailed by rheumatism, acquired by sitting 
 under a tree in the open air, while yet warm with exercise. During 
 the brief tenure of his power as Prime Minister, he was impelled to 
 great exertions to carry measures in the face of the strong opposition 
 which arrayed itself against him, — the ultra-Liberals on the one 
 1 The debale took place on the 18th of June, 1827.
 
 1827.] THE DUKE FORMS A MINISTRY. 119 
 
 hand, the bitter old Tories on the other. While the excitement 
 lasted, he was sustained ; but the session over, " the terrible efiFects" 
 of the mental harassment and bodily labour he had endured began 
 to manifest themselves. " There was leisure," says his graceful 
 biographer, " for the fatal struggle between disease and the powers of 
 life." And amidst the frightful contest came the fatal rheumatic 
 attack. — 
 
 " England mourned her orator,^ 
 Who, bred a statesman, still was bom a wit," 
 
 and the nation decreed him a public funeral in Westminster Abbey, 
 where he lies at the foot of Pitt's tomb. 
 
 The treatment which Canning experienced at the hands of the 
 Duke of Wellington was felt the more acutely by the public, and 
 denounced with the greater vehemence, because it appeared in some 
 measure to have accelerated the statesman's death. If we call to 
 mind that, when the Duke was serving in the Peninsula, continually 
 exposed to the obloquy of a factious opposition, who now attacked 
 the reputation of the General, and anon assailed the Ministry, he 
 found in George Canning the most eloquent champion, the most 
 enlightened and enthusiastic supporter, it augments our regret that, 
 upon whatever pretext, the Duke should have severed himself from 
 the Prime Minister at a critical moment. 
 
 The Ministry, bereft of the commanding talents of Canning, 
 became a caput mortuum. Lord Goderich (late Mr. Frederick 
 Robinson) was appointed First Lord of the Treasury, and Mr. Herries 
 — a capital man of business, who had been Secretary to the Treasury 
 under Lord Liverpool's Government — came in as Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer. The appointment was distasteful to the Whigs ; and 
 Lord Lansdowne even waited upon the King, to resign the seals of 
 the Home Department, under the mistaken impression that the King 
 had forced Mr. Herries upon Lord Goderich, whereas the latter had 
 recommended Mr. Herries to the King. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington resumed the office of Commander-in- 
 Chief upon Mr. Canning's demise, thereby strengthening the 
 original impression that personal dislike had really had some influence 
 on his previous withdrawal. 
 
 There are not many of the Duke of Wellington's general orders of 
 1827 which serve to illustrate his manner of commanding the army 
 on a peace establishment. We find him engaged in settling some 
 
 1 " Our last, our best, our only orator."— Tke ^ge of Bronze,
 
 120 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1828. 
 
 disputed points regarding the comparative rank of civil and military 
 officers, and the interference of District General Officers with the duties 
 of the Ordnance Department, but nothing else of moment presented 
 itself We may imagine, however, from these that he preserved the 
 peremptory tone of command to which he had accustomed himself 
 in the Peninsula, and we have evidence that, for all his measures, he 
 gave clear and unanswerable reasons in the fewest words possible. 
 His economy of language he carried to a remarkable extent, and 
 he recommended its adoption by the officers generally : — " If 
 officers abroad,'|^ he wrote, " will have no mercy on each other in 
 correspondence, I entreat them to have some upon me ; to confine 
 themselves to the strict facts of the case, and to write no more than 
 is necessary for the elucidation of their meaning and intentions." 
 
 Lord Goderich's Ministry was very short-lived. Some misunder- 
 standing with Mr. Herries, arising out of the introduction of Lord 
 Althorp into the Ministry, appeared to strike the feeble Premier 
 with a moral paralysis. He had conceived a notion that Mr. Herries 
 ■was the corner stone of his Government, and that bereft of his confi- 
 dence and cordial co-operation, it could not endure. Under this 
 strange hallucination he resigned, after a seven months' feeble tenure 
 of power. 
 
 The King, seeing the hopelessness of any reliance upon the Whigs, 
 and aware of the commanding position which the Duke of Wellington 
 was acquiring in the House of Lords, now sent for him, and commis- 
 sioned his Grace to form a new Cabinet. This was on the 8th of 
 January, 1828. 
 
 After so recent a disclaimer of his fitness for the office of Prime 
 Minister as that which was more than implied in his speech justifica- 
 tory of his refusal to form one of Mr. Canning's Cabinet, the readi- 
 ness with which the Duke accepted the charge excited public surprise, 
 and no small measure of public vituperation. What ! after declaring 
 that he would be " mad" to take such an office — after disavowing 
 the remotest wish to undertake such a responsibility — at once and 
 unhesitatingly to assume the trust ! Such conduct was preposterous 
 — at any rate it was glaringly inconsistent. 
 
 But those who so deemed of the Duke's conduct knew him not. 
 They were not aware that in him loyalty was an ingrained principle 
 — the wish of his Sovereign an imperative and irresistible law. All 
 considerations vanished before the obligations of duty. If the Duke 
 could not accomplish what was required of him, he at least felt 
 himself under an obligation to make the attempt. The desire of the 
 King nerved him for the efi"ort — failure might be unfortunate and
 
 1828.] THE TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS. 121 
 
 mortifying, but disobedience was a crime of the highest magnitude. 
 Such were his feelings upon the subject, and those who had attentively 
 watched his previous career justly gave him full credit for integrity 
 of intention. 
 
 On the 29th of January, speaking in the House of Lords of his 
 acceptance of the office of Prime Minister, he said, — "When I received 
 his Majesty's commands to give my opinion respecting the formation 
 of a Ministry, it was far from my wish to place myself at its head, or 
 to take any office other than that which I already held ; but finding 
 in the course of the negotiation which arose out of the commands of 
 his Majesty, a difficulty in getting another individual to fill the place, 
 and that it was the unanimous wish of those who are now my col- 
 leagues that I should take it, I determined to accept it ; but having 
 so determined I resigned the office of Commander-in-Chief" 
 
 The Duke had a difficult card to play in the construction of his 
 Cabinet. Had he followed the bent of his own inclinations, in all 
 probability he would have formed a phalanx of ultra-Tories, prepared 
 to ride rough-shod over the Liberals, coute qui coute^ or to stand or 
 fall by a stern resistance to every species of innovation upon existing 
 institutions. The feeling of the country was, however, too strong 
 upon certain questions to admit of so daring a measure. Compromise 
 — a thing the Duke detested — was indispensable in the first instance, 
 to prevent too marked and open a display of public hostility. The 
 country watched with anxiety the proceedings of the Duke. It was 
 not long kept in , suspense. He re-called Mr. Peel to the Cabinet, 
 and BIr. Goulburn ; retaining Mr. Huskisson, Lord Dudley and Ward, 
 Mr. Grant (afterwards Lord Glenelg), Mr. Lamb (afterwards Lord 
 Melbourne), and Lord Palmerston, — all men favourable to the policy 
 of Mr. Canning. 
 
 To hold together a divided Cabinet upon the plan in force since 
 Lord Liverpool accepted office, was not a difficult matter when the 
 Ministry loved place for its own sake, and the Premier was indifferent 
 about the degree of practical assent yielded to his views. The Duke 
 had very willingly taken a share in a government where he was 
 allowed free scope for his opinions, without incurring any risk of 
 receiving his conge. It was otherwise when he came to the top of the 
 tree. He who had commanded so long, and who was always impatient 
 of opposition to his plans, was not likely to extend to his subordinates 
 the latitude of political sentiment he had been permitted to enjoy. 
 Accordingly, the arrangements at first made, as they did not combine 
 the elements of permanent existence, were, as we shall presently see, 
 of very brief duration.
 
 122 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1828 
 
 The parliamentary session of 1828 commenced on the 29th of 
 January. The speech from the throne carefully excluded any allu- 
 sion to the subjects then engaging the thoughts of the people of 
 England. It was entirely confined to a summary of the foreign 
 policy of the previous year in respect to the intervention in the 
 affairs of Greece. In the attempt to carry out the treaty for the 
 reconciliation of Turkey and Greece, a collision had taken place be- 
 tween the British fleet, commanded by Admiral Codrington, and the 
 fleet of the Ottoman Porte at Navarino. This collision being called 
 in the speech an '' untoward event," a sharp debate was raised upon 
 the whole question ; and there it ended. 
 
 The Duke, untrammelled by any promises or recommendations from 
 the throne, at first determined to observe a passive domestic policy, 
 allowing the Opposition to bring forward their favourite measures, 
 and regulating his assent or resistance by the national feeling of the 
 hour. 
 
 Lord John Russell opened the Liberal ball on the 26th of February, 
 by bringing forward a motion for the repeal of the Test and Corpora- 
 tion Acts. These Acts, passed in the reign of the second Charles, 
 for the purpose of curbing and punishing the sects whose votes and 
 exertions had contributed to his father's death, excluded Dissenters 
 from offices of trust and power, and closed the doors of all corpora- 
 tions against them, unless they consented to take the sacrament 
 according to the ritual of the Church of England. It is true that an 
 Annual Indemnity Bill relieved them from these disabilities ; but as 
 it was at any time — in any one year — liable to be opposed and sus- 
 pended, the position of the Dissenters was not as firm as their 
 modern loyalty and the principles of religious toleration demanded. 
 After considerable discussion, the motion for the repeal of the Acts 
 was carried, much to the alarm of the High Church party in the 
 House of Commons. In the House of Lords it encountered consider- 
 able opposition from the bench of Bishops and the Tories of the old 
 school. They beheld danger to the Protestant Church in the slightest 
 relaxation of the disqualifying laws, and would hear of no alteration 
 in the Acts. The strong common sense of the Duke of Wellington 
 turned the scale. When it came to him to express the sentiments 
 of the Government, he declared himself, on the 17th of April, in these 
 terms : — 
 
 " I fully agree that the security of the Church of England, and the 
 union existing between it and the State, depend neither on the law 
 about to be repealed by the present bill, nor upon the provisions of 
 this measure itself That union and security, which we must all
 
 1828.] THE TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS 123 
 
 desire to see continued, depend upon the oath taken by his Majesty 
 to which we are all, in our respective stations, parties, and not only 
 on that oath, 'out on the Act of Settlement, and the different acts of 
 union from time to time agreed to ; all of which provide for the inti- 
 mate and inseparable union of Church and State, and for the security 
 of both. 
 
 " The question is. What security does the existing system of laws, 
 as they now stand, afford the Church establishment ? My Lords, I 
 am very dubious as to the amount of security afforded through the 
 means of a system of exclusion from office, to be carried into effect 
 by a law which it is necessary to suspend by an annual act, that 
 admits every man into office whom it was the intention of the 
 original framers of the law to exclude. It is perfectly true it was 
 not the intention of those who brought in that suspension law 
 originally, that dissenters from the Church of England should be 
 permitted to enter into corporations under its provisions. The law 
 was intended to relieve those whom time or circumstances had render- 
 ed unable to qualify themselves according to the system which Gov- 
 ernment had devised. However, the dissenters availed themselves 
 Df the relaxation of the law, for the purpose of getting into corpora- 
 tions, and this the law allowed. What security, then, I ask, my 
 Lords, is to be found in the existing system ? So far from dissenters 
 being excluded by the Corporation and Test Acts from all corpora- 
 tions, so far is this from being the fact, that, as must be well known 
 to your lordships, some corporations are absolutely and entirely in 
 the possession of dissenters. Can you suppose that the repeal of 
 laws so inoperative as these can afford any serious obstacle to the 
 perfect security of the Church, and the permanent union of that es- 
 tablishment with the State ? The fact is, that the existing laws have 
 not only failed completely in answering their intended purpose, but 
 they are anomalous and absurd — anomalous in their origin, absurd in 
 their operation, 
 
 " If a man were asked the question, at his elevation to any corpo- 
 rate office, whether he had received the sacrament of the Church of 
 England, and if he said ' No,' he lost every vote that had been 
 tendered on his behalf, and there was an end of his election ; but if, 
 on the contrary, by accident or design, he got in without the question 
 relative to the sacrament being put to him, then the votes tendered 
 for him were held good, and his election valid, so that no power could 
 remove him from the office which he held. I ask, is there any se- 
 curity in that ? My noble friend says that the original intention 
 of the framers of these acts was, that the sacrament should not be
 
 124 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1823 
 
 taken by dissenters ; but the law requires that a man, on entering into 
 any corporation, shall receive the sacrament without regard to his re- 
 ligious belief. Thus an individual, whose object it is to get into a 
 particular office, may feel disposed, naturally enough, to take the 
 sacrament before his election, merely as a matter of form ; and thus a 
 sacred rite of our Church is profaned, and prostituted to a shameful 
 and scandalous purpose. 
 
 " I confess, my Lords, I should have opposed this bill if I thought 
 it calculated to weaken the securities at present enjoyed by the 
 Church. However, I agreed not to oppose the bill ; though I con- 
 sented in the first instance to oppose it, in order to preserve the 
 blessings of religious peace. I was willing to preserve the system 
 which had given us this peace for forty years ; for, during that time, 
 the name and the claims of dissenters had not been heard of. But 
 now they have come forward, and their claims are approved of by a 
 great majority of the House of Commons ; and the bill has come up 
 to this House. If it be opposed by the majority of this House, it is 
 to be feared, now that the claims are made, that such an opposition 
 will carry hostility throughout the country, and introduce a degree of 
 rancour into every parish of the kingdom, which I should not wish to 
 be responsible for." 
 
 Again, upon the 21st of April, the Duke said : " I have not called 
 on your lordships to agree to this bill because it has been passed by 
 the House of Commons ; I merely assigned that as one of the reasons 
 which induced me to recommend the measure to your lordships. I 
 certainly did allude to the feeling in favour of the bill which has for 
 some time been growing up in the House of Commons as a good 
 reason for entertaining it in your lordships' House ; but other 
 reasons also operated on my mind. Many individuals of high emi- 
 nence in the Church, and who are as much interested as any other 
 persons in the kingdom in the preservation of the Constitution, have 
 expressed themselves as being favourable to an alteration of the law. 
 The religious feelings of those venerable persons disposed them to en- 
 tertain this measure, because they felt strong objections to the sacra- 
 mental test. Under these circumstances, wishing to advance and 
 preserve the blessings of religious peace and tranquillity, — conceiving 
 the present a good opportunity for securing to the country so inesti- 
 mable an advantage, I felt it to be my duty to recommend this 
 measure to your lordships. It is on all these grounds that I support 
 the bill, and not on the single ground — the circumstance of its 
 having been carried in the House of Commons — as a noble lord has 
 stated. I am not one of those who consider that the best means
 
 1828.] REFORM IN PARLIAMENT. 125 
 
 of preserving the constitution of this country is by rigidly adhering 
 to measures which have been called for by particular circumstances, 
 because those measures have been in existence for two hundred years, 
 for the lapse of time might render it proper to modify, if not to re- 
 move them altogether. 
 
 " I admit, my Lords, that for about two hundred years the religious 
 peace of the country has been preserved under these bills ; but, when 
 Parliament is discussing the best means of preserving the constitu- 
 tion of the country, it is surely worth while to inquire whether any, 
 and what changes, in what have been deemed the securities of the 
 Church, can safely be made, so as to conciliate all parties. 
 
 " All I hope is, that your lordships will not unnecessarily make any 
 alteration in the measure that would be likely to give dissatisfaction ; 
 that your lordships will not do anything which may be calculated to 
 remove that conciliating spirit which is now growing up — a spirit 
 that will redound to the benefit of the country, and which, so far 
 from opposing, we ought, on the contrary, to do everything to foster 
 and promote." 
 
 The result of the discussion was the repeal of the Acts, — the old 
 religious test being replaced by a " Declaration" from the holder of 
 ofiBce that he would never exert any power or influence he might 
 possess, in virtue of his office, to injure or subvert the Protestant 
 Church. 
 
 If one large section of the British public had viewed the accession 
 of the Duke of Wellington to supreme civil power with doubt and 
 alarm, the confidence with which he now inspired it, in the liberality 
 of his views, was counterbalanced by the dread which the opposite or 
 Church section entertained of his latitudinarianism. " Since," said 
 they, " the door is thus opened to the dissenters, we have no security 
 that the Pioman Catholics will not be allowed to rush in and destroy 
 the sacred edifice of Protestantism — the bulwark of liberty — the 
 guarantee of universal peace." Apparently to calm this apprehen- 
 sion, but in reality because the subject was incidentally introduced, 
 the Duke, on the 28th of April, said, in his place in the House of 
 Lords : — 
 
 " There is no person in this House whose feelings and sentiments, 
 after long consideration, are more decided than mine are, with respect 
 to the subject of the Roman Catholic claims ; and I must say, that, 
 until I see a very great change in that quarter, I shall continue to 
 oppose the Emancipation of the Catholics." 
 
 The phrase " until I see a very great change in that quarter," 
 was very ambiguous. What change did the Duke desire ? A change
 
 126 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1828 
 
 in the temper of the Catholics, who were then " agitating " tlie 
 subject with unexampled fervour? A change in the views of the 
 Protestant party — or what ? Speculation became rife upon the 
 subject ; and while the Church party drew inferences favourable to 
 their views from the declaration of " decided" feelings and sentiments, 
 the Liberals gathered hope from the vague allusion to a possible alter- 
 ation.' 
 
 A reform in the Parliamentary representation had been a standing 
 dish with a section of the House of Commons for more than a 
 quarter of a century. On the broad principle of taking from the 
 landed aristocracy of the House of Peers the power of nominating 
 members subservient to their views, the question had been argued 
 with vigour and eloquence by some of the most enlightened and inde- 
 pendent members of the Lower House, who also contended for a 
 system which would give to a large portion of the country, still unre- 
 presented, the right of sending members to assert their views and 
 interests. Until 1827 the subject made little progress, because the 
 advocacy of reform had been volunteered by a class of popularity- 
 hunting men whose station in society was comparatively obscure, and 
 their mode of advancing their opinions distasteful to the better 
 classes. In point of fact, the very prospect of a new system which 
 should introduce such persons as Mr. Cobbett and Mr. Hunt" into 
 
 1 The claims of the Roman Catholics had engaged the attention of the Duke at the earliest 
 period of his Parliamentary career. Balancing even then (1793), between justice and expe- 
 diency, the Honourable Arthur Wesley (as the name was then spelt) thus spoke, in the Irish 
 House of Commons : — " He had no objection to giving the Roman Catholics the benefits of 
 the Constitution, and, in his opinion, the bill [alluding to some bill then introduced] conferred 
 them in an ample degree ; but the motion of the honourable gentleman seemed calculated 
 to promote disunion. With the bill as it stands, the Protestants are satisfied, and the Ro- 
 man Catholics are contented. Why, then, agitate a question which may disturb both? — A 
 gentleman has said, that admitting the 40i. freeholders of the Roman Catholic persuasion to 
 vote at elections will annihilate the Protestant estabhshraent in Ireland ; and ho has founded 
 thla assertion upon a supposition that the Roman Catholics will, in voting, be directed by 
 their priests. But have not Roman Catholics, like Protestants, various interests and various 
 passions, by which they are swayed ? The influence of their landlords — their good or bad 
 opinion of the candidates— their own interests— and a thousand other motives ? It appeared 
 to him that they would not vote in a body, or as had been supposed, if the bill should 
 pass in its present form ; but if the motion of the honourable gentleman should be adopted, 
 then, indeed, they would undoubtedly unite in support of Roman Catliolic candidates." Pre- 
 vious to this, on seconding the Address in answer to the speech from the throne, tlio young 
 member for Trim said ;— " In regard to what hud been recommended in the speech from the 
 throne, respecting our Catholic fellow-subjects, he could not repress expressing his approbation 
 on that head ; he had no doubt of the loyally of the Catholics of this country, and he trusted 
 that when the question would bo brought forward, respecting that description of men, that wa 
 would lay aside all animosities, and act with moderation and dignity, and not with the fury and 
 violence of partisans." 
 
 3 Cobbett was a man of humble origin, who bad once been a private soldier. Of a strong
 
 1828.] MR. HUSKISSON'S RESIGNATION". 127 
 
 Parliament was offensive alike to the aristocracy and to the middle 
 classes, and originated a strong and effective opposition. But by 1828 
 circumstances had occurred which so powerfully illustrated the neces- 
 sity for purifying the elections, that public opinion began to undergo 
 a material change. The House of Commons had convicted the bur- 
 gesses of Penryhn, in Cornwall, of gross and prevailing bribery, and 
 had passed a bill disqualifying the borough, and transferring its right 
 of electing two members to Manchester. East Retford, too, in Not- 
 tinghamshire, had also been found guilty of corruption, and a bill was 
 brought in to transfer its franchise to Birmingham. The House of 
 Lords, dreading the loss of borough influence, repudiated the first bill, 
 and the second (East Retford) only acquired partial favour in the 
 Lower House. It was deferred for a session, East Retford remaining 
 for a time without a representative. 
 
 In the discussions upon the East Retford Bill, a circumstance oc- 
 curred which, bearing particularly upon the Duke of Wellington's min- 
 isterial career, demands special mention. 
 
 Amongst the " Canningites" who had remained with the Duke was 
 Mr. Huskisson, a man of talent, attached to office, whose political opin- 
 ions hung rather loosely about him. The Government opposed the 
 East Retford Bill. Mr. Huskisson, however, had upon a previous 
 occasion, given a pledge to the House of Commons that he should, 
 when any one borough became disfranchised, vote for the transfer of 
 the franchise to Birmingham or Manchester. He now considered him- 
 self bound to redeem this pledge ; and when the matter came to an 
 issue he divided against his colleagues in the ministry. Considering 
 that this act compromised him with the Premier, he sat down upon 
 his return home, and at two o'clock in the morning wrote the follow- 
 ing letter to the Duke of Wellington : — 
 
 "Downing Street, Tuesday morning, 2 a. m., May Wth. 
 
 " My dear Duke, 
 
 " After the vote which, in regard to my own consistency 
 and personal character, I have found myself, from the course of this 
 evening's debate, compelled to give on the East Retford question, I 
 owe it to you, as the head of the Administration, and to Mr. Peel, as 
 
 mind and resolute purpose, he had, so to speak, educated himself, and many years previously 
 had started periodicals called " The Gridiron," and " The Register," in all of which he main- 
 tamed opinions of an almost democratic hue — assailing placemen, pensioners. Corn Laws, &c. 
 This had given him a large popularity. Hunt was a vender of blacking, and disseminated bis 
 doctrines (corresponding with Cobbett's) in mob harangues. Both were clever, unscrupulous 
 men.
 
 128 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 1828.] 
 
 the leader of the House of Commons, to lose no time in affording you 
 an opportunity of placing my office in other hands, as the only means 
 in my power of preventing the injury to the King's service which 
 may ensue from the appearance of disunion in his Majesty's councils, 
 however unfounded in reality, or however unimportant in itself the 
 question which has given rise to that appearance." 
 
 The Duke replied the next day : — 
 
 " My dear Huskisson, 
 
 " Your letter of this morning, which I received at ten, has 
 surprised me much, and has given me great concern. I have consid- 
 ered it my duty to lay it before the King." 
 
 Mr. Huskisson was not prepared for such promptitude of action. 
 He did not know that the Duke was glad of an opportunity of getting 
 rid of a colleague of unstable principles, or, at least, of men addicted 
 to free-trade tendencies. He immediately induced two of his friends 
 to go to the Duke, and upon their return he thus rejoined : — 
 
 "Downing Street, May UOrA, 1828, half-past Cp. m. 
 
 ^' My dear Duke, 
 
 " Having understood from Lord Dudley and Lord Palmer- 
 ston that you had laid my letter of last night before the King, under 
 a different impression from that which it was intended to convey, I 
 feel it due both to you and to myself to say, that my object in writing 
 that letter was, not to express any intention of my own, but to relieve 
 you from any delicacy which you might feel towards me, if you should 
 think that the interests of his Majesty's service would be prejudiced 
 by my remaining in office, after giving a vote, in respect to which, from 
 the turn which the latter part of the debate had taken, a sense of per- 
 sonal honour left me no alternative." 
 
 The Duke's resolve was not to be shaken by this affectation of deli- 
 cacy. He had looked upon the resignation as bond fide^ and in that 
 sense he was determined that it should be understood and accepted. 
 His Grace, however, again wrote : — 
 
 " My dear Huskisson, 
 
 " I have received your letter of this evening. I certainly 
 did not understand your letter of two this morning as offering me 
 any option ; nor do I understand the one of this evening as leaving
 
 1828.J MR. HUSKISSOTS RESIGNATION. 129 
 
 me any, except that of submitting myself and his Majesty's Govern- 
 ment to the necessity of soliciting you to remain in your office, or of 
 incurring the loss of your valuable assistance to his Majesty's service. 
 However sensible I may be of this loss, I am convinced that, in these 
 times, any loss is better than that of character, which is the founda- 
 tion of public confidence. 
 
 " In this view of the case, I have put out of it altogether every 
 consideration of the discredit resulting from the scene of last night of 
 the extent of which you could not have been but sensible when you 
 thought proper, as a remedy for it, to send me the offer of ' placing 
 the office in other hands.' " 
 
 Mr. Huskisson now beginning to perceive that the revocare gradmn 
 was placed beyond possibility, and anticipating the publicity of a cor- 
 respondence which had commenced in a "private and confidential" 
 form, once more addressed the Duke. 
 
 "Colonial Office, May 21s<, 1828, 
 
 " My DEAR Duke, 
 
 " In justice to myself, I cannot acquiesce for a moment in 
 the construction which your letter of last night puts upon my 
 conduct. 
 
 " You cannot refuse to me the right of knowing the motives of my 
 own actions ; and I solemnly declare that, in both my letters, I was 
 actuated by one and the same feeling. It was simply this : — That it 
 was not for me, but for you, as head of the Government, to decide how 
 far my vote made it expedient to remove me from his Majesty's 
 service. I felt that I had no alternative, consistently with personal 
 honour (in a difficulty not of my own seeking or creating), but to give 
 that vote ; that the question, in itself, was one of minor importance ; 
 that the disunion was more in appearance than in reality ; but I also 
 felt that, possibly, you might take a different view of it, and that, in 
 case you should, I ought (as I had done on a similar occasion with 
 Lord Liverpool) to relieve you from any difficulty arising out of per- 
 sonal consideration towards me, in deciding upon a step to which you 
 might find it your public duty to resort on the occasion. 
 
 " It was under this impression alone that I wrote to you immediate- 
 ly upon my return from the House of Commons. 
 
 " If you had not misconceived that impression, as well as the 
 purport of my second letter, I am persuaded that you could not 
 suppose me guilty of the arrogance of expecting that you and his 
 Majesty's Government should submit yourselves to the necessity of 
 
 VOL. u. 2 L
 
 130 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1828. 
 
 soliciting me to remain in my office,' or do me the injustice of 
 believing that I could be capable of placing you in the alternative of 
 choosing between the continuance of my services, such as they are, and 
 the loss to your administration of one particle of character, which, I 
 agree with you, is the foundation of confidence. 
 
 " If, understanding my communication as I intended it to be 
 understood, you had in any way intimated to me either that the 
 occurrence, however unfortunate, was not one of sufficient moment 
 to render it necessary for you, on public grounds, to act in the 
 manner in which I had assumed that you possibly might think it 
 necessary, or that you were under that necessity, in either case there 
 would have been an end of the matter. In the first supposition, I 
 should have felt that I had done what in honour and fairness towards 
 
 W. HCSEISSON. 
 
 you I was bound to do ; but it never would have entered my imagina* 
 tion that I had claimed or received any sacrifice whatever from you 
 or any member of his Majesty's Government.
 
 1828.] MR. HUSKISSON'S RESIGNATION. 131 
 
 " On the other hand, nothing can be further from my intention than 
 to express an opinion that the occasion was not one in which you might 
 fairly consider it your duty to advise his Majesty to withdraw from 
 me the seals of office on the ground of this vote. I do not, therefore, 
 complain ; but I cannot allow that my removal shall be placed on any 
 other ground. I cannot allow that it was my own act, still less can I 
 admit that when I had no other intention than to relieve the question 
 on which you had to decide from any personal embarrassment, this 
 step, on my part, should be ascribed to feelings the very reverse of 
 those by which alone I was actuated, either towards you or his Ma- 
 jesty's Government." 
 
 Many men would have preferred allowing the world to suppose that 
 they had resigned, rather than endure the odium of having been dis- 
 carded. Mr. Huskisson's tenacious love of place rendered him for the 
 moment oblivious of what was due to his own personal consequence, 
 or he would scarcely have penned the foregoing letter. As will ba 
 seen from what follows, the explanation made no impression on the 
 impenetrable Duke : — 
 
 "London, May 21st, 1828. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Huskisson, 
 
 " In consequence of your last letter, I feel it to be necessary 
 to recall to your recollection the circumstances under which I received 
 your letter of Tuesday morning. 
 
 " It is addressed to me at two o'clock in the morning, immediately 
 after a debate and division in the House of Commons. It informs 
 me that you lose no time in afifording me an opportunity of placing 
 your office in other hands, as the only means in your power of pre- 
 venting an injury to the King's service, which you describe. It 
 concludes by regretting the necessity for troubling me with this com- 
 munication. 
 
 " Could I consider this in any other light than as a formal tender 
 of the resignation of your office, or that I had any alternative but 
 either to solicit you to remain in office contrary to your sense of duty, 
 or to submit your letter to the King 1 
 
 " If you had called on me the next morning after your vote, and 
 had explained to me in conversation what had passed in the House of 
 Commons, the character of the communication would have been quite 
 different, and I might have felt myself at liberty to discuss the whole 
 subject with you, and freely to give an opinion upon any point con- 
 nected. But I must still think that if I had not considered a letter, 
 couched in the terms in which that letter is couched, and received
 
 132 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1828. 
 
 under the circumstances under which I received it, as a tender of re- 
 signation, and had not laid it before the King, I should have exposed 
 the King's Government and myself to very painful misconstruc- 
 tions. My answer to your letter will have informed you that it sur- 
 prised me much, and that it gave me great concern. I must consider, 
 therefore, the resignation of your oflSce as your own act, and not 
 as mine." 
 
 Nothing can more strongly mark the resolution of the Duke to 
 shake oflF the Ministerial connection with Mr. Huskisson than this 
 communication. Had he desired sincerely to retain the services of 
 the " Canningite," he would gladly have accepted the explanations 
 offered, whether they originated in a desire to remain in charge of the 
 seals of the Colonial Office, or a sense of delicacy towards the Duke 
 himself Mr. Huskisson now sought to excuse himself to the King, 
 and we have here the result of bia endeavour to obtain an interview 
 with his Majesty :- 
 
 "Downing Street, May 25/A, 1828, 
 
 " My dear Duke, 
 
 " On Tuesday last I wrote to the King, to solicit an 
 audience. His Majesty has not yet been pleased to grant me this 
 honour. 
 
 " In the expectation (not unnatural for me to entertain in the 
 situation which I hold) of being afforded an opportunity of waiting 
 upon his Majesty, I have deferred acknowledging your letter of the 
 21st, which, passing by altogether all that is stated in mine of the 
 same date, you conclude in the following words : — ' I must, therefore, 
 consider the resignation of your office as your own act, and not as 
 mine.' 
 
 " I will not revert to the full explanation which I have already 
 given you on this subject. Not denying that my first letter might be 
 capable of the construction which you put upon it, I would ask you 
 whether it be usual, after a construction has been from the first 
 moment explicitly disavowed, to persist that it is the right one? It 
 being, however, the construction to which you adhere, I must assume, 
 as you laid the letter before his Majesty, that you advised his Majesty 
 upon it, and that his Majesty is, therefore, under the same misappre- 
 hension as yourself of what I meant ; the more especially as I have 
 no means of knowing whether any subsequent letters have been laid 
 before his Majesty. 
 
 " It was for the purpose of setting right any erroneous impression
 
 1828.] MR. HUSKISSON'S RESIGNATION. 193 
 
 in the royal mind that I sought to be admitted as soon as possible into 
 his Majesty's presence. 
 
 " I was then, as I am still, most anxious to assure his Majesty that 
 nothing could have been further from my intention than that the letter 
 in question should have been at all submitted to his Majesty, — to 
 make known to his Majesty the circumstances and feelings under 
 which it had been written, — to point out to him that I had taken the 
 precaution (usual between Ministers in matters of a delicate and confi- 
 dential nature, when it is wished to keep the subject as much as possi- 
 ble confined to the respective parties) of making the letter, ' private 
 and confidential,' — that I understood that this letter, so marked 
 specially to guard its object, had been, without previous communica- 
 tion of any sort with me — in respect to the transaction referred to, 
 but not explained in the letter itself — laid before his Majesty, as con- 
 veying to the foot of the throne my positive resignation. 
 
 " I should further have had to state to his Majesty the great pain 
 and concern which I felt at finding that a paper should have been sub- 
 mitted to his Majesty, and described to him as conveying my resig- 
 nation of the seals in a form so unusual, and with a restriction so 
 unbecoming towards my Sovereign, as is implied in the words ' private 
 and confidential;' that in a necessity so painful (had I felt such a 
 necessity) as that of asking his Majesty's permission to withdraw 
 from his service, my first anxiety would have been to lay my reasons, 
 in a respectful but direct communication from myself, at his 
 Majesty's feet; but that, most certainly, in whatever mode con- 
 veyed, the uppermost feeling of my heart would have been to have 
 accompanied it with those expressions of dutiful attachment and 
 respectful gratitude which I owe his Majesty, for the many and 
 uniform proofs of confidence and kindness with which he has been 
 graciously pleased to honour me since I have held the seals of the 
 Colonial department. 
 
 " If I had been afforded an opportunity of thus relieving myself 
 from the painful position in which I stand towards his Majesty, I 
 should then have entreated of his Majesty's goodness and sense of 
 justice to permit a letter, so improper for me to have written (if it 
 could have been in my contemplation that it would have been laid 
 before his Majesty as an act of resignation), to be withdrawn. 
 Neither should I have concealed from his Majesty my regret, con- 
 sidering the trouble which has unfortunately occurred, both to his 
 Majesty and his Government, that I had not taken a different mode 
 of doing what, for the reasons fully stated in my letter of the 21st, I 
 found myself bound in honour to do, so as to have prevented, perhaps.
 
 134 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1828. 
 
 the misconception arising out of my letter, written immediately after 
 the debate. 
 
 " I have now stated to you frankly, and without reserve, the sub- 
 stance of all that I was anxious to submit to the King. I have done 
 so in the full confidence that you will do me the favour to lay this 
 statement before his Majesty ; and that I may be allowed to implore 
 of his Majesty that he will do me the justice to believe that, of all 
 who have a right to prefer a claim to be admitted to his royal 
 presence, I am the last who, in a matter relating to myself, would 
 press that claim in a manner unpleasant to his Majesty's wishes or 
 inclinations, — I bow to them with respectful deference, still retaining, 
 however, a confidence founded on the rectitude of my intentions, 
 that, in being removed from his Majesty's service, I may be allowed 
 the consolation of knowing that I have not been debarred from the 
 privilege of my office in consequence of my having incurred his Ma- 
 jesty's personal displeasure." 
 
 Mr. Huskisson must have been but imperfectly informed of the 
 influence of the Duke in the royal Cabinet, and still less of the 
 implacable character of the Premier's resolution, if he expected that 
 any other reply to the foregoing letter could have been sent him than 
 the following : — 
 
 " London, May '25tk 1828. 
 
 " My dear Huskisson, 
 
 " It is with great concern that I inform you that I have at 
 last attended his Majesty, and have received his instructions respect- 
 ing an arrangement to fill your office. 
 
 " I sincerely regret the loss of your valuable assistance in the 
 arduous task in which I am engaged.'" 
 
 The "concern" and the "sincere regret" of the Duke must be 
 accepted in the ordinary sense of unmeaning courtesy. The Duke 
 could not have meant that he had attended the King with " great 
 concern," because there was really no earthly occasion for his doing 
 his feelings a violence if he had wished to continue Mr. Huskisson in 
 the Cabinet ; nor can he be allowed the credit of " sincerely regretting" 
 a " loss " he might have spared himself, had he wished to do so. Not 
 to be outdone, however, in empty courtesy, and desiring to stand 
 well with the King, Mr. Huskisson returned the following reply ; —
 
 1828.] MR. HUSKISSON'S LAST LETTER. 135 
 
 "Downing Street, 9|p. m. May ^t/i, 1828. 
 
 " My dear. Dukte, 
 
 " Lord Dudley has just sent to me, unopened, my letter to 
 you, which I forwarded to Aspley House about five o'clock this after- 
 noon. 
 
 " This letter was written as soon as I was given to understand by 
 Lord Dudley, who called here after an interview with you this morn- 
 ing, that his Majesty had not signified any intention of granting me 
 the honour of an audience. 
 
 " No other mode, therefore, remaining open to me of conveying my 
 sentiments to the King, I address myself to you for the purpose of 
 bringing before his Majesty, in the shape of a written communication, 
 what I am prevented from stating to his Majesty in person. 
 
 " I feel confident that you will not deny me this favour ; and you 
 will be satisfied, by the contents of my letter (which I now return), 
 that in writing it nothing was further from my intention than to 
 intrude myself between you and the arrangements which, upon my 
 removal from office (for such I have considered the result of our cor- 
 respondence since your letter of the 21st), you have received his 
 Majesty's instructions to make. 
 
 " Your letter, communicating this fact, reached me about half-past 
 seven this evening. I thank you for the information, and for the 
 kind manner in which you advert to any feeble assistance which I 
 may have been able to give to your administration, as well as for the 
 expression of the concern with which you have advised his Majesty 
 to place my office in other hands." 
 
 The subjoined communication closed the correspondence : — 
 
 « London, May 26th, 1823. 
 
 " My deak Huskisson, 
 
 " I have received your letter of yesterday, accompanied by 
 another letter from you, dated also yesterday, which I had returned 
 to Lord Dudley, under the impression that I ought not to open it 
 without your previous consent, under the circumstances that existed 
 at the time I received it. 
 
 "I have laid both before the King. In answer I have only to 
 repeat that I considered your letter of the 20th as a formal tender of 
 the resignation of your office ; and that the circumstance of its being 
 marked ' private and confidential ' did not alter the character of the 
 letter, or relieve me from the painful duty of communicating its 
 contents to his Majesty, as I did, in person.
 
 136 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1828. 
 
 '• Your subsequent letters did not, according to my understanding 
 of them, convey any disavowal of your intention to tender your resig- 
 nation. I laid them before his Majesty, and ray answers to them, 
 and communicated to Lord Dudley that I had done so. 
 
 " The King informed me — I think on Wednesday, the 21st — that 
 you had desired to have an audience of his Majesty ; and that he 
 intended to receive you on the day but one after. I did not consider 
 it my duty to advise his Majesty to receive you at an earlier period. 
 
 " It is scarcely necessary for me to observe, that your letter to me. 
 of the 20th was entirely your own act, and wholly unexpected by me 
 If the letter was written hastily and inconsiderately, surely the 
 natural course was for you to withdraw it altogether, and thus relieve 
 me from the position in which, without any fault of mine, it had 
 placed me — compelling me either to accept the resignation which it 
 tendered, or to solicit you to continue to hold your office. 
 
 " This latter step was, in my opinion, calculated to do me person- 
 ally, and the King's Government, great dis-service ; and it appeared 
 to me that the only mode by which we could be extricated from the 
 difficulty in which your letter had placed us was, that the withdrawal 
 of your letter should be your spontaneous act, and that it should be 
 adopted without delay. 
 
 " The interference of his Majesty, pending our correspondence, 
 would not only have placed his Majesty in a situation in which he 
 ought not to be placed in such a question, but it would have subjected 
 me to the imputation that that interference had taken place on my 
 suggestion, or with my connivance. 
 
 " I did not consider it my duty to advise his Majesty to interfere in 
 any manner whatever. 
 
 " His Majesty informed me this day that he had written to you 
 this morning, appointing an audience in the course of the day." 
 
 Besides the endeavours made by Mr. Huskisson, in his letters to 
 the Duke, to retract the resignation, personal exertions were employed 
 by Lords Palmerston and Dudley and Ward to induce his Grrace to 
 cancel his acceptance of the renunciation of office. The Duke was 
 obdurate. To an assurance that it was all a mistake, he answered 
 emphatically, " It was no mistake — could be no mistake — and should 
 be no mistake." 
 
 Reviewing the whole correspondence and interviews, and looking 
 at the evident predisposition of tlie Duke, it is to be regretted that 
 he did not in the first instance take more dignified ground, and pre- 
 serve his character from the taint of insincerity. It might have
 
 IS28.] THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT. 13" 
 
 been expected of liis ordinary frankness, and his notions of the 
 importance of agreement in the Cabinet, that he would have 
 replied at once : " I will advise the King to accept your resignation, 
 because no chance must be allowed to exist of the country being 
 again disturbed by the appearance of division in the Councils of the 
 King, on a subject of so much moment as Parliamentary Reform." 
 Perhaps the Duke more than once regretted in after-life that he had 
 not taken this decided step. 
 
 Mr. Huskisson's expulsion — for it can be called nothing else — led 
 to the immediate resignation of Lords Palmerston and Dudley and 
 Ward, and Mr. Charles Grant. 
 
 Thus weeded of every vestige of the moderate Liberalism which per- 
 tained to the Canning portion of the Ministry (with the exception of 
 Lord Lyndhurst, who had become Lord Chancellor when Lord Eldon 
 seceded), the Duke's Cabinet immediately became the representative 
 of strong opinions ; for he called into office Sir George Murray, Sir 
 Henry Hardinge, the Earl of Aberdeen, and BIr. Vesey Fitzgerald. 
 The two former were Peninsula soldiers, in whose business habits the 
 Duke had great confidence, and on whose co-operation, not to say obe- 
 dience, he could rely. 
 
 Much alarm was felt by the liberals at this infusion of military 
 men. There was already a General Officer at the head of the Govern- 
 ment of Ireland (the Marquis of Anglesey). Four aiguillettes thus 
 distinguished the Council Board, and " strong" measures were expect- 
 ed as the result of such a combination of men of camp habits, under 
 the dominion of one powerful and somewhat despotic will. 
 
 A fortnight had scarcely elapsed after the construction of the 
 Cabinet, when the question of Roman Catholic emancipation came 
 before the House of Lords, in the distinct form of a resolution of 
 the House of Commons to go into a committee upon the subject of 
 the laws affecting the Roman Catholics. A conference with the 
 Lords was proposed and agreed to ; and after it had taken place, the 
 resolution of the Commons was debated in a full House for two 
 days. Upon this occasion the Duke of Wellington thus expressed 
 himself : — 
 
 " He considered the question, he said, merely as one of expediency, 
 and he grounded his opposition to the motion, not on any doctrinal 
 points, but on the Church government of the Roman Catholics 
 Nobody could have witnessed the transactions which had been going 
 on in Ireland, during the last thirt3^-five years, without being con- 
 vinced that there was a combination between the laity and the clergy, 
 which was daily gaining ground. Hence sprung the confusion that
 
 138 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1828. 
 
 diotinguished Ireland. If the aristocracy had been rendered power- 
 less, and political authority transferred to the people, who, again, were 
 the creatures of the priest, it was to this combination that it was 
 owing. Emancipation, they had been told, would cure all these evils. 
 But, in a/idition to emancipation, they would also be obliged to give 
 to the Catholic Church the whole establishment of the Protestant 
 Church, after which the country would be exposed to the same evils 
 which now prevailed. On all former occasions, too, it had been pro- 
 posed to grant political power only in connection with eifcctual securi- 
 ties for the Protestant constitution in church and state : but now, se- 
 curities were not even hinted at. He wished to see real distinct 
 securities proposed, before he would consent to give any vote in favour 
 of these claims. Ue denied that any inference could be drawn from 
 the example of other countries, except this, that the Roman Catholic 
 religion, in its natural state, was not a religion favourable to good 
 government in any country. 
 
 " He begged their lordships to observe, that, in the very countries 
 of Europe where the sovereigns possessed great power, the govern- 
 ments were under the necessity of calling in the aid of the Pope to 
 govern their subjects, either through the means of a concordat, or 
 some treaty granted by His Holiness, by which they obtained that 
 authority which it was necessary for a government to possess over 
 the clergy of the country. Now, it was utterly impossible for the 
 government of this country to enter into any arrangement of 
 that kind. 
 
 " He did not mean to say that there was no other arrangement by 
 which his Majesty might have the power of appointing the bishops 
 in Ireland, and of controlling and superintending the intercourse 
 betweeen them and the see of Rome ; but in his opinion it was 
 utterly impossible, under the present constitution of the country, to 
 make any arrangement with the Pope as prevailed in foreign states. 
 The discussion of the question, he thought, would lead to no practical 
 result, and would tend only to disturb the public mind. 
 
 "From 1781 to 1791, although many momentous questions had 
 been agitated in Ireland, the Roman Catholic question was never 
 heard of So little indeed had it been heard of, that his noble 
 friend, who sat near him, had brought into the House of Commons a 
 bill respecting the Roman Catholics, and it was a fact that the Lord- 
 Lieutenant of Ireland was never consulted respecting it, and indeed 
 knew nothing of it, till it was before the House, so little did the 
 Catholic question at that time disturb the public mind. He did not, 
 however, expect that such a state of tranquillity would again occur.
 
 1828.J 
 
 THE CATHOLIC QUESTION 
 
 139 
 
 but it would be well to allow the public mind to rest, and in the end 
 it might be possible to do something, for he was most desirous of 
 seeing the subject brought to an amicable conclusion." 
 
 The motion was lost, but from the " conciliatory tone" of the Duke 
 of Wellington, the friends of emancipation inferred that their wishes 
 in future would not receive so uncompromising an opposition as they 
 bad hitherto sustained. 
 
 COLUMN IN TAE PHCSNIX PAEK, DUBLIN.
 
 140 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1829. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 the Catholic question— The Duke and Dr. Curtis— The Duke urges Emancipation upon the 
 King— The Catholic Emancipation Bill brought forward in the House of Lords— Carried— 
 The Duke's Duel with the Earl of Winchelsea- Death of the Earl of Liverpool— Appoint- 
 ment of the Duke to be Lord Warden of the Cinque Porta. 
 
 LTHOUGH ambiguity of ex- 
 pression is common to di- 
 plomatists and statesmen, 
 because while it is supposed 
 to pledge them to nothing, it 
 yet opens a door to inferences 
 in their favour, according to 
 the degree in which their sup- 
 posed sentiments correspond 
 with those of the public, there 
 is often nothing more unfor- 
 tunate in its results than 
 equivocation — tampering with a great question in a double sense. 
 The Duke of Wellington probably obtained a slight accession 
 of popularity by his conciliatory speech in the early part of the 
 session of 1828; but this very circumstance only contributed to 
 embarrass his position, and to render a regression unavoidable. 
 
 The Irish Roman Catholics formed into an " Association" under 
 Daniel O'Connell, an olo(|uent barrister of the Romish persuasion, an 
 unscrupulous but uncompromising " patriot," was acquiring every 
 day great strength. Daring in its demands at all times, it now, upon 
 the faith of the Premier's speech, exceeded its previous audacity, 
 and was raising up in Ireland a power which threatened to imperil 
 the peace of the United Kingdom. Indeed, a revolution seemed 
 inevitable. Emancipation was declared by Dr. Curtis, the titular 
 Catholic Primate of Ireland, to afford the only means of establishing
 
 1829.] THE CATHOLIC QUESTION. HI 
 
 concord ; and as the Doctor had held a high office in the University 
 of Salamanca when the Duke commanded in Spain, and was supposed 
 to have rendered important services to the army, he availed himself 
 of the intimacy established between the Duke and himself to write to 
 the Duke upon the subject. The Duke's answer was as follows : — 
 
 " My DEAR Sir, 
 
 " I have received your letter of the 4th instant, and I assure 
 you that you do me justice in believing that I am sincerely anxious 
 to witness the settlement of the Roman Catholic question, which, by 
 benefiting the State, would confer a benefit on every individual 
 belonging to it. But I confess that I see no prospect of such a 
 settlement. Party has been mixed up with the consideration of the 
 question to such a degree, and such violence pervades every discussion 
 of it, that it is impossible to expect to prevail upon men to consider 
 it dispassionately. If we could bury it in oblivion for a short time, 
 and employ that time diligently in the consideration of its difficulties 
 on all sides (for they are very great), I should not despair of seeing 
 a satisfactory remedy." 
 
 Dr. Curtis considered this letter — in the face of its plain language 
 — to involve an admission that the Duke was favourable to the 
 Catholic claims. The Catholic Association adopted the same view ; 
 and Dr. Curtis, after replying to the Duke, and declaring it to be per- 
 fectly impossible to bury the question in oblivion, sent a copy of the 
 document to the Marquis of Anglesey, the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. 
 Lord Anglesey, taking the same view with the Catholic Association 
 and Dr. Curtis, wrote an answer to Dr. Curtis expressing sentiments 
 so decidedly favourable to the Catholics and to agitation, that the 
 Duke of Wellington immediately recommended the King to remove 
 him from his office. 
 
 The recall of Lord Anglesey increased the irritation of the Roman 
 Catholics. It was denounced by the Association as " monstrously 
 absurd ;" and the Duke of Wellington was termed a '• self-convicted 
 madman," and the " insane pilot who continued to direct our almost 
 tottering State." Its effi3Ct upon the Tories was to inspire them with 
 the most complete confidence in the Duke as the champion of Protest- 
 antism. 
 
 With the close of the session of Parliament, the discussions regard- 
 ing Catholic Emancipation lulled, and the general impression seemed 
 to be that whenever the subject should again be forced upon the legis-
 
 142 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1829 
 
 lature, the Government would be found inflexible in its determination 
 to oppose the claims of the Papists. 
 
 It needeth not to tell the reader that the leading feature in the 
 military policy of the Duke of Wellington was the profound secresy 
 with which he matured his plans and combinations, and the prompti- 
 tude with which he carried them into execution when all the necessary 
 preparations were complete. Oporto. Torres Vedras, Burgos, and 
 Vittoria are identified with this peculiar system of secresy of arrange- 
 ment and rapidity of consummation. The British public were now 
 to be astounded with the operation of this system in civil polity, and 
 to witness, in one who was regarded as the impersonation of firmness 
 and fixity of opinion, a complete abandonment of his supposed prin- 
 ciples upon the most exciting question of modern times. Some appre- 
 hension had been raised by a speech from Mr. Dawson, the brother-in- 
 law of Mr. Peel, who, at a public dinner in Ireland, talked in a way to 
 justify the most sanguine hopes of the Roman Catholics. Not long 
 afterwards Mr. Peel himself resigned the representation of Oxford 
 University. In the meanwhile it seems that the Duke of Welling- 
 ton and Mr. Peel — the latter probably influenced by the former — 
 had addressed themselves to the King, representing that Ireland was 
 on the verge of civil war,' agitated as that country was by the Catholic 
 Association, and that the only chance of averting so direful a calamity 
 lay in " emancipation." The King is understood to have been at 
 first exceedingly averse to yield an inch — he pleaded his coronation- 
 oath — and the Chancellor, the keeper of the royal conscience, could 
 
 I There are no class of men who entertain so great an abhorrence of war of any kind, as 
 those who have seen it under its most frightful forms. For this reason, militar)- governors 
 and statesmen have always been remarkable for a pacific policy. The Duke of Wellington, 
 imrivalled in the field, confident in himself and his armies, would at all times have strained a 
 point to avert hostilities with other nations. But, of all wars, he most dreaded a civil war, 
 such as at this time threatened the country. Speaking on this very subject, at a later period, he 
 said: — 
 
 " I am one of those who have, probably, passed a longer period of my life engaged in war, 
 than most men, and principally in civil war ; and I must say this, that if I could avoid, by any 
 sacrifice whatever, even one month of civil war in the country to which I was attached, I would 
 B.acrifice my life in order to do it. I say, there is nothing which destroys property, eats up pros- 
 perity by the roots, and tlemoraliscs the character, to the degree that civil war does. In such a 
 crisis, the hand of man is raised against his neighbour, against his brother, and against his fattier . 
 servant betrays master, and the whole scene ends in confusion and devastation. Yet, my Lords, 
 this is the resource to wliich we must have looked — ihcso are the means which we must have" 
 applied — to put an end to this state of things, if we had not made tlje option of bringing forward 
 the me.isures for which, I say, I am responsible. But let us look a little further. If civil war 
 is BO bad, when it is occa.sioned by resistance to the Government — if it is eo bad in the case I 
 have stated, and so much to be avoided — how much more is it to be avoided when we arc to 
 arm the people, in order thai wo may conquer one part of them by exciting the other part 
 kgaingt them ?"
 
 1829.1 CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION. 143 
 
 not show his Majesty a pathway out of his difl&culty. At length, 
 after repeated interviews, in which the Duke exhibited a characteristic 
 obstinacy, the Duke and Mr. Peel tendered their resignations. The 
 King's scruples at once vanished. Growing prematurely old and 
 indolent, George IV. could not look forward to the worry and 
 vexation which would inevitably follow, upon a recall of the Whigs, 
 without horror ; — he was equally alarmed at the prospect of a rebellion 
 from the inflexibility of the ultra Tories ; further, he believed that 
 the danger must be imminent which led the Duke and the illus- 
 trious commoner to push matters to the extremity of a menaced 
 resignation. 
 
 " The speech from the throne, on the re-assembling of Parliament 
 on the 4th of February, 1829, contained the first authoritative 
 announcement of the forthcoming measure. It recommended the 
 subject for consideration. In the course of the debate on the Address, 
 the Duke of Wellington announced that the Government were pre- 
 pared to propose a measure for the emancipation of the Catholics ; 
 an announcement which could scarcely be said to have taken either 
 the Parliament or the public by surprise, but the truth of which 
 could scarcely be believed till it issued from the lips of one who 
 seldom spoke in vain. Its effect on the Tory section of both Houses 
 was maddening. Men in whom a few fixed ideas had superseded 
 even the faculty of reasoning, looked upon the proposed act of grace 
 as a positive injury to themselves. Not only did it ' undermine the 
 bulwarks of Protestantism ;' it also robbed them of their own 
 peculiar objects of hatred and vengeance. With politicians of the 
 Perceval and Eldon school, persecution or reprobation of the Ptoman 
 Catholics was the be-all and the end-all of their thoughts and of their 
 political system ; take away the power of doing so, and they lost the 
 sole object of their mundane existence. That the measure must be 
 carried, all men at once perceived. The King sanctioned it ; the 
 ' great Captain ' proposed it ; the leading civilian of the Tory party 
 in the Lower House was prepared to endorse it ; the Whigs, how- 
 ever anxious to see their rivals out of power, could not but accept it. 
 Thus, in the eyes of the political heirs of Spencer Perceval, the 
 Constitution was gone for ever.^ There still remained, however, one 
 
 1 The perpetual cry that the Conatitution was gone was always a source of amusement to 
 George Canning, when it was urged by the enemies of Emancipation. On one occasion he com- 
 pared the vitality of the British Ck)nstitution to that of the dog of old Mother Hubbard in the 
 nursery tale:— 
 
 " She went to the baker's 
 To buy him some bread.
 
 144 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. [1829 
 
 sweet revenge. They could attack and vilify the men who were thus 
 making a sacrifice of their most cherished opinions and associations, 
 in order to save the State from threatened convulsion. And this 
 part of their public duty they performed to admiration. Never was 
 Minister so assailed in this country. As for the Duke, it had been 
 better for him that he were Bonaparte himself ; for the vocabulary of 
 abuse against that provoking personage was comparatively limited. 
 The pens and tongues that for fourteen years and more had been 
 employed in lauding him as the hero of heroes, were now with as 
 much activity and a fresher motive engaged in heaping on the illus- 
 trious saviour of his country every epithet of contumely which 
 insulted honour and virtue can apply to the traitor. The Duke of 
 Wellington was on a tripod of which each support was a treachery. 
 He was a traitor to the Protestant cause ; a traitor, and a furtive one 
 to boot, to the Whigs, who had been working at this question with 
 exemplary Quixotism and great political fame for near a quarter of 
 a century, and who now saw the Duke's sword wreathed with their 
 coveted laurels ; a traitor, above all, to the memory of Canning, who 
 had been ' hunted to death,' only a year or so before, because lie had 
 wished to free the Catholics, and the Duke had passed the mot cV ordre 
 that the work, at all events, should not be done by him who had bis 
 heart in it, but, if done at all, be effected by a cold State policy and 
 a calculating expediency. There were the two devoted statesmen, 
 the heath on fire all around them ; and, not only the prey of their 
 enraged associates here, but assured, on the very highest clerical 
 authority, that their fate was a matter of certainty hereafter. The 
 Duke bore it all with his constitutional imperturbability, so long as 
 the attacks were of a purely public and political nature. Perhaps 
 bis chief annoyance arose from the pertinacity with which his 
 opponents forced him, night after night, to make premature 
 Bpeeches on the proposed measure, ere it came in a formal way before 
 the House ; for this guerilla warfare interfered with his ideas of 
 regularity and discipline ; but all the rest he despised, as indeed he 
 could well afford to do, being sure of the rectitude of his own 
 motives. 
 
 And when she came back 
 / The dog was dead ! 
 
 She went to the undertakor'a 
 
 To buy him a coflln. 
 
 And when she came back 
 
 The dog was laughing 1" 
 Such, said Canning, would be Iho fate of our Conslilulion. Catholic Emancipation or any 
 Other popular measure might kill It, but aa sure aa late the next day we should find it 
 ' laughing."
 
 1829.] THE CATHOLIC BILL. 145 
 
 " At length, the Catholic Association having dissolved itself, the 
 better to facilitate the purpose of Ministers, and the bill having come 
 up to the Lords, it fell to the Duke of Wellington to propose it to 
 that assembly. His speech on the occasion, as well as some previous 
 ones, was masterly as a clear and unvarnished exposition of the 
 reasons of State which had led to the conduct of the Grovernment, 
 and which justified it. Every argument that could be advanced, or 
 that had been advanced, short of mere fanaticism, was thoroughly 
 canvassed and met ; in short, the Duke now came out in quite a new 
 light. An orator, in the popular sense of the term, he never was and 
 never could have been ; but as an exponent, in language clear and 
 forcible ' to the meanest capacity,' of the plain common sense view 
 he himself took of the question, he stood alone. In this respect, 
 indeed, his public speaking was unique. In fact he had but one 
 thing to impress on his auditory and the public — the absolute neces- 
 sity of a concession which could not longer be delayed, and for which 
 there appeared to be no substitute." ' 
 
 From the very many speeches made by the Duke of Wellington 
 in the course of the passage of the Catholic Bill through its 
 various stages, in some of which speeches he defended the measure 
 and in others himself, it is not necessary to quote more than the 
 following extracts : — In reference to his own conduct, he said, on the 
 10th cf February, 1829,— 
 
 " I have repeatedly declared my earnest wish to see the Roman 
 Catholic question settled. I believe nothing could ever have been 
 more distinct or explicit than my expression of that wish ; and is it 
 a matter of surprise that the person entertaining it should avail him- 
 self of the first opportunity of proposing the adoption of that which, 
 over and over again, he declared himself anxiously to wish ? On this 
 particular question, I had long ago made up my mind, as a member 
 of this house, to take a particular course. It may be thought 
 peculiar as a matter of taste ; but, for many years, I have acted upon 
 the determination never to vote for the affirmation of this question 
 until the Government, acting as a Government, should propose it to 
 the legislature. My noble relation (Lord Longford) knows, that 
 ever since the year 1810, the several successive governments of this 
 country have been formed upon a principle which prevented their 
 ever proposing, as a Government, the adoption of any measure of 
 relief in regard to the Catholics, In order to the formation of a 
 cabinet which, acting as a Government, could propose this measure, 
 it was, in the first place, necessary to obtain the consent of that 
 
 I "Illustrated London News." 
 VOL, 11. 2 M
 
 146 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1829 
 
 individual, the most interested by his station, his duty, and the most 
 sacred of all obligations, of any individual in the dmpire. It was 
 necessary, I say, that I should obtain the consent of that individual, 
 before the members of the Government could consider the question 
 as a Gover-nment one. Now, under such circumstances as these, 
 would it have been proper in me to have breathed a syllable on the 
 subject until I had obtained the consent of the illustrious personage 
 to whom I Iiave alluded?' I call upon my noble relative to answer 
 this question, if he can, in the negative. I beg of my noble relative 
 to ask himself this question, whether I was wrong in having kept 
 secret my views, since the month of July or August, not talking to 
 any man upon the subject, until I had the consent of that exalted 
 personage, to form a goverment upon the principle of taking the 
 question to which I have alluded into consideration? My noble 
 relative ought to place himself in my situation — he ought to see 
 what was expected of me ; and then, instead of blaming me for acting 
 as I have done, he would see that if I had acted otherwise, I should 
 have been highly blameable. 
 
 " When the question had been decided — when I received the per- 
 mission, so as to be enabled to make the declaration — on not having 
 made which, alone the accusation of surprise can be founded — the 
 opening of the session was so near that it was impossible to make known 
 what had occurred earlier, or in any other manner than by the speech 
 from the tlirone." 
 
 And upon the 4th of April, 1829, the Duke, in allusion to the 
 imputed danger of the Protestant Church in conceding the Catholic 
 claims, said : 
 
 " It has been repeatedly assumed by many of your lordships, in the 
 course of the discussion, but particularly by the right reverend pre- 
 lates who have spoken, that the Church of Ireland (or, as I have 
 recently been reminded, the Church of England in Ireland) is in 
 danger. I call on those who apprehend that danger to state clearly 
 whetlier that danger, on this particular occasion, is more to be 
 expected as resulting from legislation or from violence. If they say 
 it is resulting from legislation, I answer that their apprehensions are 
 puerile. It is impossible to suppose that a small number of persons 
 admitted into this house, and a small number admitted into the other 
 house, while we have a Protestant Sovereign upon the throne, should 
 be productive of legislative danger to the Church of England in 
 Ireland. I beg to observe, with respect to the point relating to the 
 union of the two countries, that a fundamental article of the Union 
 
 1 Lord Longford bad accused him of concealmcDt.
 
 1829.] 
 
 PERSONAL HOSTILITIES. 
 
 147 
 
 is the junction of the two churches, called the United Churches of 
 England and Ireland. It is impossible, therefore, that any mischief 
 can occur to the Church of Ireland without a breach in the union of 
 the two countries. There is another point to which I beg leave to 
 advert for a moment. Although it is true that we do adi^it into 
 Parliament members of the Roman Catholic persuasion, yet, at the 
 same time, by another measure brought forward with it, and on which 
 we equally rely, we propose regulations which will have the effect 
 of destroying the influence of the Catholic priesthood in the election 
 of members of Parliament. We have carefully examined the measure, 
 and do expect that it will give additional security to all the interests 
 of the State." 
 
 Few public measures, perhaps, have been more productive of per- 
 sonal hostilities than was the bill for the removal of the Catholic 
 
 LORD WINCHELSEA. 
 
 til abilities. The Duke met every opposition in the most uncompro- 
 mising form. He dismissed the Attorney-General, Sir Charles 
 Wetherall. He told Marshal Beresford, who wished to be excused 
 voting on the question, that he was at perfect liberty to maintain his
 
 148 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1859 
 
 own opinion, but that, as Master-General of the Ordnance, he must 
 support his Majesty's Government. Lord Winchelsea having said 
 that the Duke, '• under the cloak of some coloured show of zeal for the 
 Protestant religion, carried on insidious designs for the infringement 
 of our liberties and the introduction of Popery into every department 
 of the State," the Duke called him out. His Grace was attended by 
 Sir Henry Hardinge, and Lord Winchelsea by the Earl of Falmouth. 
 The Duke fired and missed his adversary — Lord "Winchelsea fired in 
 the air, and then withdrew his insulting language.' 
 
 The bill was read a third time on the 10th of April, and received 
 the royal assent on the 13th of the same month. It was a strong 
 proof of the immense personal influence of the Duke in the House of 
 Peers, that, in the summer of 1828, that House had declared by a 
 majority of 45 that emancipation was too manifestly a breach of the 
 Constitution to be even discussed; and in the spring of 1829 it de- 
 clared by a majority of 105 that the Bill was altogether consistent 
 with the Constitution, and if it did no good, would at least do no harm 
 to the Protestant Church I 
 
 The Earl of Liverpool, after a lingering illness, died on the 4tb of 
 December, 1828. On the 1st of January, the King conferred the 
 office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports upon the Duke of 
 Wellington. 
 
 The nature and duties of this office are very little known. When the 
 newspapers occasionally spoke of the Duke having gone to Walmer 
 on business connected with his office, the natural impression was that 
 he was merely obliged to go through some form or other that was neces- 
 eary to his enjoyment of a sinecure. This was not the case, the duties 
 attaching to the office being very onerous and varied in their nature. 
 
 1 In an imaginary conversation, in the "United Service Magazine" of tlie time, the following 
 anecdote ia related : — 
 
 " Hector. Apropos of pistols — what do you think? Our warlike Premier and bis Secrctary-at- 
 War could not muster a case of pistols between thera. Sir II. was at length accommodated with 
 a pair by a high militar)- official, himself the last man in England to use thera wantonly. 
 
 ^ Miles. More ominous of peace than pugnacity, another proof that our "occupation's 
 gone." 
 
 " Hector. I understand an amusing episode occurred, to vary the tragical tendency of the 
 rencontre. Dr. Hume was privately engaged by Sir Henry Hardinge to attend him to the field. 
 The Doctor felt uneasy, and, with a very laudable feeling, secretly informed the Duke of Welling- 
 ton that Sir Henry was going to fight a duel. Ilia Grace kept liis countenance and hia counsel, 
 and Dr. II. was much edifled on seeing the Duke himself take his ground, as Premier in both 
 senses ! 
 
 ** Bruce. Ha, ha! Excellent! 
 
 " Miles. Happily, the affair has terminated without serious consoquences ; but the Duke amids'. 
 hia schomea of financial economy, must not overlook in hia own person, and as a public duty, th« 
 economy of life ; enough that the nation needs no further proof of his double qualification, tjm 
 Marti juam Mercurio.^ "
 
 1829] LORD WARDEN OF THE CINQUE PORTS. 149 
 
 As originally constituted, the Lord Wardensbip of the Cinque 
 Ports was a kind of inijjerium in imperio. Originally established by 
 the Conqueror for the consolidation of his power on the coast, the 
 privileges and powers of the office have become modified, to suit the 
 altered state of society and of government. The jurisdiction of this 
 officer extends over a wide range of coast ; from beyond Margate, in 
 Kent, to Seaford, in Sussex, and the portion embraced by it is that 
 at which a foreign enemy might be expected to attempt a landing. 
 Anciently the Lord Warden combined various offices, of which the 
 remains are to be traced in the duties of the modern functionary. 
 He was, for the district he commanded, similar to a sheriff of a 
 county, a lord-lieutenant of a county, a Custos Rotulorum, and an 
 admiral, but with an authority greater than that wielded by any 
 admiral of the fleet of the present day, because more irresponsible 
 and self-dependent. The modern Lord Warden retains many of the 
 powers and privileges of his predecessors, but shorn of their formidable 
 character. The Lord Warden, as Constable of Dover Castle, is the 
 person to whom writs are directed from the superior courts touching 
 persons living within his jurisdiction. He is, thus, a kind of sheriff. 
 On receiving these writs, he makes out his warrant, which is executed 
 by an officer called a " bodar," who, by the way, is (or till recently 
 was) also the person to execute writs out of the local or district 
 court of Hastings. The Lord Warden's under-sheriff is the clerk of 
 Dover Castle, where there is a prison for debtors, in the custody of 
 the constable. In former days there were held sundry courts of 
 adjudication, at which the Lord Warden pi'esided, the rest of the 
 court being composed of the mayors of the towns included in the 
 jurisdiction of the Cinque Ports, the bailiffs, and sundry inhabitants 
 summoned as "jurats." In modern days the number of these courts 
 is reduced, but there still remains the " Court of Brotherhood" and 
 the " Court of Guestling," which, however, are only rarely held. 
 The same functionaries constitute the court in each case ; so that 
 the administration of justice becomes as close and compact an affair 
 as the Ecclesiastical Courts themselves. The object of assembling 
 these courts was to fulfil a part of the duties imposed by the original 
 charter, that of furnishing ships to the crown. This, of course, has 
 long since become obsolete ; but the Courts of " Brotherhood" and 
 of " Guestling" are held prior to each coronation, for the purpose of 
 making arrangements as to the "Barons" of the Cinque ports, in 
 respect of their right to hold the canopy over the King's head on 
 occasion of that ceremony. It fell twice to the lot of the Duke of 
 Wellington to preside at these courts called for coronation purposes
 
 150 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTOX. 
 
 [1829 
 
 first on occasion of the coronation of William IV., and the second 
 time on that of our most gracious Sovereign. 
 
 Of course the functions and jurisdiction of the Lord Warden, and 
 the special privileges of the Cinque Ports have been much abridged, 
 more especially by the Municipal Corporation Reform Act ; the 
 object being to assimilate those privileges with the general municipal 
 constitution of the empire. But no attempt was made to interfere 
 with what remained of the jurisdiction of the Lord Warden as Admi- 
 ral of the Coast. This jurisdiction embraces many subjects usually 
 confided to the municipality ; but, on the other hand, the mayors of 
 some of the towns are ex officio members of the courts held for the 
 purpose of performing these functions. The principal is the " Court 
 of Lode Manage," at which pilots are licensed, and all complaints 
 heard of misconduct or inefiiciency ; and other duties are performed 
 connected with the local government of those ports in all that relates 
 to their ancient character or their maritime afi"airs. 
 
 Attached to the office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is 
 Wulnier Castle, an ancient building which holds a middle place be- 
 tween the ancient and modern fortifications. It is coeval with Deal 
 Castle of the time of Henry VIII. : with Sandown Castle they form 
 a defence for the Kentish coast between Sandwich and Dover. 
 
 W.M.MKll CA^ri.K MUUT-WAIUU.
 
 1830.1 
 
 THE CORN-LAW QUESTION. 
 
 151 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Duke and the Press— Parliamentary Session of 1830— The National Distress— The Duke on 
 the Ck)rn Laws, Currency, &c.— Death of George IV.— Succession of William IV. — Revolu- 
 tion in France, Belgium, and Poland — The Regency Question in England — The Civil List — 
 Resignation of Ministers, 
 
 UPPORTED by the Commons, and 
 governing the Lords Spiritual and 
 the Lords Temporal, the Duke had 
 three estates of the realm at 
 his command. If the old Tories 
 had forsaken the " traitor," the 
 Whigs had given him their adhe- 
 sion, and he thus stood in a position 
 scarcely less commanding than that 
 enjoyed by William Pitt in his 
 palmiest days. But there was 
 another " estate " which the Duke 
 of Wellington had not yet bent 
 to his will. The " fourth "—the 
 mighty press — disallowed his strength. The ardent friends of liberty 
 extenuated his apparent apostasy from his own party, because it had 
 served the cause of religious toleration, and because they hoped that 
 he would extend the principle of tergiversation and become a convert 
 to all the views of Whigs and Radicals ; ' but the advocates of the 
 interests of the Protestant Church — or rather the representatives of 
 the High Church Party — w5re beyond measure indignant at his 
 
 1 Radical, a term first applied to Himf, and other Reformers, who sought to uproot the system 
 of Parliamentary Representation. Of late years, the word has been erroneously applied to 
 the members of the Free-trade party, the financial economists, and others, who oppose them- 
 selves to those enactments of the Legislature which promote taxation and curtail popular freedom. 
 The term is now aa ill used as those of Whig and Tory.
 
 162 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTOX. [1830 
 
 desertion of their cause. The Morning Journal^ a paper of uncora- 
 promising hostility to the Catholics, expressed the anger of the Tories 
 in the most violent language. It charged' the Duke with •■ despicable 
 cant and affected moderation" —with a want of mercy, compassion, 
 and of those more kindly and tender sympathies which distinguish 
 the heart of a man from that of a proud dictator and tyrant. It 
 imputed to him gross treachery, or arrant cowardice and artifice 
 united. 
 
 The Duke had never held the newspaper press in much respect 
 The information which it conveyed to the public during the Peninsu- 
 lar War, although of the deepest interest to the British community, 
 was offensive to him, because the same information reached the enemy 
 whom it was of importance to keep in ignorance of the operations of 
 the English camp and the disposition of the troops. Moreover, the 
 press libelled him without mercy, giving publication to the grossest 
 falsehoods, and assigning the worst motives to those acts which proved 
 to be the result of the most consummate judgment, the most profound 
 forethought, and the purest patriotism. But he took no steps to pro- 
 cure the punishment of the libellers. He despised, or affected to de- 
 spise them — he found a safety-valve for his wrath in calling them 
 " rascally," " licentious," and so forth ; and upon one occasion he wrote 
 to Sir Henry Wellesley, " What can be done with such libels and such 
 people, excepting to despise them, and continuing one's road without 
 noticing them ?" It had been well for his renown if he had continued 
 this lofty policy, leaving to time the assertion of truth and the con- 
 fusion of his maligners. 
 
 AVhether yielding to the advice of his colleagues in the Cabinet and 
 the law officers of the Crown, or acting from his own spontaneous will, 
 the Duke caused Mr. Alexander, the editor of the Morning Journal, 
 to be prosecuted for his libels, and the result was the punishment of 
 that gentleman with fines and imprisonment. 
 
 These prosecutions created a strong feeling of disgust and dislike 
 throughout the country. They aggravated the hostility of the Torie? 
 and did not please the Liberals ; Sir James Scarlett, the Attorney- 
 General, was a Whig, and lost ground with his friends and the public 
 for acting "under a Tory ministry governing on Whig principles." 
 Much discussion arose in Parliament respecting the prosecutions, 
 and Sir Charles Wethcrall, who had refused to defend Mr. Alexande:- 
 on the score of the excited state of his own feelings against the Gov- 
 ernment, moved for copies of the proceedings on the ex officio in- 
 formations against Mr. Alexander, as a peg whereon to hang severe 
 animadversions on the tyrannical conduct of the Duke. Sir Charles
 
 18-30.] NATIONAL DISTRESS. 153 
 
 denounced him as an imperious and ambitious minister, and declared 
 that nothing so odious and impressive had been heard of since the 
 days of the Stir Chamber. But these parliamentary discussions did 
 not disturb the imperturbability of the noble Duke. He allowed 
 them to pass as " the idle wind " which he '' respected not." 
 
 A busy and a fertile session was that of 1830. The distresses 
 of the country ; the Corn-laws ; the expense of public (and especially 
 military) establishments ; the shipping interest ; the state of the 
 law as regarded capital punishment in cases of forgery, and the punish- 
 ment of libel ; the civil disabilities of the Jews, and parliamentary 
 reform — were the subjects of numerous motions, bills, and debates. To 
 several of these the Duke of "Wellington was compelled by his position 
 to speak — the rather that he was continually, by implication, placed 
 upon his defence. Upon the subject of the manufacturing distress he 
 spoke at great length. To the arguments in favour of an extended cui*- 
 rency, he replied that the sole object of that expedient was to cause 
 an unlimited creation of paper currency' by individuals — and thus to 
 give them the means of lending capital to speculators and bringing the 
 country to the verge of ruin. He was of opinion that the (so called) 
 equitable adjustments would soon annul the advantage obtained from 
 an adherence to the principles of justice and good faith. He ascribed 
 to the competition of machinery and the universal application of steam 
 the decrease in the demand for labour, and finall}' he showed that the 
 reports of national distress had been exaggerated. This last obser- 
 vation entailed upon the Duke some severe strictures, which, at a later 
 period (February 25, 1830), he thus met: — 
 
 " Among other topics of accusation, I have been arraigned for my 
 assertion on the first day of the session, that the distress of the 
 country was not of that magnitude which some persons have affirmed. 
 The noble lord (Stanhope) is quite at liberty to indulge in such in- 
 vectives if it pleases him to do so, but if he supposes I do not feel for 
 the distresses of the people, he is utterly mistaken, as I can sincerely 
 aver that I have as strong sympathies on the subject as any noble 
 member of this house. But I am resolved to tell plainly and honestly 
 ■what I think, quite regardless of the odium I may incur from those 
 iwhose prejudices my candour and sincerity may offend. I am here 
 to spea,k the truth, and not to flatter the prejudices and prepossessions 
 
 1 The Duke of Wellington, like many other men, believed that his forte lay in the manage- 
 ment of public finances. He considered that he hud attained a sufficient mastery of the subject 
 to qualify him peculiarly for the office of Chancellor of the E.\chequer. In May, 1829, he made 
 a speech (for which see Appendix) on the subject of a metallic currency, which showed, at least, 
 that he had carefully studied the subject.
 
 154 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1830 
 
 of any man. In speaking the truth, I shall utter it in the language 
 that truth itself most naturally suggests. 
 
 " I request your lordships to look at the state of the savings banks. 
 A measure was some time back adopted to prevent the investment of 
 money in those banks beyond a certain amount for each person, in 
 order that the parties not entitled to it should not derive the advan- 
 tage which is intended for the poorer classes. Large suras were 
 drawn out of those banks soon after ; but they have since revived in 
 some degree. Whence has the money come ? From the lower 
 classes. This cannot be considered as a proof of general distress. 
 Your lordships ought likewise not to omit from your consideration 
 the increased traffic carried on on the railroads and canals in the 
 country. The noble Earl (Roseberry) has told your lordships that I 
 have availed myself of the increased traffic upon the roads and canals 
 by merchants and manufacturers — in despair seeking a market — in 
 order to represent the country in a state of prosperity ; whereas it is 
 an additional symptom of distress. My Lords, I said that this traffic 
 has been increasing for years ; and that it had, in some cases, 
 doubled in ten years. In one of the recent discussions in the House, 
 upon the currency, the noble marquis opposite (the Marquis of 
 Lansdowne) very truly remarked, that' a large quantity of currency 
 might be found in a country in which there should be little riches 
 and prosperity ; and that the facility and rapidity of the circulation of 
 the currency were signs of the prosperity of a country rather than 
 the quantity of that currency. I entirely concur in the truth and 
 justice of this observation. But I would beg to ask the noble 
 marquis whether it is possible that transactions can increase and 
 multiply as they have done in this country, in the last few years, 
 without giving fresh scope for the circulation of the currency of the 
 country, fresh employment for labour, and occasioning, in some degree, 
 the augmentation of general prosperity ? " 
 
 In the same speech, the Duke said of the Corn Laws that they 
 '• worked well, " and '•' he was convinced that they could not be repealed 
 without injury to the country " — a statement td be forgotten by 
 those who venerate consistency and admire the Duke of Wellington ; 
 because, like others, upon other subjects, the assertion only tended 
 to show that his political opinions were inconsiderately adopted, to 
 be easily abandoned if circumstances favoured a change in the law. 
 
 The endeavours of the advocates of cheap government and light 
 taxation to reduce the public expenditure were repelled by the Duke, 
 on the ground of the reduction of our military establishments having
 
 1830.] 
 
 DEATH OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 
 
 155 
 
 been carried to the utmost lengths consistent with the national safety. 
 The attempt to legislate for the poor, he met by a reference to the 
 state of the country. His Grace contended that it was an important 
 difficult, and complicated subject, and could not be entered upon 
 hastily, nor until the country was restored to a state of complete 
 prosperity. 
 
 On the 26th of June, 1830, George IV. breathed his last, after 
 suflfering much anguish for two months, which appeared to have 
 arisen from ossification of the heart. He was somewhat lamented as 
 a Sovereign, though little respected as a man. His adherence to his 
 father's patriotic resistance to Napoleon, and the grandeur of hia 
 
 GEOliGK TliK KOLUTU. 
 
 ideas in respect to matters of national display, had given him a 
 certain amount of popularity, which was not entirely neutralised by 
 his notorious disregard of the moralities of life, his severe habits of 
 exclusion from the sight of his people, his conduct towards his wife 
 and his assent to the emancipation of the Catholics. Even on these 
 last points he had defenders. The circumstance of his marriage to a
 
 156 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTOK [1880. 
 
 woman he disliked from the moment he looked upon her, naturally 
 tainted his whole existence, and palliated the treatment to which he 
 had subjected her. The retired life he had led arose from constitu- 
 tional indolence, and a reluctance to exhibit his person, which, from 
 early habits of dissipation, had long ceased to typify the " mould of 
 form." His concession to the Catholics was excused by some 
 persons as the result of ministerial coercion, and accepted by others 
 as the fruit of an honest conviction. Upon the whole, however, the 
 public was not thrown into a violent state of grief upon the occur- 
 rence of an event for which frequent bulletins and the cessation of 
 public business by the King had, in a measure prepared them. 
 
 It was said at the time, and has not since been contradicted, that 
 George IV. never forgave the Duke of Wellington for compelling 
 his assent to the Catholic Relief Bill, and that latterly a great deal of 
 coolness had marked the royal reception of the warrior statesman. 
 Nevertheless the Duke could not fail to be personally concerned at 
 the death of the King. His Majesty's bounty, in the conferment of 
 honours, had been " boundless as the sea." He had, as Prince 
 Regent, manifested a lively interest in the success of the Duke's 
 military operations, sustaining him at home against a world of 
 enmity aud obloquy, even to the extent of forfeiting the support of 
 the party (the Whigs) to which the Prince had been attached from 
 his first entrance into public life, and from which he had derived great 
 assistance and sympathy in his quarrels with his father, the investi- 
 gation of his debts, tfcc. And after the wars, the Prince — and then 
 the King — had covered the Duke with the highest marks of gratitude 
 and admiration. The recollection of these favours made its impress- 
 ion upon his Grace, and accordingly, when addressing the House of 
 Lords a few days subsequently, the Duke passed a proper eulogium 
 upon the deceased monarch, carefully eschewing all those points upon 
 which any difference of opinion could arise. He praised the high 
 attainments and polished manners of George IV., his knowledge 
 and talent, his patronage of the arts, and his firm conduct during the 
 war with France. 
 
 George IV. dying without surviving issue, he was succeeded by his 
 brother William, Duke of Clarence. Parliament was therefore 
 dissolved as a matter of course, and a new Parlaiment summoned to 
 meet in the beginning of November. 
 
 In the month of July of this year a new Revolution broke out in 
 France. The government of Louis XVIII., restored in 1815, had 
 been distinguished by all the vices and follies of priestly Bourbonisra. 
 Upon the death of the King, the Comte d'Artois ascended the throne
 
 1830.] THE DUKE'S MINISTRY RESIGNS. 157 
 
 as Charles X., and continued to reign, influenced by the Jesuits, and 
 the exclusive policy of Monsieur de Polignac. From one piece of 
 tyranny to another the Bourbons blundered on, until, making an 
 effort to trample upon the press, the spirit of the Parisians was 
 aroused. A violent insurrection immediately broke out — the Bour- 
 bons Avere hurled from the throne — and Louis Philippe, the Due 
 d'Orleans, was raised to the monarchy by the title of the King of the 
 French. This revolt was not confined in its influence to France. 
 Belgium, by a similar effort, at once renounced the authority of 
 Holland ; some of the German States endeavoured to achieve an in- 
 dependence, and Poland once more sought to cast off the yoke of 
 Russia. 
 
 The struggle of Continental Europe to emancipate itself from arbi- 
 trary government attracted attention in England, and awakened the 
 large towns to a sense of their unrepresented condition. " Parliament- 
 ary Reform" now became the cry of the people as the only panacea 
 for all the evils which afilicted the State, and as the country was the 
 scene of a general election, every advantage was taken of the popular 
 excitement to procure the return of Liberal members. A breach had 
 taken place between the Government and the Whigs immediately 
 before the dissolution of Parliament, upon the subject of the establish- 
 ment of a Regency in case of the demise of the Crown while the 
 Princess Victoria, the presumptive heiress, continued a minor. De- 
 prived, therefore, of the Whig support which the Wellington ministry 
 had played off against the Tories, and hopelessly severed from the 
 latter by the Act of Emancipation, the Government had the satis- 
 faction to see their steady adherents ousted from very many of the 
 seats they had occupied, by virtue of the influence of opinion and 
 public approbation. Nevertheless, when the King met the new 
 Parliament on the 2nd of November, a bold face was put upon mat- 
 ters by the Duke of Wellington. It was announced that the riots 
 which disturbed the country should be put down by the authority of 
 the law, and all measures of Parliamentary Reform resisted to the 
 utmost. 
 
 On the 9th of November, the King and Queen were to have been 
 present at a banquet in the City, upon the occasion of the inauguration 
 of the new Lord Mayor. Information, however, having reached the 
 Ministry that large bodies of people intended to assemble with the 
 intention, it was believed, of offering an outrage to the person of 
 the Sovereign and the Duke of Wellington, the latter advised the 
 King io decline accepting the Lord Mayor's invitation. Acting 
 upon this counsel, the King did not go, and great dissatisfaction and
 
 168 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1830. 
 
 disappointment were the consequence. Nothing more was needed to 
 complete the unpopularity of the Duke. He had now lost another 
 ingredient in ministerial strength — the sympathy of " the City" — 
 and exposed himself to the intense ridicule of the press. Of this the 
 Whigs took the fullest possible advantage. When the question of the 
 settlement of the Civil List for the new reign came before the House 
 of Commons, Sir Henry Parnell moved that the subject be referred 
 to a Select Committee. The motion was opposed by Ministers, who 
 were left in a minority of 29, several of the old Tory party voting 
 against them. On the same day — 15th November — a proposition 
 for Parliamentary Keform, emanating from Mr. Brougham, was to be 
 brought to a division, and, as Ministers expected a defeat, they at 
 once resigned their offices, and Earl Grey was sent for by the King 
 to form a Ministry. 
 
 Under this Administration the Duke of Wellington held no office 
 The command of the army was given to Lord Hill.
 
 1831.] 
 
 THE EEFORM QUESTION. 
 
 159 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Reform question— The Ministerial Bill defeated In Committee— Parliament dissolve*— Re-as- 
 sembles — New Bill introduced — Passes in the Commons — Is resisted by the Duke in the 
 House of Lords — The Duke's speeches. 
 
 ARL GREY was one of the earliest 
 and stoutest champions of Reform in 
 the Representation. In his youth he 
 had been celebrated as a declaimer in 
 the House of Commons against close 
 boroughs and a limited franchise ; — 
 advanced in life, he clung tenaciously 
 to his early principles. He accepted 
 the office of Prime Minister upon the 
 understanding that " Reform " should 
 be made a Cabinet question, and the 
 King assented to the arrangement. 
 The times were favourable to success. 
 and the only difficulty of Ministers — 
 and a great difficulty it was — lay in determining the extent of the 
 franchise, and settling the places which should possess, or cease to 
 enjoy, the advantage of representation. The country was in a state 
 of ferment. Meetings were everywhere held, and encouraged by the 
 example of the nations of the continent, they sought by their resolu- 
 tions to extend and strengthen the democratic features of the consti- 
 tution. It was more difficult to restrain public impatience than to 
 find an assent to the general principles of Reform. Petitions poured 
 in from every part of the United Kingdom, and political associations 
 were formed under the name of " Unions " for the purpose of acting 
 on the public mind, and pressing on the ministry. 
 
 On the 1st of March, 1831, Lord John Russell brought forward 
 the ministerial plan of Parliamentary Reform. His lordship was not 
 in the Cabinet, but the duty was intrusted to him because of the 
 
 2n
 
 160 LIPE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1831. 
 
 influence of his name and character, and because he had on many 
 occasions, made motions for partial changes in the existing state of 
 the representation. The proposition was warmly supported by the 
 Liberal party, though many did not consider that it went far enough. 
 It passed a first reading without a division. Upon tlie second 
 reading Ministers had a majority of one. The next step was to carry 
 the Bill into Committee. Here it was met by an amendment from 
 General Gascoyne, which placed Ministers in a minority ; and upon 
 a later day they were defeated in an attempt to carry the Ordnance 
 estimates. Under these circumstances, Lord Grey advised the King 
 to dissolve Parliament, and to take the sense of the country upon the 
 expediency of working out changes in the representation. The King 
 yielded — Parliament dissolved — and the new Parliament assembled on 
 the 14th of June. 
 
 The dissolution of Parliament was celebrated in London and most 
 of the great towns with illuminations, and the populace demonstrated 
 their love of freedom of opinion by breaking the windows of all those 
 peers and commoners who had expressed sentiments unfavourable to 
 the Reform Bill. Apsley House was peculiarly favoured with the 
 wrath of the London mob. Almost every pane bore evidence of 
 the tyranny of the multitude. The Duke bore the infliction calmly, 
 and in immediately causing his windows to be protected by iron 
 blinds, he at once provided his mansion with a defence against future 
 attacks, and presented the public with a permanent monument of his 
 opinion of the instability of popular favour. 
 
 Soon after the re-assembling of Parliament, a new bill for the 
 reform of the representation was brought in. It passed, after much 
 animated discussion, by a majority of 136 on the second reading, and 
 of 109 in committee. Read a first time in the House of Lords, the 
 opposition of that body was reserved for the second reading, when 
 the bill was thrown out by a majority of forty-one. This led to 
 tremendous tumults all over the country — at Bristol, Derby, Not- 
 tingham, and elsewhere. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington gave to Parliamentary Reform strenuous 
 opposition. In respect to this measure, his Grace observed a rigid 
 consistency. He made several speeches on the subject at difi'erent 
 times. He had resisted reform as a Minister — he resisted it because 
 it was calculated to damage the constitution of Parliament. There 
 was no country in the universe in which so much happiness, so much 
 prosperity, and so much comfort were diff"used among all the various 
 classes of society ; none in which so many and such large properties, 
 both public and private, were to be found as in England. " Such
 
 1831.] REFORM IN THE REPRESENTATION. 161 
 
 was the condition of this country under that system which was now 
 so greatly condemned. We enjoyed under that system the largest 
 commerce and the most flourishing colonies in the world. There was 
 not a position in Europe in any degree important for military pur- 
 poses, or advantageous for trade, which was not under our control, or 
 within our reach. All those great and numerous advantages we 
 possessed under the existing system ; but it would be impossible that 
 we should any longer retain them if we once established a wild democ- 
 racy, a complete democratic assemblage under the name of a House 
 of Commons." Upon another occasion his Grace came out even more 
 emphatically. 
 
 " It is far from my wish to impute to the noble Earl (Grey) or his 
 colleagues any desire to introduce revolutionary measures into Par- 
 liament; but I must say this, that having looked at the measure 
 which has been brought into the other House of Parliament, under 
 their auspices, I cannot but consider that it alters every interest ex- 
 isting in the country — that in consequence of its operation, no interest 
 will remain on the footing on which it now stands, and that this 
 alteration must lead to a total alteration of men — of men entrusted 
 with the confidence of Parliament ; I am of opinion that this altera- 
 tion must have a serious effect on the public interests — an effect 
 which, I confess, I cannot look at without the most serious apprehen- 
 sion. I do not charge the most noble Earl and his colleagues with a 
 desire to overturn the institutions of the country ; but I cannot look 
 at the alterations proposed by the bill, without seeing that those 
 alterations must be followed by a total change of men, and likewise 
 by a total change of the whole system of government. Why, I ask, 
 for what reason, is all this to be done ? I will not now enter into the 
 question of what is the opinion of the other House of Parliament ; 
 but I will say again, as I have said before in the presence of your 
 lordships, that I see no reason whatever for your altering the consti- 
 tution of Parliament. 
 
 " It is my opinion that Parliament has well served the country, and 
 that it deserves well of the country for a variety of measures which it 
 has produced, particularly of late years. I see no reason for the 
 measure now proposed, except to gratify certain individuals in the 
 country. It is possible that a large number, nay even a majority of 
 individuals, in this country may be desirous of this change ; but I see 
 no reason, excepting that, for this measure being introduced or adopted. 
 
 " While I thus declare my sentiments, I beg your lordships to 
 believe that I feel no interest in this question, excepting that which I 
 have in common with every individual in the country. I possess no 
 
 vol. u. 11
 
 162 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1831. 
 
 influence or interest of the description which will be betrayed by the 
 measure now proposed. I am an individual who has served his 
 Majesty for now, I am sorry to say, half a century ; I have been in 
 bis Majesty's service for forty-five years — for thirty eventful years 
 of that period I have served his Majesty in situations of trust and 
 confidence, in the command of his armies, in embassies, and in his 
 councils ; and the experience which I have acquired in the situations 
 in which I have served his Majesty, enables me and imposes upon me 
 the duty, to say, that I cannot look at this measure without the most 
 serious apprehensions, that, from the period of its adoption, ^ve shall 
 date tlm downfall of our constitution P 
 
 Parliament was prorogued by the King in person on the 20th of 
 October, and in the course of his speech his Majesty sufficiently ad- 
 mitted his views regarding reform by stating that the consideration 
 of Parliament would be called to the question on the opening of the 
 session, and that it was his Majesty's unaltered desire to promote its 
 settlement by such improvements in the representation as might be 
 found necessary for securing to his people the full enjoyment of their 
 rights, which, in combination with those of the other orders of the 
 state, were essential to the support of our free constitution. 
 
 On the 6th of December the Houses again met for the despatch of 
 business, and the King again urged the speedy settlement of the 
 Keform question. The Ministerial bill, somewhat altered from the 
 former, was immediately introduced to the House of Commons, and 
 the second reading being carried without difficulty, the Parliament 
 adjourned for the Christmas holidays. It re-assembled on the 17th of 
 January, and from that time until the 23rd of March the discussions 
 in committee were carried on. At the latter date the bill passed by 
 a majority of 116. But the battle had still to bfe fought in the 
 House of Peers, and here it again encountered a firm opposition, not- 
 withstanding that intimidation was employed out of doors by the 
 press, and in the Lower House ; the lords being threatened with an 
 indefinite increase to their number. It was even said that Lord Grey 
 had received the King's authority for an augmentation of the number 
 of peers. Without resorting to this extremity, however, even if Lord 
 Grey had really possessed the power imputed to him, the second 
 reading was carried in the Upper House by a majority of nine. 
 Early in the month of May the House went into committee upon the 
 bill, and upon a motion that the disfranchising clauses should be 
 postponed to the enfranchising clauses, Ministers were left in a mi- 
 nority of thirty five. 
 
 Immediately upon the division being announced, Earl Grey
 
 1832.] LORD GREY RESIGNS. 163 
 
 hastened to the King, and offered his Majesty the alternative of 
 creating a batch of peers large enough to give Ministers a prepon- 
 derating influence in the House, or to accept their resignation. The 
 King decided upon the latter. Lord Grey then resigned, and the 
 King sent for Lord Lyndhurst, to advise upon the best course to be 
 adopted ; and Lord Lyndhurst recommended his Majesty to send for 
 the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 Since the days of Lord George Gordon — or the periods when an 
 invasion was apprehended — London had not been the scene of so 
 much excitement as distinguished it upon the news of the retirement 
 of the Whigs, and the recall of the Duke. The question in every 
 man's mouth was — " Can any government stand that does not give 
 to the people a full and complete reform in the representation 1 " It 
 needed '• no ghost come from his grave" to answer that ; the very 
 streets teemed with indications of the public mind, and symbols of 
 the people's resolution. " Coming events cast their shadows before." 
 and spared all doubts as to what would be the final issue of the 
 Duke's exertions, ffere might be seen a fellow selling gross cari- 
 catures of the King ; there stood a vendor of ballads in which the 
 weakness of " Billy Barlow" and the schemes of the " German Frau" 
 (by which the Queen was indicated) were sung to filthy tunes. Here 
 you were invited to a meeting at the Crown and Anchor, under the 
 auspices of Sir Francis Burdett, Hume, and O'Connell ; there yoii 
 were solicited to sign an address to the Sovereign, imploring him to 
 recall Lords Grey and Brougham. This wall blazed with placards 
 calling on his Majesty to restore his Ministers, or summon the Duke 
 of Sussex ; — that caricatured the Duke 6i Wellington, or reminded 
 the country of his declaration against all reform. Numbers of houses 
 exhibited handbills, in which the owners or occupants vowed they 
 would pay no taxes until the Reform Bill had become the law of the 
 land. Some displayed banners with revolutionary devices ; others 
 announced the sale of the " whole stock of trade as the day approached 
 when all security of property under a military government would be 
 at an end." The newspaper offices were crowded long before the 
 hour of publication, and the items of intelligence which they occa- 
 sionally exhibited on large placards were received by the attendant 
 concourse with shouts or yells, according as they announced pleas- 
 urable or disagreeable rumours. The omnibuses which bore the 
 names of " William the Fourth" or '• Queen Adelaide" were at once . 
 daubed over with black paint, or disfigured with paper patches. The 
 " King's Head " public-houses reversed their signs, or substituted a 
 periwigged gentleman, whom they called '■ the Chancellor." The
 
 164 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [18S^ 
 
 wax-work establishment in Fleet-street presented a figure of the Duke 
 at the window, with the kingly crown on his head, and " no reform" 
 labelled on his breast. Beside him stood the effigy of a lord spiritual 
 in the act of preaching those words " unmusical to Volscian ears." 
 You did not meet a man but anxiety sat on his brow and deter- 
 mination glistened in his eye. The commotion extended to the 
 theatres. Dowton, at the " Queen's," was called on by the pit to alter 
 the name of the house. At Covent Garden, Young played " Hamlet," 
 and when he told the players to " reform it altogether," the house 
 literally shook with the thunders of the audience. At the Coburg 
 they acted " Tom Thumb," and drew broad comparisons between the 
 uxorious Arthur, the tyrannical DollaloUa, and the mighty Thumb, 
 and certain existing but unpopular personages of rank. These were 
 the hourly indications of the popular disposition ; these were the 
 rumblings of the volcano, which needed but tho signal to vomit its 
 destroying lava, and scatter dismay around. As, however, all great 
 public movements must be directed by a head the excited body had 
 decided on no particular plan of action until the House of Commons, 
 by an affirmative vote, on a motion of Lord Ebrington's, gave 
 evidence of its intention to stop the supplies. Then men walked 
 with a firmer step, and less fevered brow. Lord Milton set the ex- 
 ample of refusing to pay the tax-gatherer. The people, obeying the 
 signal from the unknown placarders, ran to the bank for gold.' The 
 Birmingham Political Union mustered in all their strength, entered 
 protests and resolutions on their records, and prepared for a mighty 
 struggle with the 'avowed enemies of the people.' Many families 
 left town — bishops were hissed during divine service — men wore their 
 hats in church ; but no violence was offered to a single Tory, nor any 
 outrages committed which could serve to separate the cause of the 
 mob from that of the judicious part of the community. Every indi- 
 vidual, in short, seemed to say — " Let us reserve our anger until 
 Royalty and the Tories have consummated their schemes for the 
 destruction of our liberties." At this crisis the Grey Ministry was 
 restored, and the people breathed again. 
 
 The Houses of Parliament adjourned until the 17th of May, at the 
 instance of Earl Grey, to give time for the re-construction of the 
 Cabinet, and the arrangement of future measures. On the resumption 
 of business, the Duke of Wellington and Lord Lyndhurst gave, in 
 the House of Lords, full explanations regarding their attempt to form 
 
 1 Some of tho placards ran thua : — 
 "To STOP TiiK Duke, 
 Go FOR Gold 1"
 
 1832.] EXPLANATIONS OF THE DUKE. 165 
 
 a new Ministry, and which had made thera, during a whole week, the 
 chosen objects of declamatory vituperation. 
 
 " When his Majesty," said his Grace, " found that he could not 
 consistently with his duty to the state, follow the advice of his confi- 
 dential servants, so little communication had he with public men , 
 other than his responsible advisers, that he had recourse to a noble- 
 man whose judicial functions took him almost out of the line &f 
 politics, to inquire whether means existed, and what means, of forming 
 an Administration on the principle of carrying into execution an 
 extensive reform. That nobleman then communicated to me the 
 difficulties in which his Majesty was placed, in order to ascertain 
 how far it was in my power to assist in extricating him from it. 
 With this view, I thought it my duty to institute similar inquiries of 
 others, the rather as I was myself as unprepared as his Majesty, for the 
 advice which his Ministers had tendered, and from the consequences 
 which had ensued from its being rejected. On inquiry I found that 
 there was a large number of most influential persons not indisposed 
 to support a Government formed to aid his Majesty in resisting the 
 advice tendered him by his late Ministers. Under this conviction I 
 attended his Majesty ; and my advice to him was, not that he should 
 appoint me his Minister, but certain members of the other House of 
 Parliament. So far from seeking for office for myself, I merely 
 named those persons whom I thought best qualified for his service ; 
 adding, that, for my own part, whether I was in office or out of office, 
 he and those persons might depend upon my most strenuous support. 
 The object of this advice and tender of assistance was to enable his 
 Majesty to form an Administration upon the principle of resisting the 
 advice which he had just rejected. These are the first steps of 
 the transaction, and I believe they show, that, if ever there was an 
 instance in which the King acted with honesty and fairness 
 towards his servants, and if ever there was an instance in which 
 public men, opposed to those servants, kept aloof from intrigue, 
 and from the adoption of all means except the most honourable, 
 in promoting their own views of the public weal, this was that 
 individual instance ; and I will add with reference to myself, that 
 these transactions show that, so far from being actuated by those 
 motives of personal aggrandisement, with which I have been charged 
 by persons of high station in another place, my object was, that 
 others should occupy a post of honour, and that, for myself, I was 
 willing to serve in any capacity, or without any official capacity, so as 
 to enable the Crown to carry on the Government. And here I beg 
 your lordships to examine a little the nature of the advice which hia
 
 16o LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [18S2. 
 
 Majesty bad rejected, and wliicli I considered it my duty to assist 
 Iiiui by every means in my power to resist effectually. Ministers 
 found, in tbe course of last session, that a large majority of your 
 lordships were opposed to the principles of tbe Reform Bill. What 
 should be the ordinary course of proceeding under such circumstances ? 
 Why, either to abandon the measure altogether, or make such 
 alterations in it as might render it palatable to the majority of its 
 opponents. But was this the course pursued by the noble earl ? So 
 far from it, he emphatically declared that he would not consent to 
 the producing of a measure of less efficiency than that which your 
 lordships had disapproved of; and, in point of fact, the noble earl has 
 brought in a bill stronger, and, I do not hesitate to say, worse than 
 the obnoxious measure which you so emphatically rejected, and which 
 he could and can hope to force through this house only by an arbi- 
 trary and a most unconstitutional creation of peers. If any man will 
 maintain that this is a legal and constitutional line of proceeding, I 
 can only say that my notions of what is legal and what is constitu- 
 tional are, and I trust always will be, very different ; that if the 
 advice were to be adopted, it would place it in the power of a minister 
 to carry any measure he pleased, and by what means he pleased, with 
 impunity ; and that, from that moment, the constitution of this 
 country and this house would be at an end. In such a case, I repeat, 
 the object and power of this house would be at an end, its deliberative 
 character totally destroyed, and, as a consequence, it would not 
 possess the means of arriving at an honest decision upon any public 
 question. And allow me to observe, that, in my opinion, a threat to 
 carry into execution such an unconstitutional mode of adding to the 
 numbers of supporters of a particular minister in this house, pro- 
 viding it has the effect of inducing a number of your lordships to 
 abstain either altogether from attending their duties here, or from 
 offering a decided and uncompromising opposition to a measure 
 which they honestly believe to be mischievous in its tendency — the 
 threat is as bad, in point of fact, as the execution. Such a threat is 
 tantamount to forcing the decisions of this house, when it is plain 
 that a majority is decidedly indisposed to adopt the measure which 
 the uttercr of the threat may persuade himself would be beneficial to 
 the country. It is true that many well-disposed persons may be 
 induced by it to adopt a middle course, under a persuasion that they 
 thereby avert the greater evil of a creation of some fifty or a 
 hundred peers ; or, perhaps, many may be induced by it to adopt the 
 obnoxious proposition of the noble earl, were it only to save his 
 Majesty himself from the painful consequences of either rejecting or
 
 1832.] EXPLANATIONS OF THE DUKE. 167 
 
 adopting the counsel of his responsible advisers. But is this free 
 aud independent deliberation? Is not an unbiased decision, under 
 iuch influences, wholly impracticable ? Therefore I was anxious to 
 assist my Sovereign in rejecting such dangerous counsel ; and I do 
 oot hesitate to add, that he, who would not have acted as I did, 
 would be a party to destroy the legislative independence and consti- 
 tutional utility of the House of Lords. His Majesty insisted that 
 whoever should undertake the management of affairs should do so on 
 an understanding of carrying an 'extensive reform' — (I quote his 
 Majesty's own words) — ' in the representation of the people in 
 Parliament.' Now I always have been and still am of opinion that 
 no measure of reform is necessary, and that the measure before the 
 house was calculated to injure, if not destroy, the monarchical insti- 
 tutions of this country ; but I stated on the last occasion when I 
 addressed your lordships on the subject, that though this was my 
 own conviction, I should endeavour, as the principle of the bill had 
 obtained the sanction of a numerical majority, honestly and fairly, in 
 committee, to make such amendments as would enable the Govern- 
 ment to meet, and, if possible, overcome the difficulties and ex- 
 traordinary circumstances which the bill must, in my mind, give 
 rise to. Gladly would I reject it altogether in its present shape. 
 But that was not the question between me and my Sovereign. I was 
 called upon by his Majesty not to act upon my own particular views 
 of reform, but to assist him in resisting the adoption of an advice 
 which would overthrow the House of Lords and the monarchy, and 
 in carrying an extensive measure of parliamentary reform through 
 this house, without having recourse to the unconstitutional exercise 
 of the prerogative suggested by his late advisers. It therefore be- 
 came a question what parts of the bill might be retained with com- 
 parative safety, and which this house might rationally expect would, 
 when sent down to the House of Commons, receive the sanction of 
 that branch of the legislature. 
 
 " It was under these circumstances and upon this understanding 
 that I consented to give my assistance to bis Majesty to form an 
 Administration. I know many are of opinion that I should have 
 acted a more prudent part, and one more worthy of a man who kept 
 ulterior considerations in view, and who, mindful of his former opinions 
 and pledges against reform, looked only at consistency, if, in regarding 
 nothing but personal considerations, I had refused to have anything 
 to do with the formation of a Government bound to undertake an 
 extensive measure of reform. But were our positions similar 1 Such 
 persons were, and are, responsible only to themselves, and for them-
 
 168 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [183-2 
 
 selves ; I was called on to rescue my Sovereign from the embarras- 
 ment in which he was placed by his own servants. When his 
 Majesty did me the honour of commanding my aid to enable him to 
 resist a most pernicious counsel, if I had answered, ' I see the diffi- 
 culties of your Majesty's situation ; but I cannot afford you any 
 assistance, because I have, in my place in Parliament, expressed 
 strong opinions against a measure to which your Majesty is under- 
 stood to be friendly,' I should have been ashamed to show my face in 
 the streets. No. I adopted the course which I am sure would have 
 been that of the veriest enemy of the bill; I endeavoured to assist 
 the King in the distressing circumstances in which he was pleased to 
 call for my advice. I repeat, that the question which I was called 
 on, by the King, to consider, was not the practicability of forming a 
 Ministry on my own personal views of reform, but to enable hira to 
 resist the creation of a multitude of peers for a most unconstitutional 
 and dangerous purpose ; and the consideration uppermost in my 
 mind was, how far the recommendation in his Majesty's Speech from 
 the throne in June, 1831, could be acted on without danger to this 
 House or to the monarchy. In that speech the King recommended 
 the question of reform to your attention, ' confident that in any 
 measures you might propose for its adjustment, you will carefully 
 adhere to the acknowledged principles of the constitution, by which 
 the prerogatives of the Crown, the authority of both Houses of 
 Parliament, and the rights and liberties of the people are equally 
 secured.' Who that heard that speech could ever have anticipated 
 the proposition of a measure, or an advice in relation to that measure, 
 which annihilated the independent authority of one of the branches of 
 the legislature ? The number of peers whom it would be necessary 
 to create, to carry the Reform Bill as it now stands, would, at the 
 lowest calculation, amount to a hundred ; and surely any man who 
 foretold that the measure referred to in that speech put into the 
 mouth of liis Majesty was one which would require such an immense 
 augmentation of the peerage, would have been considered as dreaming 
 of things impracticable. When I first heard that Ministers had 
 such a proceeding in contemplation, I treated the rumour as an 
 absurdity. I believed not that a Minister could be found wicked 
 enough to propose such a measure. Many know well that I have 
 ever denounced it as an impossibility; and while no man entertains 
 a more deep sense of the constitutional right of the Crown to create 
 peers, under certain circumstances, I hold it would be an unjust and 
 unconstitutional exercise of that prerogative to create a body of peers 
 for the purpose of carrying some measure obnoxious to the House of
 
 1882.] 
 
 LORD LYNDHURSrS EXPLANATION. 
 
 1G9 
 
 Lords at large. It was to enable the Crown to resist the application 
 for so unconstitutional an exercise of prerogative, that I consented to 
 assist in forming an Administration on the principles I have stated. 
 When, however, I found, from the tone and result of the discussion 
 which took place in the other House of Parliament on the resignation 
 of Ministers, and from the opinion of many leading men in the House 
 of Commons, who were strenuously averse to a creation of peers, that 
 no Government could hope to gain the confidence of that House which 
 did not undertake to carry through a reform as extensive and effi- 
 cient as that now on the table, I had to inform his Majesty that it 
 was not in my power to fulfil the important commission with which he 
 had honoured me." 
 
 Lord Lyndhurst confirmed his Grace's statement, so far as coa- 
 
 LORD LYNDHURST. 
 
 cerned his lordship's connection with the negotiation, which seems to 
 have been extremely slight. 
 
 The Earls of Mansfield, Carnarvon, and Winchelsea, the Marquis 
 of Salisbury, and other peers, declared, that though they had in no
 
 170 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1832. 
 
 way been connected with the transactions which had been explained, 
 the conduct of the Duke of Wellington had been high-minded and 
 disinterested, and not the less so for having submitted, without 
 reply, to the unmeasured calumny and misrepresentation heaped 
 upon him daily, rather than impede the formation of a government. 
 He had been hunted down day after day, because he had dared, 
 forsooth, to become Minister ; when it turned out, in point of fact, 
 that he had neither accepted nor sought offices, though it was within 
 his reach. The Earl of Haddington said that he had never been a 
 partisan of the Duke. As far as there had been an opposition to his 
 Grace, he might be said to have belonged to it, and he had never 
 formed any connection with him. But he felt he should be acting a 
 base part, if he did not state in the face of their lordships and the 
 country, however such a declaration might expose him to obloquy 
 and abuse, that his Grace was entitled to the gratitude of their lord- 
 ships for doing what he had done.* 
 
 The Reform Bill was ultimately carried, through the absence, from 
 the final debate in the House of Lords, of many of those peers who 
 were particularly hostile to its provisions. Rather than resort to the 
 dangerous and unpalatable extremity of creating a number of new 
 peers, whose votes would have insured a triumph to the bill, the 
 King caused a circular to be addressed to the " Non-Contents " on 
 the second reading, requesting them to absent themselves from the 
 division in committee. 
 
 The conduct of the Duke of Wellington, however applauded by 
 those who agreed in opinion with him, will hardly bear the test of 
 a critical examination by an impartial posterity. It was in the first 
 place inconsistent with his previous course in respect to the Eman- 
 cipation Bill, and, in the second, would have been liable to the same 
 charge of tergiversation had Sir Robert (late Mr.) Peel succumbed to 
 the argument that a renegade policy was justifiable, if agreeable to 
 the wishes of the King.^ Upon the subject of the Catholic claims, 
 
 1 " Aunals of Parliament," 1832. 
 
 2 Sir Robert Peel stated that, on the day on which resignation of Ministers had beei» 
 accepted, Lord Lyndhurst had called upon hira, and stated to him, not that his Majesty had 
 applied to him to form an Administration, but that his Majesty had selected hira as a former 
 Chancellor, and as being, by his judicial character, removed from the vortex of politics, to 
 confer with him on the present state of affairs. Ilis lordship then asked him whether ho 
 felt it would be in his power to enter into his Majesty's service at the present moment ? — 
 stating that his Majesty felt embarrassed by the unexpected resignation of Ministers, upon his 
 refusal to create Peers ; and that the only other person to whom he had made this communica- 
 tion was the Duko of Wellington, who was willing to render any assistance in his power to 
 nis Majesty : that the noble Duke did not wish to take office, but that he would take and
 
 1832.] THE DUKE IN" OPPOSITION. lYl 
 
 the Duke of Wellington had at least the defence of always having 
 been obscure. He had never, it is true, directly supported them, 
 neither had he opposed them. His tone was uniform — he wished to 
 see the question " settled ;" but it was utterly inexplicable how, with 
 this wish on record, he should have refused to act under Mr. Canning, 
 whose only crime, so far as the Duke's public declaration went, was, 
 that he was favourable to the removal of the Catholic disabilities. 
 With respect to Parliamentary reform, the Duke, true to his attach- 
 ment to the landed aristocracy, had always declared himself the enemy 
 of any change in the representation that should lead to an infusion 
 of popular elements into the House of Commons. But, bearing in 
 mind that he dreaded a civil war, and had yielded to the Irish to avert 
 such a calamity, it is inexplicable that he should have resisted a 
 measure which appeared to all reasonable men of the time the only 
 safeguard against an English rebellion. The readiness to give way at 
 the last extremity, because the King wished it, may have been 
 honourable to the loyalty of the Duke ; but loyalty thus interpreted 
 was clearly liable to degenerate into a servile deference to monarchical 
 tyranny. There could be little ground to hope for the integrity of a 
 Constitution under a Minister who was at every moment ready to set 
 aside his well-considered opinions in order to carry out the wishes 
 of a King under every variety of shape. It is well, pei'haps, for the 
 reputation of the Duke of Wellington, and the cause of civil freedom, 
 that he never again had an opportunity of governing England on 
 principles — or rather on a plan — so entirely detrimental to the in- 
 terests of society. 
 
 During the remainder of the sessioii of 1832, the Duke of Welling- 
 ton frequently spoke in the House of Lords, always in opposition to 
 the Grey ministry. He found fault with its government of Ireland — 
 protested strongly against the absence of coercive measures, calcu- 
 lated, as he thought, to preserve the peace by preventing large assem- 
 blages of lawless men — insisted upon the necessity of conciliating 
 the Protestants, and of placing the education of the people under the 
 
 eerve in any, if it were for the benefit of his Majesty. Although no formal communicatious had 
 been made to him, yet, as he knew not the use of reserves, he still thought it right to state that 
 the question was put to him, whether or not he would accept what in political life was 
 tisually called the highest object of ambition. It was notified to him that the acceptance of 
 office must be with the clear understanding that his Majesty's declaration with respect to 
 reform should be carried into cfrect, and that the condition of tlie acceptance of office should be, 
 the carrying through an extensive reform. He replieu to Lord Lyndhurst upon the impulse 
 of the moment; but not less, also, upon the impulse of feelings which it would be impossible 
 for the authority or the example of any man, or any set of men, to weaken, and on which no 
 reasoning could produce a contrary decision— that it would be utterly impossible for him to 
 accept office.
 
 112 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1832. 
 
 authority of the Church. His Grace further opposed himself to the 
 extension of the town-franchise to the Roman Catholics as fraught 
 ■with danger to the Protestant Church ; he denounced the reductions 
 in public expenditure effected by Earl Grey as detrimental to the 
 country ; and he declared against the policy of the Government, in 
 regard to Portugal, which, at that moment, was a prey to factions, and 
 to the usurpation of Don Miguel, to the exclusion of his niece, the 
 daughter of the Emperor of Brazil. 
 
 Perhaps at no period of the Duke of Wellington's career was he so 
 thoroughly unpopular as in the year 1832. The public had come to 
 identify him with the cause of despotism, and, if the truth be told, 
 the acrimonious activity of his opposition to a Ministry which did not 
 in all essentials differ materially from his own, contributed largely to 
 justify the unfavourable estimate formed of his liberality. 
 
 The excessive unpopularity of the Duke of Wellington at this junc- 
 ture, may be inferred from the fact that when he visited the Tower on 
 the 18th of June, 1832. he was insulted and roughly treated by the 
 mob, and would scarcely have reached his home in safety, had not 
 some soldiers and gentlemen placed themselves around his horse and 
 escorted him to Apsley House, where another party self-embodied, and 
 armed with sticks, attended in the neighborhood, during the Waterloo 
 Banquet, for his Grace's protection. To one of these latter gentle- 
 men, Mr. Reynard of Kensington, the Duke wrote a letter of ac- 
 knowledgment, on the 22nd of June, 1832.
 
 1833.] 
 
 THE DUKE AISD "EXPEDIENCY." 
 
 IIZ 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 rhe Session of 1833 — The Duke's opinions on various questions — His views of Principle and Ex- 
 pediency — The Duke elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford, in 1834— Resig^iation 
 of Lord Melbourne — Sir R. Peel forms a Jlinistry — It is soon broken up — The Whigs recalled 
 —Death of William the Fourth- 
 
 
 HE year 1833 found the Duke 
 of Wellington still in opposi- 
 tion to the Whigs. The sub- 
 jects brought upon the tapis 
 afforded large ground for dis- 
 cussion, because they involved 
 principles and interests of an 
 antagonistic character, and the 
 Duke was not slow to avail 
 himself of all the opportuni- 
 ties which offered for the ex- 
 pression of sentiment adverse 
 to the powers that were. The 
 • civil war in Portugal arising 
 out of the rival pretensions of Don Miguel and the Infanta Isabella, 
 had enlisted the services of a number of Englishmen of desperate 
 fortunes, and of ofl&cers, naval and military, who desired occupation 
 and distinction. Their valour and perseverance had tended to pro- 
 long the war until it had become a source of commercial and political 
 inconvenience ; and, therefore, at the opening of the session of 1833, 
 the King was made by ministers to say that he was anxious to put an 
 end to the " civil war." The Duke of Wellington seized the occasion 
 for charging its continuance upon the Whigs, who had suffered his 
 Majesty's subjects to embark in the contest. His Grace called the 
 war " revolutionary," and was unsparing in his censures of the " bands 
 of adventurers, collected in various quarters, and paid by God knows 
 who," who kept alive the feud.
 
 174 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTOK [1834. 
 
 As if repentant of his desertion of the Protestant party in carrying 
 Emancipation, the Duke of Wellington, often, in the session of 1833, 
 said a good word for it, proclaiming the Protestants of Ireland the 
 friends of order in Ireland,' and declaring it to be '• our duty in every 
 case to do all we can to promote the Protestant religion, not only on 
 account of the political relations between the religion of the Church 
 of England and the Government, but because its doctrines are the 
 purest, and its system the best, that can be oflFered to a people.'" 
 Irish " agitation " he truly called a conspiracy of priests and dema- 
 gogues to obtain their purpose by force and menace, and he set 
 bis face against any reduction of the number of Protestant Irish 
 bishops. 
 
 To the Game-laws his Grace opposed himself because they tended 
 to the increase of poaching. He was unfriendly to the abolition of 
 slave-labour in the colonies, on the ground of the doubtfulness of the 
 slave's becoming a free labourer for hire, and he feared that the de- 
 pression of the West India colonies, through the subtraction of 
 negro-labour, would lead to the introduction into England of foreign 
 slave-grown sugar. The renewal of the charter of the East India 
 Company for twenty 3'ears coming on for discussion in the session 
 of '33, the Duke readily bore testimony to the excellence of the 
 gubernatorial system of that company, but was favourable to the 
 abolition of the monopoly of the trade with China. Upon the discus- 
 sion of the Jewish disabilities, his Grace vehemently opposed the 
 admission of Jews to seats in Parliament. He deemed it indispen- 
 sable that, in a Christian legislature none but Christians should be 
 permitted to sit — a doctrine which he maintained to the last hour of 
 his existence. 
 
 Upon several other subjects the Duke of Wellington delivered 
 himself with his accustomed earnestness : and on the 19th of July 
 1833, enunciated a doctrine which deserves to be particularly noted, 
 as furnishing a key to many of his political acts : — 
 
 " If the xcorld xoere governed by principles^ nothing tvould be mart 
 easy than to conduct even the greatest affairs ; but in all circximstances 
 tlie duty of a ivise man is, to clvoose the lesser of any two difjicultiei 
 which beset Aw;i." 
 
 The death of Lord Grenville, on the 12th of January, 1834, lefl 
 vacant the Chancellorship of Oxford University. On the 29th of 
 the same month the Duke of Wellington was unanimously elected 
 his successor; and the ceremony of his Grace's installation took 
 place on the 9th of June following. The " Oxford Herald " of the 
 
 1 Speech or 5lh July, 1833. » Speech of 19ih July, 1833.
 
 1834.] THE CHANCELLORSHIP OF OXFORD. 11 5 
 
 time supplied an account of the ceremonial, of which the annexed 
 may be accepted as an abridgment : — 
 
 THE INSTALLATION OF HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF 
 WELLINGTON. 
 
 " The company began to arrive in Oxford on Saturday, and in the 
 evening Christ Church Meadow was filled, when the last boat-race 
 for the season took place on the Isis. In the evening of Saturday, 
 the Meadow and the Wide Walk had a very gay appearance. 
 Amongst the company we observed numerous fashionable strangers. 
 
 " From an early hour on Monday morning carriages posted in 
 from all parts of the country with scarcely any intermission. Ten 
 minutes before four in the afternoon, the Chancellor entered Oxford 
 in his open travelling carriage, and, by his express desire, was 
 unattended by any procession. Several of the younger members 
 of the University rode by the side of the carriage. At the gate of 
 University College his Grace was received by the Vice-Chancellor, 
 and conducted to the lodging where his Grace resided during his 
 stay. As soon as the arrival of the Chancellor was known, the 
 University bells (St. Mary's) began ringing, and they were responded 
 to by all the other bells of the University and City ; and a flag was 
 hoisted on the old tower of Carfax Church. 
 
 " After putting on the plain academic gown of a nobleman, and a 
 velvet cap with a large gold tassel, his Grace paid a complimentary visit 
 of etiquette to the Duke of Cumberland (who had recently arrived), 
 at Christ Church, and then returned to University College. 
 
 " Early in the morning of Tuesday, a considerable number of 
 persons began to collect near the gate of University College, in order 
 to obtain a view of the noblemen and doctors as they went to meet 
 the Chancellor in the College Hall, previous to the procession to 
 the Theatre. Soon after 10 o'clock, his Royal Highness the Duke 
 of Cumberland arrived, attended by General Sir John Slade, and was 
 received at the gate by two of the Senior Fellows of the College, 
 and conducted to the Hall. His Royal Highness did not walk to 
 the Theatre, but went in his carriage a few minutes before the pro- 
 cession left the College. The street now presented a very animated 
 appearance. The windows were filled with elegantly-dressed ladies ; 
 many persons had taken their station on the roofs of Queen's, All- 
 Souls', St. Mary's, and the temporary gallery which had been 
 erected at the end of the Church — anxious to obtain a sight of the 
 great hero. 
 
 2o
 
 176 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1834. 
 
 " The struggles at the doors of the Theatre, for admission, were 
 terrific. Of the diflBculties and dangers of admission into the area — 
 the place appointed for the Masters of Arts, Bachelors of Civil Law, 
 and strangers — we give the following account, written by a gentle- 
 man who experienced them : — The pressure was tremendous before 
 the inner entrances were opened ; but it became, if possible, still 
 worse afterwards. The tide of Masters of Arts and strangers rushed 
 in a direct line through the gate with such velocity as to force 
 many of them off their feet ; some of them fell, and were trodden 
 upon by their successors, in spite of all the efforts which every 
 gentleman felt himself bound to make, to prevent another receiving 
 injury. The lateral pressure was, however, the most dangerous, as 
 I can testify, from having experienced it. It became, within a few 
 seconds after the gates were opened, so severe, that the iron railing 
 near the schools, was absolutely forced down, and those who were 
 nearest to it were thrown along with it upon the ground. Severe 
 contusions were received. Several gentlemen had their coats ripped 
 up from the tail to the cape by catching the iron front of the pali- 
 sades ; others endured the same misfortune, owing to the determina- 
 tion of their friends to stick close, at all hazard, to their skirts. 
 Gowns were shivered into fragments ; and if it could be possible 
 that there could be any freshmen Masters of Arts, several of them 
 would have achieved the honourable distinction of walking with aa 
 ragged a gown as ever flickered on the back of a veteran academician. 
 The university cap, in a crowd, is almost as easily managed as that 
 useful abomination a crush-hat ; but caps were slit on this occasion 
 into fractions infinitesimally small ; and as to hats, they were not 
 only a nuisance in themselves, but they were also the cause of a 
 nuisance to every unfortunate wight brought in contact with them. 
 After emerging from a very dark passage, I came into the full blaze 
 of beauty by which the Theatre itself was illuminated. I have seen 
 two coronations, but the spectacle on these occasions is frittered into 
 parts, or, to borrow a phrase from Shakspeare, ' sawn into quantities,' 
 BO that at one glance you cannot command a view of the whole. 
 Here the reverse was the case. As soon as you entered the Theatre, 
 there was a prospect almost too dazzling to be looked upon. Around 
 you and above you, to the right and to the left, were crowds of 
 beauties, who compelled you, in spite of your Christianity, to think 
 of the houris of Mahomet's paradise. Look where you would, you 
 encountered the glances of their bright eyes, and in those glances 
 were all ' the mind, the music breathing from the face' which 
 youthful poets, forgetful of reality, too often indulge their fancy in
 
 1834.] THE DUKE AS CHANCELLOR. 177 
 
 describing. I believe that you are already aware that, during the 
 encenia, the rising semicircle of the theatre is reserved for the noble- 
 men and the doctors, and that immediately behind them are placed the 
 ladies of peers and the different members of their families. The gal- 
 lery immediately facing this semicircle was reserved for ladies, who, 
 though equally respectable in the eyes of society, are not so in those 
 of the Heralds' College. With these ladies, by the regulations of the 
 University, it was forbidden that any male animals, whether of the 
 gown or of the town, should intermix. The practical effect of this 
 regulation — absurd as it appears in principle — was admirable. You 
 had all the colours of the rainbow, and a few more, presented to you 
 in close contact, amid a profusion of feathers and flowers. 
 
 " The crowd every moment became more dense, more pressing, and 
 more importunate. Everybody pushed in who had tickets, and the 
 consequence was, that the pressure became dreadful. After the 
 Masters of Arts and strangers had wedged themselves into a compact 
 mass, the Undergraduates and Bachelors of Arts were admitted into 
 the upper galleries, and then came 
 
 " Tumult and Ctonfosion, all embroiled, 
 And Clamour, with a thousand various mouths." 
 
 " After they had filled the gallery, and settled themselves in their 
 seats, an unanimous cry arose amongst them for three cheers for the 
 Duke of Wellington. They were given with hearty vociferation. 
 Then there was a short pause, and again another cheer for the Chan- 
 cellor of the University. The name of Mr. Dyce, one of the Proc- 
 tors, was then mentioned, on which was heard — 
 
 " On all sides, from innumerable tongues, 
 A dismal universal hiss, the sound 
 Of universal scorn — " 
 
 which in both universities is certain to be the meed of any Proctor 
 who unflinchingly performs the duty of his office. Previous to the 
 entry of the Chancellor, the names of the King and Queen were 
 shouted by the Undergraduates, and the approbation of these names 
 was shown by tremendous cheering from all parts of the theatre. 
 When Earl Grey was named, the hissing and groaning were universal. 
 The Lord Chancellor found a few friends; cheers and hisses were 
 intermingled, but the latter much preponderated. The names of 
 Lord Eldon and Lord Hill were received with thunders of applause ; 
 but when an undergraduate exclaimed ' The Bishops,' the cheering 
 was ' universal, deafening, and almost appalling.' When Lord 
 Wynford entered the theatre, he was received with great applause, as 
 
 VOL. II. 12
 
 178 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1834. 
 
 was also Lord Lyndhurst. On the arrival of the Duke of Cumber- 
 land, who, not having a degree, did not walk in the procession, no dis- 
 sentient voice was raised against his Royal Highness ; on the contrary, 
 he and his suite were received with loud cheers, and ' one cheer more' 
 was afterwards given for him as Chancellor of the University of 
 Dublin. His Royal Highness was in the dress of a Colonel of the 
 15th Hussars. 
 
 " Soon after eleven o'clock, Professor Crotch announced upon the 
 organ the approach of the Chancellor, with the procession from the 
 Hall of University College. The Duke appeared in excellent health, 
 and the enthusiastic reception he met with on his entering the 
 theatre, appeared to restore his step to all the elasticity of youth. 
 
 COSTU-ME OK THE DUKE AS CHANCELLOR. 
 
 He was dressed in a black coat, across which he wore his blue riband, 
 as Knight of the G-arter, and over which was his magnificent aca- 
 demic robe of black silk and gold fringe.
 
 1834] THE INSTALLATION. 17» 
 
 " In the procession were the Marquis of Londonderry, Lord Eldon, 
 Lord Montagu, Lord Apsley, Lord Hill, Lord Mahon, Sir Gr. 
 Murray, Sir H. Hardinge, Sir T. Aeland, Sir R. Inglis, Mr. Estcourt, 
 Mr. Fane, Mr. Hastie, Sir C. Wetherell, the Heads of Houses and 
 Canons of Christ Church, the other resident doctors, and eleven 
 members of the episcopal bench, among whom were the Archbishops 
 of Canterbury, York, and Armagh. In the seats behind those who 
 formed the procession were the Princess Lieven, the Marchioness of 
 Salisbury, the Countess of Clanwilliam, the Countess Brownlow and 
 her daughters, the Ladies Herbert, Lady S. Cust, Lady Montagu 
 and her three daughters, Lady Granville Somerset, Lady Popham, 
 Mademoiselle d'Este, and a long list of other illustrious and 
 fashionable personages. 
 
 "When the cheering had subsided, the Duke of Wellington, as 
 Chancellor, opened the business of the Convocation in a short Latin 
 speech, by stating that it was convened to confer the degree of 
 Doctor of Law, honoris causa, upon certain noblemen and gentlemen. 
 
 " After the Chancellor had gone through the list once, he went 
 through it a second time, and after each name, on proposing the 
 admission, said : Placdne vohis, Domini Doctores ? PIacet)ie voids 
 Magistri ? The Convocation replied with one voice — Placet. The 
 Duke then turned round, and with a voice half aside, said, ' Now, I 
 shall get on.' This declaration created considerable laughter. This 
 ceremony having been gone through. Dr. Phillimore, as Professor 
 of Civil Law, proceeded to present to the Chancellor and Proctors — 
 whom he styled Doctissimi Cancellarii et Vos egregii Procuratores — 
 the incepting doctors. In the eulogium which he passed upon them 
 in the Latin language, he said that twenty years had now elapsed 
 since he had had the honour and gratification of seeing in the 
 University a similar assemblage of noble and distinguished indi- 
 viduals. On that occasion he had presented to the University as 
 honorary doctors the illustrious heroes who had visited the country 
 with the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia. Intense as his 
 delight was on that occasion, it wanted one circumstance to render it 
 complete — the presence of the greatest commander of them all, our 
 own countryman, the Duke of AVellington. After alluding to the 
 merits of the late Chancellor, Lord Grenville, who had added lustre 
 to the course of study adopted at the University, by pursuing the 
 same course after he had left the University to mingle in the world ; 
 and after stating that the noble lord had found consolation in extreme 
 old age in those literary acquirements which had furnished him so 
 many triumphs, and his country benefits in manhood, he proceeded
 
 180 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1834 
 
 to observe, that oa the death of that great and good man it became 
 the duty of the University to select out of the noble and distin- 
 guished individuals whom it had reared in its bosom, a worthy 
 successor to that noble lord. Merit, he said, was not of one class. 
 There were diflferent roads to the temple of fame, and different men 
 must distinguish themselves in different ways. One man made his 
 way to eminence by literature, another by arts, another by arms. Of 
 this latter class none were more illustrious than the noble Duke now 
 their Chancellor. Witness his triumphs in India, Portugal, and 
 Spain ; his victories at Salamanca, on the Pyrenees, and at Toulouse ; 
 and, above all, his liberation of Europe on the bloody field of 
 Waterloo. After dwelling .some time on these topics, and praising 
 the firmness which his Grace had always evinced in the management 
 not only of the military, but of civil affairs, he concluded this part of 
 the subject by afiirming that the University had done itself the 
 greatest honour by selecting the Duke of Wellington as its Chan- 
 cellor. The learned Doctor then proceeded to compliment the 
 different individuals whom he had to present as doctors. The Doctor 
 passed over the different names in the list of honorary doctors without 
 any comment, until he came to that of Lord Fitzroy Somerset, to 
 whom he paid a most eloquent, and elaborate, and well-deserved 
 tribute of applause. He spoke of him as nobillssiinus et fortissimus, 
 as a nobleman to whom the University was bound to pay the highest 
 respect, not only on account of his high rank and ancient blood, but 
 also on his own merits, and his close connection with the Duke of 
 Wellington. He had been educated in military lore under the 
 Duke's own eye from his earliest youth — Tihifuit^ Dux invicte (great 
 cheering), comes et minister — he joined in all the labours, and shared 
 in all the glories of his great leader, and was present at the battle 
 of Waterloo, — ubi^ ut videtis (pointing to the mutilated arm of Lord 
 F. Somerset), gravia vulnera perpcssus est. This annunciation pro- 
 duced the loudest cheering — indeed, none was more loud, save that 
 bestowed on the Duke of Newcastle and the Earl of Winchelsea, who, 
 next to the Chancellor, were the great favourites of the day. 
 
 " After the new-made Doctors had all taken their seats in the rising 
 semicircle, amidst the cheers of the audience, the public orator 
 proceeded to the ' Creweian Oration.' This address contained nearly 
 the same topics as those to which Dr. Phillimore alluded. There 
 were several elegant and most appropriate compliments to the 
 Chancellor, an eulogium of the lloyal Family, addressed to the Duke 
 of Cumberland, and a just panegyric on the Church of England and 
 its bishops. After this oration was concludedj the Latin poem, which
 
 /834.] THE INSTALLATION. 181 
 
 gained the Chancellor's prize this year, was recited by the author, 
 Mr. Arthur Kensington, a Scholar of Trinity College, the subject of 
 ■which was, ' Cicero ah exilio redux Romam ingreditur? It was re- 
 ceived with great and merited applause. Then Mr. Gr. Anstice, B.A., 
 late student of Christ Church, and afterwards Professor of Classical 
 Literature in King's College, London, recited his English essay. At 
 its close, the Chancellor, with great emphasis, pronounced the words, 
 * Dissolvimus hayic Convocationem? At two o'clock the Theatre was 
 nearly cleared of its visitors. 
 
 " The Duke was followed in the same manner in which he came to 
 the Theatre. The procession attended him to University College, 
 where those who composed it, after taking leave of his Grace, separated 
 for the colleges to which they belonged or were invited, and to the 
 different hotels and lodging-houses. Shortly afterwards his Grace 
 made several calls at the Colleges. 
 
 " Dr. Crotch's oratorio, which was ' The Captivity of Judah,' was 
 performed, and full justice was done to its merits by the performers 
 engaged. His Grace was present, and received repeated and enthu- 
 siastic cheering. After the conclusion of the oratorio, the assembly 
 called for ' God save the King.' 
 
 " In the evening a distinguished party was entertained by the Vice- 
 Chancellor, in the hall of University College. The hall was bril- 
 liantly illuminated on the occasion, and the rich uniforms worn by 
 many of the distinguished guests, mingled with the scarlet gowns of 
 the Doctors, and the dress robes of the young noblemen resident in 
 the University, produced a most splendid and imposing effect. 
 
 " Wednesday. — This morning the noblemen and gentlemen forming 
 the procession assembled in the rooms in the Clarendon, and at 
 about a quarter past eleven thence proceeded with the Chancellor to 
 the Theatre. Previous to the entry of the procession, the younger 
 members of the University again amused themselves by calling out 
 different names for cheering or hissing. The ' King and Queen ' 
 were again loudly cheered ; but the ' King's Ministers ' were hissed 
 as much as any opposition men could desire, so were also ' Lord 
 Grey, Lord Brougham, and Lord Durham,' when named separately. 
 The Duke of Sussex had also his full share of sibilation. Some one 
 called out the name of ' Dr. Chafy, Master of Sidney Sussex College, 
 Cambridge,' and it was most loudly hissed. There were cries of 
 ' Down with the present Administration,' and shouts for ' The Wel- 
 lington Administration.' ' The House of Lords ' was received with a 
 thundering cheer, and ' The Commons ' with a groan. ' The House 
 of Commons as it was ' met with a cheering which might almost
 
 182 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1834. 
 
 have startled from their graves the defunct boroughs of Gatton and 
 Old Sarum. Great cheering occurred when the names of ' Sir 
 J. Graham and Mr. Stanley' were mentioned. 'Mr. Sewell' was 
 equally cheered. ' The Bishops ' again elicited thunders of applause. 
 There were calls for the ' Gower-street Company and Stinkomalee.'* 
 ' The Admission of Dissenters ' was received with a cry of scorn, and 
 ' Their Non-admission ' with tremendous applause. There were many 
 other names given, and various eccentric exclamations, all of which 
 showed the general feeling of the University, at least of its more 
 juvenile members. 
 
 " On the entry of the Chancellor, the applause was unbounded, and 
 ' Wellington and "Waterloo ' resounded through the Theatre. In the 
 procession were all the recently-made Doctors in their robes. After 
 the Chancellor had opened the Convocation, he named the noblemen 
 and gentlemen upon whom it was proposed to confer the honorary 
 degree of D.CL. 
 
 " Dr. Phillimore, Regius Professor of Civil Law, then addressed 
 the Chancellor in Latin. He said, that illustrious as the individuals 
 were whom he had presented to the Chancellor's notice yesterday, as 
 candidates for the degree of Doctor in Civil Law, the list of the 
 names which he had that day to present to him was equally distin- 
 guished, for it contained the names of men of high rank and ancient 
 blood, of high civil and military attainments, and of the most 
 irreproachable lives and characters. There was a circumstance which 
 would make them delight the more, in that list, and that was, as 
 indeed everybody knew, the parties mentioned in it were most of 
 them Cambridge men. {Cheers.) He would select as the first name 
 deserving of his praise, that of John Singleton Copley, late Lord 
 High Chancellor, and now Chief Baron of the Exchequer, who, 
 imbued with the same discipline as their own in the sister University, 
 had raised himself by his eloquence, his talents, and his general kind 
 and courteous demeanour, not only to a place in all their hearts, but 
 also in rank and honours, which scarcely conferred more distinction 
 upon him than he reflected back again upon them. ( Clwcrs for Lord 
 Lyndhurst.) There was also present another ornament of the legal 
 profession, who had now retired from the bench to enjoy in the 
 privacy of domestic life that repose which he had so honourably 
 deserved by a long life of public activity. ( Cheers for Lord Wynford.) 
 There was also present one of the invincible Duke's companions in 
 arms, whose coolness in danger and gallantry in battle were known 
 to no man better than they were to the gallant Chancellor. As one 
 
 1 An offensive epithet applied by the John Bull newspaper to the London University.
 
 )8?n THE CONVOCATION. 183 
 
 of the liberators of Europe, he was entitled to every distinction which 
 this University could confer upon him. [CJicers for Sir H. Vivian.) 
 After paying a similar compliment to Lord A. Hill, who was also 
 loudly cheered, the learned Professor proceeded to declare the 
 pleasure which he derived in having to present to the University as a 
 Doctor of Civil Law the Viscount Encombe, the only grandson of 
 their old and venerated High Steward, the Earl of Eldon. ( Cheers 
 for Lord Eldon.) There was also in the same list the name of Lord 
 Stuart de Rothsay, whose skill in diplomacy, and whose tact in 
 bringing arduous negotiations to a happy and successful close was 
 admitted by all Europe. {CJicers for Lord Sttiart de Rothsay.) 
 There was also a general officer in the Russian service, who had a 
 right to expect this honour at their hands, for he had followed the 
 French array with his victorious countrymen from the flames of 
 Moscow up to the period when the Russian standard was all but 
 planted on the walls of Paris. (^Cheers.) After indulging in a 
 similar strain of compliment for some time upon the other individuals 
 contained in his list, but without entering into any particular descrip- 
 tion of their peculiar merits, he concluded by presenting each of them 
 severally to the Chancellor. 
 
 " All of them were loudly cheered on mounting into the Doctors' 
 Gallery. 
 
 " After the degrees had been conferred, Keble's ' Installation Ode ' 
 was performed, the music of which was performed by Professor 
 Crotch, which was much admired and applauded. 
 
 "After the ' Ode' was performed, Mr. R. Scott, B.A., student of 
 Christ Church, recited his Chancellor's Latin Prize Essay, ' De Pro- 
 vinciarum Romanoruni administrandarum Rationed which was very 
 much applauded. 
 
 " Mr. Joseph Arnould, Scholar of Wadham, recited his English 
 poem, ' The Hospice of St. Bernard,' which was also a Chancellor's 
 prize. 
 
 " It is a production of considerable merit, and contained many 
 passages of a very feeling and highly imaginative character, the con- 
 cluding lines of which are as follows : — 
 
 "Lo, Gaul's great Emperor leads his knightly peers ; 
 Hushed is their iron tramp, and moonbeams dim 
 Show'r on each ghastly brow and mail-clad limb. 
 He, too, is there, who, slain on victory's day. 
 Beside their altar sleeps, the young Desaix ; 
 And there his Chief, whose name of terror spread 
 Wide o'er the world, and shook mankind with dread. 
 Curbs his proud steed, and waves his warriors on 
 t To Piedmont's vales, ' yet bright with Lodi's sun ;'
 
 184 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 'UM 
 
 Unlike the despot lord of after days, 
 Youth on his check, and ardour in his gaze ; 
 E'en now his spirit, from the fields of fight. 
 The shout of triumph hears, the rush of flight, 
 As from Marengo's plain the invading horde 
 Flies the keen vengeance of his conquering sword. 
 Changed is his brow ; what loftier visions roll. 
 What dreams of Empire crowd upon his soul ! 
 Lo ! prostrate nations tremble at his sway, 
 Kings quail before him, thrones in dust decay ; 
 Dominion crowns what conquest had begun, 
 And Fortune, smiling on her favourite son, 
 Wreathes round his tyrant brow the glittering toy — 
 Her fatal dower, that shines but to destroy. 
 If, in that hour of pride and fervid youth, 
 Such were his dreams, mankind has moum'd their truth ; 
 O'er seas of blood his sun of glory rose. 
 And sunk at length, 'mid tempest, to repose. 
 When, on that field where last the eagle soar'd. 
 War's mightier master wielded Britain's sword ; 
 And the dark soul a world could scarce subdue, 
 Bent to thy genius — Chief of Waterloo .'" 
 
 " The two concluding couplets were no sooner pronounced than all 
 the persons in the Theatre, with the exception of the individual 
 alluded to by the poet, rose, and a series of cheers, of the most 
 deafening description, were sent forth by the whole assembly, whicb 
 lasted at least for seven or eight minutes, and were accompanied by 
 an equal general waving of hats and handkerchiefs ; in fact, the Duke 
 of Wellington was never greeted in the whole of his career with more 
 zealous manifestations of popularity than he received on this present 
 occasion in the city of Oxford. 
 
 " When Mr. Arnould had concluded his poem, five addresses to the 
 Duke were pronounced from the rostra. 
 
 " Between two and three o'clock the Convocation was dissolved. 
 ' God save the King' was called for and played, and as the procession 
 went out, the undergraduates as before selected their favourites, and 
 bestowed on them loud testimonials of their approbation." 
 
 The session of 1834 was distinguished equally with its imme- 
 diate predecessors by the Duke of Wellington's hostility to the 
 Grey ministry. At the opening of Parliament upon the motion 
 of the Address in answer to the Speech, the » Duke attacked the 
 Government, objecting to the whole of its foreign policy, and finding 
 fault with many of its domestic measures. On one point only 
 were they heartily agreed. The Duke quite concurred in the ad- 
 dress of the House of Commons, declaratory of its determination 
 to maintain the connection between Ireland and Great Britain
 
 1834.] 
 
 THE GREY AND MELBOURNE MINISTRIES. 
 
 185 
 
 unimpaired and undisturbed in spite of the efforts of O'Connell and 
 his " tail " to bring about a repeal of the union. 
 
 The Irish Church question, which now agitated the country, was as 
 difficult to deal with in the Cabinet as out of doors. A motion of 
 Mr. Ward's for the reduction of the Irish Church establishment, 
 produced a schism in the Ministry. The point at issue was the 
 appropriation of the Church revenues. The division led to the 
 resignation of Lord Ripon, the Duke of Richmond, Mr. Stanley, and 
 Sir James Graham. Various disputes upon other matters connected 
 with the management of Ireland took place, leading ultimately to the 
 retirement of Earl Grey ; and, at a subsequent period, Viscount 
 
 EAEL GREY. 
 
 Melbourne, who had become Prime Minister on Earl Grey's resigna- 
 tion, found it necessary to resign. During this brief administration, 
 the English Protestant Church was assailed in a variety of forms — 
 the Dissenters claiming the privilege of taking degrees at the universi- 
 ties — motions also being made for the abolition of church-rates, the
 
 186 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON ri834, 
 
 commutation of tithes, and the exclusion of bishops from Parliament. 
 None of these schemes succeeded — the Lords, among whom the Duke 
 of Wellington was conspicuous, opposing them earnestly. Sundry 
 bills to perfect the plan of reform, and a bill for the removal of the 
 civil disabilities of the Jews, were likewise lost in the House of Lords 
 through the strenuous opposition of the Peers, who acted with the 
 Duke of Wellington. 
 
 Upon the resignation of Lord Melbourne — which was in a measure 
 enforced, because the King would not accept of Lord John Russell as 
 leader in the House of Commons upon the transfer of Lord Althorp 
 to the Upper House (owing to the death of his father Earl Spencer) 
 nor allow of Lord Brougham continuing Lord Chancellor ;' — the 
 Duke of Wellington was sent for. 
 
 Gathering experience from his former failures, the Duke declined 
 to take the Premiership, and advised the King to send for Sir Robert 
 Peel, who was then in Italy with his family — the Duke undertaking 
 to hold the seals of three Secretaries of State until Sir Robert should 
 arrive. The advice was adopted, and Sir Robert summoned to the 
 royal presence. He came — constructed a government composed en- 
 tirely of Conservatives, the Duke of Wellington taking the ofl&ce of 
 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Sir Robert then dissolved 
 Parliament. 
 
 Sir Robert Peel, addressing the constituency of Tamworth, gave 
 them to understand that though he did not approve of the Reform Bill, 
 he was bound to respect it now that it had become the law of the land ; 
 but that he should oppose further changes founded on the plea of 
 merely extending the principles of the bill. His course of policy, in 
 fact, might be summed up in one word, " resistance." The Whigs 
 had gradually yielded so much to the Radical reformers, that there 
 really seemed to be no limit to the changes which the latter sought 
 to introduce. Too weak to oppose them, Lord Melbourne sought to 
 secure their support by continual concession, until these democrats, 
 finding their power increase, and justly measuring the strength of 
 Ministers, grew exorbitant in their demands, and treated with marked 
 contempt a government which bad become the instrument of their 
 will. 
 
 On the assembling of the new Parliament, it was found that the 
 
 1 "This Peer, onco remarkable for the useful exercise of his eloquence, and his industry on 
 behalf of the people, had become a little eccentric since his elevation to the Peerage. Paying 
 a visit to Scotland in the autumn of 1834, he made speeches wherever ho could find hearers, 
 eometimes going to the lengths of ultra-Radicalism, sometimes speaking Conservative a«Hiti- 
 inents, and occasionally violating decency, in speaking in au offensively familiar tone ol he 
 King.
 
 1835.] 
 
 SIR ROBERT PEEL AGAIN IN POWER 
 
 187 
 
 number of Conservatives had increased by one hundred. The people, 
 alarmed at the innovations of the Catholics and Kadicals, freely gave 
 
 SIE EGBERT FEEL. 
 
 their support to a minister who consulted the interests of the upper 
 and the middle classes, and who boldly announced his refusal to live 
 in " a vortex of agitation by adopting every popular impression of 
 the day."* 
 
 The confidence, however, in the Peel Administration, generated by 
 the returns at the general election, was not destined to endure after 
 the struggle of parties had commenced in the two Houses. Feeble 
 in authority, the "Whigs, uniting with the Radicals, were potent in 
 opposition ; and although they had not as ministers the support of 
 Lord Stanley, Sir James Graham, and others, who had pre- 
 viously seceded, they found them useful allies against the ultra 
 Conservatives. 
 
 Upon the very first question, the choice of a Speaker, the Peel 
 
 I Address of Sir K. Peel to the Tamworth electors, in 1834.
 
 188 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. fl835. 
 
 ministry was left in a minority, Mr. Abercromby, the Whig nominee, 
 obtaining the chair by a majority of ten against Sir Charles Manners 
 Sutton, who had held the office of Speaker for eighteen years. To the 
 Address, in answer to the Speech, an amendment was moved, which 
 led to a violent and protracted debate. This amendment pledged the 
 Government to a well-considered and effective reform in Parliament; 
 to the emancipation of the slaves in the colonies ; to the establishment 
 of a "vigilant popular" control over municipal corporations; the re- 
 moval of the grievances of Protestant dissenters ; the correction of 
 abuses in the Irish Church; and an admission of the needlessness of 
 the late dissolution of Parliament. And this amendment was carried 
 in the House of Commons by a majority of seven. Subsequently, the 
 appointment of the Marquis of Londonderry to an embassy to St. 
 Petersburg was opposed so forcibly as to lead Lord Londonderry to 
 decline the appointment. 
 
 After skirmishing through the first half of the month of March with 
 these and other small measures, the Opposition brought forward the 
 question of the appropriation of the surplus revenues of the Church 
 in Ireland. This was the grand cheval de bataille, held in reserve 
 only until other movements had been tried and failed. The Whigs 
 and Radicals were well aware that Sir Robert Peel was determined 
 never to concede the application of the surplus revenue of the Irish 
 Church to purposes other than those of the Protestant religion. They 
 therefore brought forward a resolution applying the surplus to the 
 education of all classes. A protracted debate ensued upon the ques- 
 tion, and upon every division the Whigs had a majority — the same 
 result attending the discussion of the resolution in committee. Here- 
 upon Sir Robert Peel resigned — and with him, of course, went the 
 Duke of Wellington. Lord Melbourne was recalled by the King, and 
 the Whigs again stepped into power and place. 
 
 From this time onwards, the Duke of Wellington ceased to take a 
 prominent share in the civil government of the country. Neither 
 inclined to arrest the progress of wholesome change, nor to aid in 
 sweeping away the ancient institutions of the country, he confined 
 himself, in his place in the House of Lords, to a calm and temperate 
 examination of all the principal measures that came before it — giving 
 his support when he conscientiously believed the case to deserve itj 
 and offering his protest when he discerned danger in assent. In a 
 speech made in July, 1835, we find him maintaining the subscription 
 to the " Thirty-nine Articles," as a test of the Protestantism of 
 individuals matriculated at Oxford, and defending the test as rendered 
 necessary by toleration. And in the same year he complained of the
 
 1837.] WILLIAM THE FOURTH. 189 
 
 depression of the Irish clergy by the Melbourne Administration, in 
 the extinction of the property in Ireland allotted to the payment of 
 the clergy. In June, 1836, he contended for the reservation by the 
 legislature of the power of revising Railway Acts, if they should be 
 found fraught with injustice to the landed proprietors. In August of 
 the same year, his Grace defended himself from the imputation of 
 violently opposing Lord Melbourne's government. He had always 
 opposed — when he had opposed at all — with moderation, and he read 
 the Premier a lesson upon his taunting the Conservatives with not 
 having addressed the King with a view to obtain the removal of the 
 Whigs. " I would take the liberty," said the Duke, " to recommend 
 the noble viscount to consider himself not as the minister of a demo- 
 cratic body in another place ; but as the minister of a sovereign in a 
 limited monarchy, in a country great in point of extent, great in its 
 possessions, and the various interests which it comprises ; and that, 
 considering these circumstances, he should in future concoct such 
 measures as he has reason to think may pass with the approval and 
 suit the general interests of all — meet the good-will of all — and not 
 of one particular party in one particular place." 
 
 The year 1837 was memorable for the operations of a '' British Le- 
 gion " in Spain. Divided by civil contests, one party in Spain con- 
 tending for the interests of the Queen, and another for Don Carlos, a 
 pretender to the succession, the country saw some ten thousand Eng- 
 lishmen range themselves under General De Lacy Evans as volun- 
 teers in the cause of the Queen. The Government of Great Britain, 
 to aid the project, suspended the Foreign Enlistment Act by an 
 order in Council, and countenanced the co-operation of a British fleet 
 and some hundreds of marines with General Evans's force. The 
 subject of course came before Parliament, and the Duke of Welling- 
 ton protested altogether against the intervention, and severely (but 
 not unjustly) criticised the discipline and strategy of the commander 
 of the legion. His Grace was likewise found occasionally animadvert- 
 ing upon the conduct of the Government towards the Protestants of 
 Ireland. 
 
 King William IV. died in the month of June, 1837. The Duke 
 of Wellington, glad of the opportunity of passing a eulogium upon the 
 deceased monarch, and of justifying his own loyalty, thus spoke in the 
 House of Lords on the 22d of June : — 
 
 " I have served his late Majesty in the highest situations ; I have 
 been in his councils as well as the noble viscount (Melbourne). I, 
 indeed, did not serve him so long as the noble viscount, or even under 
 any such prosperous circumstances as the noble viscount ; but I have
 
 190 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [185 
 
 had opportunities of witnessing, under all these circumstances, the 
 personal advantages of character so ably described by the noble 
 viscount. It has fallen to my lot to serve his Majesty at different 
 periods, and in different capacities ; and while I had the happiness 
 of doing so upon all those occasions, I have witnessed not 
 
 ^^^,, ^A^ o^\ 
 
 WILLIAM rV. 
 
 only all the virtues ascribed to him but likewise a firmness, a 
 discretion, a candour, a justice, and a spirit of conciliation towards 
 others — a respect for all. Probably there never was a sovereign, 
 who, in such circumstances, and encompassed by so many difficulties, 
 more successfully met them than he did upon every occasion on which 
 he had to engage them. I was induced to serve his Majesty, not only 
 from my sense of duty — not alone from the feeling that the Sovereign 
 of this country has the right to command my services in any situa- 
 tion in which it might bo considered that I might be of use — but 
 from a feeling of gratitude to his Majesty for favours, for personal
 
 1837.] WILLIAM THE FOURTR 191 
 
 distinctions conferred upon me, notwithstanding that I had been 
 unfortunately in the position of opposing myself to his Majesty's 
 views and intentions, when he was employed in a high situation 
 under Government,' and in consequence of which he had to resign 
 that great office which he must, beyond all others, have been most 
 anxious to retain. Notwithstanding that, my lords, he employed me 
 in his service ; and he, as a sovereign, manifested towards me a kind- 
 ness, condescension, and favour, which so long as I live, I never can 
 forget. I considered myself, then, not only bound by duty, and the 
 sense I felt of gratitude to all the sovereigns of this country, under 
 whom I had lived, but more especially towards his late Majesty, to 
 relieve him from every difficulty I could, under any circumstances." 
 
 1 William IV., when the Duke of Clarence, was under the necessity of resigning tho oflSce of 
 Lord Admiral, while the Duke of W^ellington was Premier, 
 
 2p
 
 192 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1887. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Accession of Queen Victoria. 
 
 AD William IV. — weak as he was — been 
 succeeded by either of his surviving 
 brothers, his demise would have given 
 occasion for a greater display of public 
 grief than was manifested upon an event 
 which was to be followed by the acces- 
 sion of a Queen. History and tradition 
 had combined to associate so much of 
 the glory and happiness of this country 
 with the rule of a female sovereign, that 
 the lamentations for a monarch who had 
 given his assent to the Reform Bill, were 
 speedily converted into rejoicings that 
 the country was now to be ruled by a 
 lady whose education had prepared her for the responsible task of 
 government, and who was believed to cherish those principles under 
 which England had obtained a high pitch of moral greatness. The 
 proverb, that "when women reign, men govern," gave assurance to 
 the British community that, in Queen Victoria, we should behold the 
 revival of all that political good fortune which had distinguished the 
 reigns of Elizabeth and Anne, and an improvement in the domestic 
 tone of society which had become somewhat impaired under the 
 Regency, and had scarcely recovered itself even under the admirable 
 example of Queen Adelaide — the consort of William IV. 
 
 The hopes of the nation received a striking confirmation at the 
 very commencement of the reign. When one hundred peers and 
 printes of the Privy Council assembled to sign the Act of Allegiance, 
 the Queen made a declaration of her attachment to the Constitution 
 in these words —
 
 1821.] QUEEN VICTORIA. 193 
 
 '' Educated in England under the tender and enlightened care of 
 a most affectionate mother, I have learned from my infancy to respect 
 and love the constitution of my native country. It will be my 
 unceasing study to maintain the reformed religion as by law estab- 
 lished, securing at the same time to all the full enjoyment of religious 
 liberty. And I shall steadily protect the rights, and promote, to the 
 utmost of my power, the happiness and welfare of all classes of my 
 subjects." 
 
 In delivering this declaration the Queen displayed extraordinary 
 self-possession. Her dignified composure and the firmness of her 
 voice impressed all who heard it with a deep sense of the latent 
 grandeur of a character which time and circumstances were afterwards 
 so beautifully and healthfully to develop. 
 
 Her Majesty made no change in her Ministry ; formed an excel- 
 lent household, and drew around her, in the privacy of life, all those 
 men who were most distinguished by their worth and ability ; and 
 those members of the female aristocracy who were most conspicuous 
 for their exemplary domestic conduct and familiarity with Court 
 usages. A modest diffidence was the striking characteristic of the 
 commencement of a reign which has continued to shed lustre on Great 
 Britain, and diffuse universal happiness. 
 
 It was wise of her Majesty to retain Lord Melbourne. No British 
 statesman ever possessed the art of simplifying the duties of Govern- 
 ment in so happy a degree, or of conveying instruction to a monarch 
 in so agreeable a form. An elegant scholar, a wit, and a man of 
 pleasure, Lord Melbourne, while he satisfied expectation in the House 
 of Lords, never gave himself more trouble than was absolutely neces- 
 sary. He sometimes treated grave subjects with an almost unpar- 
 donable nonchalance^ and often carried the laissez allcr to a point 
 which exposed him, personally, to a charge of indolence, and risked 
 the position and influence of his Ministry ; but this very indifference 
 was of advantage to the Queen, because it pleasantly initiated her 
 Majesty into the science of rule, and rendered her subsequent path 
 easy. Any other Minister would probably have alarmed the royal 
 mind, or made those duties irksome which should at all times be a 
 source of pleasure to a sovereign, and of benefit to a nation.' 
 
 1 " I happen to know that it is her Majesty's opinion, that the noble Viscount (Melbourne) ha« 
 rendered her Majesty the greatest possible service, by making her acquainted with the mode and 
 policy of the government of this country, initiating her into the laws and spirit of the Constitution, 
 independently of the performance of his duty as the servant of her Majesty's Crown ; teaching 
 her, in sliort, to preside over the destinies of this great country." — Speech of the Duke of IVeilinff^ 
 ton, Jlugust 24(A, 1841. 
 
 VOL. IL 13
 
 104 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1838. 
 
 Amongst the individuals whom her Majesty delighted to honour 
 was the Duke of Wellington. A frequent guest at the Palace, his 
 Grace was constantly consulted by the Queen ; and it is not too much 
 to say that the wisdom and sagacity of the venerable warrior and 
 statesman, combined with the gentleness of a father towards a beloved 
 child, made the deepest impression on the ductile mind and affection- 
 ate heart of the youthful monarch, and secured to his Grace a lasting 
 and truly enviable regard and attachment.* 
 
 The Duke of Wellington was, of course, much in the habit of meet- 
 ing Lord Melbourne on equal and friendly terms in the presence of 
 the Queen, but it had no effect upon the political opinions of his 
 Grace. He continued to express himself frankly in the House of 
 Lords respecting all measures to which he could not give a cordial 
 and ready support, and was uncompromising in his opposition to 
 principles which threatened an extension of popular power, or damage 
 to the interests of the Irish Protestants. 
 
 Queen Victoria was crowned with much pomp in the summer of 
 1838. A circumstance of great interest occurred in connection with 
 the event, which brought out the generous character of the people of 
 England and the high chivalry of the Duke of Wellington in vivid 
 and agfeeable colours. 
 
 The personage selected by the King of the French to represent 
 France at the coronation was Marshal Soult, the ancient antagonist 
 of Wellington. The reception of this officer was enthusiastic. The 
 people recognised in him the symbol of bravery and military skill. 
 They forgot the cruelties and barbarities which had marked the earlier 
 part of his career in Portugal : they remembered only the indomitable 
 perseverance of his resistance to Wellington in the Pyrenees and the 
 
 1 The following circumstance was related by Major Cumming Bruce, at the Conservative 
 dinner given to him and Mr. M'Kenzie Jun., of Scatwell, at Forres, in September, 1837. 
 Major Cumming Bruce said, he rose, " not only to tell a tale, but to crave a bumper. The 
 circumstance alluded to by the Chairman was not a tale, but a fact. Lord Melbourne, the 
 Prime Minister, in the course of his official duty, lately waited upon the Queen at Windsor. 
 After the business was concluded, the noble lord said, there was a subject which he felt called 
 upon to press upon her Majesty's attention. It was, whether there was any individual for whom 
 her Majesty entertained such a preference that she might wish to havo associated with her in 
 the cares of that sovereignty with which Providence had blessed her. The Queen, no doubt, felt 
 a little surprised at the question : she requested to know if it was as a Minister of the Crown, and 
 as a matter of State policy, that he asked the question ; for if it was, she would endeavour to 
 give him an answer. His lordship replied, that under no other circumstances would he have 
 presumed to put such a question to her Majesty. ' Then,' said the Queen, ' there is one indi 
 vidual for whom I entertain a decided preference, and that individual is the Duke of Wellington, 
 Gentlemen," added Major Cumming Bruce, " I leave you to figure the length of Lord Mel- 
 bourne's face, on receiving this answer. For the correctness of the statement I give the guarantea 
 of my name."
 
 1838.] MARSHAL SOULT IN ENGLAND. 195 
 
 south of France — the homage which he had paid to the British troops 
 on the field of Waterloo, when he assured the Emperor that they 
 never would give way, — and the amenities which had marked his 
 intercourse with the Duke when Minister of War under Louis XVIII. 
 All classes, from royalty downwards, vied with each other in paying 
 respect to the venerable Marshal ; and the Duke of Wellington, with 
 genuine magnanimity and generosity, waived his own claims upon 
 popular attention that a larger share of homage might be offered to 
 the illustrious Frenchman. Grand reviews, dinners by wealthy cor- 
 porations, fetes of all kinds, were given in the Marshal's honour ; and 
 he was invited to make a tour to Birmingham, Manchester, and 
 Liverpool, at each of which places he was received with enthusiasm. 
 At the grand dinner given by the London Corporation, the Duke of 
 Wellington was present, and the toast of the evening having compre- 
 hended the two distinguished soldiers, they severally returned thanks 
 in the following terms : — 
 
 " The Duke of Wellington said he entertained a high sense of the 
 honour of being associated with so illustrious an individual as him 
 whose name had been given in company with his own on the present 
 occasion. He was glad to find that the merits and services of that 
 illustrious stranger had been properly appreciated by the people of 
 this country. [Clieers.) And he had no doubt that he, on his part, 
 must fully appreciate the cordial feelings which had been manifested 
 towards him, not only on the present occasion, but whenever he had 
 presented himself to the public. He (the Duke of Wellington) was 
 delighted that the King of the French had chosen so distinguished au 
 individual to represent him on the occasion of the coronation of our 
 Queen. 
 
 " The Duke of Dalmatia then proceeded, amidst reiterated cheers, 
 to address the company in the French language. He spoke with 
 great feeling, but not with a powerful voice. He commenced by 
 observing that the expressions used by the Duke of Wellington had 
 entered into his very heart. Never had there lived a nobler-minded, 
 a braver, or a more honourable man than that illustrious general. 
 {C/ieers). The French nation had learned to estimate the worth of 
 the English army : its valour was known and appreciated all over 
 Europe. Now, however, they had no further resort to arms. Between 
 France and England there should now exist a perpetual peace. 
 (The illustrious Duke laid an emphasis upon the words ' alliance 
 perpctudle,^ which brought down a thunder of applause). Unanim- 
 ity shall now pervade their councils. After some further obser- 
 vations, the noble Diike, alluding, as we imagined, to the hospitality
 
 196 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1838. 
 
 with which he was at that moment treated, in company with the 
 Duke of Wellington, said that he hoped yet, one of these days, to 
 take his revenge (' revanche ') of the noble Duke in France. The 
 illustrious and gallant Duke sat down, after drinking ' The health of 
 the British army, and more particularly its great General, the Duke 
 of Wellington.' {Applause)." 
 
 Several of the most distinguished of the British generals who had 
 fought against Marshal Soult had the honour of being introduced to 
 him. Foremost among them was Lord Hill, the Commander-in- 
 Chief. It is related that when they came into contact, Soult ex- 
 tended his hand, and exclaimed, jocosely " Ah,je vous re7icontre cnfin I 
 moi qui ai couru si lorig terns apres vous .'" alluding, of course, to the 
 pursuit of Hill from Madrid to Alba de Tormes, after our failure at 
 Burgos. 
 
 Soult returned to France at the close of July, leaving a favourable 
 impression of his bonhommie^ and justifying a belief in the good 
 
 1 The following anecdotes are derived from newspapers published in July, 1838 : — 
 
 "Soult and Allan Ccnninoham. — Allan Cunningham was introduced to Marshal Soult, 
 and as the iuterview was interesting, the reader, we should suppose, will be the reverse of 
 displeased to peruse a hurried note of it, given as nearly as possible in his own words: — 
 'I saw him at his residence at Portland House ; he received me kindly, took me by the band, 
 placed me on a sofa beside him, and said he was indebted to his friend the Baron de P., for 
 making us acquainted. I said I had desired to see a man of great and strong talent by nature, 
 and not by Act of Parliament ; that I had long admired him for his generous tribute to the 
 memory of Sir John Moore, and looked upon him as. one of the noblest-minded of our foes. He 
 smiled at this, and turning to me, said, ' J'oe ! I never was your foe, at least in the coarse sense 
 of the word : I was taught to respect you in the sternest of all schools, the battle-field ; and it 
 was only yesterday I told your young Queen that Britain and France had tried the sword long 
 enough to each other's harm, and should now try what friendship could do, and thus ensure the 
 peace of Europe.' I bowed and replied, ' Marshal, you are still in the field ; you have won 
 other countries by the sword, and now you come to conquer us by courtesy.' As I said this 
 he pressed my knee gently with his band, and made some allusion to poetry. He is a noble 
 martial-featured man, tall, too, and vigorous ; and I thought of Austerlitz and many a bloody 
 field as he shook hands with me at parting. But we are not to part yet ; he has sent me a card 
 for his great ball cf this evening (Cth July), when 1 will again see, I feel assured, the same 
 simple, easy, courteous man I found during the interview I have attempted to describe. " — 
 Dumfries Courier. 
 
 " When Marshal Soult was at Manchester, a working man in a cotton manufactory there, 
 wished exceedingly to shake hands with the Marshal. His wish was readily gratified, when he 
 explained his motive. He had been in the Rifle Brigade all the Peninsular ^Var, and had fired 
 at Soult THIRTY times, but failed. At Toulouse, ho fired twenty times at the Marshal, with the 
 same result. The Marshal again shook him by the hand, saying that he was a good soldier, and 
 had done his best to serve his country." 
 
 " Marshal Soult and Captain Manby. — (From a Correspondent.) — At an interview which 
 Marshal Soult granted to Captain Manby on Friday last, for the purpose of requesting his 
 Excellency to take charge of a memorial to his sovereign, tlie King of the French, to sanction and 
 encourage an international negotiation with the maritime nations of the world, and enter into 
 a comprehensive treaty of mutual alliances for the preservation of life, and the protection of
 
 1839.] BANQUET TO THE DUKE AT DOVER. 197 
 
 understanding which was to mark the intercourse of France with Eng- 
 land during the reign of Louis Philippe. 
 
 The bearing of the Duke of Wellington towards the Duke of 
 Dalmatia exceedingly gratified the English people, and materially 
 contributed to the restoration of that popularity which his Grace 
 had formerly enjoyed, but which his civil government from 1829 to 
 1835, and his previous conduct in regard to Queen Caroline, had 
 tended to damage. One of the most violent of the radical prints 
 said: 
 
 " Passing over his civil services with this brief allusion, we shall 
 conclude by noticing the latest public scene of his life. He defeated 
 Marshal Soult in the Peninsula and in France — he has embraced him 
 in London. Herein he gained the greatest of his victories — a victory 
 over the prejudices of his life and his party. He never appeared more 
 illustrious in the eyes of his countrymen than when, forgetting all 
 ancient rivalries, and spurning all the low croakiyig seductions of low 
 party malice, he gave a cordial and an affectionate welcome to the man 
 who, next to himself, is the greatest soldier alive." 
 
 The year 1839 was remarkable for public demonstrations of the 
 regard in which the Duke of Wellington was held by his countrymen. 
 In the month of August a banquet was given to him at Dover, as 
 Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, at which no less than two 
 thousand persons were present. On this occasion Lord Brougham, 
 who, since his loss of the Chancellorship, had gradually seceded from 
 his old friends and began to play the courtier, was entrusted with the 
 duty of proposing the health of the Duke of Wellington. His 
 lordship treated the trust as a high compliment, because it inferred 
 that no differences of political opinion were able to stifle the natural 
 feelings of civilised statesmen so as to prevent them cherishing 
 "boundless gratitude for boundless merit." After dwelling upon 
 
 property (to the rightful owners), on whatever shore the misfortune of shipwreck may happen ; 
 also providing warm clothing and temporary comfort to the sailor after he is saved from ship- 
 wreck, and assisting him to his home, to whatever country he may belong ; to which the MarshaJ 
 was thus pleased to express himself: — 'I am most happy to take by the hand the man whose 
 name is so universally honoured for his noble and generous philanthropy, and to assiu-e him that, 
 on my return to Paris, I will immediately attend to his request, and press the subject on his Ma- 
 jesty's earnest attention.' " 
 
 "Marshal Soult and the Metropolitan Police.— The veteran Marshal Soult, prior to his 
 recent departure from this country, caused a letter, with his signature attached thereto, to be 
 forwarded to the Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police, at Scotland Yard, in which commu- 
 nication the distinguished foreigner alluded to expressed his high satisfaction at the excellent 
 conduct and good order of every member of the Force, by whom he had on so many occasion?, 
 during his sojourn in London, and in his visits to other places In the environs thereofi been 
 attended."
 
 198 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1839 
 
 this topic — the impossibility of forgetting in the spirit of party the 
 services rendered by " one transcendant genius in peace and in 
 war," — Lord Brougham gave vent to his admiration in an apostrophe 
 which is remembered as one of the most brilliant oratorical efforts of 
 the age. He " invoked both hemispheres" to witness that Wei- 
 
 LOKD BROUGHAM. 
 
 lington " never advanced but to be victorious — never retreated but to 
 eclipse the glory of his advance, by the yet harder task of unwearied 
 patience, indomitable tO' lassitude, the inexhaustible resources of 
 transcendant skill showing the wonders, the marvels of a moral 
 courage never yet subdued." " Despising all who thwarted him," 
 said Lord Brougham, "with ill-considered advice — neglecting all 
 hostility, as he knew it to be groundless — laughing to scorn reviling 
 enemies, jealous competitors, lukewarm friends, ay, hardest of all, to 
 neglect despising even a fickle public, he cast his eye forwards as a 
 man might, to a time when that momentary fickleness of the people 
 would pass away, knowing that, in the end, the people were always 
 just to merit."
 
 1839.] THE CORN-LAWS. 199 
 
 The Duke's reply was simple and modest — involving little else than 
 an affirmative of those propositions which referred to the necessity of 
 putting aside party politics and opinions to carry on the public service 
 to the greatest point of advantage to the public interest. 
 
 In this year, the Duke of Wellington narrowly escaped again be- 
 coming a Minister of the Crown. Upon the opening of Parliament, 
 he spoke to the Address in a conciliatory tone, only dwelling in a 
 tone of animadversion upon the favour shown to Chartists in allowing 
 large assemblies of those democrats, and deprecating the continuance 
 of rebellion in Canada. Upon a motion of Lord Brougham's regard- 
 ing the Corn-laws, his Grace upheld those laws as essential to the im- 
 provement of agriculture — he maintained that the price of corn would 
 be raised by their repeal — and upon being charged by Lord Radnor 
 with the advocacy of monopoly, and with not assisting the farmers and 
 labourers, he answered emphatically and in his accustomed straight- 
 forward manner — 
 
 " My Lords, I know nothing about landlords, farmers, or labourers, 
 when I am advocating a legislative question of a public nature in this 
 House. I have nothing to say to them any further than as their in- 
 terests are identified with those of the community at large. I beg 
 the noble lord to understand, when I come to this House, I come here 
 upon the public interest. I have no more to say to landlords, farmers, 
 or labourers, than the noble earl himself; and I am thoroughly con- 
 vinced there is not a noble friend near me who does not look at this 
 question solely on public grounds, and those which he conceives it to 
 be for the interest of the country to take." 
 
 When a motion was brought forward by Lord Roden for a com- 
 mittee to inquire into the state of Ireland, the Duke of Wellington 
 gave it his support ; and he likewise spoke upon the Irish Municipal 
 Corporations Bill, when it went into committee in the House of 
 Lords. 
 
 The subject of the emancipation of the negro apprentices in 
 Jamaica having come before the House of Commons, with some 
 notice of the violent scenes which had been enacted in that colony, a 
 bill was brought in for suspending the constitution of Jamaica. Sir 
 Robert Peel and his party opposed the bill vehemently, and ultimate- 
 ly Ministers only carried it by a majority of five. Upon this the 
 Ministry resigned. 
 
 The Queen, upon receiving the resignation of Lord Melbourne, sent 
 for the Duke of Wellington. His Grace, as before, referred her 
 Majesty to Sir Robert Peel, and Sir Robert Peel immediately endeav- 
 oured to form a government. In this he was frustrated. Sir Robert
 
 200 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON [1839. 
 
 considered it indispensable that the ladies of the Queen's household 
 should be connected only with those persons who held pulitical 
 opinions in common with himself. He accordingly proposed to her 
 Majesty to remove the ladies of her bed-chamber. This the Queen 
 decidedly refused to do — declaring the course proposed to be contrary 
 to usage, and repugnant to her feelings — and Sir Robert at once 
 resigned into her Majesty's hands the trust committed to him. The 
 Duke of Wellington appears to have quite entered into Sir Robert 
 Peel's feelings on the subject. His Grace said very distinctly, when 
 explaining bis own share in the Ministerial negotiation, that he 
 deemed it essential that the Minister should possess the entire con- 
 fidence of her Majesty, and, with that view, should exercise the usual 
 control permitted to the Minister by the Sovereign in the construction 
 of the household. " The public," he said, " would not believe that 
 the Queen held no political conversation with the ladies of her 
 household, and that political influence was not exercised by them 
 particularly, considering who the persons were who held those 
 situations. He had a somewhat strong opinion on the subject. He 
 had himself filled the office of the noble viscount, and had felt the 
 inconvenience of an anomalous influence, not exercised perhaps by 
 ladies, but exerted by persons about the court, and that simply in 
 conversation." 
 
 After the resumption of power by the Melbourne Cabinet, the Duke 
 of Wellington during the remainder of the session addressed the House 
 of Lords on several questions of importance — the affairs of Canada — 
 the Ballot — the Portuguese slave trade — a reform in the postage 
 system. To the ballot he was naturally opposed, as an '• un-English" 
 measure. He supported a bill for the introduction of the penny 
 postage, because the country looked for the establishment of a low and 
 uniform rate ; but his Grace did not believe that it would tend to an 
 increase in the correspondence of the ccJuntry, and he thought that the 
 sacrifice of revenue would be considerable. The Duke rested his 
 •belief in the little effect which a reduction of postage would have 
 upon general correspondence, on his experience in the army, where, 
 " in a Highland regiment, in the course of six or seven months, only 
 sixty-three or sixty-four letters were written" — most infelicitous 
 data, as the result established. The Duke forgot that in Highland 
 regiments few men could read and write, and that a great many had 
 left their families without writing, or intending to communicate with 
 them. He argued from the ignorance and circumstances of one class 
 of the community against the intelligence and activity of other 
 classes, and did not seem to take into account that the extension of
 
 1839.] 
 
 THE DUKE'S ILLNESS. 
 
 201 
 
 the facilities of correspondence would give an impetus to education. 
 To the bill for the suppression of the Portuguese slave-trade, the Duke 
 was so earnestly opposed, that he entered several protests against it 
 as it passed through the House. The foundation of his opposition 
 was, that the right of enforcing the due observance of the treaties en- 
 tered into at Portugal for the suppression of the trade did not lie 
 within the province of Parliament, but was the proper office of the 
 Executive Government. 
 
 Parliament having been prorogued, the Duke proceeded as usual to 
 pass the autumn at Walmer Castle. While here, on the 20th of No- 
 vember, he was suddenly taken ill, and great apprehensions were for 
 some time entertained for the safety of his life. It seems that he had 
 been out hunting, and the fatigue was greater than he was capable of 
 enduring, for he had been restricting his diet with great severity in 
 order to get rid of a cold. When, therefore, he returned home to 
 dinner, he fainted from inanition. Sir Astley Cooper and Dr. Hume 
 — two of the most eminent physicians of the day — were immediately 
 in attendance, and remained with the Duke a week, at the end of which 
 time he had recovered his strength. 
 
 STATUE AT EDINBURGH. 
 
 If the Duke had valued popularity, this attack of illness would 
 have gratified him exceedingly from the test it supplied of the esteem 
 in which he was now generally held. Upon his return to town, his
 
 202 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1839. 
 
 appearance was greeted with marked expressions of congratulation, 
 not merely by his friends and political opponents, but by the crowds 
 assembled round the gates of the palace when he attended a Privy 
 Council. 
 
 Another strong proof of the restored popularity of the Duke of 
 Wellington was presented this year in Edinburgh. A public meeting 
 was held on the 23rd of November, to set on foot a subscription for 
 erecting a national testimonial to his Grace in the Scottish capital. 
 Men of all classes of the community, and of all shades of politics, 
 attended and subscribed.' 
 
 1 This national testimonial took the form of a splendid equestrian statue, but thirteen years 
 elapsed before it was finished and inaugurated. 
 
 "This great work, which is from the hand of Mr. John Steel, is colossal In dimensions, 
 measuring nearly fourteen feet in height ; and together with the pedestal, which is of Aberdeen 
 granite, rising from the ground about twenty-six feet. The bronze weighs nearly twelve tons. It 
 derives additional interest from its being the first bronze statue ever cast in Scotland. Unlike 
 most other bronze statues, in this the different parts are not rivelted together, but fused — an im- 
 provement attended by considerable labor and difficulty. The horse is here in high action. The 
 only parts which touch the pedestal are the hind feet and the tail ; and, accordingly, in order to pre- 
 serve the balance, great skill was required in apportioning exactly to each part its proper weight 
 of metal. The only other equestrian statue Id a similar posture is that of Peter the Great at St. 
 Petersburgh, where the difficulty is chiefly overcome by the not very appropriate introduction of 
 a serpent, upon which the horse is trampling, and which not only strengthens the hind legs, but 
 projects very far behind, and serves as a balance. The statue represents the Duke mounted on 
 his charger, and issuing orders ; the reins lie loose on the neck of his plunging steed ; in one 
 hand he holds them and his plumed hat, and with the other points commandingly to a distant 
 part of the field."
 
 1840.] 
 
 THE SESSION OF 1840. 
 
 203 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 The Session of 1840— The Duke on the religion of Prince Albert— The Affghanistan Campaign 
 —The Navy— Libels on the proceedings of the House of Commons— The Marriage of the 
 Queen— The Whig Ministry resigns, in 1841— The Duke as an orator. 
 
 PUBLIC man can hardly be said to have 
 
 a private life — least of all can one who 
 
 has for forty years filled a space in the 
 
 world's thought expect to escape general 
 
 observation. He may shelter himself 
 
 behind a barricade of punctilio — may 
 
 coldly and sternly repel the advances 
 
 I of strangers, — avoid sympathy with the 
 
 popular emotion of the hour — and even 
 
 seclude himself from the gaze of the 
 
 multitude. Still he must continue to be 
 
 an object of powerful interest, and to 
 
 find his simplest acts scanned by those who have learnt to regard him 
 
 as the property of the nation. 
 
 Such was the fate of the Duke of Wellington. From 1840 to the 
 end of his life he was " the observed of all observers." His habits 
 were noted ; his movements watched ; his words treasured. Every 
 one made an effort to see him in his usual haunts — the Park and the 
 House of Lords, — and no country cousins visiting London returned 
 home satisfied if they had not obtained a glimpse of the great Duke 
 of Wellington. 
 
 With all that concerns his private life — using the term simply in 
 contradistinction to the public duties which devolved upon him — we 
 shall treat in a future chapter. The conduct of the Duke in Parlia- 
 ment must, for the present, engage our care. He had by habitual 
 attention to the claims upon his presence as a peer, and the share 
 which he took in all great questions, acquired in the House an
 
 204 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1840. 
 
 influence worthy of his military renown ; and no matters of importance 
 could be discussed without the questions being asked in ten thousand 
 places, " What does the Duke say ? — what does the Duke think 
 of it ?" 
 
 The Speech from the Throne at the opening of Parliament on the 
 16th of January, 1840, was rendered peculiarly interesting by the 
 announcement that her Majesty was about to ally herself in marriage 
 with Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha, the Queen's cousin. 
 The character of the young Prince offered a guarantee of her 
 Majesty's happiness, and all classes received the intimation with 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Perhaps no one in the realm more sincerely rejoiced at the prospect 
 of an accession to the Queen's felicity than the Duke of Wellington. 
 He concurred most cordially in the expression of congratulation to 
 her Majesty on an event calculated to promote her comfort. True, 
 however, to his attachment to the Protestant Church, and rigidly 
 insisting on an adherence to the forms which afforded at least a 
 nominal protection to the interests of the Establishment in its 
 connection with the Crown, the Duke contended that the public had 
 a right to know something more than the mere name of the Prince 
 whom her Majesty intended to espouse. His Grace remarked that 
 the precedent of the reign of George III. had been followed in the 
 announcement excepting in one respect, and that was that the Prince 
 was a Protestant. He did not doubt — indeed he knew — that the 
 Prince was a Protestant, and of a Protestant family. But he main- 
 tained that as it was necessary by law that he should be of that 
 persuasion, an official declaration to that effect should have been 
 made by the Government. He ascribed the omission of the decla- 
 ration to a fear of the Catholic party in Ireland, who seemed to be 
 exerting themselves to inspire England with " terror :" and he called 
 upon the House to require a formal announcement of Prince Albert's 
 religion. 
 
 The next occasion upon which the Duke of Wellington spake in 
 1840 was when the House of Lords was called upon to approve of an 
 expedition into Affghanistan. It appears that the Governments of 
 England and India had had some reason to believe that Russia was 
 intriguing at the Court of Dost Mahomed, the ruler of Cabul, to 
 acquire certain commercial and political advantages, including the 
 right of trafficking upon the Indus, with the ultimate view of obtaining 
 a footing in India. To check those designs. Lord Auckland, the 
 Governor-General of India, acting in concert with the Government 
 at home, determined upon replacing upon the musnud or throne of
 
 1840.] THE AFFGHANISTAN EXPEDITION. 205 
 
 Cabul an exiled King, Shah Soojah by name, who had for some years 
 been a refugee in the British territory. Anticipating serious oppo- 
 sition, or, at all events, contemplating the importance of surrounding 
 the restored King with a British army who should hold possession of 
 Affghanistan, Lord Auckland dispatched fifteen thousand men of all 
 arms to Cabul, under Lieutenant-General Sir John Keane, an old 
 Peninsula officer, having under his command as Generals of Division, 
 Sir Willoughby Cotton. Major-Generals Sale, Willshire, Nott, and 
 others. The army marched down the left bank of the Indus, crossed 
 at Sukkur, moved through Upper Scinde and the Bolan Pass, captured 
 Candahar, took Gbuznee by storm, and entered Cabul in triumph. 
 The whole afi'air was well conducted, and the storming of Ghuznee 
 was attended by severe loss, for the leading troops were engaged in a 
 hand-to-hand conflict with the Affghans, under the gateway which 
 it had become necessary to blow in, owing to the absence of siege 
 guns. 
 
 These operations elicited the warm approbation of the Duke of 
 Wellington. He claimed the right of judging of such operations upon 
 the strength of his own personal experience, and declared that he had 
 never known an occasion on which the duty of a Government was 
 performed on a larger scale — on which a more adequate provision was 
 made for all contingencies and various events which could occur ; and 
 he said of the officers engaged, that there were no men in the service 
 who deserved a higher degree of approbation for the manner in which, 
 on all occasions, they had discharged their duty. In no instance that 
 the Duke had ever heard of had such services been performed in a 
 manner better calculated to deserve and secure the approbation of 
 the House of Lords and the country. 
 
 In the same month (February), the Duke of Wellington opposed 
 himself to the propagation of the Socialism which was making some 
 way in the counties of Wiltshire and Hampshire, and which he 
 denominated a " mischievous and demoralising" system ; and cir- 
 cumstances having subsequently arisen to afford occasion for his 
 speaking of the British navy, he delivered himself of the following 
 eulogium : — 
 
 " I know a great deal of the gentlemen of that profession, and for 
 my own part I have always had, and still have, the greatest and 
 highest respect for them, and the very utmost confidence in them. I 
 have always endeavoured to emulate their services in the service in 
 which I have myself been engaged ; and I am sure that in nothing 
 have I endeavoured to emulate them in a greater degree than in that 
 confidence which they feel not only in themselves and in the officers
 
 206 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1840. 
 
 of their own ranks, but in all officers and troops under tlieir com- 
 mand." 
 
 The generous way in which the Duke of Wellington invariably 
 spoke of the conduct of the officers of the army of whom he had 
 known anything was not by any means the least remarkable feature 
 of his speeches in Parliament. He seemed, as we shall afterwards 
 see, always glad of an opportunity of bearing tribute to professional 
 worth. The proceedings of Lord Seaton (Sir John Colborne, of the 
 52nd), when Governor of the Canadas, having come under review, the 
 Duke said (March 27, 1840) :— 
 
 " I had the honour of being connected with the noble and gallant 
 lord in service at an early period of his life ; and I must declare that, 
 at all times, and under all circumstances, he gave that promise of 
 prudence, zeal, devotion, and ability, which he has so nobly fulfilled 
 in his services to his Sovereign and his country during the re- 
 cent proceedings in Canada. I entirely agree in all that has been 
 said respecting the conduct of my noble and gallant friend in 
 remaining, under all circumstances, at his post, and in taking 
 command of the troops, although it was not thought expedient 
 by the Government to place him again in the government of the 
 provinces." 
 
 In this year, a question of very material import arose, which 
 created a great deal of excitement from the extraordinary legal pro- 
 ceedings which followed upon it. It seems that for some four or five 
 years previously certain persons had been in the habit of bringing 
 actions against the Messrs. Hansard, the authorised publishers of the 
 debates in the House of Parliament, for libels contained in the re- 
 ports of those debates, and that the defence of the Messrs. Hansard, 
 that they were publishers " by authority" of the language used by the 
 highest judicial tribunal in the land, was of no effect. At length, the 
 Messrs. Hansard appealed to the House of Commons. The House, 
 by a vote, declared that any proceedings taken against persons for 
 simply publishing its proceedings would be guilty of a breach of 
 privilege. Nevertheless, one Stockdale, a publisher, who had often 
 fallen under the animadversion of the House of Commons for the 
 character of his publications, continued to persecute the Hansards, 
 and. ultimately, obtaining damages, called upon the sheriffs to levy 
 execution upon the goods of the defendants. The sherifi"s obeyed 
 the writ of the Court. The House of Commons, in vindication of its 
 privilege, committed the sheriffs to prison, and likewise the attorney 
 who acted for Stockdale. The press and the public took up the 
 subject with great warmth ; and between an anxiety to protect the
 
 1840.] LIBELS IN PARLIAMENT. 207 
 
 characters of private individuals, and to uphold the majesty and 
 
 independence of the Courts of Law, and a desire to maintain inviolate 
 
 the freedom of Parliamentary discussion, much wordy strife arose. 
 
 At length Lord John Russell brought in a bill enabling Parliament 
 
 to give summary protection to persons employed in the publication of 
 
 its proceedings. The subject was fervidly debated, especially by the 
 
 ablest lawyers on both sides, and ultimately the bill passed by a large 
 
 majority. When the bill went to the House of Lords, the Duke of 
 
 Wellington, after some observations, said — 
 
 " I remember reading with great satisfaction the history of a great 
 
 case, which was pleaded and argued at considerable length, some 
 
 years ago, in this country — I mean the case of the ' King v. Peltier,' 
 
 in the Court of King's Bench. That was the case of an action 
 
 brought against an obscure individual, for a libel which he had 
 
 published upon the sovereign of a neighbouring country, with whom 
 
 we were in a state of peace and amity. Now, I ask your lordships 
 
 whether, supposing, in the course of the late Polish revolution, the 
 
 libels, some of which we have seen printed in this country, and others 
 
 which we have heard spoken of in the other, and, I believe, in this 
 
 House of Parliament, reviling, in the strongest terms, the sovereign 
 
 of Russia, had been stated in the petitions, or in the proceedings of 
 
 the House of Commons, and had been printed, published, and sold by 
 
 its authority ; I ask your lordships whether such a proceeding would 
 
 not have been calculated to disturb the peace of this country, and of 
 
 the world at large ? In short, I ask your lordships whether it is 
 
 desirable that there should be an opportunity of publishing and 
 
 selling, on the part of the two Houses of Parliament, libels against the 
 
 sovereigns of all the foreign powers in Europe ? My lords, I am one 
 
 of those who consider that the greatest political interest of this 
 
 country is, to remain at peace and amity with all the nations of the 
 
 world. I am for avoiding even the cause of war, and of giving 
 
 offence to any one, and of seeking a quarrel, either by abuse, or by 
 
 that description of language which is found in these libels. I am 
 
 against insulting the feelings of any sovereign, at whom individuals 
 
 may have taken offence, and against whom they may seek to publish 
 
 libels under the sanction of Parliament. Let them state what they 
 
 please in their private capacity, and let them be answerable for it 
 
 individually, as Peltier was. What I want is, that Parliament should 
 
 not, by the combined privilege of publication and sale, run the risk of 
 
 involving the country in the consequences of a discussion of such 
 
 subjects, and in all the mischiefs and inconveniences which might arise 
 
 from it." ' ^ 
 
 2q
 
 208 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1840. 
 
 It would have been manifestly impossible to make exceptions in 
 favour of any particular class of individuals in the heat of par- 
 liamentary discussion. If foreign sovereigns were to be protected 
 simply because they were prone to take offence at a degree of freedom 
 intolerable in their own country, every individual in the United 
 Kingdom would have a good right to complain of a disregard of 
 the integrity of private character. Why should the enormities of a 
 tyrant escape the strictures of the senators of a free country, and the 
 comparative peccadilloes of an humble trader be visited with unlim- 
 ited reprehension ? By a happy and wise provision of the Legis- 
 lature, the British Courts of Law afford the same protection to a 
 foreign despot against the license of the British press as a subject 
 of the English Crown enjoys, and no great monarch — whether 
 Emperor of all the Kussias or Kuler of France — could desire more. 
 Foreign Governments should be taught to distinguish between the 
 commentaries of private individuals contributing to a newspaper, or 
 members of Parliament speaking to a question before the House, and 
 the language of a minister embodying the sentiments of a Govern- 
 ment or the nation at large. The anxiety of the Duke of Wellington 
 to guard against a war was natural — and peculiarly commendable — in 
 a great soldier who had seen so much of its actual horrors and sub- 
 sequent evils ; but his Grace, in the ardour of his pacific sentiments, 
 lost sight at once of the danger of checking freedom of discussion, and 
 of the panoply of defence supplied to the foreign potentate in the 
 British Courts of Justice. 
 
 Excepting the misunderstanding which had arisen with China 
 owing to the sudden seizure and confiscation of large quantities of 
 opium belonging to British merchants, and the arrest and imprison- 
 ment of the representatives of the British Crown and the super- 
 intendents of the trade with China, no subject of any material 
 importance drew out the Duke of Wellington during the session of 
 1840. He said a few words on the 30th of June on the great utility 
 of the Canadian colonies to Great Britain ; and on the 30th of July he 
 maintained that religious education in England should be provided 
 out of the funds of the Church, and on the 4th of August that oaths 
 were necessary in Courts of Justice to establish the truth, which is 
 the foundation of all truth ; but no other record of his addresses to 
 the House of Lords — if any were made — is to be found in the Par- 
 liamentary annals of the year. 
 
 Her Majesty was married to Prince Albert in February, 1840. 
 The Duke of Wellington was present, but it would appear from the 
 evidence of spectators on the occasion that Time and a life of labour
 
 1841.] LORD MELBOURNE RESIGNS. 209 
 
 and anxious care were beginning to display their effects upon his 
 person. The papers of the day state that — 
 
 " The Duke, who looked infirm, and did not move with his usual 
 alacrity, was the only individual whom the spectators stood up to 
 honour and to cheer. He bowed calmly in reply, but seemed, we 
 are sorry to say, sinking under the weight of honours and of 
 years." 
 
 The shell was wearing out, but the spirit of the venerable warrior 
 retained all its pristine force, and he continued for twelve years later 
 to astonish his peers and fellow subjects by the vigour of his intellect 
 and the hardiness of his frame. 
 
 Lord Melbourne's Government had for some time previous to this 
 time began to experience the consequences of the lassitude of its 
 chief Making no effort to maintain power by realising the expecta- 
 tions of its liberal supporters — content to carry measures by insig- 
 nificant majorities, which minorities, in otL,?- days, would have 
 construed into '' want of confidence " votes — enduring defeats with 
 placidity — and exposed to much ridicule and contempt out of doors, — 
 the Melbourne Government, after a sickly existence of ten years' 
 duration, dissolved in 1841, and her Majesty entrusted the office of 
 Prime Minister to Sir Robert Peel. There was no question now 
 of Maids of Honour and Ladies of the Bedchamber. Sir Robert felt 
 himself sufficiently strong to defy back-stairs influence, and the 
 country had become too weary of the effete Whigs to view with regret 
 the accesion to authority of one who had shown, on former occasions, 
 that he was not disinclined to bend to the necessities of the hour, and 
 carry popular measures. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington accepted a seat in the Cabinet 
 without office. He was found to be a sound and able adviser, 
 capable of safely guiding others in their political career, if not 
 always successful in his own personal experiments in the science of 
 government. 
 
 The authoritative influence which the Duke had acquired in the 
 House of Lords — even to the extent of holding the proxies of a great 
 many peers — was of infinite utility to Sir Robert Peel. Whoever 
 might be in power, his Grace confessedly " led " the peers, and his 
 habit of mastering and addressing himself to every subject that came 
 prominently before the House, acquired for him the reputation of an 
 orator. 
 
 True eloquence has been defined, the faculty of enunciating the 
 truth in the most simple and striking manner. This, however, is not 
 the ordinary acceptation of the terra. With the multitude, eloquence
 
 210 / LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1841. 
 
 can only co-exist with efflorescence of style, brilliancy of phrase, 
 smoothly-rounded passages, an affluence of trope and metaphor, and 
 copiousness of illustration. Those Englishmen will enjoy the highest 
 rank in history as orators who were most remarkable for the length 
 and grandeur of their harangues. Burke, who spoke for hours, 
 adorning his speeches with classical quotations and gorgeous 
 imagery ; Mackintosh, who delivered sententious essays, garnished 
 with rhetorical ornament ; Sheridan, whose apostrophes resembled 
 the rushing of a current vivid with the flashes of phosphoric light ; 
 Brougham, who mingled terse and vigorous passages, with elaborate 
 platitudes springing from a mental prodigality which knew not how 
 to economise ; — these and others of lesser note earned the title of 
 orators, and will be cited in after ages as the only true disciples of 
 the schools of eloquence founded by Cicero and Demosthenes. But 
 those who yield nothing to appeals to the fancy — who have disciplined 
 their minds to accept only the rays of truth transmitted through the 
 simplest and clearest medium — will give a preference to the practi- 
 cal speaker who discards every decoration as an interference with 
 fidelity, or as an artifice only fit to cover sophistry or conceal intrinsic 
 weakness. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington was of the latter class of orators. His 
 speeches were rough-hewn from the block of his sagacity and expe- 
 rience, and his auditory forgot their roughness and unpolished aspect 
 in their deep sense of the value of the quarry. His strong morale — 
 his love of truth, his contempt for all the redundancies and super- 
 fluities which encumbered a case — his faculty of discovering and ruth- 
 lessly exposing a fallacy — his exactitude of description — his care in 
 calling things by their right names — his admiration of the Constitu- 
 tion — and his profound veneration for monarchical power — imparted 
 a weight to his speeches which no florid or merely graceful oratory 
 could counterbalance. Examples of this will be found in many of the 
 passages quoted in foregoing pages, and in those that may be given 
 hereafter. They will not serve as models, because there will be one 
 essential ingredient wanting in those who may attempt to copy the 
 Duke's phraseology and manner — the influence of name and statioa 
 That which came from him with sledge-hammer force, and was ac 
 cepted with unexampled deference by the 
 
 " Brave Peers of England— 
 The pillars of the State," 
 
 would be accounted mere impertinence in one who had no other claim 
 to be heard than high lineage, a college education, and a careful atud?
 
 1841.] THE DUKE'S ORATORY. 211 
 
 of the public questions of the day. could confer. Mr. Francis, in his 
 " Orators of the Age," (1846) has well put the causes of the Duke's 
 influence : — 
 
 " Being obliged to speak, he says no more than the occasion abso- 
 lutely requires. He gives utterance to the real sentiments of his mind, 
 the unbiassed conclusions suggested by a cool head and an almost un- 
 paralleled experience. You can see at once that this is done without 
 effort, and, above all, without any desire for effect. It is a labour of 
 duty, not of love. It is not sought by him, yet he is ready when 
 called on. Having said his say, he seems relieved of an unpleasant 
 load, and sits down abruptly as he rose, indifferent whether what he 
 has delivered has pleased or displeased his audience. These, it is quite 
 unnecessary to say, are not the characteristics of professed orators. 
 Yet the Duke will produce, on the floor of the House of Lords, per- 
 chance, a more permanent effect, than the most ingenious and eloquent 
 of them all. 
 
 " The agencies by which his influence works on the legislature and 
 the public are of a far higher order. Look at the moral weight he 
 brings with him. With a reputation already historical, what man of 
 the day, be he even the greatest, can command the respect which his 
 mere presence inspires ? It may seem a trifle, but it is one pregnant 
 with deep meaning, that the only individual in this country, except 
 the members of the royal family, to whom all men, the highest and 
 the lowest, uncover themselves in the public highway, is the Duke of 
 Wellington. If the vulgar, the indifferent, the triflers, the ignorant, 
 pay this homage to him where no homage is due to any man, shall 
 not the same sentiment prevail within the walls of the House of 
 Lords, among those whose privileges and social pre-eminence rest upon 
 hereditary gratitude ? 
 
 " The Duke of Wellington, in his place in the House of Lords, 
 stands apart from, and above, all the other peers. There may be men 
 of more ancient lineage ; there are certainly men of more command- 
 ing and brilliant talents of the sort that captivate an assembly, whether 
 composed of the high or the low ; but he transcends them all in the 
 possession of that power which is created by a voluntary intellectual 
 submission. Plain, unpretending, venerable as he is, he seems encircled 
 by an atmosphere of glory. All physical defects, all the infirmities 
 of age, are lost in the light of his great fame. He seems already to 
 belong to the past, and to speak with its authority. Often oracular 
 in his denunciations and in his decisions, strange to say, those who 
 hear him seem to believe that he is so. 
 
 " And it is not among pigmies that he is thus morally a giant. The
 
 212 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1841. 
 
 deference and respect paid to the Duke of Wellington in the House 
 of Lords come from men of the highest order of minds. Neither 
 political differences nor personal vanities interpose any obstacle to its 
 free expression. Powerful and successful orators and statesmen, aris- 
 tocratic demagogues, grave lawyers and erratic law-givers, whatever 
 may be their mutual jealousies or their customary arrogance, all yield 
 at once to his moral supremacy. The man of the present day who 
 stands next to him in extent, if not the quality of his fame, he who 
 is distinguished among his contemporaries not more for his parlia- 
 mentary and political successes than for his mental and moral insub- 
 ordination, — he, too, ostentatiously proclaims himself the devoted ad- 
 mirer and follower of the Duke of Wellington. The homage is too 
 universal not to be sincere. 
 
 " It is this moral weight or influence that gives to the public speak- 
 ing of the Duke of Wellington its chief characteristics. He can 
 speak with an authority which no other man would dare to assume, 
 and which, if assumed by any other man, would not be submitted to. 
 For the same reason, he can dispense with all the explanation and 
 apology which so often render the speeches of other men ridiculous. 
 He has no need of a hypocritical humility, or an affected desire 
 of abstinence from that great necessity of politicians — speech-mak- 
 ing. He knows both that he is expected to speak, and that what he 
 has to say will be held to be of value. He knows that no de- 
 cision will be come to till he has been heard, and that the chances 
 are in favour of his opinion prevailing even with those opposed to 
 him, unless the current of political feeling should happen at the time 
 to run very strongly indeed. These incumbrances of ordinary speak- 
 ers being cast aside, the Duke can afford to run at once full tilt at 
 the real question in dispute. To see him stripping the subject of all 
 extraneous and unnecessary adjuncts, until he exposes it to his hear- 
 ers in its real and natural proportions, is a very rich treat. He 
 scents a fallacy afar off, and hunts it down at once without mercy. 
 He has certain constitutional principles which with him are real 
 standards. He measures propositions or opinions by these stand- 
 ards, and as they come up to the mark or fall short of it, so are 
 they accepted or disposed of Sometimes, but rarely, he carries this 
 inflexible system too far, and has afterwards to retract ; but it is 
 remarkable for a man who has wielded such authority, who has been 
 accustomed to implicit deference for so many years, and whose mental 
 organisation is so stern and steadfast, how few prejudices he has. 
 Even these will always yield to necessity, often to reason. If he be 
 sometimes dogmatical, the fault is less his than of those who lead
 
 1S41.J THE DUKE'S MORAL INFLUENCE. 213 
 
 him into this natural error, when their respect deters them from even 
 reminding him that he is fallible. 
 
 " Self-reliance and singleness of purpose induce in him vigour of 
 thought and simplicity of diction. This simplicity, which is not 
 confined to the language only, but extends to the operation of the 
 mind, is unique. You meet nothing like it in any other man now 
 prominently before the public. There is a vigorous economy of 
 both thoughts and words. As a speaker and as a general, the Duke 
 equally disencumbers himself of unnecessary agents. He is as little 
 fond of rhetorical flourishes or declamatory arts as he was of useless 
 troops. Every word does its work. Simple, sound, sterling Saxon, 
 he seems to choose by instinct, as hitting hardest with least show. 
 Sometimes, this self-reliance and simplicity degenerate into an 
 abruptness almost rude. Then the simplicity would almost appear 
 affected, but that the Duke is wholly incapable of that culpable 
 weakness. 
 
 " With all his apparent simplicity and rigidity, no man more 
 thoroughly keeps pace with his age than the Duke of Wellington. 
 He unites great shrewdness of perception and readiness of observa- 
 tion, with a disposition steadfastly to adhere to what is, rather than 
 to yield to what has not been tried. If he rarely rejects a theory, he 
 as rarely adopts one, because it is new. He is not fond of theories, 
 except those which the past and the experience of long practice have 
 sanctioned. He individualises everything as much as he can. He 
 prefers a small benefit, that is specific and real, to the most magnifi- 
 cent promises. The chief characteristic of his mind is common 
 sense ; but it is of a very uncommon sort. It becomes a kind of 
 practical philosophy. He requires so much per cent, deposit for 
 every share in the joint-stock of modern wisdom. Perhaps he some- 
 times pushes these peculiarities too far. The prejudices of so power- 
 ful a man may sometimes become a great national obstruction. But, 
 on the other hand, it is well that there should be some men of fixed 
 ideas, to prevent the moral world flying off out of its appointed 
 orbit. 
 
 " It is the moral influence of the Duke of Wellington, and the 
 position in the country which his great services have secured for him, 
 that render him so influential a speaker in the House of Lords. It 
 is felt that his speeches are not merely made for a party purpose, but 
 that they embody the experience of a life. His sincerity, and the 
 reliance you have on his sagacity, compensate for the absence of 
 those graces of style and manner, and that choice of language, which
 
 214 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1841. 
 
 are expected from a public speaker. He usually sits in a state of 
 abstraction, — his arms folded, his head sunk on his breast, his legs 
 stretched out : he seems to be asleep.^ But in a very few moments, 
 he shows that he has not been an inattentive observer of the debate. 
 He suddenly starts up, advances (sometimes with faltering steps, 
 from his advanced age) to the table, and, without preface or prelim- 
 inary statement, dashes at once at the real question in dispute. The 
 keenness with which he detects it, and the perseverance of his pur- 
 suit, are remarkable proofs of the unimpaired vigour of his under- 
 standing. Even with all the physical feebleness which might be ex- 
 pected at his years, he entirely fills the House while he speaks. His 
 utterance is very indistinct ; yet by a strong effort of the will he 
 makes himself clearly heard and understood, even though to do so 
 he may have to repeat whole portions of sentences. Not a point 
 of the discourse escapes him ; and the most vigorous debater often 
 finds the weakness of his argument, however cleverly masked, sud- 
 denly detected and exposed. Some of the short, terse, pointed sen- 
 tences, fall with a force on the House the more remarkable for the 
 contrast of the matter with the manner. The speeches as a whole, 
 though always extremely brief in comparison with those of more elab- 
 orate debaters, strike the hearer with surprise for their sustained 
 tone, the consistency of their argument, and a kind of natural 
 symmetry, the necessary consequence of their being the sincere 
 and spontaneous development of a strong mind and a determined 
 purpose." 
 
 The occasions on which the Duke of Wellington held it his duty to 
 speak in his place in Parliament in 1841, were neither numerous nor 
 exciting. His speeches were rather incidental than directed to the 
 accomplishment of any piece of State policy. He offered opinions, 
 but did not employ his eloquence to carry public measures. For 
 instance, with reference to some French naval proceedings in South 
 America and the Pacific, he referred to the importance of our pre- 
 serving a good understanding with France ; he praised the capture 
 of St. Jean d'Acre in Syria (upon the occasion of a misunderstand- 
 ing with the Egyptian Pacha) as the greatest deed of modern 
 times — almost the only instance on record of ships of war alone 
 capturing a fort ; he expressed his disapprobation of Australian 
 commissions ; protested against the evils of reducing warlike 
 
 1 We have seen a very beautiful statuette, iu Parian porcelain, executed by Mr. Forrester, and 
 published by Messrs. Sharpus, of Cockspur Street, Charing Cross — representing the Duke in the 
 attitude here described. It is one of tho very few statuettes which can be confidently accepted 
 for its fidelity.
 
 1841.] THE CABUL CATASTROPHE. 215 
 
 establishments, especially illustrating them by the state of British 
 affairs in China ; denounced Irish Poor-law commissioners for failing 
 to do their duty in terms of the Irish. Poor-law Bill ; upheld the 
 Corn-laws, as calculated to support the agriculture of England, and 
 render her independent of other nations ; and disputed their con- 
 nection with the increase in the imports of cotton, which he rather 
 ascribed to the operation of steam machinery. 
 
 The expedition to Affghanistan alluded to in the narrative of the 
 affairs of 1839, after completing its objects, endured a horrible fate 
 in the annihilation of the entire force by the Affghans and the moun- 
 tain tribes, in 1841. An insurrection, it appears, took place, and, in 
 an unguarded moment, the British force was surprised and blockaded ; 
 and upon its subsequent permitted evacuation of Cabul, in the 
 depth of winter, it fell a prey to the vengeance and treachery of the 
 Affghans. 
 
 Before the news of the massacre had reached England, the Duke 
 of Wellington was consulted as to the propriety of occupying the 
 country, and he then took a view of the position of the British troops, 
 and drew up the following paper : — 
 
 " It is impossible to read the letter from Mr. Macnaghten to the 
 Secretary to the Government in India, without being sensible of the 
 precarious and dangerous position of our affairs in Central Asia. 
 
 " Mr. Macnaghten complains of reports against the King, Shah 
 Soojah Khan, and his Government, as libels. 
 
 " Of these we can know nothing ; but I am convinced that no com- 
 plaints or libels can be so strong as the facts stated by Mr. Mac- 
 naghten in this letter. 
 
 " It appears that when Mr. Macnaghten heard of the first symptoms 
 and first acts of this rebellion, he prevailed upon the King to send a 
 message to the rebels, inviting them to return to their allegiance. 
 
 " The selection of the person sent is curious — Humaya Khan, the 
 Governor of Cabul. ' His mission failed, of course,' says Mr. Mac- 
 naghten, 'because Humaya Khan was the chief instigator of the 
 rebellion !' 
 
 " We know in this country something of the customs of those 
 countries — of the meaning of some of the native expressions in this 
 letter. It appears that there are four thanahs, or posts, between 
 Cabul and Gundamuck. A thanah is either a permanent or a tem- 
 porary post, to guard a road or district of importance. We have 
 seen who the person was selected to induce the rebels to submit ; let 
 us now see who were the "persons appointed to take charge of those
 
 216 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1S41. 
 
 thanalis or posts in the disturbed country — those named in the sub- 
 sequent part of the despatch as the very men who were the leaders 
 in the rebellion, in the attack, and destruction, and murder of the 
 East India Company's officers and troops ! No libels can state facts 
 against the Affghan Government stronger than these. 
 
 " But Mr. Macnaghten has discovered that the Company's troops 
 are not sufficiently active personally, nor are they sufficiently well 
 armed for the war in Affghanistan. Very possibly an Affghan will 
 run over his native hills faster than an Englishman or a Hindoo. 
 But we have carried on war in hill countries, as well in Hindostau 
 and the Deccan as in the Spanish Peninsula ; and I never heard that 
 our troops were not equal, as well in personal activity as by their 
 arms, to contend with and overcome any natives of hills whatever. 
 Mr. Macnaghten ought to have learnt by this time that hill countries 
 are not conquered, and their inhabitants kept in subjection, solely by 
 running up the hills and firing at long distances. The whole of a hill 
 country, of which it is necessary to keep possession, particularly for 
 the communication of the army, should be occupied by sufficient 
 bodies of troops, well supplied, and capable of maintaining them- 
 selves ; and not only not a Ghilzye, or insurgent, should be able to 
 run up and down hills, but not a cat or a goat, except under the fire 
 of those occupying the hills. This is the mode of carrying on the 
 war, and not by hiring Affghans, with long matchlocks, to protect and 
 defend the communications of the British army. 
 
 " Shah Soojah Khan may have in his service any troops that he 
 and Mr. Macnaghten please ; but if the troops in the East India 
 Company are not able, armed and equipped as they are, to perform 
 the service required of them in Central Asia, I protest against their 
 being left in Affghanistan. It will not do to raise, pay, and discipline 
 matchlock-men, in order to protect the British troops and their 
 communications, discovered by Mr. Macnaghten to be no longer able 
 to protect themselves. 
 
 " Wellington."
 
 1843.] 
 
 AGITAION AGAINST THE CORN LAWS. 
 
 211 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Duke resumes the command of the Army— Sessions of 1843 and 1844— Opinions on the con- 
 quest of Scinde and the recall of Lord Ellenborough— Equestrian statues of the Duke raised 
 in the City of London and at Glasgow— The Queen visits the Duke at Strathfleldsaye— The 
 Duke's letters— Accident to the Duke. 
 
 UT few periods of the eventful 
 life of the Duke of Wellington 
 were less distinguished by ac- 
 tivity than the two or three 
 years which followed immedi- 
 ately upon the resumption of 
 office by Sir Robert Peel. 
 
 A violent agitation had com- 
 menced in Manchester against 
 the Corn Laws. Associations 
 were formed all over the coun- 
 try, and especially in London 
 and the manufacturing dis- 
 tricts, for the express pur- 
 pose of getting rid of those 
 laws. Considerable sums of money were subscribed by opulent 
 traders and manufacturers for the perfect organisation of an active 
 enmity to " Protection ;" and the agitation assumed a more formidable 
 character than any Catholic Association had done, because it was 
 directed by strong-minded men of business habits, who found 
 disciples in every man and woman in the country who was not a 
 grower of corn. The arguments of the leaders of the Corn Law 
 agitation, advanced in newspapers expressly established under the 
 auspices of the League, and in speeches from the platform of every 
 hall and large theatre in the United Kingdom, were for the most 
 part irrefragable, and had begun to operate upon the mind of Sir
 
 ■2 IS LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1843. 
 
 Robert Peel. Impressed with a belief, often expressed, of the 
 importance of maintaining the laws intact, the Duke held aloof from 
 the discussion of the subject with his colleagues, and hence we rarely 
 find him taking a prominent part in public affairs during the year 
 1842. In fact, excepting when he supported the Income Tax estab- 
 lished by Sir Robert Peel, his Grace did not speak in the House of 
 Lords more than two or three times during the session. 
 
 There was another motive for this abstinence from any very active 
 participation in the affairs of the country. The Duke, owing to the 
 illness of Lord Hill, had resumed the office of Commander-in-Chief 
 of the army. 
 
 Lord Hill died in November, 1842. From what has been 
 said^ of the attachment with which he inspired the men and officers 
 of the British army, it may readily be conceived that Lord Hill's 
 death was productive of poignant regret. He had carried into the 
 chief command all the estimable qualities which endeared him to his 
 subordinates and comrades in the field ; and was as watchful of the 
 honour and interests of the army during peace, as he had been 
 solicitous of its glory and renown in the excitement and dangers' 
 of war. 
 
 The manner in which the Duke of Wellington exercised the proud 
 command which now again devolved upon him, and which he 
 held uninterruptedly to the last hour of his life, is treated of 
 in a later chapter. There is no doubt that his official employ- 
 ment influenced his tone, and gave additional prominence to his 
 position in the House of Lords in 1843 ; for we find him frequently 
 addressing the House in the trenchant style of the military 
 absolutist. 
 
 " The Government of Lord Melbourne," said he, " carried on war 
 all over the world with a peace establishment. That is exactly what 
 we (Sir Robert Peel's Government) do not?'' 
 
 Regarding the China war, his Grace reminded the House that he 
 was the only person among the Peers who had defended the local 
 officers. 
 
 " I said that the war was a just and necessary war. 1 will go 
 further, and say if it had been otherwise — if it had been a war solely 
 on account of the robbery of the opium — if her Majesty's servants 
 were engaged in that war, and if their interests and honour were 
 involved in it, I should have considered it my duty to make every 
 effort for carrying it on with success." 
 
 In a passing allusion to the Indian array, a part of which had been 
 
 1 Seo Volume L pages 130 and 338.
 
 1844.] THE CONQUEST OF SCINDE. 219 
 
 absent in Affghanistan, upon a retributive campaign, the Duke 
 emphatically said — 
 
 "All do tbeir duty — all are animated by the true feelings of 
 soldiers." 
 
 And in reference to certain large and tumultuous assemblages 
 in Ireland, held for the purpose of procuring a repeal of the 
 Union, the Duke — who frequently spoke against these "monster" 
 meetings and their object — announced, with pleasurable confidence, 
 that — 
 
 " Everything that could be done had been done in order to enable 
 the Government to preserve the peace of the country, and to meet all 
 misfortunes and consequences which might result from the violence 
 of the passions of those men who unfortunately guide the multitude 
 in Ireland." 
 
 We pass to the y^ar 1844. Affairs in India occupied more than 
 ordinary attention m the House of Lords during this year. The 
 Ameers of Scinde having, according to the opinion of Lord Ellen- 
 borough (Governor-General in 1842), betrayed the interests of the 
 Anglo-Indian Government during the expedition to Affghanistan, 
 Major-General Sir Charles Napier was directed to demand satisfac- 
 tion, and, failing to obtain it, he attacked the Ameers, who had 
 assembled a large army at Meanee, on the heights of Dubba and at 
 Hyderabad, defeating them in every case, and bringing the whole 
 principality of Scinde under British domination. This proceeding 
 was held by the friends of the Ameers, and others who examined the 
 political merits of the matter with an impartial eye, to have been at 
 least premature, if not altogether unjustifiable ; and papers were 
 called for in Parliament to enable the Legislature to judge of the 
 question. In the meanwhile the Court of Directors of the East India 
 Company, incensed at the conduct of Lord Ellenborough — who had, 
 moreover, throughout his tenure of the government of India, treated 
 the Directors, his " honourable masters," in a hcmt en has fashion — 
 recalled the Governor-General from his post, and conferred the import- 
 ant trust on Sir Henry Hardinge. The whole subject coming before 
 Parliament, the Duke of Wellington bore a high tribute to the 
 military proceedings of Sir Charles Napier. "I must say, my Lords," 
 exclaimed his Grace, " that after giving the fullest consideration to 
 these operations (in Scinde) I have never known an instance of an 
 officer who has shown in a higher degree that he possesses all the 
 qualifications to enable him to conduct great operations. He has 
 maintained the utmost discretion and prudence in the formation of 
 his plans, the utmost activity in all the preparations to ensure his
 
 220 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON [1844. 
 
 success, and, finally, the utmost zeal, gallantry, and science, in carrying 
 them into execution." 
 
 The recall of Lord Ellenborough, for whom the Duke had long en- 
 tertained a personal friendship, and who had been a member of the 
 Government under the Duke's and Sir Robert Peel's administration, 
 was regarded by the Duke as an act of " indiscretion^^ on the part of 
 the East India Company. His grace did not doubt their power, but 
 he questioned the prudence of their acting in so serious a matter 
 without consulting the Board of Commissioners for the affairs of 
 India. He contended that the Directors could not have been aware 
 of the secret instruction sent out to Lord Ellenborough, and, for all 
 they knew, they might be imposing upon him a severe penalty for 
 simply carrying out instructions. 
 
 The Duke's friendship had more influence than his judgment in 
 the examination he bestowed upon the subject of the recall, and it is 
 now matter of notoriety that his Grace lived to consider Lord 
 Ellenborough (who was elevated to an Earldom, by way of a salve, on 
 his return to England), a most indiscreet and intemperate ruler. 
 He, who in his Parliamentary speeches the Duke was accustomed to 
 allude to as his '■'■ noble friend," degenerated into " the noble lord 
 behind " him ; and it is certain that the Conservatives, who held 
 power until 1846, and afterwards resumed the reins of office in 1852, 
 evinced no desire to accept Lord Ellenborough, once the strongest of 
 their party, as a colleague. 
 
 On the evening of the 14th of February (1844), the Duke had 
 another of those attacks to which reference has been already made. 
 Returning to Apsley House from his afternoon ride, he was observed 
 to fall down upon the neck of his horse, just as he had reached his 
 own door. Two gentlemen passing ran to his assistance, and he was 
 conveyed in their arms into Apsley House, in a state of total 
 unconsciousness. 
 
 On the 18th of June, 1844, the equestrian statue of his Grace the 
 Duke of Wellington, for which the sum of 9000/. had been subscribed 
 by the citizens of London (the metal, valued at 1500/., having been 
 given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer),' was inaugurated. Its 
 execution had been entrusted to Sir Francis Chantrey (the most 
 distinguished British sculptor of the age) in the year 1839, and was 
 to have been completed and fixed by 1843. Chantrey dying after 
 the model had been prepared, the work was completed by his assistant, 
 Mr. Weeks, under the direction of the executors. The inauguration 
 took place upon the occasion of the King of Saxony's visit to the 
 
 1 The metal was composed of guns taken from the French in the Duke's campaigns.
 
 1844.] THE STATUE IN THE CITY. 221 
 
 City. The statue was placed in front of the Rojal Exchange, facing 
 the west. It had been Sir Francis Chantrey's wish that the statue 
 should face the south, in order that it might have had the advantage 
 of the sun ; and to attain this object the more completely, the upper 
 story of the Mansion-house had been removed. The committee, 
 however, came to the resolution that as the front of the Royal 
 Exchange faced the west, it would be preposterous to turn the face of 
 the statue away from that direction, and they accordingly came to 
 the unanimous conclusion that the Duke should front Cheapside. 
 The statue is handsome, and may, perhaps be considered the very 
 best of the equestrians that adorns the British metropolis. The 
 horse is correctly, gracefully, and at the same time boldly formed ; the 
 attitude of rest in which it stands being well qualified by the appear- 
 ance of life and animal energy in the swollen veins, the distended 
 nostrils, and the flowing mane of the horse.' The portrait of the 
 Duke is admirable, while his position on the horse is as easy and 
 unembarrassed as the absence of stirrups renders possible. The least 
 satisfactory part of the work is the indefinite character of the costume, 
 which is neither quite antique nor quite modern. At the inaugura- 
 tion some thousands of persons assembled ; and Mr. R. L. Jones 
 
 1 As to the quiescent attitude of the horse in this, and two other equestrian statues by the same 
 sculptor, some revelations occur in Jones's "Recollections of Chantrey," which are worth 
 quoting. The passage runs as follows: — 
 
 " When George 1\. was sitting to Chantrey, he required the sculptor to give him an idea of an 
 equestrian statue to commemorate him, which Chantrey accomplished at a succeeding inter- 
 Tiew by placing in the Sovereign's hand a number of small equestrian figures, drawn carefully 
 on thick paper, and resembling, in number and material, a pack of cards. These sketches 
 pleased the King very much, who turned them over and over, expressing his surprise that such 
 a variety could be produced ; and, after a thousand fluctuations of opinion — sometimes for a 
 prancing steed, sometimes a trotter, then for a neighing or starting charger — his Majesty at length 
 resolved on a horse standing still, as the most dignified for a king. Chantrey probably led to 
 this, as he was decidedly in favour of the four legs being on the ground. He had a quiet and 
 convincing manner of satisfying persons of the propriety of that, which, from reflection, he 
 judged to be preferable. Chantrey's friend, Lord Egremont, was of the same opinion ; for, in 
 writing to the sculptor, he said, ' I am glad your horse is not walking off his pedestal, which 
 looks more like a donkey than a sensible horse.' Chantrey wished in this instance for a 
 quiet or standing horse ; but he determined, if he ever executed another portrait, to represent 
 the horse in the act of pawing, not from the conviction of its being a better attitude, but for the 
 sake of variety, and to convince the public that he could do one as well as the other ; for, 
 whenever his works were censured, it always was for heaviness or want of action, which is 
 rather surprising considering the energetic and speaking statue of Grattan." 
 
 " M.-in proposes— but— "—we all know the rest. The next equestrian statue which Chantrey 
 ujidertook was that for the City of London, now in question, and he still stuck to the quiet 
 horse. Mr. Jones, In his little brochure already referred to, states, on the authority of Mr. 
 Cimningham, that the Duke once went to see thjs equestrian statue (previous to its being sent 
 out to India), when he remarked :— " A very fine horse ;" after a pause, " a very fine statue ;" 
 and again, after another pause, " and a very extraordinary man I "
 
 222 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLE^GTON. [1844 
 
 addressed the spectators. He did not descant upon a theme so 
 familiar to the public as the transcendent merits of the Duke, — 
 he rather referred to the claims his Grace had established upon the 
 gratitude of the citizens of London by promoting the improvements 
 and embellishments which the visitors to our great city look at with 
 wonder ; and it was this feeling of thankfulness to which they were 
 determined to give effect in a way which posterity would be well able 
 to appreciate, and would leave an example worthy of imitation. 
 Mr. Jones added a fact not generally known : that it was the first 
 equestrian bronze statue which ever had been raised during the life 
 of the person represented. 
 
 The statue is 14 feet in height from the foot of the horse to the 
 top of the head of the Duke ; and it rests upon a granite pedestal also 
 14 feet high. 
 
 STATUE I>" FRONT OF THE EOYAL EXCHANGE. 
 
 Singularly enough, in the same year an equestrian statue of the 
 Duke was erected in Glasgow. It originated " in a resolution passed 
 at an influential public meeting, in the spring of 1840 ; and within a 
 few months the subscriptions amounted to nearly 10,000/. A depu- 
 tation of the subscribers then waited upon the Duke of Wellington, 
 at Apsley House, and communicated their intention to his Grace." 
 In this case the artist employed was not an Englishman ; and, pend- 
 ing the deliberations upon the subject, Chantrey appears to have 
 become early aware of that fact, and writes, under date May 19, 1840, 
 to Miss Moore — " Tell papa that the Duke has discovered that in
 
 1844.] THE STATUE IN GLASGOW. 223 
 
 England, or even in Scotland, no artist can be found worthy of the 
 Glasgow commission : that it must be offered to Thorwaldsen of 
 Rome. If Thorwaldsen should not be able to cast it, what then? 
 No matter ! " 
 
 As to the appointment of Thorwaldsen, however, the English 
 sculptor was mistaken — a French artist was resorted to. On the 
 30th of November, 1841, the acting committee rosolved to nominate 
 Charles, Baron Marochetti, of Vaux, in the Department of Seine-et- 
 Oise, in France, as the artist to design and erect the statue, with the 
 illustrative bas-reliefs on the pedestal, representing the battles of 
 Assaye and Waterloo. The inauguration took place on the 8th of 
 October, 1844, in presence of the Lord Provost, Sir Neil Douglas, 
 Commander of the Forces, &c. 
 
 In this statue, also, the horse is quiescent, the moment being that 
 when, as if having just come to a state of repose, he seems as if 
 listening to some distant sound. 
 
 The head is that of an Arab, with the broad forehead and wide 
 nostrils, and is standing with fore foot a little in advance, in an easy 
 posture, the reins lying slack. The position of the Duke is that of a 
 General reviewing his troops. The likeness is taken when the Duke 
 was in the prime of life, the hero being dressed in the frock coat of 
 a Field Marshal, with his different orders. The bas-reliefs on the 
 south and north sides of the pedestal represent the first and last 
 
 2e
 
 224 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1845. 
 
 victories of the Duke, namely, that of Assaye, fought on the 23rd of 
 September, 1803, and Waterloo, 18th of June, 1815. Two small 
 bas-reliefs on the east and west ends of the pedestal represent the 
 soldier's return, and the soldier at the plough after all his labours, and 
 after having saved his country from the inroad of the foe. 
 
 On the 20th of January, 1845, the Duke of Wellington had an 
 opportunity of displaying his " dutiful hospitality " to his Sovereign 
 and her amiable consort at his modest abode at Strathfieldsaye, in 
 Hampshire. Her Majesty and the Prince remained the usual time 
 prescribed by etiquette for royal visits to illustrious subjects. Three 
 days were thus consumed — the first in arrival — the second in repose — 
 the third in departure. The reception of the Queen throughout the 
 county was joyous in the extreme, and the Duke exercised the 
 grateful oflSce of host in a manner peculiarly his own. Five apart- 
 ments were assigned to the Royal party, and people of the first 
 consideration in the county were invited to the banquets upon the 
 first and second days. After dinner, upon the 20th, the Queen sat 
 in the library, and was much interested in the very remarkable and 
 numerous collection of old and modern prints which were hung all 
 over the walls. On the following day, the Duke, after escorting the 
 Prince Consort and some friends upon a shooting excursion, in which 
 the venerable chief himself brought down several head of game — con- 
 ducted her Majesty to the residence of Sir John Cope, Brownhill 
 House — a place remarkable for its unique antiquity. The house was 
 designed for Prince Henry, the son of James I. On the following 
 day the royal party returned to Windsor. 
 
 A more exact account of the royal visit to Strathfieldsaye might 
 have been given than is extant in the papers of the day had the Duke 
 of Wellington followed the example of other members of the aristo- 
 cracy, and admitted the reporters of the London press to any part 
 of the sanctuary. But his Grace, apart from his general aversion to 
 hold communication with the " gentlemen of the press," deemed it unbe- 
 coming in him to allow the royal privacy to be, as he considered it 
 would, rudely disturbed. To an application from a reporter for admis- 
 sion, he delivered the following characteristic reply : — 
 
 " Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington presents his compliments 
 
 to Mr. , and begs to say that he does not see what his house at 
 
 Strathfieldsaye has to do with the public press." 
 
 The terms of this note are rude enough in all conscience, and 
 it is to be regretted that they were habitual. Probably no man
 
 1845.] ' THE DUKE'S NOTES. 225 
 
 wrote a greater number of notes than the Duke. His politeness 
 induced him to reply to all letters that were addressed to him • and 
 as the tone of the replies was uniform, the recipients were accustomed 
 to send copies of them to the newspapers for the amusement of the 
 public. Sometimes the notes were written by Mr. Greville, the 
 Duke's secretary, who had learnt to imitate his writing as well as his 
 style ; but the holders — many of whom wrote for the mere purpose 
 of obtaining an autograph reply — believed the notes of Mr. Greville 
 to be the bona fide productions of the Duke, and were punished for 
 the trouble they gave in the deception innocently enough practised 
 upon them. Some of the notes addressed to the Duke were absurd 
 and impertinent, and deserved the check conveyed in the reply ; but 
 more frequently they were penned in ignorance of the character of 
 the Duke, and in a spirit of good faith. A few of these will serve to 
 illustrate at once the nature of the applications with which his Grace 
 was pestered, and the manner in which he disposed of them. 
 
 The following appeared in the " Banner of Ulster." It was 
 addressed to a gentleman residing near Belfast, who at the time of 
 its receipt was not a little annoyed at the curt phraseology of his 
 illustrious correspondent : — 
 
 TO FIELD-MARSHAL THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 " May it please your Grace, — I have taken the liberty of requesting 
 your opinion, — Was ' Napoleon ' guilty or not of the murder of his 
 prisoners at Jaffa, and if there is any military law or circumstance 
 that would justify the deed ? 
 
 " Yours respectfully, 
 
 "J. H." 
 
 REPLY. 
 " F. M. the Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to 
 Mr. H. He has also received Mr. H.'s letter, and begs leave to 
 inform him he is not the historian of the wars of the French Republic 
 in Egypt and Syria." 
 
 A letter addressed to the Duke with a printed circular proposed 
 the establishment of a Trade Society on a new plan. The Duke 
 replied : — 
 
 " F. M. the Dukft of Wellington presents his compliments to 
 
 Mr. . He has received his letter and the enclosed. The 
 
 Duke begs leave to decline to have any relation with the committee 
 
 VOL. II. 16
 
 226 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1845 
 
 of the . He may give his money in charity, but he will not 
 
 become in any manner responsible for the distribution of money 
 received." 
 
 A tradesman wrote requesting payment of an account of the 
 Marquis of Douro's. then on the continent. He received the annexed 
 answer : — 
 
 " F. M. the Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to 
 Mr. G. The Duke is not the coilecter of the Marquis of Douro's 
 debts." 
 
 During a mania for the establishment of joint-stock railway com- 
 panies, the Duke was asked for the use of his name as a patron or 
 committee-man. His Grace answered : — 
 
 " F. M. the Duke of Wellington presents his compliments. He 
 begs to decline allowing the use of his name, or giving his opinion of 
 the proposed line of railway, of which he knows nothing." 
 
 Innumerable applications were made to the Duke to become a 
 subscriber to books, or to allow of their being dedicated to him ; but 
 to all he wrote : — 
 
 " The Duke begs to decline to give his name as a subscriber to the 
 book in question ; but if he learns that it is a good book, he may 
 become a purchaser." 
 
 Books were habitually refused acceptance at Apsley House. A 
 literary gentleman had recommended to the Duke the perusal of a 
 work recently published, and was requested to send it. This he did 
 several times, and as often was it refused acceptance. Seeing the 
 Duke a few weeks afterwards, he referred to the subject ; whereupon 
 the Duke observed : — " If I were to take in all the trash sent to me, 
 I might furnish a store-room as large as the British Museum." 
 After writing a few words, he added : — " Stick that on the outside, 
 and I'll get it." This was his own name and address, written by 
 himself. So to ensure delivery, it was necessary to have his own 
 endorsement. 
 
 A meeting had been held in Edinburgh to vote an address to the 
 
 House of Lords. Mr. C , the chairman, who was entrusted with 
 
 its despatch to the Duke, took the opportunity of expressing his 
 pleasure at hearing of the Duke's convalescence, for his Grace had 
 been ill. Here is the reply to Mr. C . 
 
 '' F. M. the Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to
 
 1845.] ACCIDENT TO THE DUKE. 227 
 
 Mr. C. The D. returns thanks for Mr. C.'s good wishes. The Duke 
 will not long be convalescent or in existence, if he is to undertake to 
 manage the whole business of the presentation of petitions from every 
 village in the country from Johnny Groat's House to the Land's End. 
 The Duke begs leave to decline to present to the House of Lords 
 petitions from individuals of whom, or from communities of which, he 
 has no knowledge. The Duke begs leave to return the petition." 
 
 One more. The Duke had been applied to by a person to recom- 
 mend him for some office. 
 
 " London, 184 — . 
 
 " F. M. the Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to 
 
 Mr. M'D . The Duke cannot recommend him to the office, for 
 
 he knows nothing of him or his family. The Duke's leisure ought 
 not to be wasted by having to peruse such applications." 
 
 All these are in sufficiently bad taste, and from the frequency of 
 their appearance they conveyed an idea to the public mind that the 
 Duke was habitually brusque — and perhaps the conclusion had some 
 justification in fact. The only excuse that can be offered for the 
 discourtesy of the notes lies in the necessity his Grace was under of 
 repelling intrusion, and of checking the practice of making public his 
 communications. If, thought he, people merely want an autograph, 
 they shall have one which it will give them very little pleasure to 
 exhibit. It would perhaps have been better had he left unanswered 
 all that could not be acknowledged civilly at least. 
 
 Returning to the course of our biography, we find that, in the year 
 1845, a circumstance occurred of material interest in connection with 
 the Duke, because, while it showed on how slight a contingency the life 
 of the gi-eatest man of the age depended, it established his sense of 
 duty to the public, and his care for the welfare of individuals. We 
 quote from a newspaper of the day : — 
 
 ACCIDENT TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 "The Duke of Wellington attended on Saturday (4th May, 1845) 
 at the Marlborough Street Police Court, for the purpose of preferring 
 a charge of furious driving, whereby his life was endangered, against 
 Henry Woods, driver of one of the carriers' carts. To prevent 
 inconvenience to his Grace from the crowd which his appearance 
 would attract to this court, the summons was so arranged as to take 
 precedence of the night charges. At half-past eleven o'clock his
 
 228 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1845. 
 
 Grace, accompanied by Lord Charles Fitzroy Somerset and Mr. 
 Mayne, entered the court. His Grace having been sworn, said — I 
 was walking, on Tuesday last, between two and three o'clock, in Park 
 Lane, on the left-hand side, going out of Piccadilly, and when near 
 the Duchess of Gloucester's house, a very heavy four-wheeled cart 
 passed me. I endeavoured to cross the lane, to get to the pavement 
 on the other side, under the protection of this heavy cart ; I got as 
 far as the right-hand wheel of the cart, keeping the cart at my left 
 hand, when I found myself struck on the shoulder, anU knocked 
 forward. It was a severe blow, and I found it had been given by 
 another cart, the driver of which did not attempt to give me warning 
 by calling out, until he had struck me. I did not fall ; if I had, I 
 must have been under the wheels of both carts. Now, I have no 
 further complaint to make against the man at the bar who drove the 
 cart, than that he was going at such a monstrous pace that he had no 
 control over his horse ; indeed, he came along so fast, that he got the 
 whole length of Park Lane without my having perceived him ; and 
 the pace he was going at was such, that it was impossible he could 
 stop his horse. This is my complaint ; and I bring it forward on 
 public grounds, because I think it is not right that carriages 
 should go along in the public streets at this great rate. The cart by 
 which I was struck was a heavy, tilted cart ; the driver was under the 
 tilt. My groom was behind with my horses, and I called him and 
 desired him to follow the cart. My groom trotted as hard as he 
 could, but was unable to overtake the cart until he got as far as 
 South Strand. This will prove the rapid pace at which the driver of 
 the cart was going. 
 
 " The defendant said he was truly sorry at what had occurred, but 
 he declared the whole circumstance was accidental. He saw a gentle- 
 man about to cross the road, and he called out to warn him ; but he 
 was not aware that he had touched any one. He was not going at 
 very great speed, for his horse was an old one, and could not accom- 
 plish more than seven miles an hour ; and at the time when he passed 
 his Grace, he was going up hill. His attention was directed to the 
 vehicles in the carriage-road, and this prevented his noticing what 
 was doing on the foot-path. 
 
 " Mr. Hardwick : Had you kept your eyes directed as you ought, 
 not only to avoid carriages but foot passengers, the circumstance 
 would not have occurred. The reason you have given for not seeing 
 his Grace is no excuse for your conduct. 
 
 " The Duke of Wellington : There was plenty of room to have 
 passed, without running against me.
 
 1M5.J ACCIDENT TO THE DUKR 229 
 
 " Mr. Hall, No. 12, Park Lane, said he saw his Grace attempting 
 to cross the lane at the time that a carrier's cart, which was going at 
 the rate of seven or eight miles an hour, was coming down the lane. 
 Thinking, from the way the man was driving, that his Grace would 
 be knocked down, he ran to the door, and saw the cart strike his 
 Grace on the shoulder. Had his Grace been turned round sharply 
 the cart must have been over his feet. . The pace the man was driving 
 at was not more than seven miles an hour. He was driving negli- 
 gently rather than furiously. 
 
 " Mr. Hardwick : Had he kept a proper lookout, he must have seen 
 his Grace? 
 
 " Witness : Certainly. He was going up hill, and could have 
 stopped the horse easier than if he was going down hill. 
 
 " Mr. Hardwick : Did you hear that man call out ? 
 
 " Witness : No, I did not. 
 
 " In defence, the man repeated that he was exceedingly sorry for 
 what had occurred. 
 
 " Mr. Hardwick : It appears from the evidence that you were 
 driving, if not at a furious, still at a rapid rate ; but as you were 
 going up hill at the time, had you used the ordinary precautions in 
 driving along the public street, and if you had proper command over 
 your horse, this accident could not have occurred. A witness has 
 described your careless mode of driving at the time, by saying you 
 were neither looking to the right hand nor to the left ; and the whole 
 evidence goes to prove that your mode of driving was reckless and 
 careless, exhibiting a perfect indifference to the life and limbs of 
 foot-passengers. This case I shall deal with as a case of assault. 
 You have committed several serious offences : first, furious driving ; 
 next, endangering life and limb ; and lastly, committing an assault, 
 for running against the person and striking that person with the 
 cart, is as much an assault as if the blow were given by hand. For 
 the assault, which is clearly proved, you will pay a fine of 4/., or one 
 month's imprisonment. 
 
 " The defendant was then locked up."
 
 230 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 ri84«. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Sir Robert Peel and the Corn-Laws— The Duke'a resistance — Resignation of the Peel Ministry— 
 And their resumption of office on the failure of Lord John Russell to form a Government — 
 The Duke gives way — The Com Laws repealed — Erection of the statue on the Triumphal 
 Arch at Hyde Park Comer— Resignation of Sir Robert Peel— Lord John Russell forms a 
 Government— The Duke on our National Defences. 
 
 IGHTEEN hundred and forty-six is a me- 
 morable year in the annals of the British 
 Parliament, as the epoch of the greatest 
 change ever effected in the commercial 
 policy of the country. Succumbing to the 
 pressure of events, the Minister surren- 
 dered the Corn Laws. 
 
 Sir Robert Peel, who had yielded to the 
 persuasions of the Duke in regard to the 
 Catholic Bill, and stubbornly resisted them 
 upon the question of Parliamentary Re- 
 form, was now, in his turn, to find the 
 Duke indisposed to act with him upon so 
 grave a case as the abolition of the pro- 
 tective duties upon corn, which Sir Robert had himself, throughout 
 his political career, energetically upheld. Yet, if reason were allowed 
 its due influence, there were few occasions on which a Minister might 
 have found himself so entirely justified in departing from his long- 
 settled convictions. A blight had seized upon the potato in Ireland 
 — the crop had altogether failed — and a famine threatened, and 
 actually did visit, that devoted country. Foreseeing the calamity. 
 Sir Robert Peel summoned a Cabinet Council, and proposed at once 
 to open the ports — in other words, to afford facilities for the importa- 
 tion of foreign bread-stuffs. The Duke of Wellington and Lord 
 Stanley (now the Earl of Derby) opposed the proposition. They
 
 1846.] THE CORN-LAW DISPUTES. 231 
 
 denied that the food supplies of Great Britain were insufficient to 
 meet the wants of Ireland ; and they dreaded lest a temporary 
 suspension of the Corn Laws should prove the precursor of their 
 total extinction. Sir Robert Peel's arguments and the frightful 
 reports of deficiency and apprehended starvation were disregarded. 
 Sir Robert then took a more decided tone : announced to his 
 colleagues the impression which had been produced on his mind by 
 the writings and harangues of the leaders of the Anti-Corn-Law 
 League ; and proposed the total repeal of the Corn Law. In the 
 Commons he was sure of a great majority — with the country he was 
 certain of sympathy and popularity — in the lords he knew that success 
 depended upon the view the Duke of Wellington might take. He 
 earnestly appealed to the veteran Commander. The Duke was obdu- 
 rate, and Sir Robert Peel resigned in despair, to the great distress of 
 the country. 
 
 The Queen sent for Lord John Russell to form a Ministry. His 
 Lordship readily accepted the trust ; for he at once perceived how 
 large an accession to the popularity of the Whig party would ensue 
 from the inauguration of the Ministry with a bill for establishing a 
 free trade in corn. Personal difierences among the Whigs, however, 
 tore the prize and the honour from his grasp. Earl Grey, to whom 
 the office of Colonial Minister was offered, refused to sit in the same 
 Cabinet with Lord Palmerston, to whom the post of Foreign Secretary 
 had been tendered. Lord John Russell felt that he could not spare 
 either. Earl Grey, by connexion and influence in the House of 
 Lords — the influence which eloquence and mental power, apart from 
 temper and dignity of character, gave — was indispensable to Lord 
 John Russell ; and Lord Palmerston had, by common consent, become 
 the only fitting instrument of Whig policy, and the best debater 
 among the Whig leaders of the House of Commons. His tone as 
 Foreign Minister on former occasions had always been high, — it was 
 bis duty, as well as his ardent desire, to make the English name 
 respected throughout the world ; and all foreign nations felt that 
 while he was at the head of affairs in that department they could not 
 insult Great Britain with impunity. 
 
 Lord John Russell, failing to reconcile the differences between 
 Earl Grey and Viscount Palmerston, and seeing the impossibility of 
 constructing a strong Government without the aid of both, surren- 
 dered the glory of carrying the repeal of the Corn Laws to his great 
 political rival. 
 
 The necessity which the Queen was now under of recalling Sir 
 Robert, and the impossibility which Sir Robert announced of his
 
 232 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1846. 
 
 carrying on the Government unless he could go before Parliament 
 with a proposal to abolish the Corn Laws, imposed upon the Duke of 
 Wellington the alternative of sacrificing his principles to his loyalt", 
 
 LOKD PALMEESTON, 
 
 or his loyalty to his principles. The chivalry of the Duke took fire 
 at the proposition. Away went the principles — his Grace " resolved 
 to stand hy his friend ! " 
 
 Parliament met early in 1846; and the Duke of Wellington, with 
 her Majesty's permission, explained the circumstances of the resig- 
 nation in the first instance, and the subsequent acceptance of office ; 
 " Whatever that measure may be, I say that, situated as I am, 
 my Lords, in this country — highly rewarded as I have been by the 
 Sovereign and the people of England — I could not refuse that 
 Sovereign to aid her to form a Government when called upon, in 
 order to enable her Majesty to meet her Parliament, and carry or>
 
 1846.] CORN-LAW DEBATE IN THE LORDS. 233 
 
 the business of the country. I positively could not refuse to serve the 
 Sovereign ivlien thus called upon?'' 
 
 Sir Robert Peel lost no time in bringing in this bill. It passed the 
 Commons triumphantly. The scene ■which ensued upon the second 
 reading is graphically described by a Parliamentary reporter present 
 on the memorable occasion : — 
 
 " The debate began on Monday, the 25th May, while the Park 
 guns were still firing to announce the birth of the Princess Helena. 
 The debate was resumed on the following day ; and on Thursday 
 night, or rather on Friday morning, their Lordships affirmed the 
 second reading by a majority of forty-seven. The Duke reserved 
 himself for the close of the debate. We well remember the scene. 
 The Duke took his seat at five o'clock on Thursday evening, and sat 
 as if chained to the Treasury Bench until nearly four o'clock the 
 next morning. The galleries were filled with ladies, many of whom 
 sat through the night, and remained until the division. Among those 
 who gave this proof of the interest with which this great historical 
 scene had inspired them, were the Duchess of Buccleuch, the 
 Countess of "Wilton, the Countess of Essex, and Viscountess Sidney. 
 A brilliant circle of diplomatists and distinguished foreigners stood 
 at the foot of the throne. The old Duke of Cambridge, who had 
 declared that he would not support the bill, and that he should not 
 vote at all, was going from one cross-bench to the other, attracting 
 attention by his audible remarks and by his rather violent bonhommie. 
 The debate flagged : there remained no one but the Duke to speak 
 whom the assemblage cared to hear. All eyes were turned to this 
 wonderful old man, who seemed to despise fatigue and to be supe- 
 rior to the ordinary wants of humanity. He sat, rigid and immovable, 
 with his hat over his eyes, paying the most strict and conscientious 
 attention to everything that was said. About half-past three in the 
 morning he arose. A strange emotion rendered his utterance thick 
 and indistinct, and even seemed to give incoherence to his remarks. 
 There were, indeed, passages which made his friends exchange 
 glances, in which they seemed to ask each other whether it was 
 fatigue, or the growing infirmities of age, or the excitement of that 
 memorable night, that had thrown the Duke's mind off its balance. 
 Perhaps these were the passages in the speech (for there were many) 
 which did not reach the reporters' gallery; for the reported speech 
 although it bears traces of deep feeling, and is not without a noble 
 pathos, contains nothing to explain the misgivings and apprehensions 
 of his audience. 
 
 " He began by expressing the regret with which he found himself
 
 234 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1846. 
 
 in a hostile position to those with whom he had been constantly in 
 the habit of acting in political life. ' I am aware,' he said, ' I address 
 your Lordships with all your prejudices against me,' a painful thing 
 for a man to say who had been so loved, so looked up to, so honoured, 
 and so trusted. Shaken by emotion, and almost inaudible from his 
 agitation, the Duke was then heard to say : — ' I never had any claim 
 to the confidence that your Lordships have placed in me. But I 
 will not omit even on this night — possibly the last on which I shall 
 ever venture to address to you my advice — I will not omit to counsel 
 you as to the vote you should give on this occasion.' The Duke pro- 
 ceeded, to the astonishment of the Peers, to introduce, in what they 
 considered an unconstitutional manner, a name which it is contrary 
 to the rules of Parliament to claim upon the side of the person who 
 speaks. ' This measure has come up, recommended by the Commons. 
 We also knoio that this measure has been recominended by the Crown.'' 
 Murmurs, such as the great Field-Marshal never heard before in the 
 House of Peers, here went round the House at this unconstitutional 
 mention of the name of the Sovereign. But their Lordships, in one 
 of the most memorable sentences ever addressed to them, were soon 
 to see, that if the Duke had violated an order of their Lordships' 
 House, he had but assumed a privilege which great men sometimes 
 claim when they break some rule of etiquette to save an institu- 
 tion. ' My Lords,' he continued, ' the House of Lords can do 
 .nothing without the two other branches of the Legislature. Sepa- 
 rately from the Crown and tJve House of Comtnons you can do nothing. 
 And if yoic break your connexion with both, you ivill put an end to 
 tJie functions of tJie House of Lords? The Protectionist Peers 
 despised the counsel. A merry laugh went round the House. It is 
 well the deriders were not in a majority on the division, or the House 
 of Peers would by this time have paid a bitter penalty for scorning 
 the sagacity of their illustrious adviser. 
 
 " The Duke's speech on this occasion has been well described as a 
 conflict between the habitual prejudices of his associations and his 
 recognition of a great necessity — as a conflict between the unwilling 
 sense of a growing and the innate devotion to a prescriptive power. 
 Not a word did the Duke waste upon the merits of the bill or its 
 possible operation. The Corn-law was an untenable line of fortifica- 
 tion, which must be given up. He could not save the Corn-law, and 
 the Queen had claimed his services, and called upon him, by his 
 fidelity to the throne, to assist in carrying on the business of her 
 Government. ' I did think, my Lords, that the formation of a 
 Government in which her Majesty would have confidence was of
 
 1846.] THE CORN-LAWS REPEALED. 235 
 
 greater importance than any opinion of any individual upon the Corn- 
 law or any other law.' And then the Duke warned their lordships 
 as to the possible consequences of rejecting the bill. His speech 
 made a great impression, and the result was a majority of forty-seven 
 in favour of the second reading. The doors of their Lordships' House 
 were surrounded by members of the House of Commons, who were 
 waiting to hear the result. The writer was one of the first to enter 
 when the doors were re-opened, and to hear the result of the division. 
 How quickly the news was carried to all parts of the country by 
 express engines, and what universal joy it gave in our great towns, 
 and in the hives of manufacturing industry, this is not the place to 
 describe. 
 
 " The House divided at half-past four. The Duke was one of the 
 last to leave. It was broad daylight when, on this memorable May 
 morning, the Duke left the House where, amid much mortification, 
 and the severance of so many political and personal ties of association, 
 he had so nobly served his country. A small crowd had collected in 
 Palace-yard, early as was the hour, and as soon as the Duke made 
 his appearance they began to cheer. ' God bless you, Duke,' loudly 
 and fervently exclaimed one mechanic ; who, early as it was, was 
 going to his morning toil. The Duke's horse began to prance at the 
 cheers of the crowd, and the Duke promptly caused silence by ex- 
 claiming, ' For Heaven's sake, people, let me get on my horse ! ' It 
 was now five o'clock, and the Duke rode off to St. James's Park. As 
 he passed through the Horse Guards, and received the salute of the 
 sentinel on duty, was it then given him to know that he had just 
 secured the accomplishment of a legislative change, which was destined 
 to work a striking improvement in the position and means of the 
 private soldier, and that, ere long, the military, in the words of Sir 
 James Graham, would ' know the reason why ? ' 
 
 " From this moment the Duke may be said to have retired from 
 political strife. His share in the repeal of the Corn-laws cast a halo 
 round his political career, like some glorious sunset which bathes the 
 western sky with golden splendour." 
 
 Although the Duke of Wellington had thus contributed to the 
 establishment of Free-trade in corn, he had acted so entirely without 
 reference to his political convictions, that he continued for a long 
 time to feel nervously anxious about the operation of the measure. 
 At first he may have experienced some visitations of conscience, but 
 as he beheld the gradual development of a system which essentially 
 increased the comforts of the poor man, without inflicting material 
 injury upon the landed interest, he became reconciled to his own act.
 
 236 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1846. 
 
 and frequently admitted that it imparted serenity to the close of his 
 life. 
 
 In the month of October, 1845, the colossal equestrian bronze 
 statue of the Duke, which had been subscribed for by the nation as 
 a memorial of his military greatness, was erected oyer the triumphal 
 arch at Hyde Park corner. A great difference of opinion existed as 
 to the merit of the design and the suitableness of the site, but the 
 present locality was at length determined on, partly because the 
 statue was rendered a prominent object for a mile or two around, 
 and partly on account of its vicinity to the Duke's own residence. 
 The inauguration of the statue was not accompanied by any ceremo- 
 nial, but the work and its site were for some time a standing jest 
 with the satirists of the day, with what good reason it were difficult 
 to say. Of the magnitude of the memorial and the labour attendant 
 upon its construction by Mr. Wyatt, the sculptor, an idea may be 
 gathered from the following detail : — The cost of the statue was 
 upwards of 30,000/. 
 
 The quantity of plaster used for this purpose amounted in weight 
 to 160 tons; nor need this excite surprise, when we consider that 
 the statue is nearly thirty feet high, and more than twenty-five 
 feet long, indeed the largest in Europe, and only comparable with 
 the gigantic productions of the ancient Egyptian and Hindoo chisels. 
 The total quantity of the metal used in the construction has been 
 sixty-five tons, the statue itself weighing thirty-five tons. It was 
 not produced as a whole, but in six separate castings, which were 
 afterwards rivetted together. The body of the horse was cast in two 
 pieces, and the carcase thus formed easily contained eight persons, a 
 series of friends to this amount having dined with the artist in this 
 singular dining-room ; fourteen ladies, on one occasion, having 
 taken refreshment together in the same place. The head of the Duke 
 was cast from an English nine-pounder brass gun that was taken in 
 the battle of Waterloo ; and there are in other parts of the statue 
 five tons of metal from other guns, French as well as English. After 
 the modelling was completed, and the moulds prepared, considerable 
 anxiety and attention was still imposed upon the ingenious sculptor. 
 The metal was fused in a furnace specially constructed, and the 
 heat imparted was so great that the brick-work vitrified and ran in 
 masses. This inconvenience, however, was in a great measure obviated 
 by substituting brick of fire-proof manufacture, but even these 
 became soft and ductile. The moulds also were obliged to be care- 
 fully dried, and the place of casting rammed down as hard as possible, 
 for the heated metal coming in contact with any moisture, or inter-
 
 1846.] 
 
 EQUESTRIAN STATUE IN HYDE PARK 
 
 237 
 
 rupted by rarified air, would have destroyed the labour of months 
 by the consequent explosion. The charger is a faithful model of the 
 Duke of Wellington's favourite horse, " Copenhagen," alluded to in 
 an earlier part of this volume. It represents him in his younger 
 days, and the attitude is perfectly characteristic of the man. He is 
 arrayed in a military surtout, over which is thrown his cloak. A 
 
 STATUE AT HYDE PA&K COENEE. 
 
 sword is buckled around his waist, and whilst he holds the horse's 
 reins in one hand, he extends his right, in which is a telescope, as if 
 directing some military movement. Every care was taken to preserve 
 correctness of detail in the appointments of the horse and its distin- 
 guished rider. 
 
 Sir Robert Peel's government did not long survive the extinction 
 of the Corn Laws and his other admirable measures of commercial 
 policy. The state of affairs in Ireland having rendered it necessary 
 for the Conservative Ministry to bring in a bill for the protection of 
 life, the Irish interpreted it into an excuse for interfering with the 
 free exercise of opinion. The Whigs adopted the same view, and 
 opposed the bill pertinaciously. Sir Robert Peel, nevertheless, car- 
 ried it into the House of Lords, where, however, it was defeated by 
 a considerable majority. Sir Robert then finally resigned, and Lord 
 John Russell was appointed Premier.
 
 238 LIFE OF THE DUICE OF WELLINGTON. [1847 
 
 During the ensuing year, nothing transpired to bring the Duke of 
 Wellington prominently before the public. He was occasionally 
 found addressing the House of Lords on passing subjects, but his 
 time for the most part was divided between the Horse Guards and 
 ^he pleasures of social intercourse. 
 
 In 1847, a pamphlet appeared from the pen of the Prince de Join- 
 ville, one of the sons of Louis Philippe, the King of the French. It 
 discussed in free and confident terms the feasibility of an invasion of 
 England by France, pointing out all the weak points of our coast, 
 measuring the amount of our naval force, and hinting the advantages 
 which might accrue to the French, in the event . of a war, from a 
 descent upon Great Britain. 
 
 Such a pamphlet, widely disseminated by means of translation and 
 press discussion, was eminently calculated to alarm the populace of 
 Great Britain ; and a question arose as to the propriety of leaving 
 England in so defenceless a state. Louis Philippe had shown, in 
 reference to the marriage of his son the Due de Montpensier to the 
 Infanta of Spain, that he was not above a paltry juggle, and might 
 one day revive the old animosities between Great Britain and France, 
 when, in all human probability, an attempt would be made upon the 
 British shores. Discussions grew warm upon the subject, when, 
 towards the close of 1847, it suddenly transpired that the Duke of 
 Wellington had for a long time been alive to the importance of 
 fortifying the coasts, and had endeavoured to urge successive govern- 
 ments to go to the country for the means requisite to render us 
 invulnerable. Upon this momentous question, his Grace, in January, 
 1847, addressed Major-General Sir John Burgoyne, the Inspector- 
 General of Fortifications, a confidential letter, which, however, 
 found its way into the public prints through the active agency of 
 female hands. Sir John had given the letter to be copied by one of 
 
 the female members of his family, and a Lady S , more curious 
 
 than sagacious, transcribed it from the copy for transfer to her 
 album ! 
 
 In this letter the Duke took a clear view of the defenceless state of 
 England in regard to the number of troops employed at home, 
 pointing out that G5,000 men at least would be required as garrisons 
 for half-a-dozen of our principal dockyards and naval arsenals, 
 whereas we had but 5000 troops ! He urged the importance of 
 embodying the militia, and strengthening the belt of the country 
 with fortifications, and he stated with bitter regret that he had " for 
 years" unavailingly drawn the attention of difi'erent Administrations, 
 at different times, to the dangerous position in which he considered
 
 1847. f NATIONAL DEFENCES. 28t> 
 
 England to stand. " If it be true," wrote the old soldier, " that the 
 exertions of the fleet are not sufficient to provide for our defence, 
 ice are 7iot safe for a week after the declaration of war. ''^ He added 
 emphatically — 
 
 " I am bordering on seventy-seven years of age passed in honour ! 
 I hope that the Almighty may protect me from being the witness of 
 the tragedy which I cannot persuade my contemporaries to take 
 measures to avert." 
 
 Sentiments thus expressed, finding publicity soon after circulation 
 had been given to the Prince de Joinville's pamphlet, could not fail 
 to produce a powerful effect in the country. The opinions of the 
 Duke were caught up and echoed throughout the length and breadth 
 of the land, and the Minister, yielding to the popular will, soon came 
 before Parliament with a declaration of the necessity of taking steps 
 to place the national defences upon a firm and extensive basis. The 
 principle was generally admitted excepting by the ultra-Liberals, or 
 Free-trade members, who, having exhausted the popularity they had 
 acquired by procuring the destruction of the Corn Laws, were now 
 seeking a new source of public admiration in their attempts to check 
 expenditure. In their eyes England was sufficiently protected in 
 the folly of tear. Nations had learnt the value of peace through the 
 agency of Free-trade, and there could not, they maintained, be any 
 occasion to spend the public money in preparing against a chimera. 
 But these feeble arguments were met by the more cogent reasoning 
 founded on a knowledge of mankind. While the passions of jealousy, 
 envy, covetousness, revenge, and so forth, animate the human heart, 
 men will make war upon each other, and it therefore behoves nations 
 to maintain such an attitude of calm and inoffensive defiance as may 
 deter their neighbours from wanton aggression. The wisest writers 
 had held, in all times, that the way to preserve peace was to be pre- 
 pared for war, and this doctrine was now to be practically enforced 
 in England. Circumstances, however, occurred to cause at least 
 a suspension of the measures the Minister was desirous of carrying 
 for the defence of the nation. France was suddenly (February, 
 1848) plunged into a new revolution, and the Princes, from whose 
 warlike ambition everything was to be apprehended, lost for the time 
 the power of doing either political good or political evil. 
 
 2s
 
 '>A0 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1846 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 The Chartists— Monster Meeting on Kennington Common— London in "a state of siege"— The 
 Duke's military dispositions — The Chartist Meeting dissolves peaceably — Presentation of tho 
 Chartist Petition in the House of Commons. 
 
 HERE is a strange affinity be- 
 tween the groans of poverty 
 and the outpourings of political 
 discontent. When wages are 
 reduced, and the population finds 
 itself suddenly disproportioned 
 to the means available for its 
 employment or suppQrt, the 
 indigent labourer casts about 
 him for the cause of his imme- 
 diate distress, that he may seek 
 some little consolation in anathe- 
 mas. A bad harvest affords a 
 pretext for quarrelling with the 
 operation of Free-trade, through 
 which more corn leaves the 
 country than ever comes into it. The suspension of work at mills 
 and factories supplies a reason for quarrelling with the manufacturer 
 for creating an excess of supply, and so glutting the foreign markets ; 
 while the diminution of wages by master manufacturers revives tho 
 hostility to machinery and its ingenious inventors. These ebullitions 
 of anger, however, are not found to improve the condition of the 
 sufferer — he may have hit upon the true reason for the state of 
 almost mendicancy in which he finds himself ; but inasmuch as the 
 discovery of the disease does not suggest a prompt remedy, he is 
 glad to find some fresh and tangible ground of discontent. In this 
 frame of mind he is an admirable Bubject for tho demagogue — an
 
 1848.1 ARTISANS AND DEMAGOGUES. 241 
 
 apt tool for the designing politician who seeks to magnify the 
 strength of his individual cause by a display of the misery, and a 
 direction of the clamour of myriads. He points out to them that 
 their privations are traceable to other causes than those they have 
 supposed. He tells them that their destitution is the result of 
 excessive taxation ; that excessive taxation arises from imperfect 
 representation ; that imperfect representation can only be remedied 
 by an extension of the franchise, vote by ballot, and annual Par- 
 liaments ; and that these remedies can be forced upon Parliament, 
 the Crown, and the aristocracy, by a magnificent demonstration of 
 physical and moral force ; — in other words, a monster crowd pregnant 
 with the ingredients of extreme mischief, so low in their condition, 
 that every revolution of Fortune's wheel must carry them upwai'ds. 
 The distressed and dissatisfied multitude imbibe the word of 
 comfort poured into their willing ears by the designing orator, and 
 declare their readiness to obey his every command. They admit 
 the force of his reasoning, and recognize his fitness to lead them 
 to '-victory or death." 
 
 This is the picture of a periodical occurrence of which modern 
 history presents multitudinous examples. But if the unemployed, 
 the poor, and the discontented fall an easy prey to the restless 
 political agitator, when the state of domestic trade has prepared 
 them for his evil counsels, how much more facile is their capture 
 when revolution has stalked over the length and breadth of the 
 vast continent of Europe, and the foreign workman has asserted 
 the dignity of labour by violently destroying thrones, and revelling 
 in idleness and vicious indulgence at the expense of the state ! 
 Then the wily demagogue points to the nohle example set the English 
 citizen by his contemporary artisan, and asks him whether, with the 
 certainty of commanding the sympathy of the foreigner, he will 
 continue an ignoble slave ? — whether, with the power of grasping a 
 pike or an old musket, he will fear a rencontre with the batons of 
 policemen and the bayonets of the Guards, when the valiant assertion 
 of his rights may ensure their prompt possession? The poor 
 mechanic, inspired by the glowing effusions of the self-styled 
 patriot, answers in the negative. He does not fear; he will not 
 flinch ; he is ready for anything ; he will pull down the Throne, 
 upset the Legislature, set the gutters running with blood, and 
 vindicate the rights of the labourer in the name of Liberty ! 
 
 He is taken at his word. The day for the great deed is named 
 and arrives; the thousands assemble, and the representatives of 
 thousands more join them from all parts of the country. Their 
 
 VOL. II. 16
 
 242 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1848. 
 
 hearts swell, their words are big, their resolutions unshaken. The 
 order for the movement is given. A Commissioner of Police speaks 
 in the name of the law, and, presto! the whole assemblage is 
 dispersed, without a broken pate or a broken pane, to meditate on the 
 exceeding follj of leaving work and suspending business to rely 
 on wild demagogues, instead of placing a dependence on the wisdom 
 and integrity and constitutional purposes of Parliament. 
 
 The extraordinary and most unexpected revolution which took 
 place in France early in 1848, upsetting the Orleans dynasty, was 
 followed by similar great movements in Prussia, Austria, and the 
 lower German States, having been preceded by violent insurrections 
 in Italy, all having for their apparent object the extension of the 
 liberty of the subject. Such a convulsion could not be entirely 
 without its effects in Great Britain, where, unhappily, the embers of 
 public discontent are constantly kept alive either by the depressed 
 state of trade, the ambition of political aspirants, or the untiring 
 displays of the Catholic leaders in Ireland. However, the large 
 Bhare of national liberty enjoyed by Englishmen, and the dreadful 
 example before their eyes of the consequences of a violent assault 
 upon established institutions, kept us free from any furious outbreak 
 simultaneously with the outrages perpetrated on the Continent.' 
 
 1 A brilliant picture of the contrast between England and the Continent at this juncture 
 was drawn by the eloquent IMacaulay when he lately met his constituents at Edinburgh : — 
 "Never," said he, "since the origin of our race have there been five years more fertile in 
 great events, or five years which have left behind them more useful lessons. We have lived 
 many lives in that time. The revolutions of ages have been compressed into a few months. 
 France, Germany, Hungary and Italy— what a history has theirs been ! When we met here 
 last, there was the outward show of tranquility, and few even of the wisest knew what wild 
 passions, what wild theories, were fermenting under that pacific exterior. Obstinate 
 resistance to all reasonable reform— resistance prolonged but one day behind the time — gave 
 the signal for the explosion. In an instant, from the borders of Russia to the Atlantic 
 Ocean, everything was confusion and terror. The streets of the greatest capitals in Eiu-ope 
 were piled with barricades, and streaming with civil blood. The house of Orleans fled from 
 France ; the Pope fled from Rome ; the Emperor of Austria was not safe in Vienna ; 
 popular institutions were thrown down at Florence ; popular institutions were thrown down 
 at Naples. With one democratic convention sitting at Berlin, and with another democratic 
 convention sitting at Frankfort, you remember, I am sure, well how soon the wisest and 
 the most honest friends of reform — those men who were most inclined to look with indul- 
 gence on the excesses inseparable from the vindication of public liberty by jjhysical force — 
 began to doubt and despair of the prospects of mankind. You remember how all 
 animosities, national, religious and social, were brought forth together with the political 
 animosities. You remember how, with the hatred of discontented subjects to their governments 
 were mingled the hatred of nation to nation, and of class to class. In truth, for myself 
 I stood aghast; and naturally of a sanguine disposition, — naturally disposed to look with 
 hope to the progress of mankind,— I did for one moment doubt whether the course of 
 mankind was not to be turned back, and whether we were not to pass, in one generation, from 
 the civilization of the nineteenth century to the barbarism of the fifth. I remembered that
 
 1848.] THE IvATIONAL CONVENTION. 243 
 
 But Ireland saw her opportunity, and the Chartists of our own 
 country did not conceal from themselves that they, too, might strike 
 
 Adam Smith and that Gibbon had told us that there would never again be a destruction of 
 civilisation by barbarians. The flood, they said, would no more return to cover the earth ; 
 and they seemed to reason justly ; for they compared the immense strength of the civilised 
 part of the world with the weakness of that part which remained savage, and asked from 
 whence were to come those Iluns, and from whence were to come those Vandals, who were 
 again to destroy civilisation ? Alas ! It did not occur to them that civilisation itself might 
 engender the barbarians who should destroy it— it did not occur to them that, in the very 
 heart of great capitals, in the very neighbourhood of splendid palaces, and churches, and 
 theatres, and libraries, and museums, vice, and ignorance, and misery might produce a race 
 of Huns fiercer than those who marched under Attila, and Vandals more bent on destruction 
 than those who followed Genseric. Such was the danger. It passed by — Civilisation 
 was saved ; but at what a price ? The tide of feeling turned. It ebbed almost as fast as it 
 had arisen. Impudent and obstinate opposition to reasonable demands had brought on 
 anarchy ; and as soon as men saw the evils of anarchy they fled back In terror to crouch 
 under despotism! To the dominion of mobs armed with pikes succeeded the sterner and 
 more lasting dominion of disciplined armies. The papacy rose again from its abasement — 
 rose more intolerant and more insolent than before — intolerant and insolent as in the days 
 of Hildebrand — intolerant and insolent to a degree that dismayed and disappointed those 
 who had fondly cherished the hope that its spirit had been mitigated by the lapse of years, 
 and by the progress of knowledge. Through all that vast region where, little more than 
 seven years ago, we looked in vain for any stable authority, we now look as vaiuly for any 
 trace of constitutional freedom. And we, in the meantime, have been exempt from both 
 the casualties which have wrought ruin on all around us. The madness of 1848 did not 
 subvert oiu- throne. The reaction which followed has not touched our liberties. And why 
 was this? Why has our country, with all the ten plagues raging around, been another land 
 of Goshen? Everj'where else the thimder and the fire have been running along the 
 groimd — a very grievous storm— a storm such as the like has not been known on earth — 
 and yet everything is tranquil here. And then, again, thick night, and darkness which might 
 be felt; and yet light has been in all our dwellings. We owe this, under the blessing of 
 God, to a wise and noble constitution, the work of many generations, and of great men. 
 Let us profit by the lesson which we have received, and let us thank God that we profit by 
 the experience of others, and not by our own. Let us prove that constitution — let us 
 purify it — let us amend it; but let us not destroy it. Let us shun extremes, not only 
 because each extreme is in itself a positive evil, but also because it has been proved to us by 
 experience that each extreme necessarily engenders its opposite. If we love civil and 
 religious freedom, let us in every day of danger uphold law and order ; if we are zealous for 
 law and order, let us prize, as the best security of law and order, our civil and religious 
 freedom. Yes, gentlemen, the reason that our liberties remain in the midst of the general 
 servitude, that the Habeas Corpus Act has never been suspended, that the press is free, that 
 we have the liberty of association, that our representative system stands in all its- strength, 
 is this — that in the year of revolution we stood firmly by government in its peril. And, if 
 I may be asked why we stood by the government In Its peril, when all around us were 
 pulling governments down, I answer, that it was because we knew our government was a 
 good government ; that its faults admitted of peaceable and legal remedies, and that it had 
 never been inflexible in opposition to our just demands ; that we had obtained concessions 
 from it of inestimable value, not by the beating of the drum, not by the ringing of the 
 tocsin, not by the tearing up of the pavements of streets, not by breaking open the gunners' 
 shops in search for arms— but by the mere force of reason and public opinion. And, 
 gentlemen, pre-eminent among these pacific victories of reason and public opinion, the 
 recollection of which chiefly, I believe, carried us safely through the year of revolution, and
 
 244 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1843 
 
 a blow while yet Europe was in a state of fermentation. A very few 
 weeks of haranguing — a very few days devoted to organisation — and 
 they might march to the House of Commons and awe it by numbers 
 into an adoption of the six points of their new Magna Charta. They 
 did not want exactly to imitate the French, for the suflBciently good 
 reason that the majority of the British nation were against them, or 
 did not understand them, or were at all events too much attached to 
 the Throne and the Constitution to suffer the one to be disturbed, or 
 the other to be violated. But they felt that they might take advan- 
 tage of the alarm produced by events abroad, and hoped to wring 
 from the Government, by mere force of demonstration, what they 
 could not expect would be conceded when tranquillity had been 
 restored, and England invested with fresh moral strength through 
 her singular immunity from all political disturbance. 
 
 Accordingly it was determined that, on the 10th of April, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, the 
 Chartists in all parts of the United Kingdom should send delegates to 
 London, armed with authority to go up to the House of Commons, 
 and b(jar with them a petition signed by upwards of five millions of 
 her Majesty's subjects — or, we should say, bearing five millions of 
 signatures — how obtained or how far representing honest opinion, is 
 beyond our province to inquire. A Central London Committee, 
 styling itself the National Convention, was to be the focus towards 
 which all the country delegates were to tend, and this miglity 
 Convention was to dictate the modus operandi upon the day in question. 
 And if words could be taken as the earnest of men's purposes, a 
 terrible day it was to be ! 
 
 At one of the preliminary meetings, Mr. G. M. Reynolds, an 
 indifferent author of penny-serial publications, declared himself a 
 Republican. A Mr. Ernest Jones, a Yorkshire delegate, intimated 
 that his constituents were ready to fight. A Mr. Hitchin, from 
 Wigan, said that his friends were for resorting to ]:)hysical force at 
 once. A Mr. H. Smith, from Liverpool, avowed the resolution of 
 the Liverpudlians to obtain the Charter at the 2>oint of tlie bayonet 
 The Edinburgh folks, according to one Mr. Gumming, were prepared 
 to go to tJie field. Mr. Aston was for fighting for the Charter ; and 
 Reynolds, the chieftain aforesaid, looked upon a "few drops of blood 
 
 through the year of counter-revolution, I would place two great reforms— inseparably 
 associated, one with the memory of an illustrious man who is now beyond the reach of 
 envy, and tlie other as closely associated with the name of another illustrious man, who 
 is still, and I hope will long be, living to be a mark for detraction. I speak of the great 
 commercial reform of 1846— the work of Sir R. Peel— and of the Reform Bill of 1832, 
 brought in by Lord John Russell."
 
 1848.] ALARM OF THE LONDONERS. 245 
 
 as nothing in the scaled A very ugly man, named M'Carthy, the 
 representative of peaceful Ireland, talked of rifle-clubs, and of the 
 readiness of forty thousand Irishmen in London to avenge their 
 brethren in Ireland. Mr. Cuffey, a gentleman even less favoured by 
 nature than M'Carthy, " should take the rejection of the petition as 
 a declaration of war, and the Executive, Feargus O'Connor and Co., 
 would then lead us to liberty or death I " More of this fustian was 
 uttered at divers meetings, and lustily cheered by the parties present. 
 Nor were there wanting men who, like Jack Cade of old, avowed 
 their antipathy to the aristocracy, and their resolution to pull them 
 down. 
 
 "We will not leave one lord, one gentleman ; 
 Spare none but such as go in clouted shoon, 
 For they are thrifty, honest men." 
 
 All these sanguinary and revolutionary resolutions being duly 
 reported in the public papers, it is not to be wondered at that the 
 City of London, which is a good enough city in itself, peaceable and 
 laborious, and full of people who have toiled hard to acquire a little 
 property, and who give bread to thousands upon thousands of indus- 
 trious men and women, — we say, it is not to be wondered at that the 
 City of London should have become very much alarmed, and looked 
 imploringly towards the Government for protection from the con- 
 sequences which it feared must ensue from the congregation of 
 myriads of fierce and desperate men. It was not that London does 
 not contain within its bosom many hundreds of thinking artisans, who 
 believe that the six points of the Charter might be conceded without 
 damage to the Crown or Constitution, but they think that all those 
 points may be achieved, as other great points have been achieved, 
 without resorting to such an illegal and unconstitutional proceeding 
 as the coercing the legislature, alarming a million of honest citizens, 
 their wives and children, and causing a total suspension of labour. 
 Well, they, the artisans, and a multitude of other craftsmen, and 
 people of no craft at all, but who live upon their possessions in lands, 
 houses, the Funds, and the fruits of vast fortunes and plantations, 
 abroad and at home, looked to the Government in their extremity, 
 and gave Ministers ample assurance that their efforts to preserve the 
 public peace should receive a hearty co-operation. 
 
 The appeal was promptly answered. A proclamation went forth 
 declaring the intended meeting illegal, and warning all well-disposed 
 persons against attending it. 
 
 This proclamation was altogether disregarded by the National
 
 246 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1848 
 
 Convention, who announced, at their head-quarters, and at an interview 
 with the Secretary of State, and in Parliament, by their representative, 
 Mr. O'Connor, that the meeting ivoulcl take place, and that the 
 Chartists would walk in procession to Westminster to deliver the 
 petition. 
 
 The gauntlet was now thrown down, the Government took it up, 
 and in a most commendable spirit proceeded to put London in a state 
 of defence. In this important duty. Ministers had the benefit of 
 the advice and assistance of Field-Marshal his Grace the Duke of 
 Wellington, who, generally loth to " interfere" in matters of govern- 
 ment, had a particular " stomach to the present deed." Like the old 
 war-horse, which 
 
 " at the trumpet's sound, 
 Erects his mane, and neighs, and paws the ground," 
 
 the Duke flew to his maps of London, called his staff around him, 
 and had soon chalked out a plan of defence which would have defied 
 the united armies of Repeal Ireland and Chartist England.' Troops 
 
 1 Mr. Richard Oastler has published the following accoimt of an interview he once had with 
 the Duke. It shows that the Duke was always disinclined to employ physical force against 
 the people ; but if their objects were calculated to injure the Crown, or upset the government, 
 or disturb the peace, he had no alternative : — 
 
 RICHARD OASTLER'S INTERVIEW WITH THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 That I knew the Duke of Wellington ; have often been admitted to his presence ; enjoyed 
 the high honour of free conversation and correspondence with him, is now most gratifying. I 
 cannot describe him in the field or in the cabinet : I have not seen him there. I can tell of him 
 at home, in private ; there I have seen him. 
 
 To the late Thomas Thornhill, Esq., I was indebted for an introduction to the Duke of 
 Wellington, through the Duke of Rutland. I had been talking with my old master on public 
 matters. He thought my observations worthy of notice — asked me if I wished to see (among 
 other notables) the Duke of Wellington. His Grace, of all others, was the man whom I longed 
 to see. 
 
 It was diiring the summer of 1832, when, with a letter of introduction from the Duke of 
 Rutland, I called- at Apsley House. In a few minutes the servant returned, saying, "The 
 Duke of Wellington desires his compliments to you, and will be happy to see you to-morrow 
 at eleven o'clock." 
 
 Twenty years have elapsed since then. I have not, however, forgotten what I felt at the 
 prospect of meeting, face to face, with the greatest man of the age. Five minutes before the 
 appointed time, I knocked at the door of Apsley House. I was shown into a room looking into 
 the garden at the corner of the park. In this apartment were glass casee filled with a superb 
 service of china, the gift, as I was informed, of the King of Saxony. On each piece the Duke 
 was represented in one of his military exploits. I was struck with the beauty of these different 
 works of art, but I was chiefiy intent upon the approaching interview. 
 
 I had before then, talked with many noblemen and statesmen. I am not noted for bash- 
 fulness; nevertheless, on that occasion, I felt as I had never felt before. My veneration for the 
 Duke of Wellington was excessive. I naturally wished to obtain a favourable hearing, and 
 was concocting a few sentences of introduction, anticipating a very formal reception, when, as
 
 1848.1 THE TENTH OF APRIL. 247 
 
 were sent for from the several counties. The 17th, the heroes of 
 Hindostan, Khelat, and Ghuznee ; the 62ud, who fought at Nive, 
 the Peninsula, and Sobraon ; the 63rd, the Guards, the Dragoons, 
 
 the clock was striking eleven, I heard behind me the opening of a door, and a very friendly, but 
 rather a weak voice, saying, " Good morning, Mr. Oasllcr, will you walk this way ?" On turning 
 I saw the opened door ; I did not see the Duke; I, however, saw his nose projecting beyond the 
 edge of the door, and was sure that it was the Duke of Wellington. There was a door into each 
 room, the thickness of the wall separating them. His Grace, standing in that space, smiling, 
 said — "Walk forward, sir." I asked, "Allow me to shut the doors?" "Oh, no, sir, walk 
 forward ; I'll close the doors," was the Duke'.s reply. 
 
 I was now shut in vi'ith the Duke of Wellington. There was no grandeur in this room. It 
 was evidently a place of business. A long table, nearly covered with books, papers, and 
 letters, occupied the middle of the floor. The different documents seemed placed in such 
 exact order, that their owner might have found any one of them, even in the dark. At the 
 end of the table was a sofa, nearly covered with orderly-arranged papers, leaving sufficient 
 space for one person. On that space, at the bidding of the Duke, I sat. His Grace, standing 
 before me, said, " Well, Sir. Oastler, what is it you wish to say to me ?" I observed, " It is 
 very strange that I should sit, while the Duke of Wellington stands, and in Apsley House, 
 too!" "Oh!" said his Grace, "If you think so, and if it will please you belter, I'll sit." 
 So saying, he took a seat on an easy chair, between the sofa and the flre-place. I was then 
 desired to "proceed." Being strangely affected, with a reception so very different from that 
 anticipated, I expressed my surprise, and craved the Duke's indulgence. Placing his right 
 hand on ray right shoulder, his Grace said, "We shall never get on if you are embarrassed. 
 Forget that you are here — fancy yourself talking with one of your neighbours at Fixby, and 
 proceed." 
 
 The ffiendliness of this action, and the encouraging kindness of his words, removed every 
 impediment. I at once entered into familiar conversation. After a few introductory remarks, 
 I said — "There are two great mistakes prevalent in this country — I would rectify them." — 
 " What are they ?" asked the Duke. — " One, that the aristocracy imagine that the working people 
 wish to deprive them of their rank and property." — "That's true," said his Grace, 
 * they do." — " By no means, my Lord Duke," I rejoined ; " not any man knows the working 
 men of England better than myself; I can assure you there never was a greater mistake ; all 
 that the working men want is to be enabled, by honest industry, to provide for themselves 
 and their families." — " I rejoice to hear you say so," answered the Duke ; " every honest, 
 industrious working man has a just claim to that reward for his labour." — "I expected to hear 
 fhat sentiment from your Grace, notwithstanding the next mistake which it is my object to 
 •ectify." — " What is that T — " The working people are, by their enemies and yours, taught to 
 oelieve that your Grace wishes to feed them with bullets and steel." — " Are they ?" exclaimed 
 Ihe Duke. — " They are, your Grace. Is your Grace thus inclined ? I do not believe it." — 
 rhe Duke, with serious emotion, said, " I am the last man to wish for war. I have gained all 
 that the sword can give, the Crown excepted ; and it is my duty to serve the Crown ?" — " May I 
 (ell the people so ?"— " Certainly. Tell them I hate war— that I shall be the last man to recom- 
 mend the sword." '^■■f 
 
 During that interview his Grace listened with .the kiudesT attention to my remarks. At its 
 close the Dulce gave me his hand (liow I felt at that moment I will not just now describe)— 
 thanked me, and desired me to call again for a longer interview next day. 
 
 In a short while I returned to Huddersfield, met thousands of the people at an out-door 
 assembly, and told them all that the Duke of Wellington had told me. Oh! how they 
 
 cheered! But the Liberals— the \\liigs of Huddersfield— were angry. Never could 
 
 they forgive me for having obtained the cheers of the people for one whom they had taught 
 their dupes to execrate— his Grace the Duke of Wellington. R- 0« 
 
 Boiling Hail, Bradford, Yorkshire.
 
 248 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1848. 
 
 the Marines, were summoned to march to town two days before the 
 intended congregation, and their respective billets and rendezvous 
 duly settled. Meanwhile the Bank of England (rioters always 
 rush to the great depositories of gold) was prudently fortified, and 
 cover for infantry, iu the shape of sand-bags and loop-holed boards, 
 disposed along the parapet and at the angles. Revolving clievauz de 
 frise were placed over the gates of Somerset House. Additional 
 locks, bolts, and bars were attached to the gates of the Mint, the 
 Tower, the Admiralty, and all the other great public buildings. 
 The war-steamers, well armed, were placed at different points of the 
 Kent and Essex coast in a state of preparation, to move up to town 
 with additional troops and stores. Arms of all kinds and abundance 
 of ammunition were conveyed into the different public offices ; the 
 clerks, porters, servants, &c., were sworn in as special constables, 
 and so vested with authority to resist the onslaught of the expected 
 enemy. The commissioners of police received instructions to dis- 
 tribute their force in such a manner that the first attacks should be 
 borne by them ; the troops, who were to lie in ambush, only coming 
 up as a coiys de reserve in case of extreme necessity. 
 
 This was of itself a formidable array to oppose to a body of men 
 unskilled in the art of war, and unprovided with the means of making 
 a dangerous attack, excepting by plundering gunsmiths' and iron- 
 mongers' shops, and arming themselves with fowling-pieces, pitch- 
 forks, &c. But it did not amount to half what was yet to be 
 done. Full of loyalty and valour ; inspired by a strong attachment 
 to didce domum ; anxious to make some figure upon the eventful 
 day, and deter the audacious Chartists from attacks on private 
 property, thousands of noblemen, gentlemen, merchants, lawyers, 
 attorneys, tradespeople, clerks, servants, draymen, coalwhippers, and 
 men of no particular calling, rushed to the police-offices, and caused 
 themselves to be sworn in as special constables. The magistrates had 
 so many oaths to administer that they got heartily sick of the 
 formula, and found, in the irksomeness of the duty, a new motive for 
 detesting Chartists and all other disturbers of public order. The 
 demand for truncheons^, became so great that the turneries at the 
 dockyards could not i^Aacture them fast enough. Sunday, the 
 9th of April, the precursor of the great day of physical demonstration, 
 arrived. The Queen and Royal Family had left London for Osborne 
 House, Isle of Wight, on the previous Saturday. The royal example 
 was now followed by numerous respectable but timid individuals. 
 Locking up the cellars, the wardrobes, and the store-rooms, and 
 taking the keys with them, responsible housekeepers evacuated the
 
 1848.] THE DUKE'S DEFENCE OF LONDON. 249 
 
 devoted city, and confided the care of their proporty to trustworthy 
 domestics ; while they, with anxious hearts, and ears pricked up, 
 awaited the booming of the cannon which should proclaim the com- 
 mencement of the strife and the peril of their worldly goods. It was 
 a curious illustration of the superior value attaching to existence. 
 As Mrs. Hai-dcastlc says in the play, " Take all we have, but spare 
 our lives." 
 
 The scared heads of families having abdicated and fled, the provi- 
 sional governments of the several domiciles deemed they could not 
 do better than pass the Sabbath in reconnoitring the town, and 
 observing the character of the Duke of Wellington's preparations. 
 Accordingly, after service, the streets swarmed with curious groups 
 of lacqueys and femmcs cle chamhre^ while the tigers, the pages, and 
 sundry little girls, daughters of small green-grocers and indefatigable 
 laundresses, kept possession of the deserted mansions. 
 
 The night before " the siege" was passed in a state of oscillation 
 between hope and fear. The middle classes were watchful and 
 wakeful ; they knew not what the morrow might produce. Bankers 
 prepared themselves for a stubborn resistance to the attacks upon the 
 iron chest. Bakers saw in imagination the violent mis-appropriation 
 of countless four-pound loaves. Mechanics pledged soldiers, in sub- 
 urban beer-shops, in a fraternal spirit ; and the soldiers pledged the 
 mechanics, when the beer was drank, and the mechanics had paid for 
 it, that '• soldiers were but soldiers, and must obey orders, whatever 
 their feelings might be." Special constables hung together for 
 company's sake, forming a sort of mutual assurance society for the 
 protection of life. They sat grandly and gloomily, speaking in short 
 disjointed sentences, and ever and anon reminding each other that 
 England expected every man to do his duty, and that as far as they 
 were personally and individually concerned, the expectation should 
 not be disappointed. Here and there, in dark alleys and dim recesses, 
 under archways, and on the kerb-stones of broad suburban roads, 
 groups of boys and men, whose occupations no one would have been 
 bold enough to define, discoursed cheerfully upon the prospects of the 
 morrow ; and a quick-eared passenger might occasionally detect that 
 cant phrases, having reference to the operation of pick-pockets and 
 burglars, formed the staple of the conversation of the innocent 
 assemblage. At length the mantle of night pressed heavily upon the 
 multitude, afiecting alike the garrison and the citizens ; and the 
 murmur of street gossip died away into deep silence, as each boozy 
 idler, impoverished by moistening his superficial patriotism, staggered 
 homewards.
 
 250 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1843 
 
 The eventful day was ushered in by a beautiful dawn ; and the 
 prevalence of a westerly wind tempted people to say — " Dear me, 
 this is quite a holiday ! What a very warm spring !" Opinion was 
 somewhat divided as to the advantage of fine weather upon such an 
 occasion. Opinion, however, could not alter the fact. There was 
 Phoebus, all smiles and glitter, treating the day as the peculiar prop- 
 erty of holiday people, and holding out the greatest possible, en 
 couragement to her Majesty's subjects to quit their dwellings and 
 see " the fun" which political fervour had provided for them ! The 
 troops were marched at daybreak from their several bivouacs ; and 
 by ten o'clock it would have puzzled a conjuror to say where one of 
 the seven thousand was to be found. The Duke had carried his 
 science of ambushing his men to the highest point of military perfec- 
 tion. It was only by excoriating their noses between the iron bars 
 of the gates that the people could detect the bear-skin caps of the 
 Coldstreams at Somerset House. The Park gates were kept closed, 
 and the strong garrison at Buckingham Palace was lodged in the 
 riding-school and the mews, unseen by a single idler. Now and then, 
 at the window of a house on the Surrey side of Blackfriars' Bridge, 
 the blue coat of the armed pensioner might be observed ; and at the 
 Admiralty eastern gate the flitting of a marine sentinel gave token that 
 there was stout garrison within that venerable and stately building. 
 
 If the troops were perdu, however, not equally screened from 
 public view was the force under Colonel Rowan and Mr. Mayne. 
 Formidable bodies of the police filled the interior area of Trafalgar- 
 square. Large detachments occupied the southern sides of the 
 bridges ; and Kennington Common, which was to be the rendezvous 
 of the Chartists, actually swarmed with the "Peelers," pedestrian 
 and equestrian. 
 
 The plan of defence by the police force was this : — An advanced 
 post of 500 men, was placed at Ball's livery stables, Kennington, 
 concealed from view, but ready to act at a moment's notice, if 
 required. The main strength of the force, amounting to 2290 men, 
 was concentrated on the bridges : 500 at Westminster ; 500 at 
 Hungerford ; 500 at Waterloo, and 500 at Blackfriars' Bridge. At 
 the last-mentioned bridge a large body of the City police were also 
 posted on the Middlesex side of the river. In Palace Yard there was 
 a reserve of 545 man ; in Great George-street, of 445 : in Traftilgar- 
 square, of 690, and at the Prince's-mews, of 40, — making a total of 
 1680 men. The number of police of all ranks in position was 3970, 
 The Thames division was disposed in ten boats, placed at the bridges 
 and at Whitehall-stairs.
 
 1848.] THE CHARTIST PETITION. 251 
 
 But it was in the arrangement of the military and artillery forces, 
 and the special constabulary, that the skill of the Duke of Wellington 
 — now for the first time engaged in defending an unprotected town — 
 was seen. There were 400 of the pensioners at Battersea Bridge ; 
 500 at Vauxhall ; 200 or 300 at the Pantechnicon ; and a detachment 
 at Blackfriars, so placed in the house on each side of Chatham-place 
 that their fire would command the passage of the bridge. The 
 whole number out amounted to 1500 men. The 62nd and 17th 
 regiments of infantry were stationed at Milbank Penitentiary ; a 
 battalion of the Guards occupied the new Houses of Parliament, and 
 another was posted at Charing-cross ; a body of infantry was placed 
 in some houses which command Westminster Bridge; and the rest 
 of the troops of the line, amounting in all to 8000, were stationed at 
 the difi'erent public ofiaees and in other positions extending to the 
 City and Tower, which had been carefully selected, as aflFording 
 facilities for military operations, should these become unavoidable. 
 A strong detachment of Life Guards was placed under the command 
 of General Brotherton, at Blackfriars' Bridge ; and another detach- 
 ment occupied a position on the Surrey side of Westminster Bridge. 
 There was also an advanced post of cavalry close to Kennington 
 Common. The 12th Light Dragoons occupied Chelsea ; and another 
 cavalry regiment was stationed at the Regent's Park barracks. 
 There were twelve pieces of artillery at the Royal Mews, along with 
 500 infantry ; and thirty pieces of artillery had been brought up to the 
 Tower, with their wagons and the proper complement of artillery- 
 men. On the river three steamers had notice to convey 1200 troops 
 from the dockyard at Deptford to any point where their presence 
 might be required. There were also pieces of artillery placed in the 
 neighborhood of Westminster Bridge, ready to do deadly service, if 
 required. 
 
 From two o'clock, when the bridges were closed up, to prevent the 
 meeting, as it dispersed, from pouring down tumultuous masses 
 of the people upon the northern side of the river, the streets 
 were patrolled by the mounted police from Vauxhall Bridge to 
 Temple Bar. 
 
 Happily for the deluded people who assembled at Kennington, 
 the fear inspired by the " Old Duke's " preparations deterred them 
 from coming into collision with the troops. At the instance of the 
 inspectors of police the meeting dissolved ; and the monster petition 
 was carried to the House of Commons in a cab, and presented by 
 Mr. Feargus O'Connor, M. P. for Nottingham. The signatures to the 
 petition were said to exceed five millions and a half ; but when they
 
 252 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1848. 
 
 came to be examined, it was found that great numbers were purely . 
 nonsensical. The names of the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert 
 Peel, and other men of rank and station, had been inserted innumer- 
 able times ! Mr. Feargus O'Connor's eccentricity in this matter, 
 followed by a course at once mischievous and absurd, eventuated in 
 a mental hallucination, which, three years subsequently, led to the 
 permanent confinement of the unfortunate gentleman. 
 
 8AND0WN CASTLE.
 
 1849.] 
 
 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 
 
 Q53 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 The French Revolution— The Death of Sir R. Peel— The Great Exhibition— Prince Louis Napo- 
 leon—The embodiment of the Militia— Death of the Duke of Wellington— Tributes— Appoint- 
 ments consequent on his Death— Public Funeral. 
 
 FTEK, several sanguinary struggles in 
 the streets of Paris, arising out of the 
 attempts of various clubs and asso- 
 ciations to establish a government upon 
 the extravagant principles which found 
 favour in the days of Robespierre, 
 Marat, and Danton, the French suc- 
 ceeded in converting a mild monarchy 
 into a despotic republic, of which Prince 
 Louis Napoleon, the nephew of the Em- 
 peror, was elected President. During 
 this period and for some time sub- 
 sequently, the relations of the British 
 with the French cabinet became difficult 
 this more readily than the Duke of 
 hira, he guarded the British Ministry 
 against the consequences of their not appearing to be supported by 
 public opinion. He met every movement of the Opposition in a 
 conciliatory spirit, always pointing to the importance of domestic 
 tranquillity, as affording England the best means of giving aid in 
 maintaining the peace of Europe. 
 
 In the course of 1849, the Duke found occasion to justify and to 
 laud the conduct of the Marquis of Dalhousie in conducting a war 
 against the Sikhs, which eventuated in the annexation of the Punjaub 
 to the British dominions in India. The only instances in which his 
 Grace appeared to act with the Opposition was against the Railways 
 Abandonment Bill, and the Pilotage Bill. He was of opinion that 
 
 to manage. No one saw 
 Wellington, and, as became
 
 254 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1850. 
 
 the first would, in effect, repeal tlie vast number of Acts of Parliament 
 which had been past during the last few sessions, which involved 
 the outlay of millions of money and the interest of millions of per- 
 sons ! and that it would wipe away the whole of the property which 
 had been invested on the faith of those Acts of Parliament. And in 
 respect to the Pilotage Bill, he said, speaking as Lord Warden of the 
 Cinque Ports, that it was calculated to put down the fellowship of the 
 pilots, who had hitherto contribuled to the safety and usefulness of 
 our navigation. 
 
 In 1850 the Duke of Wellington experienced a shock in the 
 sudden and accidental death of Sir Robert Peel, who was thrown 
 from his horse in the Park. It is said to this hour, in many quarters, 
 that the Duke of Wellington had very little real regard for Sir 
 Robert Peel; that the pliancy of the distinguished commoner on 
 one occasion, his firmness upon others, opposition to the Duke's 
 wishes, and his plebeian origin, had combined to close the avenues to 
 the Duke's heart against him. The Duke regarded him only as a 
 necessity. Be this as it may, it seems impossible that his Grace 
 should have been long associated in public life, and especially in office, 
 with Sir Robert, giving him his confidence the while, without enter- 
 taining some respect for his character ; and we do not, therefore, 
 wonder that, when the death of Sir Robert Peel was alluded to in the 
 House of Lords, the Duke of Wellington should have been deeply 
 affected, and almost incapable of joining in the testimonies freely 
 offered by Lords Lansdowne, Stanley, and Brougham, to the virtues 
 of the deceased statesman. When the Duke rose to take his share in 
 the mournful ceremony, his feelings so overcame him that it was some 
 time ere he could acquire the command of speech. He at length 
 said, after a great effort at articulation : — " My Lords, I rifee to give 
 expression to the satisfaction with which I have heard this conver- 
 sation on the part of your lordships, both on the part of those noble 
 lords who were opposed to Sir Robert Peel during the whole course 
 of their political lives, and on the part of those noble friends of mine 
 who have been opposed to him only lately. Your lordships must all 
 feel the high and honourable character of the late Sir Robert Peel. 
 I was long connected with him in public life. We were both in the 
 councils of our Sovereign together, and I had long the honour to 
 enjoy his private friendship. In all the course of my acquaintance 
 with Sir Robert Peel, I never knew a man in whose truth and justice 
 I had a more lively confidence, or in whom I saw a more invariable 
 desire to promote the public service. In the whole course of my 
 communication with him. I never knew an instance in which he did
 
 1851.] THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 255 
 
 not show the strongest attachment to truth ; and I never saw, in the 
 whole course of my life, the' smallest reason for suspecting that he 
 stated anything which he did not firmly believe to be the fact. My 
 Lords, I could not let this conversation close without stating that 
 which I believe to have been the strongest characteristic feature of his 
 character. I again repeat to you, my Lords, my satisfaction at hearing 
 the sentiments of regret which you have expressed for his loss." 
 This speech produced a marked sensation amongst the Peers. 
 
 The British public gave itself up in 1851 to a long holiday. It 
 was the year of the " Great Exhibition " par excellence. All the 
 nations of the earth sent tribute to England in the shape of the 
 fruits of ingenuity or the wondrous products of nature. The highest 
 imaginable compliment was paid to this country in the recognition by 
 the rest of the world of her right to oflFer herself as the temporary 
 emporium of the results of the industry of the universe — the point 
 of rendezvous of delegates from the inhabitants of all parts of the 
 globe. From the Queen of England, down to the poorest and 
 humblest of her subjects, every one made a point of visiting, as often 
 as their circumstances would admit, the glorious Crystal Palace in 
 Hyde Park. Among the most frequent visitors to this enchanting 
 repository of wealth, and abode of good taste, was the Duke of 
 Wellington. He seemed to take the mest lively interest in the 
 various departments of manufacture, and was himself no less an 
 object of the curiosity and affectionate solicitude of the people. 
 " When," said the Keverend Dr. Emerton, of Hanwell, in an eloquent 
 and impressive funeral sermon preached at Ealing, " I saw the Duke 
 of Wellington moving through the Palace of Industry that was lately 
 erected in the metropolis — which men of all nations viewed with 
 admiration and delight — and the dense crowds making way at his 
 approach, I could not help regarding him as the presiding genius of 
 that Temple of Peace which seemed erected for his especial glorifica- 
 tion. It is, at least, certain that without the blessing of the long 
 peace which his victories had secured, such a building would have 
 been raised in vain ; his presence there was hailed by men of all the 
 nations which he had delivered from bondage — and those who might 
 have, years gone by, regarded him as an enemy, looked upon him with 
 veneration and delight." Upon the opening of the Crystal Palace — 
 the 1st of May, 1851 — his own birth-day, and the first anniversary of 
 the birth of Prince Arthur, to whom he had stood sponsor' — the 
 
 1 There is a charming picture by Winterhalter (of which an exquisite engraving has been 
 published, by P. and D. Colnaghi, of Pall Mall East), representing the Duke, in his military 
 uniform, presenting a cadeau to the infant Prince, who, with outstretched anns, is supported 
 by her iSlajesty. Prince Albert is in the background, with head averted, looking at the 
 
 2t
 
 256 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, [1851. 
 
 Duke was seen parading the platform of the marvellous edifice in 
 company with the marquis of Anglesey ; and the appearance of the 
 veteran chieftains, arm in arm, excited deep interest and lively 
 emotion. Everybody "unbonnetted" to them as they passed, and 
 " God bless your Grace ! " proceeded from more than one honest 
 heart and mouth as the Duke was seen by some country stranger 
 for the first time. Amongst the little incidents, preparatory to the 
 opening of the Crystal Palace, may be mentioned as singular and 
 apposite, that, while the Duke was observing the process of unpacking 
 some cases, intended for the French department of argentefrie^ 
 statuettes in silver of the Duke himself and Napoleon Bonaparte 
 were disclosed. 
 
 As the time approached for the French National Assembly to 
 arrange for the election of a President of the Republic, in succession 
 to Prince Louis Napoleon, whose term of office was expiring, that 
 Prince, determining to anticipate the decision, procured with an 
 unparalleled degree of secrecy and promptitude, the fealty of the 
 troops in and about Paris ; and upon the plea of crushing conspiracies 
 levelled at the liberties and happiness of the country, he trampled 
 those liberties under foot, and, in a few hours, established a fierce 
 military despotism. France, crouching and terrified, yielded without 
 striking a blow, and the people awaited the moment (which has since 
 arrived) when the Prince, scorning the mockery of a Republic, should 
 take upon himself the monarchical authority and procure the revival 
 of the Empire. Fearful lest the army, which had thus aided Louis 
 Napoleon in his crusade against political freedom, should demand, as 
 the recompense of its devotion, that it be led across the Channel, the 
 British Ministry prepared to enroll the militia. Lord John Russell's 
 plan, however, for this wholesome measure appeared so very defective 
 that upon an amendment by Lord Palmerston, the Militia Bill was 
 thrown out, and Lord John Russell and his colleagues resigned in 
 disgust. They were succeeded by the Earl of Derby and the Con- 
 servatives, who, deriving experience from the failure of the Whigs, 
 brought in a bill of a different complexion, which the country at 
 once accepted. When the bill went up to the House of Lords, the 
 Duke of Wellington gave it a cordial support. His Grace at length 
 beheld the first great step to the realisation of the projects on which 
 his mind had long dwelt.* It was universally admitted that he never 
 
 Crystal Palace. The group baa eridenlly been suggested by the study of some picture of the 
 Adoration of the Magi. 
 
 1 In his admirable letter to Sir John Burgoyne on the national defence (see Appendix), tho 
 Duke of Wellington had laid great stress on the importance of a Militia.
 
 1861.] THE MILITIA BILL. 257 
 
 spoke better than on this occasion — he had rarely, indeed, spoken so 
 ■well. His heart was in the cause. His speech, said the United 
 Service Gazette^ " might be registered as the most striking proof of 
 the constancy of that pure patriotism, which, since he first embraced 
 the profession of arms, had been the most distinguishing trait in the 
 illustrious Duke's career." He said — 
 
 " I am certainly the last man to have any hesitation of opinion as 
 to the relative advantage of meeting an enemy with disciplined or 
 with undisciplined or half-disciplined troops. The things are not to 
 be compared at all. With disciplined troops you are acting with a 
 certain degree of confidence that what they are ordered to perform 
 they will perform. With undisciplined troops you can have no such 
 confidence ; on the contrary, the chances are that they will do the 
 very reverse of what they are ordered to do. But we must look a 
 little at the state in which we stand at the present moment. This 
 country is at peace with the whole world, except in certain parts, or 
 on the frontiers of its own distant dominions, with which operations 
 of war are carried on by means of our peace establishment. You are 
 now providing for a peace establishment ; you are at peace with the 
 whole world ; you are providing for a peace establishment. I say 
 that peace establishment ought to have been efiectually provided for 
 long ago. If it had been, we should not have needed now to be told, 
 as we have been by the noble marquis, about the number of days and 
 weeks it will take to train the militia recruits ; or about the futility of 
 expecting anything to the purpose from troops with their three 
 weeks' or their six weeks', or what time it may be, training. We 
 have never, up to this moment, maintained a proper peace establish- 
 ment — that's the real truth ; and we are now in that position in 
 which we find ourselves forced to form a peace establishment such as 
 this country requires. I tell you, for the last ten years you have 
 never had in your army more men than enough to relieve the 
 sentries on duty of your stations in the different parts of the world ; 
 such is the state of your peace establishment at the present time ; 
 such has been the state of your peace establishment for the last ten 
 years. You have been carrying on war in all parts of the globe, in 
 the different stations, by means of this peace establishment ; you 
 have now a war at the Cape, still continuing, which you carry on 
 with your peace establishment; yet on that peace establishment, I 
 tell you, you have not more men than are enough to relieve the 
 sentries at the different stations in all parts of the world, and to 
 relieve the different regiments in the tropics and elsewhere, after 
 services there — of how long do you suppose? — of, in some cases, 
 VOL. n. 17
 
 258 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1851. 
 
 twenty-five years, io none less than ten years, and, after which, you 
 give them five years at home, nominally—for it is only nominally in 
 a great many cases. There were, for instance, the last troops who 
 were sent out to the Cape ; instead of keeping them five years at 
 home, after their long service abroad, I was obliged to send them 
 out after they had only been sixteen months at home. My Lords, I 
 tell you you have never had a proper peace establishment all this time. 
 "We are still at peace with all the world ; let us, then, have a peace 
 establishment — our constitutional peace establishment ; and when 
 you have got that, see what you will do next. The noble marquis, 
 my noble friend, if he will allow me so to call him, says he thinks he 
 should prefer an army of reserve. An army of reserve ! What is 
 an army of reserve ? Is it an army to cost less than 40/. each man all 
 round 'I If he thinks that possible, I tell him that we can have no 
 such thing. But what I desire — and I believe it is a desire the mosfc 
 moderate than can be formed — is, that you shall give us, in the first 
 instance, the old constitutional peace establishment. When we have 
 got that, then you may do what you please. The noble marquis says, 
 very truly, that these 50,000, or 80,000, or 150,000 militiamen won't 
 be fit for service in six months, or twelve months, or eighteen months ; 
 but I say they'll be fit, at all events, for some service ; and certainly 
 they'll enable us to employ in the field others who are fit for service ; 
 and in time they will themselves become fit for service. In the last 
 war we had in service several regiments of English militia, and they 
 were in as high a state of discipline, and as fit for service, as any men 
 I ever saw in my life. It was quite impossible to have a body of 
 troops in higher order, or in higher discipline, or more fit for dis- 
 cipline than these bodies of British militia were, at the commencement 
 of the present century, up to 1810; they were as fine corps as ever 
 were seen ; and, I say, no doubt, these bodies of 50,000 or 80,000 
 men, whatever the number may be, will be so too, in the course of 
 time. Everything has its beginning, and this is a commencement. 
 You must make a beginning here, and see that it will take some 
 months before you can form reserve regiments. The armies of 
 England, who have served the country so well, — are your lordships so 
 mistaken as to suppose that they were ever composed of more than 
 one-third of real British subjects — of natives of this island ? No 
 such thing. Look at the East Indies. Not more than one-third of 
 the soldiers there are British subjects. Look at the Peninsula ; not 
 one-third of the men employed there were ever British soldiers. Yet 
 I beg your lordship to observe what services those soldiers per- 
 formed. They fought great battles against the finest troops in the
 
 1852.] THE DUKE ON "THE MILITIA." 259 
 
 world; they went prepared to face everything — ay, and to be 
 successful against everything, or this country would not have borne 
 with them. Not one-third of those armies were British troops, but 
 they were brave troops, and not merely brave — for I believe every 
 man is brave — but well-organised troops. Take the battle of 
 Waterloo — look at the number of British troops at that battle. I 
 can tell your lordships that in that battle there were sixteen 
 battalions of Hanoverian militia, just formed, under the command of 
 the late Hanoverian Ambassador here — Count Kielmansegge, who 
 behaved most admirably — and there were many other foreign troops 
 who nobly aided us in that battle, avowedly the battle of giants — 
 whose operations helped to bring about the victory, which was 
 followed by the peace of Europe, that has now lasted for thirty-six or 
 thirty-seven years. I say that however much I admire highly- 
 disciplined troops, and most especially British disciplined troops, I 
 tell you you must not suppose that others cannot become so too ; 
 and no doubt if you begin with the formation of Corps under this 
 Act of Parliament, they will in time become what their predecessors 
 in the militia were ; and if ever they do become what the former 
 militia were, you may rely on it they will perform all the services 
 they may be required to perform. I recommend you to adopt this 
 measure as the commencement of a completion of the peace establish- 
 ment. It will give you a constitutional force ; it will not be, at 
 first, or for some time, everything we could desire, but by degrees it 
 will become what you want — an efficient auxiliary force to the regular 
 army." 
 
 With one trivial exception, this was the last speech ever made by 
 the Duke of Wellington in the House of Lords. Finis coronat opus. 
 It was worthy to be the last : the subject and the manner were in 
 perfect harmony, and the Duke was equal to the occasion. 
 
 Parliament was dissolved in July, 1 852, and the Duke of Welling- 
 ton, after a short stay in London, proceeded, as usual, to his marine 
 residence, Walmer Castle. 
 
 The autumn had scarcely set in, when, upon the evening of the 
 14th of September, a rumour ran through London which an affec- 
 tionate people were indisposed to credit — that the Duke of Wellington 
 was dead ! 
 
 " There are few persons of any reflection in England who have not 
 frequently — perhaps continually — speculated on such an event. The 
 solemn announcement—' Death of the Duke of Wellington,' accom-
 
 260 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1S52 
 
 panied with the usual signs of national respect and concern, has long 
 been as familiar to the British imagination as the inscriptions we 
 have read a thousand times on the walls of our churches. The gap 
 that the Duke would leave in our councils or our arms — the universal 
 solicitude that would surround his death-bed — the grief and dismay- 
 all would feel should he die at some crisis of national peril — and the 
 magnificence of the obsequies with which England would carry to the 
 grave the noblest of her sons, were thoughts that have occurred over 
 and over again, not only to us, but to our fathers, and to multitudes 
 who have long since themselves been gathered to the grave. Eighteen 
 years previously it was commonly said that the work of the Peninsula 
 was beginning to tell on that iron frame, and subsequently to that, 
 men had predicted — till they were wearied or ashamed of predicting 
 — that each Waterloo banquet would prove the last. Of late years, 
 increasing infirmities — manifest, though energetically resisted — the 
 treacherous ear, the struggling utterance, and the tottering step, all 
 told their tale, and suggested even a fear that the greatest man of his 
 age might live to illustrate the decay from which no greatness is 
 secure. Yet the event, so long in sight as it were, came upon the 
 public by surprise." * 
 
 And there were few persons disposed at first entirely to believe in 
 its occurrence. But with the morning of the 15th September all doubt 
 evaporated. The Duke had died at Walmer, after a succession of 
 convulsive fits. Several versions of the circumstances attending the 
 event found their way into the papers ; but when the painful excite- 
 ment attending the national calamity had somewhat subsided, and 
 time had been allowed to collect details, the following appeared to 
 comprehend the entire truth of the melancholy story : — 
 
 The health of his Grace had been unusally good for some days, 
 and on Monday, the 13th September, it was remarked that he took a 
 longer walk than usual through the grounds attached to the Castle. 
 During his walk he entered the stables, and made several inquiries of 
 his groom in reference to his stud. 
 
 On Monday evening the Duke addressed a note to the Countess of 
 Westmoreland, promising to meet her ladyship on her arrival at 
 Dover at six o'clock on Tuesday evening. 
 
 On Monday evening the Duke dined with Lord and Lady Charles 
 Wellesley. His Grace was in good spirits during dinner, and was 
 observed to eat rather heartily. His food consisted of mock-turtle 
 Boup, turbot, and venison. While at table, the Duke's vivacity of 
 manner was such as to call forth a congratulatory remark from his 
 
 1 Tho Times, September 16th, 1852.
 
 1852.] DEATH OF THE DUKE, 261 
 
 son and daughter-in-law. His Grace retired to rest on Monday 
 night shortly after ten o'clock. 
 
 It had been customary for the Duke's valet, Kendall, to call his 
 Grace about sis o'clock every morning. On Tuesday morning, 
 Kendall, on knocking at his Grace's door a quarter of an hour after 
 the usual time, did not receive the customary response. After 
 waiting a few moments, he fancied he heard a strange kind of noise 
 in the Duke's apartment. On opening the door, the Duke appeared 
 to recognise him as usual, and did not complain of illnes.s. Kendall, 
 however, soon observed that his Grace was restless and uncomfort- 
 able ; and, in a few moments, the fact of the noble Duke's illness 
 was made apparent by his Grace exclaiming, somewhat abruptly, 
 " Send for Mr. Hulke." A messenger was instantly despatched to 
 the residence of Mr. Hulke, a medical resident in the town of Deal, 
 who has been accustomed to attend the Duke when at Walmer. 
 Mr. Hulke arrived at the castle at twenty minutes to eight o'clock. 
 The Duke was then reclining on his bed, and on his introduction, his 
 Grace entered into conversation with him in a perfectly calm and 
 collected manner, observing that he was suffering from an affection 
 of the chest and stomach. The doctor prescribed forthwith, and 
 informed Lord Charles Wellesley that he did not consider there 
 were any dangerous symptoms in his Grace's condition ; adding, that 
 he had seen him much worse on former occasions. Mr. Hulke was 
 then particularly alluding to an attack of a similar description 
 years since. 
 
 Mr. Hulke left the castle for Deal at eight o'clock, and he had 
 not been at home more than a quarter of an hour, when a second 
 messenger arrived with the information that the Duke had been 
 seized with what was described as an epileptic fit. On this occasion 
 Mr. Hulke was accompanied by Dr. M'Arthur, of Walmer, and 
 Mr. Hulke, jun. They found that the Duke had been seized with 
 a fit of the nature described, and that his servants had already 
 adopted some remedial measures, by the application of mustard 
 poultices. The medical gentlemen adopted every remedy that science 
 could suggest, but the attack failed to yield to their professional 
 skill. His Grace, from the moment he was seized with the fit, 
 became speechless ; but by gestures he appeared to desire a removal 
 to a bed-chair, in which he was placed in a sitting posture, and so he 
 continued until twenty minutes past three o'clock, when he expired as 
 quietly as if falling into a slumber. There was present at this solemn 
 moment Lord and Lady Charles Wellesley, the three medical gentle- 
 men. Mr. Collins, the house-steward, and Kendall, his Grace's valet.
 
 262 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852. 
 
 Ou no one occasion since the death of Lord Nelson, if wc except, 
 perhaps, that of the Princess Charlotte of Wales, has public grief 
 manifested itself in a more striking and extensive form. Every 
 newspaper in the United Kingdom came out in a deep mourning 
 edge, and continued to wear the emblem of sorrow for several days. 
 Numerous shops were closed ; bells tolled ; the flags of vessels in the 
 river were mounted half-mast high ; plarces of public entertainment 
 shut their doors ; and thousands of people, requiring no other signal 
 than their own hearts suggested, put on " the trappings and the suits 
 of woe." Memoirs of the Duke which had been prepared in antici- 
 pation of the calamity, filled hundreds of columns of the public 
 papers, or came forth in every form that could be calculated to suit 
 the immediate demand. The volumes of Maxwell, which still encum- 
 bered the shelves of booksellers; the " Lives " which only extended 
 to the battle of Waterloo, and had long been consigned to back 
 warehouses as " dead stock," were restored to the light ; and these, 
 with a great number of impromptu biographies, found an immediate 
 demand. Pictures' and busts, so varied in their resemblances that 
 
 • Speaking from a perfect familiarity with tlie lineaments of the Illustrious Duke, we 
 should say that, unquestionably, the best likeness of him, when in the vigour of manhood, is 
 that taken from the picture of Sir Thomas Lawrence, and commonly called the Arbuthnot 
 portrait, because it was painted for the Duke's friend, the Hon. Mr. Arbuthnot. Of resem 
 bl.^nces in later life, the daguerreotype representing him in evening dress, and Mr. Black's 
 excellent portrait, published by Ackermann, the latter an improvement upon the daguerreotype, 
 are the most to be commended. Count D'Orsay sketched the Duke in profile, in an evening 
 dress, and the Duke is said to have rather liked the picture, because it "made him look 
 like a gentleman." As a likeness, however, tho picture is very faulty. The portrait painted 
 by Lawrence for Mr. Arbuthnot, in 18 IG, is a half-length, representing the Duke in a military 
 cloak, with the right hand thrown across to the left shoulder. This has been repeatedly 
 engraved : in mezzotint, by Cousins and Jackson ; in line, by Dean Taylor and by Charles 
 Smith ; and in smaller sizes, in mezzotint, by M'Innes, Burgess, and others. 
 
 "This last was the favourite portrait with the Duke; and vfc (fllusiratcd J\rews) think 
 not without reason, for the expression is very pleasing, comljining manliness with delicacy and 
 refinement of sentiment. It may be mentioned that the Great Commander, though never betraying 
 a particle of personal vanity in the little sense, was proud of the estimation in which he was 
 held both by the put>li?, and a numerous circle whom he honoured with liis friendship ; and a 
 very common mode of marking his esteem was the presentation of a print of himself, generally 
 the Arbuthnot one, with his autograph affixed, and in a plain little maplewood frame. This, 
 for instance, was his usual souvenir to the hundreds of brides whom he has 'given away,' and, 
 probably, the most gratifying testimonial he could bestow. Only a few days before his death, 
 he gave one of these modest keepsakes to an individual of illustrious rank. It happened that, 
 in September last, the Duke and Duchess of Mecklenbur^-Strelitz, on their return from England 
 to the Continent, paid a visit to tlie Duke at Walmer, when, in the course of conversation, 
 the Duchess asked 'the Duke' which of the many portraits existing of him he considered the 
 best. The latter immediately pointed to tho little maple frame hanging from the wall, in 
 which was a print of the 'Arbuthnot picture,' and announced his preference for it. Upon the 
 Duchess remarking tliat she would send to London for a copy, 'Ihe Duke,' with his usual 
 gallantry, declared she need not do bo ; and, taking the print down from tho nail whereon It
 
 1852.] THE QUEEN'S SENTIMENTS. 263 
 
 such of the public as had never seen the Duke were puzzled which to 
 select as the most faithful resemblance, filled the windows of pub- 
 lishers, print-sellers, and porcelain-venders ; autographs were up at 
 an enormous premium, and whether they were the bond-fide cali- 
 graphy of the Duke, or the spurious productions of Mr. Greville, his 
 secretary, they commanded equally good priceS. 
 
 At the moment of the melancholy occurrence the Queen and Prince 
 Albert were at Balmoral, in Scotland. It is hardly necessary to say 
 that the intelligence was received by the illustrious personages with 
 deep and unaffected concern. The sincere devotion of the Duke of 
 "Wellington to his sovereign, the paternal care (if the term may not 
 inappropriately be used) with which his Grace had watched over the 
 welfare and upheld the glory of the monarch, the friendly interest 
 with which he had inspired the Queen (manifested in all the more 
 private relations of court life), rendered his sudden departure a 
 subject of the most acute sorrow, in which all the younger members 
 of the royal family completely shared. The Earl of Derby, Prime 
 Minister, hastened to Balmoral immediately after the event, and 
 within five days of the Great Duke's death the subjoined letter ap- 
 peared in the public prints : — 
 
 "Balmoral, September 'iOth, 1852. 
 
 " Sir, — Her Majesty received with the deepest grief, on Thursday 
 last, the afflicting intelligence of the sudden death of his Grace the 
 late Duke of Wellington. 
 
 " Although the Queen could not for a moment doubt, but that the 
 voice of the country would be unanimous upon the subject of the 
 honours to be paid to the memory of the greatest man of the age, 
 her Majesty considered it due to the feelings of his Grace's surviving 
 
 hiing, begged her to accept it, which she did. No sooner had his visitors left the room, 
 however, than the Duke took thought of the blank space which he had made on his wall, and 
 also the absence of his portrait from the line of Prime Wardens, Pitt, and others, which he 
 had arranged thereon, and, with his usual love of order, promptly set about refilling it. The 
 very next morning a note reached Messrs. Graves &c Co., in the Duke's hand — ' F. M.'s corapts,' 
 &c. — requesting that they would, with as little delay as possible, procure for him a copy 
 of the Arbuthuot portrait, framed in maplewood, and forward it to Apsley House, whence 
 it would be transmitted to Walmer. No time was lost in putting into execution his Grace's 
 order, and a message was sent to the steward at Apsley House, announcing that the print 
 framed, would be ready for delivery on the following day. In the mean time, four days only 
 after the first note, came another from the Duke, dated '7th September, 1852,' in which he 
 referred to the order already given, and ' begged to know if it had been received, and what pro- 
 gress had been made in the execution thereof?' The print, framed as ordered, crossed his 
 second note on the road, and was hung up by the Duke in the place of the former one, only one 
 little week before he died,"
 
 264 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852 
 
 relatives, that no step should be taken, even in his honour, ■without 
 their previous concurrence ; and, accordingly, on the same evening, 
 in obedience to her Majesty's commands, I wrote to Lord Charles 
 Wellesley (the present Duke having not then returned to England). 
 to ascertain whether the late Duke had left any directions ; or whether 
 his family desired to 'express any wish upon the subject ; and sug- 
 gesting the course which appeared to her Majesty best calculated to 
 give effect to the expressions of those feelings in which the nation, as 
 one man, will sympathise with her Majesty. 
 
 " Having this day received letters from the present Duke and his 
 brother, to the effect that the late Duke has left no directions on the 
 subject, and placing themselves wholly in her Majesty's hands. 
 I hasten to relieve the public anxiety, by signifying to you, for 
 general information, the commands which I have received from her 
 Majesty. 
 
 " The great space which the name of the Duke of Wellington has 
 filled in the history of the last fifty years ; his brilliant achievements 
 in the field ; his high mental qualities ; his long and faithful services 
 to the Crown ; his untiring devotion to the interests of his country, 
 constitute claims upon the gratitude of the nation, which a public 
 funeral, though it cannot satisfy, at least may serve to recognise. 
 
 " Her Majesty is well aware that, as in the case of Lord Nelson, 
 she might, of her own authority, have given immediate orders for 
 this public mark of veneration for the memory of the illustrious 
 Duke, and has no doubt but that Parliament and the country would 
 cordially have approved the step. But, her Majesty, anxious that 
 this tribute of gratitude and of sorrow should be deprived of nothing 
 which could invest it with a thoroughly national character — anxious 
 that the greatest possible number of her subjects should have an 
 opportunity of joining it, is anxious, above all, that such honours 
 should not appear to emanate from the Crown alone, and that the 
 two Houses of Parliament should have an opportunity, by their 
 previous sanction, of stamping the proposed ceremony with increased 
 solemnity, and of associating themselves with her Majesty in paying 
 honour to the memory of one whom no Englishman can name without 
 pride and sorrow. 
 
 " The body of the Duke of Wellington will, therefore, remain, 
 with the concurrence of the family, under proper guardianship, until 
 the Queen shall have received the formal approval of Parliament 
 of the course which it will be the duty of her Majesty's servants to 
 submit to both Houses upon their reassembling. 
 
 "As sooa as possible after that approval shall have been obtained,
 
 1852.] THE FLAG HALF-MAST-HIGH. 265 
 
 it is her Majesty's wish, should no unforeseen impediment arise, that 
 the mortal remains of the late illustrious and venerated Commander- 
 in-Chief should, at the public expense, and with all the solemnity due 
 to the greatness of the occasion, be deposited in the cathedral church 
 of St. Paul's, there to rest by the side of Nelson — the greatest 
 military by the side of the greatest naval chief who ever reflected 
 lustre upon the annals of England. 
 
 " I have the honour to be 
 
 " Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 " Derby." 
 
 "Right Hon. S. H. Walpole, M.P." 
 
 The "proper guardianship" here alluded to was that which the 
 Rifle Brigade — of which the Duke had been Colonel-in-Chief — could 
 effectually afford. Suitably enclosed in a magnificent coffin, the body 
 for some time lay in the little room in which the Duke expired ; and 
 sentinels kept anxious watch over the incomparable Field-Marshal's 
 remains. Samuel Lover, the Irish poet, beautifully described the 
 scene in these lines : — 
 
 " THE FLAG IS HALF-MAST-HIGH. 
 
 " A GUARD of honour keeps its watch in Walmer's ancient hall. 
 And sad and silent is the ward beside the Marshal's pall : 
 The measured tread beside the dead, through echoing space may tell 
 How solemnly the round is paced by lonely sentinel ; 
 But in the guard-room, down below, a war-worn vet'ran grey, 
 Recounts with pride The Hero's deeds, thro' many a glorious day: 
 How, 'neath the red-cross flag, he made the foes of Britain fly — 
 ' Though now for him, the vet'ran said, ' that flag is balf-mast-high.' 
 
 " And truly m-ay the soldier say his presence ever gave 
 Assurance to the most assured, and bravery to the brave. 
 His prudence-tempered valour — his eagle-sighted skill, 
 And calm resolves, the measure of a hero went to fQl. 
 Fair Fortune flew before him — 'twas conquest where he came. 
 For Victory wove her chaplet in the magic of his name ; 
 But while his name thus gilds the past, the present wakes a sigh, 
 To see his flag of glory now — but drooping half-mast-high. 
 
 " In many a by-gone battle, beneath an Indian sun, 
 That flag was borne in triumph o'er the sanguine plains he won ; 
 Where'er that flag he planted, it impregnable became. 
 As Torres Vedras' heights have told in glittering steel and flame. 
 Twas then to wild Ambition's Chief he flung the gauntlet down, 
 And from his giant grasp retrieved the ancient Spanish crown ; 
 He drove him o'er the Pyrenees with Vict'ry's swelling cry, 
 Before the red-cross flag— that now is drooping half-mast-high.
 
 266 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852 
 
 " And when once more from Elba's shore the Giant Chief broke loose, 
 And startled nations waken'd from the calm of hollow truce, 
 In foremost post tlio British host soon sprang to arms again, 
 And Fate, in final balance, held the world's two foremost men. 
 The chieftains twain might ne'er again have need for aught to do, 
 So, once for all, we won the fall at glorious Waterloo. 
 Tlie work was done, and Wellington his saviour-sword laid by. 
 And now, in grief, to mourn our chief, our flag is half-mast-high." 
 
 These are touching verses, worthy of the poet and his theme. 
 Innumerable pens started up to render similar homage to the Duke's 
 great merit in prose and verse ; but scarcely any were equal to the 
 occasion. Certainly none approaches in brilliancy and correctness 
 the following vigorous lines by Mr. Archer Poison : — 
 
 « WELLINGTON ! 
 
 "Fbom where the Scheldt with sluggish tide bathes Holland's oozy shore, 
 From where the palm-tree topes make glad the plains of far Mysore, 
 Fpom Tagus' amber waters bright, renown'd in classic song. 
 
 From sunny hills where Douro rolls his laughing waves along, • 
 
 From battle-flelds of old Romance in high heroic Spain, 
 From Belgium's fertile soil where late nodded the golden grain — 
 From every land his victor-sword redeem'd from tyrant's sway 
 Will rise on high the waiUng cry— Our hero's pass'd away ! 
 
 " Soldier immatch'd ! unequall'd Chief! how shall thy praise be sung, 
 Whose glorious deeds so long have been familiar to each tongue ? 
 ■Whose courage, wisdom, patriot worth to none have been imknown — 
 From the reaper in the harvest-field to the monarch on the throne. 
 Ilonour'd not only for the hand that bore the conqu'ring sword, 
 But honour'd for the voice that spake high truths at Council board — 
 Honour'd for that in Senate-hall thy course was Arm and true. 
 As that ye broke the tyrant's yoke at blood-stained Waterloo ! 
 
 " Not soon shall that appalling time by mankind be forgot. 
 When slavish chain and slavish toil seem'd Europe's fated lot ; 
 When from bleak Bothnia's ice-bound waves to Nilus' sandy flood, 
 Strelch'd fnr the fell dominion of the dark man of blood ; 
 ■When Prussia wept her humbled state, and Hapsburg's eagle lay 
 With talon's clipped and wounded wing, the foul oppressor's prey ; 
 When Russia bent the minion knee, Italia hugg'd her chain. 
 And plundering hordes made desolate the vineyard hiUs of Spain ! 
 
 " Who shall forget how English tongues — and that on English ground ! — 
 To counsel base submisssion to the Anarch then were found — 
 How lying prophets raised the voice foretelling England's fall. 
 And the triumph over king and laws of the Moloch of the Gaul ; 
 And who the rapture will forget reviving Europe knew, 
 When the war-note of defiance loud, inspiring-England blew. 
 Sending o'er Biscay's restless seas her sons to gather fame. 
 And add new laurels to the wreath that circled Wellesley's name !
 
 1852.] POETICAL TRIBUTE. 267 
 
 ' Ho ! Children of rich Beira, noae more than ye can tell 
 What memories with Rolica, with Vimiero dwell ! 
 How the lines of Torres Vedras, by soldier-wisdom plann'd, 
 Kept back the surging tide of Gauls would desolate your land ! 
 How fierce the conflict raged for long, how wild the war-cries rung, 
 When Britain fought for Portugal Busaco's heights among, 
 And, fighting, how she conquer'd, and how Braganza's lord 
 To the throne of great Sebastian by Wellesley was restored ! 
 
 " Speak we of Talavera, of Roderick's iron town, 
 Of Badajoz from mountain steep that looks so grimly down, 
 Salamanca's learned cloister, or Tormes' grassy shore, 
 Castile's once gorgeous capital— though gorgeous now no more — 
 Sebastian's fortress frowning on Guipuscoa's bay, 
 Vittoria, hidden deep among the hills of wild Biscay — 
 Can we but with a patriot pride pronounce each well-known name, 
 For each to lasting time is link'd with Wellksley's warrior fame ? 
 
 " Yet not for fame the hero fought— to ' liberate,' not ' defy,' 
 To burst the bonds of nations thrall'd— fAis was his purpose high ; 
 To hound the proud oppressor back, give freedom to the world, 
 For this was Wellesley's sword unsheath'd and England's flag unfurl'd ; 
 • For this, through Pyrenean glen, did he our arms advance, 
 
 Till our meteor standard waved once more on sunny plains of France, 
 For this from Adour's purple stream he made his terrors known 
 To Aquitania's capital — grey pride of the Garonne ! 
 
 " Ay t praise like this is no mean praise, yet praise that is thy due ! 
 Twas no vain lust of glory fired thy soiU at Waterloo — 
 Gave thee heroic calmness in that terrific hour, 
 When British courage almost quail'd beneath the iron shower ; 
 And British soldiers, all unused to yield them or to fly. 
 Believed no other course was theirs than gallantly to die ! 
 In that dread hour within thy breast one single thought arose — 
 How by a glorious victory to give the world repose ! 
 
 " Oh, blessing to the country ! oh, honour to thy race ! 
 From Britain's heart the thoughts of thee no ttme shall e'er efface ; 
 And when the dark clouds arise and boding tempests gloom, 
 We'U sigh to think how thou art held within the narrow tomb ! 
 But thy spirit shall be with us — though danger's direst form 
 May threat us, as it did before, with anarchy's wild storm, 
 Well nerve us for the battle, to our standards we'll be true — 
 One war-cry shall bo Wkllisoton— the other, Waterloo I" 
 
 While the remains of the Duke of Wellington lay at Walmer, and 
 the public funeral was preparing, all the arrangements for filling the 
 various ofl&ces vacated by his Grace were considered, and as rapidly 
 as circumstances would allow, the vacancies were filled up. The 
 office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was given to Lord Derby ; 
 the Constableship of the Tower to Viscount Combermere ; the 
 Colonelcy of the Rifle Brigade and the Grenadier Guards devolved
 
 268 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1862. 
 
 on Prince Albert, and that of the Coldstream Guards on the Duke 
 of Cambridge. The members of the Trinity House elected Prince 
 Albert their Master ; the University of Oxford installed the Earl of 
 Derby in the Chancellorship. To the Marquis of Londonderry the 
 Queen gave the vacant Garter. Thus all reasonable expectations 
 were satisfied ; and the two oldest soldiers who had served under the 
 Duke of Wellington received a mark of the approbation and good-will 
 of the Sovereign. 
 
 Regarding the probable succession to the command-in-chief, much 
 speculation went abroad. It was believed in some quarters that the 
 highest personage in the nation entertained a wish to confide this 
 trust to the Prince Consort or to the Duke of Cambridge ; and the 
 idea was not without advocates ; for the position of the illustrious 
 
 LORD UABDINGE. 
 
 princes rendered them independent of the Cabinet and parliamentary 
 influences which had, in other days, been perniciously exercised at the
 
 1852.] MILITARY MOURNING. 209 
 
 Horse-Guards. Very many of the oflScers of the army desired to 
 see the mantle of the Duke fall upon the shoulders of his distin- 
 guished friend, secretary, and faithful companion-in-arms, Lord Fitz- 
 roy Somerset ; and some few pointed to the claims which seniority 
 and rank gave to the Marquis of Anglesey. But the critical state 
 of the country in reference to the position of foreign powers ; the 
 necessity for a firm mind and a vigorous hand at the Horse-Guards, 
 at a time when it was of the last importance that the science of 
 war and the devices of armament should be placed upon a level 
 with the improvements made in foreign countries ; induced the ad- 
 visers of the Queen to recommend that her choice should fall upon 
 the most capable soldier of the kingdom. Her Majesty, with a de- 
 gree of wisdom and self-denial worthy of the lofty patriotism of the 
 Sovereign, at once conferred the responsible office upon Lord Hard- 
 inge ; and the army gratefully accepted the new chief, whose renown 
 in the field was only equalled by the talent, courage, and industry he 
 bad manifested in all the civil offices it had been his fortune to 
 fill. On the 22nd of September the following General Orders were 
 issued : — 
 
 MOURNING FOR THE ARMY.— GENERAL ORDERS. 
 
 "Horse-Guards, September 22nd, 1852. 
 
 " The Adjutant-General has received her Majesty's most gracious 
 commands to issue the following General Orders to the army : — 
 
 " 1. The Queen feels assured that the army will participate in the 
 deep grief with which her Majesty has received the intelligence of the 
 irreparable loss sustained by herself and by the country, in the sud- 
 den death of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 " In him her Majesty has to deplore a firm supporter of her throne, 
 a faithful, wise, and devoted counsellor, and a valued and honoured 
 friend. 
 
 " In him the army will lament the loss of a Commander-in-Chief 
 unequalled for the brilliancy, the magnitude, and the success of his 
 military achievements ; but hardly less distinguished for the indefatig- 
 able and earnest zeal with which, in time of peace, he laboured to main- 
 tain the efficiency and promote the interests of that army which he 
 had often led to victory. 
 
 " The discipline which he exacted from others, as the main founda- 
 tion of the military character, he sternly imposed upon himself ; and 
 the Queen desires to impress upon the army, that the greatest Com- 
 mander whom England ever saw has left an example for the imita-
 
 270 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852. 
 
 tion of every soldier, in taking as his guiding principle in svery 
 relation of life an energetic and unhesitating obedience to the call 
 of duty. 
 
 " It is her Majesty's command that this General Order shall be in- 
 serted in the Order-books, and read at the head of every regiment in 
 her Majesty's service. 
 
 " 2. The Queen does not require that the officers of the army 
 should wear any other mourning with their uniforms, on the present 
 melancholy occasion, than black crape over the ornamental part of 
 the cap or hat, the sword-knot, and on the left arm, with the following 
 exceptions, viz. : — 
 
 " Officers on duty are to wear black gloves, black crape over the 
 ornamented part of the cap or hat, the sword-knot, and on the left arm, 
 the sash covered with black crape, and a black crape scarf over the 
 right shoulder. 
 
 " The drums of regiments are to be covered with black, and black 
 crape is to be hung from the pike of the colour-staff of infantry, and 
 from the standard-staff and trumpets of cavalry. 
 
 " 3. The Queen has been most graciously pleased, under the present 
 afflicting circumstances, to direct that Lieutenant-General Viscount 
 Hardinge, G.C.B., shall be placed on the Staff of her Majesty's army, 
 and that all matters respecting her Majesty's military service, which 
 have heretofore been transacted by his Grrace the late Commander-in- 
 Chief, shall henceforth be performed by Lieutenant-General Viscount 
 Hardinge, G.C.B. 
 
 " By her Majesty's command, 
 
 "G. Brown, 
 
 " Adjutant-General." 
 GENERAL ORDER. 
 
 " Horse-GoARDS, September ^rd, 1852. 
 
 " In obedience to her Majesty's most gracious commands, Lieuten 
 ant-General Viscount Hardinge assumes the command of her Majesty's 
 army, and all matters relating to her Majesty's military service which 
 have heretofore been performed by his Grace the late Commander-in- 
 Chief, will henceforth be transacted by his Lordship. 
 
 " He confidently hopes that, in the performance of the duties en- 
 trusted to him by her Majesty's favour, he will receive the assistance 
 and support of the general and other officers of the army, and be en- 
 abled to maintain its discipline and high character by a continuance of 
 those services which have identified the British army with the honoui 
 power, and prosperity of their country.
 
 1825.] PUBLIC FUNERAL VOTED. 271 
 
 " The Queen having, in the General Order to the army of yester- 
 day's date, expressed her Majesty's sentiments on the irreparable loss 
 sustained by her Majesty, the country, and the army, in the sudden 
 death of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, Viscount Hardinge 
 presumes only on this occasion to give utterance to his devoted 
 attachment to the memory of ' the greatest Commander whom Eng- 
 land ever saw,' and whose whole life has afforded the brightest ex- 
 ample by which a British army can be guided in the performance of 
 its duties. 
 
 " By command of the Right Honourable 
 
 " Lieutenant-General Viscount Hardinge, 
 
 " Commander-ia -Chief. 
 
 " G. Brown, 
 
 " Adjulant-General." 
 
 Lord Fitzroy Somerset was appointed Master-General of the 
 Ordnance in the room of Lord Hardinge — who had held the 
 office since the accession of Earl Derby to the Premiership — and 
 Lord Fitzroy was also raised to the peerage by the title of Baron 
 Raglan. 
 
 Parliament met early in the month of November, 1852, and gave 
 a formal assent to the public funeral of the Duke of Wellington,' 
 which took place upon the 18th of the same mouth. Within the 
 memory of man no ceremonial has produced so great a commotion in 
 London as that which attended the funeral obsequies of the mighty 
 chief. It was not mei'ely that the pageant was, according to the pub- 
 lic programmes, to rival the gorgeous scenes peculiar to coronations 
 — it was not simply an interest of curiosity that caused vast multi- 
 tudes to throng the metropolis, and seek advantageous points of 
 view ; — a profound respect for the memory of the departed warrior 
 supplied an honourable motive to the humblest individuals to en- 
 deavour to be present on the occasion, while all who enjoyed the 
 advantages of high rank and station claimed and obtained the priv- 
 ilege of either accompanying the remains to the tomb, or assisting 
 at the last offices in St. Paul's Cathedral. Nor was the enthusiasm 
 limited to the inhabitants of Great Britain. All the foreign Powers 
 deemed it becoming in them to mark their sense of the universal loss 
 by the performance of funeral ceremonies in the principal churches 
 of their respective capitals, and — with the melancholy exception of 
 
 I Mr. Disraeli, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, made an admirable speech on the occa- 
 sion of proposuig that the nation should bear the cost of the funeral. It will be found in the 
 Appendix. 
 
 2u
 
 272 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852. 
 
 Austria — to despatch delegates to England to represent them upon 
 the occasion.' Belgium sent her Royal Princes — Spain, Portugal, 
 
 1 The omission of the Austrian Government to send a representative elicited the following ob- 
 servations from the United Service Oaiette. The Marshal alluded to is Haynan, who some 
 months ago came to England, and on being recognised on his visit to the brewery of Meaars. 
 Barclay, Perkln, &c. Co., was assaulted by the draymen : — 
 
 "The Austrian Government. — With mingled emotions of pity and contempt we record 
 that Austria sent no representative to follow the remains of the Duke of Wellington. One of 
 her Marshals, who rivalled the most sanguinary Generals of uncivilized warfare in his cruelties 
 to women, pays a visit to this country ; a number of honest draymen, hearing that he has 
 profaned the locality of their occupation with his footsteps, seize their cart-whips and ruthlessly 
 offer a retributive violence to the foreign visitor. He is protected by the police, and is 
 watched and guarded with care until his exit from England has Jbeen secured. His govern- 
 ment, ignorant as it always has been of the laws and institutions which guarantee our freedom, 
 demand extrajudicial vengeance upon the brewer's people. It is impossible to afford it — it 
 is impossible even to recognise the outrage, excepting through the ordinary agency of the law, 
 which demands the IdentiJication of offenders — and Austria forthwith becomes sullen and 
 savage. She declares that the uniform of the Empire has been insulted, and charges upon 
 a whole country the rude vindictiveness of a fragment of the most ignorant part of its popu- 
 lation. She offers every possible annoyance to English travellers for months together, and 
 when the occasion arises for putting an end to the quarrel — the reciprocity of which Is all 
 on her side, she studiously neglects it. Many a hostile hand has been shaken over the grave 
 — the very situation is suggestive of the mortality of human enmity ; but Austria is angry to 
 the last. 
 
 " We do not care — Austria is the loser. She has disgraced her army and herself. Wellington 
 ■was an Austrian Field-Marshal — an Austrian regiment took its name from Wellington. It 
 was in Austria that the Duke was appointed to command in chief the armies raised to resist 
 Napoleon in 1815. Covered as he was with orders, he was not the least proud of that of 
 Maria Theresa. To deny, then, to this great Austrian leader the simple tribute which every 
 foreign nation hastened to pay, was an outrage upon decency — an obliviousness of what waa 
 due to the dignity of the army of the Empire and the grandeur of the house of Hapsburg. It 
 was an error of the most grievously stupid character, and stamps with utter Vandalism a 
 nation which has never shown itself mighty in arms, since, in its scarcely less barbarian In- 
 fancy, it devastated Italy. The Attilas and Alarics of old were not greater rufBans than the 
 Haynaus and Gorgeys of modern times ; and the Emperor of Austria, in sanctioning the 
 outrages of the Marshal against the Hungarians, and in refusing a tribute to the highest char- 
 acter of military and political virtue, has established that he is enamoured of the ruthless 
 systems of war which have covered the memories of the Kings of the Goths and Hims with 
 eternal infamy." 
 
 It is only fair to the Austrian Government to state, that though it would not send a representa- 
 tive to England, the memory of the Duke was much honoured in the capital of the Austrian 
 dominions : — 
 
 "Vienna, October 1. — Homage to the late Duke of Wellinoton. — The Emperor waj 
 unwilling to leave his cai)ital again before paying his tribute to the manes of the Groat Duke, 
 whom the great-grandfather of Francis Joseph, in common with the potentates of Europe, 
 delighted to honour. When it became known that funeral honours would be paid to the Duke 
 of Wellington, Austrian Field-Marshal, and Grand Cross of Maria Tlieresa, a great crowd 
 ai'sembled to witness the proceedings. Tlie whole of the garrison tnrned out with muffled 
 drums and the other insignia of mourning, and in addition to the usual crape on the arm, it 
 was remarked that the flags of the lancers and the regimental banners were trimmed with 
 black crape. The Emperor appeared also in mourning, and his Majesty gave express orders 
 for the observance of the same military ceremonial in all the chief towns of the Empire. When
 
 LYING IN STATE 
 
 p. 274
 
 1852.] THE FUNERAL PROCESSION. 277 
 
 Russia. Prussia/ Sweden — her oldest Generals and their chosen staff — 
 and even France gracefully recognised the merits of the noble old 
 soldier by commanding the presence of her Ambassador at the service 
 in the cathedral. 
 
 The Duke's body lay in state in the hall of Chelsea Hospital for 
 six days, and was visited by many thousands, preparatory to its 
 removal to the Horse Guards, where the funeral procession was to 
 commence. 
 
 The weather had been unusually bad for many weeks preceding the 
 day appointed for the funeral rites — but, as if to favour the occasion, 
 the sun came out with great brilliancy on the morning of the 18th of 
 November, and continued to cast its rays upon the metropolis until 
 the ceremonial had completely terminated ! During the whole of the 
 previous week, the most extraordinary preparations had been made 
 along the whole line of route for affording the public a perfect view 
 of the pageant. Scaffoldings were erected in front of the houses — 
 every window — every nook — every house-top — every inch of pavement 
 was occupied by a dense but orderly crowd, exceeding — by the best 
 computation — two millions of human beings. And the most perfect 
 contentment was afforded by the magnificent spectacle. The people 
 felt that justice had been done to the remains and the memory of their 
 lost and long-loved hero. Two entire regiments of the Line, a battalion 
 of the Royal Marines, the Household troops, cavalry, and infantry, 
 squadrons and detachments from every regiment in the United King- 
 dom, a. representative from every corps in the British army, seventeen 
 guns, with an appropriate number of gunners and officers from the 
 Horse and Foot Artillery — Chelsea pensioners — staff officers bearing 
 banners or escorting the Duke's insignia of office — formed a most 
 imposing military array, admirably ordered and commanded by the 
 Duke of Cambridge. The " people " of London had never before 
 beheld the Line or the Artillery — the real field strength of the 
 British army — and they now saw how fully those branches of the 
 service merited all the eulogy that had ever been bestowed upon 
 them. Following the troops were, in their carriages, the Ministers, 
 great officers of State, numerous generals who had served under the 
 Duke, the Speaker, the Lord Chancellor, Bishops, representatives 
 of all the great corporations; and, crowning the whole, by the 
 
 the dead march was played, and the defile over, the twelve batteries discharged their farewell, 
 and volleys from the walls of the city responded to the mournful salute over the imaginary bier. 
 Lord Westmoreland and a brilliant assemblage of officers were in immediate attendance upon 
 the Emperor." 
 1 See Appendix for the opinions formed by the Prussians of the British army.
 
 278 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1852 
 
 magnificent compliment involved, came his Royal Highness Prince 
 Albert, in whose train also were the carriages of her Majesty the 
 Queen. Never was British subject so honoured ! — never was earthly 
 honour so well deserved I The car, which bore the remains of the 
 Duke, was a superb structure, as well adapted to the occasion as time 
 and the conditions imposed by the necessity for its passing beneath the 
 low arch of Temple bar would allow. 
 
 At St. Paul's Cathedral upwards of ten thousand privileged persons 
 had assembled to render final homage to the manes of the Duke. When 
 all had taken their places, including those who had formed the pro- 
 cession, the coffin was removed from the car. " And thus, with the 
 hoarse roar of the multitude without, as they saw their last of Arthur, 
 Duke of Wellington, with the grand and touching service of our 
 church sounding solemnly through the arched dome and aisles of the 
 
 THE CEYTT OF ST. PAULS. 
 
 noble church, with the glistening eye and hushed breath of many a 
 gallant as well as of many a gentle soul in that vast multitude — with 
 the bell tolling solemnly the knell of the departed, taken up by the 
 voice of the distant cannon, amid the quiet waving of bannerol and 
 flag, surrounded by all the greatness of the land — with all the pomp 
 and glories of heraldic achievement, escutcheon and device — his body 
 was borne up St. Paul's. At 1-40 the coffin was slid off the moveable
 
 1852.] SCENE IN ST. PAULS. 279 
 
 carriage in which it had been conveyed up the nave, to the frame in 
 the centre of the area under the dome, which was placed almost 
 directly over the tomb of Nelson, which lies in the crypt below. Tlie 
 Marshal's hat and sword of the deceased were removed from the 
 coffin, and in their place a ducal coronet, on a velvet cushion, was 
 substituted. 
 
 " The foreign Marshals and Generals stood at the head of the 
 coffin ; at the south side of it stood his Royal Highness Prince Albert, 
 with his baton of Field-Marshal in his hand, and attired in full 
 uniform, standing a little in advance of a numerous staff of officers. 
 At each side of the coffin were British Generals, who had acted as 
 pall-bearers. After the psalm and anthem, the Dean read with great 
 solemnity and impressiveness the lesson, 1 Cor. xv., 20, which was 
 followed by the Nunc Dwiittis, and a dirge, with the following words 
 set to music by Mr. Goss : — 
 
 " And tha King said to all the pei)ple that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you 
 with sackcloth, and mourn. And the King himself followed the bier. 
 
 " And they buried him. And the King lifted up his voice and wept at the grave, and all the 
 people wept. 
 
 "And the King said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a Prince and a great man 
 fallen this day in Israel ?" 
 
 And now came the roll of muffled drums, and the wailing notes of 
 horn and cornet, and the coffin slowly sank into the crypt amid the 
 awful strains of Handel's " Dead March." The ducal crown dis- 
 appeared with its gorgeous support, and in the centre of the group of 
 generals and nobles was left a dark chasm, into which every eye 
 glanced sadly down, and all knew indeed that a prince and a great 
 man had that day gone from Israel. The remaining portions of the 
 funeral service were then performed. The congregation were requested 
 to join in the responses to the Lord's Prayer, and the effect of many 
 thousand voices in deep emotion, repeating the words after the full 
 enunciation of the Dean, was intensely afffccting. 
 
 " His body is buried in peace, ' 
 
 But his name liveth evermore," 
 
 from Handel's funeral anthem was then most effectively performed by 
 the choir. And then Garter King at Arms, standing over the vault, 
 proclaimed the titles and orders of the deceased, " whom Heaven was 
 pleased to take from us." 
 
 Then the late Duke's Comptroller having broken in pieces his staff 
 of office in the household, handed it to the Garter King at Arms
 
 280 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1852. 
 
 who cast the fragments into the vault. The choir and chorus sang 
 the hymn, ' Sleepers, awake ! ' and the Bishop of London, standing 
 by the side of the Lord Chancellor, pronounced the blessing which 
 concluded the ceremony." 
 
 And thus was buried, with all state and honour, the great Duke of 
 Wellington. 
 
 TAMPELUNA.
 
 1852.1 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE DUKE. 
 
 281 
 
 CHAPTEK XXI. 
 
 Character of the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 EW public men have presented 
 greater facilities to the biographer 
 for the formation of an estimate of 
 their character than Arthur, the 
 first Duke of Wellington. 
 
 Living from a very early period 
 of his remarkable career in the 
 presence of his countrymen, con- 
 stantly committing his sentiments 
 to paper, or giving them utterance 
 in the Houses of Parliament ; cher- 
 ishing no arrieres pc7isees^ and 
 squaring his conduct with his de- 
 clared opinions, his heart was bared 
 To say that no faults were disclosed 
 by the exposure, were to predicate of the Duke that he was raised 
 above humanity. He undoubtedly had failings in common with the 
 rest of mankind, but they were almost lost to ordinary perception in 
 the presence of the numerous virtues which adorned his existence, and 
 which, more than his successes, raised him to the unexampled pre- 
 eminence he enjoyed for nearly half a century. 
 
 The quality, perhaps, which Englishmen value the most in public 
 characters is Honesty, and with this quality the Duke of Wellington 
 was singularly endowed. Receiving the pay of his Sovereign at a 
 very early period of his life, he conceived that it became him to earn 
 it conscientiously, and this principle led him to regard everything in 
 life as, subservient to his "duty" to the State. Duty was his pole- 
 star. Under its guiding influences he endured privation and 
 mortification with cheerfulness ; prompted by its suggestions he 
 
 to the most minute inspection.
 
 282 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852. 
 
 ventured upon great enterprises ; yielding to its irresistible claims, 
 he forsook friends, abjured political associates, put aside prejudices 
 and prepossessions, and incurred obloquy and insult. But the all- 
 absorbing principle of action seldom led him wrong. Happily for 
 the interests of this great country, whose devoted servant he took 
 pride in proclaiming himself, his perception of what was right and 
 proper, in many varieties of circumstance, was almost invariably 
 correct. His acuteness enabled him to discern what he ought to do, 
 and his sense of duty supported him in its accomplishment, or in the 
 attempt at its accomplishment, however formidable the obstacles 
 which presented themselves to the undertaking. Nothing personal, 
 selfish, nor sinister would turn him from the path to the right. 
 Whatever he designed to effect, when exercising military command 
 abroad, he " laid it justly and timed it seasonably, and thus won 
 security and dispatch." 
 
 But this rigid honesty of purpose did not simply characterise the 
 government of his conduct in relation to the Sovereign and the 
 country by whom he was trusted. It was the ruling principle of his 
 life, in relation to all classes of his fellow-creatures ; and fortunately 
 he found that perfect integrity in his general public dealings was 
 quite compatible with the allegiance he delighted to pay to liis 
 employers. In the rectitude of his heart, he repudiated the distinction 
 which professed politicians have ofttimes endeavoured to establish 
 between public and private virtue. What was morally wrong he 
 could not think was politically right. Thus, although numerous 
 writers on international law have contended for the principle of 
 making war support war, and, confounding the ambition or indis- 
 cretion of the governors of a country with its helpless inhabitants, 
 have justified the appropriation of the property of the people, the 
 Duke of Wellington from the first hour when, as Colonel Wellesley, 
 he commanded at Seringapatam, down to his entry into Toulouse, 
 never would sanction the slightest infringement of private rights. 
 He felt, and often said, that the security of the British rule, and the 
 friendliness of its reception, depended upon the impression entertained 
 of our justness and morality. It jumped with his notions of justice 
 that nothing should be taken from unarmed people unless due 
 equivalent was tendered, and he found his justification of this policy 
 not alone in the applause of his own conscience, but in the good-will 
 which it generated. 
 
 So little is known of the early characteristics of the Duke of 
 We lington — for none of the contemporaries of his youth survive — 
 ihat it is difficult to say how much of the inflexibility which distin-
 
 1852.] THE DUKE AS HEAD OF THE ARMY. 283 
 
 guJshed hira in military and political life was constitutional, and how 
 much the result of self-discipline. By those who served under him 
 in the Peninsula he was generally accounted cold and impassive but 
 his immediate friends usually found him gay and animated, addicted 
 to lively pursuits, fond of the chase and of female society ; and a 
 hundred examples are extant of the activity of his benevolence. 
 Probably something may by allowed to the faculty of self-command 
 and much to the convictions of necessity. Discerning what was 
 essential in the situations in which he was placed, he steeled himself 
 against all suggestions which might interfere with his designs, and 
 practised a sternness of manner which ultimately, for a long time at 
 least, became habitual. 
 
 In his management of the heterogeneous, ill-organised, and undis- 
 ciplined army committed to his care in 1809, and which carried him 
 through six years of unparalleled difficulty, this sternness of carriage, 
 accompanied by brevity of speech and occasional severity of tone, 
 became almost indispensable. His quick apprehension had satisfied 
 him, while yet a regimental officer, that too much freedom with the 
 British soldier was inconsistent with order and discipline. He saw 
 that it was only by distance and reserve that authority could be 
 habitually maintained ; and thus, when he came to exercise supreme 
 command, he folded himself in an austerity which forbade the 
 approach of familiarity from any quarter. Associating this coldness 
 of demeanour with a rigid exaction of obedience to his orders, and 
 the maintenance of a profound silence regarding his plans up to the 
 very moment when their execution became expedient, the Duke 
 acquired a reputation for frigidity and severity, and those who could 
 not comprehend his motives of action, or estimate the perfect adap- 
 tation of his reserve to the men he commanded, and the circumstances 
 in which he was placed, drew unfavourable comparisons between 
 their situation and that of the French soldiery who enjoyed the 
 smiles, the bonhommie and camaraderie of Napoleon. Yet a study of 
 the admirable despatches and orders of the Duke of Wellington — of 
 which a few very slight examples have been given in the earlier pages 
 of this memoir — will show how entirely he was animated by the 
 finest dictates of human nature — how completely his studied severity 
 was subordinate to his noble impulses. If he rigidly enforced 
 discipline among his followers, it was to prevent rapine ; if his troops 
 endured suffering, it was in spite of his strenuous exertions to prevent 
 it ; and if he appeared to treat human ills lightly, it was because he 
 felt that it was folly to be troubled by disappointments when they 
 could be recovered, or to grieve over those which could not. Carefully
 
 fi84 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [185? 
 
 calculating the effect of Lis planned operations, he was naturally 
 irritated if they were thwarted by misconception or disobedience. 
 He could forgive the former, but he allowed no wilful infringement 
 of his orders to pass with impunity. As he had habitually rendered 
 obedience to his superiors, even when his judgment rebelled against 
 their measures, so did he enforce it when time and fortune had placed 
 him at the head of armies ; and it is a remarkable proof of the 
 wonderful prescience with which he was gifted, that any unauthorised 
 departure from his instructions was attended by a heavy loss of 
 hiunan life, and failure of the objects he had in view. 
 
 As the Duke has found the British army in the field equal to all 
 that he required at its hands, he was entirely averse to any altera- 
 tions in its composition, or to the laws by which it was governed 
 •when the great European contest was at an end. He was accus- 
 tomed to believe in what he saw was good, and had no taste for 
 experiments which promised to make the good better. " Let well 
 alone " was his axiom. Thus he was opposed to a reduction in the 
 term of service, because he had great faith in old soldiers. He could 
 not perceive the advantage of abolishing corporal punishment in the 
 army at the instance of clamorous humanity-mongers. There was 
 much to be said in favour of that form of chastisement. It operated 
 as a public example ; it was summary, and did not interfere for any 
 injurious length of time with the public service. Solitary confine- 
 ment removed a soldier from his duty, and cast an extra burden 
 upon the well-conducted men, beside that it was an impracticable 
 punishment on the line of march. To the ignorant and illiterate 
 man a brief confinement was no penalty ; to the intelligent soldier it 
 far transcended in cruelty the infliction of the lash. But public 
 opinion was too strong for the Duke ; and he yielded to a compro- 
 mise. The maximum of corporal punishment was reduced to fifty 
 lashes. In the matter of costume and equipment the Duke was 
 inflexible. He had won battles with ill-clad and heavily-laden 
 soldiers, and was therefore indisposed to see the clothing improved, 
 or the burdens reduced. He told Lieutenant-Colonel Gore, in reply 
 to some suggestions to change a part of the dress of the 33rd regi- 
 ment, of which the Duke was Colonel, that it had gone on very well 
 for twenty years as it was, and he did not know where changes would 
 stop if once commenced. So of the knapsack. When new projects, 
 calculated to diminish the annoyances of the soldier were submitted, 
 the official answer was, that " the knapsack question had been 
 exhausted. " All this <»conveyed an impression that the Duke was 
 insensible to the sufferings of the troops ; and the idea of his pre-
 
 1852.] THE DUKE'S PIETY. 285 
 
 sumed apathy received a confirmation from his refusal to encourage 
 applications for a medal commemorative of service in the Peninsula. 
 But the inference on this head was unfair. The Duke did not ask for 
 medals for his troops (excepting in the case of the battle of Waterloo) 
 because, in the first place, he believed that the value of those distinc- 
 tions would be deteriorated by their becoming too general — an idea 
 also cherished by the Duke of York ; and, in the second place, because, 
 when he was called upon to move in the matter, he felt he was no 
 longer in the positi'^n, relatively to the applicants, which would have 
 justified the procedure. It was not " his duty." In reply to a memo- 
 rial from the captains and subalterns of the army, his Grace dwelt 
 strongly upon this point. He told them that when commanding the 
 army in the field it was " his duty" faithfully to report the services of 
 officers : and it was " the duty of the Government to settle whether 
 any and what reward should be conferred. When commanded by 
 the Sovereign to recommend corps, battalions, and officers for honor- 
 ary distinctions, he obeyed those orders and performed all those 
 duties ;" but excepting when so ordered, he did not consider it '• any 
 part of his duty" to interfere in the matter. These were his very 
 words. 
 
 In the sense in which " serious people" would apply the term, the 
 Duke was not, perhaps, a strictly pious man ; but if conclusions are 
 to be drawn from the actions, rather than the expressions, of a human 
 being, he was by no means insensible to the beauty and importance 
 of religion.' He obeyed the Christian precepts in the relations 
 of life, — he was assiduous in his attendance at Divine Service ; and 
 he always evinced a laudable anxiety that the soldiery should have 
 the assistance of chaplains of orthodox principles and exemplary 
 conduct.' 
 
 1 See a Clergjinan's estimate of the Duke's character !u the Appendix. 
 
 J In a despatch addressed to Lieutenant-General Calvert, the Adjutant-General dated Cartaxo, 
 6th of February, 1811, the Duke wrote for good array chaplains, and said — 
 
 " I am very anxious upon this subject, not only from the desire which every man must have 
 that so many persons as there are in this army should have the advantage of religious instruc- 
 tion, but from a knowledge that it is the greatest support and aid to military discipline and 
 order." 
 
 And again, speaking of the spread of Methodism in the army, and of the Methodist meetings 
 which were taking place in the regiments, his Grace wrote — 
 
 "Here, and in similar circumstances, we want the assistance of a respectable clergj-man. 
 By his personal influence and advice, and by that of true religion, he would moderate the 
 zeal and enthusiasm of the gentlemen, and would prevent these meetings from being 
 mischievous, if he did not prevail upon them to discontinue them entirely. This vs the 
 only mode, in my opinion, in which we can touch these meetings. Tlie meeting of soldiers 
 m their cantonments to sing psalms, or hear a sermon read by one of their comrades, is, in 
 the abstract, perfectly innocent ; and it is a better way of spending their time than many
 
 286 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852. 
 
 The condition of the British soldier has been amazingly improved 
 since the war. The hope of reward has been substituted for the fear 
 of punishment, as a stimulus to conduct. Diminished service, com- 
 fortable barracks, good-conduct pay and medals, gratuities, pensions, 
 and annuities, facilities of colonial settlement, and a preference over 
 other civilians in selection for employment after discharge, are among 
 the benefits conferred upon the troops since 1815. It maybe that 
 the Duke of Wellington did not originate any of these measures — he 
 may not have considered it to come within the scope of his duty to do 
 so. As Commander-in-Chief, however, he must have been consulted 
 by the Secretary at War and the War Minister ; and had he not con- 
 sented to the improvements it is doubtful whether etiquette would 
 have allowed of their adoption. Hence, to the Duke belongs a large 
 portion of the merit of having ameliorated the condition of the English 
 soldier. 
 
 In the disposal of his patronage the Duke of Wellington was just, 
 — and more than this, he recommended justice to others.' There was 
 scarcely one officer who served under him, and remained in the army 
 
 others to which they are addicted ; but it may become otherwise ; and yet, till the abuse 
 has made some progress, the commanding officer would have no knowledge of it, nor could 
 he interfere. Even at last his interference must be guided by discretion, otherwise he will 
 do more harm than good ; and it can in no case be so effectual as that of a respectable 
 clergyman." 
 
 ' A recent writer says: — "Tlie Duke would not do an unjust act to please his own 
 
 sovereigu. George IV. said to him one day, ' Arthur, the regiment is vacant, gazette 
 
 Lord .' 
 
 " ' Impossible, and please your Majesty ; there are officers who have served the country foi 
 many years whose turn comes first.' 
 
 " ' Never mind, Arthur, gazette Lord .' 
 
 " The Duke came up to town, and gazetted Sir Ronald Fergusson. lie was then all powerful in 
 the cabinet as well as in the army, and the King, whose character the Duke well tmderstood, was 
 obliged to take the matter with as good a grace as he was able. 
 
 " An officer in the army, still alive, expressing his wonder that the Duke should lend his papers 
 to Buch a radical as the present Sir William Napier, to assist him in composing his admirable 
 history of the Peninsular War, he replied, ' And what if he is a Radical ; he will tell the truth, 
 and that is all I care about.' " 
 
 The annexed, among many other letters, present imdeniable proofs of the spirit of justice which 
 animated the Duke : — 
 
 "to likutenant-colonel close. 
 
 "Camp, 3rd J«/y, 1803. 
 " In exercising the power given me by government, in regard to the subsidiary force at Poonah, 
 I shall consider it a duty, and it certainly is my inclination, to select those officers for the situa- 
 tions which are to be filled, who may be agreeable to you. The gentleman you now have recom- 
 mended to me is one for whom I have a respect, and in whose advancement and welfare I am 
 materially interested ; as he has been frequently recommended to me In the strongest terms by 
 his relation. General Mackenzie, a very old friend of mine. 
 " But both you and I, my dear Colonel, must attend to claims of a superior nature to those
 
 1852.] THE DUKE'S SENSE OF JUSTICE. 28'7 
 
 long enough to be eligible for responsible command, who did not 
 receive some token of the Duke's approbation. They were either 
 appointed colonels of regiments, or governors of colonies, or com- 
 manders of districts, divisions, or branches of the army in India, or 
 good-service pensions were granted to them. Where disappointment 
 was experienced, it resulted from the absence of the Duke's opportu- 
 nities to serve them. If ofl&cers and soldiers did well, who so ready 
 to laud them in the House of Lords as the Duke? — making amends 
 by the warmth of his commendations as a peer for the brevity of his 
 approbations as a general in the field. If ill, or erring from miscon- 
 ception, who so prompt to vindicate them to the country 1 
 
 brought forward, either in consequence of our private feelings of friendship or of reccommenda- 
 tion. Of this nature are the claims founded upon service. 
 
 Mr. Giknour has done all the duty of the staflf-surgeon greatly to my satisfaction and the 
 general good ; and when the subsidiary force comes to be established at Poonah, I think that 
 I could not disappoint the expectation which he has had a right to form, that he should be its 
 permanent staff-surgeon, without doing him great injustice, and in his person violating a 
 principle which ought always to guide those who have the disposal of military patronage, viz., 
 that those who do the duty of the army, ought to be promoted, and also, enjoy its benefits and 
 advantages." 
 
 "to GENERAI, , IN THE SERVICE OF THE KINO OF SPAIN. 
 
 "Paris, Snd December, 1814. 
 
 " I did not recommend you to the King of Spain for promotion, not from any doubt of your 
 zeal and gallantry in his Majesty's service and cause, of which I had witnessed so many 
 instances, but from having known that you had not made the military profession your study, 
 and from having observed that you paid but little attention to the discipline and good order of 
 the troops, which are those qualities of which his Majesty's troops are much in want. 
 
 " If I had now anything to say to the Spanish army (excepting in the interest I feel for its 
 honour), I should consider it my duty for the same reasons still to be silent regarding your 
 promotion. Zeal and gallantry are indispensable qualities for an officer, and you possess both 
 and activity and intelligence to an extraordinary and exemplary degree ; but it is my opinion — 
 and I have always acted upon that opinion — that an officer appointed to command others 
 should have other qualities ; and 1 cannot with propriety recommend for promotion one who, in 
 my opinion, does not possess them. 
 
 " In regard to your complaint that your name was not mentioned in my despatches, it appears 
 extraordinary, as you are aware that you happened not to fill any responsible situation in the 
 army. It is certainly true that your conduct was most gallant upon both these occasions that 
 you mention; but it is impossible for me to report the name of every individual who pu'^ 
 himself at the head of the troops." 
 
 "to major-general darling. 
 
 Bruxelles, 2nd May, 1815. 
 
 " I have nothing to say to any appointment to the staff of this army of any rank. 
 
 " However flattered I may be, and however I may applaud the desire of an officer to serve 
 under my command in the field, it is impossible for me to recommend officers for employment 
 with whose merits I am not acquainted, in preference to those to whose se'vices I am so 
 much indebted, particularly if the latter desire to serve again. But, as I before stated, I have 
 no choice ; and I beg you to apply in the quarter in which you will certainly succeed, without 
 reference to my wishes, whenever there shall be a command vacant for you, which there is not 
 at present." 
 
 2y
 
 288 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852. 
 
 The 14th Light Dragoons, from some misapprehension of an order 
 given at the battle of Chillianwallah, in the Punjaub, had given way 
 to a momentary panic, and obloquy was cast upon that distinguished 
 regiment by some ill-informed persons. The noble Duke took an 
 opportunity of extenuating their temporary retreat. He did so in 
 these words : — " My Lords, it is impossible to describe to you the 
 variety of circumstances which may occasion mistake or disarrange- 
 ment during an engagement, in the operations of any particular force 
 at any particular moment. An inquiry into these circumstances has 
 been instituted, and I have seen the report of that inquiry. It 
 happens that these cavalry had to conduct their operations over a 
 country much broken by ravines and rough jungles, which rendered 
 it impossible for the troops to move in their usual regular order. It 
 happened that the officer commanding the brigade of which this corps 
 formed a part, was wounded in the head during the advance, and was 
 obliged to quit the field. The officer next in command being at a 
 distance from the spot, was not aware that his commanding officer 
 was obliged to withdraw from the field. Under these circumstances, 
 the word of command was given by some person not authorised, and 
 of whom no trace can be found; and some confusion took place, 
 which from the crowd, and the circumstances of the moment, could 
 not easily be remedied. But it was removed at last, and all were got 
 in order, and the corps successfully performed its duty, as I and 
 other noble lords around me have seen them perform it on other 
 occasions. My Lords, these things may happen to any troops ; but 
 we whose fortune it has been to see similar engagements in the field, 
 feel what must be felt by all your lordships — that the character of a 
 corps must not be taken from them from scraps in the newspapers ; 
 but the facts must be sought in the report of the Commander-in- 
 Chief, and in the inquiry made by the proper parties — an inquiry 
 very different to that made by the publishers of newspapers. The 
 order was made ; and it needs no one to be informed that a move- 
 ment in retreat is not a movement in advance ; but your lordships 
 may be convinced, as I myself am, that the movement in retreat was 
 one of those accidents which must occur occasionally, and that the 
 corps to which it happened are as worthy of confidence then as they 
 have been since, as they were before, and as I hope they always 
 wiU be." 
 
 Upon a previous occasion the Duke earnestly defended the 62nd 
 Foot from a similar charge of panic. The regiment had got into 
 momentary disorder at the battle of Fcrozeshah. 
 
 Major-General Sir Harry Smith, an old officer, formerly in the
 
 1852.] DEFENCE OF SIR H. SMITH. 289 
 
 Rifles, held the government of the Cape of Good Hope for five or six 
 years. A war broke out with the Kaffirs, and was prolonged 
 beyond the expected term. The impatience of the public at length 
 broke out in animadversions upon Sir Harry's capacity for command 
 in irregular and savage warfare ; and the subject was alluded to in a 
 debate in the House, in an Address in answer to the Royal Speech. 
 The Duke seized the occasion of pronouncing in favour of Sir Harry's 
 tactics with more than wanted energy of manner. " Sir Harry 
 Smith," he said, " is an officer who, from his high reputation in the 
 service, ought not to require any commendation from me ; but having 
 filled a high command in several important military operations long 
 before carried on under his direction, and having now been recalled 
 by her Majesty's Government, it is but justice to him to say that I, 
 who am his commanding officer, though at a great distance, entirely 
 approve of all his operations, of the orders which he has given to his 
 troops, and of the arrangements which he has made for their success. 
 
 * * * My firm belief is, that everything has been done by the com- 
 manding general of the forces and the other officers, in order to carry 
 into execution the instructions of her Majesty's Government." 
 
 To the sons of deserving old officers the Duke was kind and con- 
 siderate, and gave away many commissions to orphans and others 
 upon the simple plea that their fathers had done their duty to the 
 State.' 
 
 1 The following letter lately appeared in an Irish newspaper, the Saunders^s J^ewe- 
 Letter : — 
 
 "to thb editor of ' Saunders's news-letter.' 
 "Sir, — As anecdotes characteristic of the late Duke of Wellington may not be unacceptable 
 to your readers, now that the earthly remains of that truly great and illustrious man are 
 about to be laid in the grave, may I beg leave to give you one on which you may place every 
 reliance, being myself the recipient of the noble Duke's impartial, generous, and most kind 
 dispensation of the patronage of the army. Having claims on the country^ for services 
 rendered in the 'field' — having a large family then to provide for, and not having then at 
 my disposal what would purchase an ensigncy for my son, then a young gentleman about, 
 eighteen years old, I memoralised his Grace on behalf of my son, for an ensigncy without 
 purchase, merely stating the services, the age of the young gentleman, education, &c., and 
 forwarded it by post. I did not even get it handed in by any great man, or one in power, but 
 simply relied on its merits, and confiding it to the well-known justice and generosity of his 
 Grace's character. The memorial lay over for some time, and all hope of any good result was 
 nearly abandoned, when one day a person paid me a visit, and, among other subjects, mentioned 
 
 • that the commanding officer of — Regiment, then stationed in the town in which I resided, 
 had been making some searching inquiries as to the respectability of my family, and the good 
 character of the young gentleman mentioned in the memorial to his Grace,' all which being 
 answered most satisfactorily, with, indeed, the uncalled-for .addition, that the young gentle- 
 man was a Roman Catholic, the report was forwarded to his Grace by the commanding officer, 
 and in about twelve months after my son was recommended by his Grace to her Majesty for 
 ensigncy without purchase, and gazetted accordingly; thereby making me, a stranger, an 
 
 VOL. II. 19
 
 290 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLIKGTOX. [1852. 
 
 Although some hundreds of general orders and instructions 
 emanated from the Duke's pen, many of them embracing very small 
 matters, but all conducive to the general interest of discipline, he 
 never worried the troops with needless reproofs and injunctions. 
 He cared nothing for a man's dress — he never fretted himself about 
 the length of a beard or a whisker, or the number of buttons upon a 
 coat — he knew exactly where to draw the line between the trivialities 
 which occupied the thoughts of the martinet and the minute points 
 which afi'ected the economy of an army. Certainly no army could be 
 in a worse state of discipline than was the British army when the 
 Duke succeeded to the Peninsular command ; and as certainly there 
 never was an army in a finer and more efficient condition than ours 
 at the moment of the Duke's death. It is quite true that, in his 
 latter days, he committed the principal part of his duties of the 
 command-in-chief to his Military Secretary and the adjutant-General, 
 but they had served long enough under him to become so inoculated 
 with his system and familiar with his thoughts, that all went on as if 
 he were still the active head of military affairs. 
 
 The " Despatches " of the Duke of Wellington, published some 
 years since, after careful collation, by Colonel Gurwood, the Duke's 
 esquire, are the most remarkable compositions of the kind extant. 
 As contributions to history — indeed no correct history of the time 
 could be written without access to them — as vindications of the 
 reputation of the Duke, to the extent not only of making clear 
 what was doubtful, but of giving to all the finer points of his 
 character a remarkable salience — as guides to future commanders — 
 they are of incalculable value. No man in the universe could form an 
 approach to an estimate of the Duke's true worth until these extra- 
 ordinary " Despatches " were made public. Mr. Charles Phillips, once a 
 celebrated barrister, now honourably and faithfully holding the scales 
 of justice 'as a Commissioner of the Metropolitan Insolvent Court, 
 speaking of them, says — 
 
 " To what are we to attribute prosperity so unparalleled? — to merit 
 or to fortune ? Most strange to say, this seemingly self-answering 
 question has been asked ! But let the darkest bigot to the creed of 
 
 Irishman, and a Roman Catholic, a compliraeul of 450/^ the reflation price for an ensigncy. 
 Mine is not a single instance of his Grace's impartiality and justice in the dispensation of the 
 patronage of the army ; but now that obloquy has been attempted to be cast upon the memory 
 of the lato illustrious Duke of Wellington, and that the country is mourning over his bier, I 
 may be allowed to drop on his tomb the only tribute in my power to pay his memory — a 
 grateful tear. " Your obedient servant, 
 
 '•'• JiTovcmber 4tli, 1852. "An Old CAMPiiQNER." 
 
 [This letter is duly authenticated.]
 
 1852.] THE DUKE'S DESPATCHES. 291 
 
 chance open his marvellous ' Despatches,' and be satisfied. He may 
 there read the solution of his mystery. He will there find it was 
 not on the battle-field alone this great commander gained his 
 victories. It was over the map, and in the tent, at midnight. It 
 was in the careful retrospect of past campaigns, studious of expe- 
 rience. It was in the profound reflection, ' looking before and after' 
 — in a sagacity almost instinctive — in a prescience all but inspired — 
 in the vigilance that never slumbered — the science that never erred 
 — the cautious, well-digested, deeply-pondered purpose, slow in 
 formation, but, once formed, inflexible. These were the chances 
 which enslaved renown — these were the accidents which fettered 
 fortune. All extraordinary as these ' Despatches ' are, perhaps the 
 most curious feature they present is the immediate and immutable 
 maturity of character. Instant, yet permanent — of a moment's 
 growth, yet made of adamant. Time has not touched it. What he 
 was at Seringapatam — such was he at Waterloo, — and what he was at 
 Waterloo, he is at this very moment. The first of these ' Despatches ' 
 dated in 1800, from the camp at Currah, exhibits him precisely as be 
 appears through twelve volumes, down to the last at Paris i * * * * 
 Almost every man imagines that he knows the Duke of Wellington, 
 because of those exploits which have become as household words 
 amongst us. But no man can be said to know him truly who has 
 not pored and pondered over these ' Despatches.' Lucid, eloquent, 
 copious, and condensed, they take their stand beside the immortal 
 Commentaries. They must ever remain, at once, the army's marvel,' 
 and of the gifted author the most enduring monument. The records 
 of his glory, they are also the revelations of the qualities which 
 ensured it." 
 
 How far these sentiments are also those of the writer of this 
 biography may be inferred from the fact that, twelve years since, he 
 took the pains to offer a small abridgment of them to the officers of 
 the Indian army, which he deemed it necessary to preface in the 
 words given below. 
 
 " When the editor of the following compilation first resolved upon 
 offering the army an abridgment of the Duke of Wellington's De- 
 spatches, he entertained an idea that he would find in that remark- 
 able work innumerable detached opinions, isolated aphorisms, and 
 incidental sentiments, which of themselves would constitute a work 
 of reference of great utility to military men. It was scarcely to be 
 supposed — the Duke's position, his power and right to dictate, his 
 means of acquiring information, and the voluminousness of the 
 despatches considered — ^'that in a work comprising twelve volumes,
 
 292 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852. 
 
 of upwards of six hundred pages each, his Grace should seldom be- 
 fouud expressing opinions upon genez'al subjects, or proposing rules 
 for the government of others ; that, in a word, his numerous letters 
 should prove to be merely suggested by the circumstances which 
 immediately engaged his attention, and to be limited, almost entirely, 
 to the subject which originated them. But such is nevertheless the 
 fact. No man of his station seems less to have purposed to dress 
 himself ' in an opinion of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit,' than 
 the Duke of Wellington. A man of business — and a modest man to 
 boot — he appears rather to have offered suggestions and to have 
 dictated a course of proceeding adapted to a peculiar exigency, than 
 to have laid down rules of conduct for general evidence on all 
 occasions. His sentiments are more to be inferred than positively 
 cited. His mind is fixed on the object immediately before him, and 
 if he does happen to enlarge upon it in his ' Despatches,' it is obviously 
 because he apprehended a recurrence, during the prosecution of the 
 campaign in which he is directly engaged, of the circumstances which 
 elicit his remonstrances. The Duke never seems to have dreamed, 
 that the words which flowed from his pen, would have been treasured 
 in after-years as pearls of inestimable price : he apparently wrote 
 with no other view than to get the business in which he was engaged, 
 effectively, expeditiously, economically, and honourably performed. 
 
 '• These characteristics of the Duke's Despatches have rendered the 
 editor's task in selecting a sufficiency to constitute a hand-book, or 
 volume of reference, one of difficulty and delicacy. He has fouud 
 only precedents where he expected to have discovered laivs ; and iu 
 the absence of aphorisms and comprehensive opinions, which would 
 have been accepted as oracles by every British soldier, he has been 
 obliged to choose portions of remarkable despatches, leaving it to the 
 intelligent military reader to apply the general principles which 
 governed the Duke, to such circumstances and situations of a similar 
 character as he may happen to be placed in. Thus, if the possessor 
 of the '•ManuaV^ is not able to say, ' I will do so and so, because 
 the Duke of Wellington says it is the proper course to pursue,' he 
 can at least quote his Grace's proceedings on a parallel occasion and 
 take them, safely take them^ as the best guide of his own immediate 
 conduct. 
 
 "With these brief observations, the editor humbly submits this 
 compilation (which, as involving the careful perusal of the whole of 
 the ' Despatches ' has literally been a delightful task) to the patronage 
 of his friends, the officers of the Indian army. 
 
 " It would perhaps have been appropriate to have introduced it by a
 
 1852.] THE DUKE AND WASHINGTON. 293 
 
 Bketch of the career of the soldier to whom the army is indebted for 
 the words of wisdom to be found in each page ; but apart from a consid- 
 eration of the difficulty of compressing such a sketch within reason- 
 able limits without injustice to the mighty subject, it has occurred 
 to the editor, that the '■ ManuaV itself supplies evidence enough of 
 the character of the Duke's mind, and the qualities of his heart, to 
 render the preparation of a brief history in this place, altogether 
 supererogatory. If one of the purposes with which we study the 
 records of the past be to possess ourselves of ample and unerring 
 guides for the future, the reader will have no difficulty in adopting 
 and applying, as occasion offijrs, the sentiments of the greatest captain 
 of the age, because his Grace's professional advancement and extra- 
 ordinary success, were the consequence of the combination of military 
 virtue herein developed. His ' Despatches ' are a monument of 
 
 SAGACITY, DEVOTEDNESS, PATIENCE, OBEDIENCE, DECISION, HUMANITY, 
 TEMPERANCE, MODESTY, JUSTICE, COURAGE, FIRMNESS, and PURE PAT- 
 RIOTISM, for which we may seek in vain in the annals of our own or 
 any other country " 
 
 The Duke of Wellington did not die ejaculating " My country — 
 save my country, Heaven ! " — but no one who has attentively 
 followed him in his civil and military career can hesitate to believe 
 that he was an ardent patriot from the bottom of his heart — alive to 
 the honour and the interests of Great Britain — fighting for them — 
 suffering for them — and perpetually meditating their preservation or 
 advancement. England has already placed him above Chatham. 
 America compared him to her Washington. " The two men," writes 
 Mr. Rush, formerly Minister at the Court of St. James's, " were still 
 alike in truthfulness and honesty ; alike in straightforward conduct and 
 perpetual honour, that ever rose above intrigue, all selfishness, and 
 little jealousies ; all thought of small ambitions, or playing a small 
 game under any circumstances ; alike in that wisdom of vast affairs, 
 which looks at men as they are and events as they exist, with no 
 misleading thoughts to mistake either in planning and executing 
 momentous measures ; alike in that enduring resolution, those self- 
 relying resources of inborn and well-trained virtue, bravery, and 
 patriotism, which never think of yielding ; but going on amidst mis- 
 representations and difficulties, no matter how many or stubborn or 
 complicated, that overset the weak and vacillating, but which the 
 intrinsically strong heed not, but turn to final success and glory, in 
 fighting great battles and undergoing other great trials, whether for 
 a country or to found a country; those were the grand qualities 
 that Wellington and Washington possessed in common. The former
 
 294 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852. 
 
 served Britain as she was — the latter made America what she has 
 become, and what she is to be." 
 
 We can add but little to this in attempting an estimate of the 
 character of the illustrious individual whose life we have endeavoured 
 to pourtray ; and that little is to be found charmingly expressed in an 
 extract from a drama lately quoted by Lord Ellesmere. A monk 
 is speaking of Gonzalvo di Cordova, the Spanish prototype of 
 Wellington — 
 
 " He died 
 
 y 
 
 As he had lived, his country's boast and pride — 
 
 Statesman and warrior, who, with patient toil, 
 
 Scant and exhausted legions taught to foil 
 
 Skill, valour, numbers. One who never sought 
 
 A selfish glory from the fields he fought. 
 
 Lived, breathed, and felt but for his country's weal, 
 
 Her power to 'stablish, and her wounds to heal. 
 
 The dread of France, when France was most the dread,"
 
 1852.] 
 
 HABITS OF THE DUKE. 
 
 295 
 
 CHAPTER XXn. 
 
 Habits of the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 HE habits of the Duke of Wellington, 
 formed in the camp, and originating 
 in those public demands upon his 
 time and energies to which he held 
 it obligatory upon him to yield, were 
 preserved to the last hour of his 
 existence ; and had, in all proba- 
 bility, a material influence in the 
 preservation of his health and the 
 prolongation of his days. No change 
 of circumstances induced a change 
 of usage. The simplicity of the 
 soldier on the field of fight adhered 
 to the recognised chief of the British 
 aristocracy when time and circum- 
 stance placed every imaginable luxury within his reach. 
 
 His bed was narrow and more simple than that of a subaltern. 
 The bedstead of iron without canopy of any kind — the bed a simple 
 mattress covered with a wash-leather sheet — to which, when he felt 
 cold, he added a blanket, — a hard pillow, also enclosed in wash- 
 leather, — constituted the couch to which the venerable man retired at 
 a late hour and quitted with the early dawn. After a healthy and 
 invigorating shower-bath, in which he invariably indulged, he would 
 perform his own toilet without the aid of a valet, always shaving 
 himself, for his hand was steady, if not strong. The toilet was simple 
 and uniform. In winter a black or blue frock and dark grey or 
 black trowsers — in summer the same frock and white tmwsers, and 
 always a white stock confined by a steel buckle. After dressing, the
 
 296 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [185i 
 
 Duke would read or write before he proceeded to breakfast ; aud how 
 much he read — how much he wrote ! His various offices, and his duty 
 as a peer, entailed upon him the necessity of perusing many voluminous 
 
 mm ^J^^.> j plif n '1 '^m m 1^ ■ 'SMfe 
 
 THE DUELS KOOM AT WALMER. 
 
 documents, and he not unfrequently pored, conscientiously, over 
 every line of the Blue Books, which were printed by order of 
 Parliament. At a very late period of his life he went through the 
 whole of the Report, comprising some hundreds of pages, on the con- 
 stitution of the Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Then the news- 
 papers amused him. If he continued to hold their opinions in un- 
 deserved contempt, he was not indifferent to the news they contained. 
 To the advertisements of new objects and inventions he paid particu- 
 lar attention, and would often go and see, and possibly purchase, some 
 modern piece of ingenuity. 
 
 Breakfast dismissed — and it was always of the simplest character — 
 the Duke would go forth to ride or walk or pay a visit to some 
 valued friend. If he rode, he was attended by a single groom, the 
 man who enjoyed the melancholy honour of leading his master's old 
 horse at the funerah In the afternoon, the Duke, when commanding 
 in chief, and residing in town, would go to the IIorse-Guards and 
 remain for an hour or so, handing to Lord Fitzroy Somerset the 
 name of some officer on whom he wanted to confer a colonelcy or a 
 colonial or district command. After dinner, at which he generally
 
 1852.] THE DUKE-S PASSIO]!^ FOR MUSIC. 207 
 
 ate heartily, rarely toucliiag wine or spirits, the Duke, if any question 
 of interest or importance was coming on, would wend his way to the 
 House of Lords, where he was always received with marked respect ; 
 or the Opera offered him attractions, although he had become latterly 
 very deaf indeed. The cheerful scene — the certainty of meeting some 
 one whose society he relished — the •' duty" to the public of counten- 
 ancing by his presence any great and well-conducted establishment — 
 all supplied motives for the visits to Her Majesty's Theatre. In the 
 " season," the Duke of "Wellington continually honoured the parties of 
 the nobility with his presence. It was a strong proof of his great 
 strength, and his zest for social intercourse, that he was often, on the 
 same night, at two or three different reiinio?is. 
 
 Before the Duke had lost his hearing, and while the Ancient Con- 
 certs were yet in vogue, his passion for music, which he inherited 
 from his father, was allowed full latitude. He preferred " massive 
 harmony" as developed in the works of Handel ; and when, as a 
 director of the Ancient Concerts, he had the selection of the pro- 
 gramme, he invariably chose the productions of the great choral mas- 
 ters. This was in complete harmony with the grandeur of his mind. 
 His niece, the Countess of Westmoreland, had a fine taste for mu- 
 sic, and her. husband, long known as the accomplished Lord Bur- 
 ghersh, was a composer of no mean taste and ability. The Duke 
 was always interested in his works, and a constant attendant at the 
 Countess's soirees musicales. The Royal Academy engaged a large 
 share of the Duke's countenance. He generally subscribed 200/. per 
 annum to 'the institution, and his purse was always open to distressed 
 musicians. And " although it may have been supposed that the 
 Duke would only have given his name as a director or patron of 
 the Ancient Concerts, Sir Henry Bishop, the conductor, states that 
 he never knew any director of that institution (which, unfortunately, 
 no longer exists), or of any other musical societies with which 
 Sir Henry has been connected, who gave more thorough business- 
 like attention to the whole matter. Whatever the Duke undertook, 
 having undertaken it, he seemed, however it might be thought out 
 of his own immediate sphere, to think that it was his ' duty' (and 
 that was the great idea always before him) to carry it out to 
 the fullest extent of his abilities. His correspondence and ' pro- 
 grammes,' which he corrected and altered with his own hand, are 
 singularly clear and specific in the directions for his night, each of 
 the directors having in turn the selection of the music and of the 
 chief singers for the eight concerts. The Duke's night was generally 
 one of the most expensive of the series. The dii-ectors laid down
 
 298 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852 
 
 rules for theii' guidance as to the outlay j but the Duke's first remark 
 to Sir Henry Bishop used to be, ' I must have a good concert.' 
 When Sir Henry gently hinted at times that his Grace was exceed- 
 ing the prescribed limits, the Duke used to reply, ' Never mind the 
 expense — I will pay the difference.' It is stated, that if the amount 
 of excess thus incurred by the Duke had been charged, it would be 
 no inconsiderable sum. The punctuality of his Grace in his attend- 
 ance was very remarkable. It was customary for each director to 
 give a dinner to his brother directors prior to the concert ; to these 
 dinners the conductor was invited. The first time Sir Henry (then 
 Mr. Bishop) dined at Apsley House, in the evening of the concert, he 
 kept looking at his watch after the dinner, anxious not to be over 
 time for the departure to the Hanover-square Rooms. The Duke 
 looked at Sir Henry Bishop and asked if it were time to go. Sir 
 Henry replied, ' There is yet a quarter of an hour to spare.' ' Very 
 well,' rejoined his Grace ; ' remember, Mr. Bishop, we are under 
 your orders.' Sir Henry was conversing with Lord Ellenborough, 
 and the Duke got into earnest conversation with a noble director, 
 when suddenly his Grace broke off and turned round to the conductor 
 and said, ' It is time.' Sir Henry looked at his watch, and found 
 the quarter of an hour had elapsed to a second ; a fact which the 
 Duke was conscious of without reference to a time-piece, and in the 
 midst of talking !" 
 
 And this brings us to a feature in the Duke's character which 
 occupies nearly the highest place among the Christian virtues — his 
 charity. With him particularly the word had a large signification. 
 He gave freely — but his right hand knew not the actions of the left. 
 He abhorred ostentatious benevolence, and if he did not positively 
 enjoin silence, he distributed aid in such a way that it was always 
 inferred he did not desire publicity. He loved " to do good by 
 stealth," and did not care to " find it fame." His generosity caused 
 him to be victimised occasionally by misrepresentation ; but he rather 
 preferred being swindled to magnifying the importance of his bounty 
 by too minute an inquiry into the justice of its application Nor was 
 the Duke's charity confined to his pecuniary '' largcsse,^^ — he employed 
 it, in its largest and noblest sense, to " cover a multitude of sins." 
 He reproved gently and sorrowfully — endeavored to find excuses 
 for the erring — and never allowed himself to repeat the evil words 
 which found currency at the expense of others. Look at his De- 
 spatches and Orders. The name of every man whom the Duke 
 found occasion to praise is given at full length ; the name of every 
 object of reprehension is carefully concealed from public view. VV^as
 
 1852.] HIS LOVE OF CHILDREN. 299 
 
 not this lofty ? —magnanimous ? — the highest effort of the noblest 
 charity ? 
 
 But there was yet another circumstance which indicated the 
 excellence of the old soldier's heart and the gentleness of his manner. 
 He loved children, and children loved him. His presents to them 
 were continual — he was the godfiither of a great many of the offspring 
 of the nobility. He always kept a drawer full of half-sovereigns, to 
 which pieces of ribbon were attached, and when a cluster of the 
 olive-branches of some noble house paid him a visit, he would invest 
 them with these insignia, which became heir-looms as it were — ^jewels 
 beyond all price. Nor was it to the scions of noble houses alone that 
 he was kind. At Walmer and its vicinity the village children knew 
 '• the old Duke," and for all he had a nod, or a smile, a small coin, or 
 a passing word. An incident has been related of his making the 
 little son of his valet, whom he accidentally fell in with, dine at his 
 table and pass the day with him ;' and the reader of our first volume 
 
 1 About ten years ago the son of Mr. Kendall, the Duke's valet, was placed at school with 
 Mr. Fleet, who keeps an establishment for boarders in the village of Hayes, near Uxbridge. 
 During one of his vacations, the boy was spending a day at Apsley House, and on his father 
 answering the bell, ran up stairs after him. The boy unconcernedly entered the room where 
 his father was receiving his orders, and " seeing a gentleman with very white hair," as the 
 little fellow afterwards said, when relating the circumstance, "I went back immediately." 
 The movement of the boy had not escaped the quick glance of the Duke, who immediately 
 exclaimed, "Whose boy is that?" Kendall replied, "It was my son, your Grace, and I 
 hope you will excuse the great liberty he has taken in daring to follow me into your 
 presence." " Oh," said the Duke, " that is nothing ; I was once a boy myself. But I did 
 not know you had a son, Kendall ; send him in, and leave him with me." The boy was 
 accordingly ushered into the presence of the Duke, who kindly shook him by the hand, and 
 asked him if he knew who he was. The boy replied, " Yes, sir ;" but instantly checking 
 himself, said, "Yes, your Grace." "Oh, my little fellow," said the Duke, "it will be easier 
 for you to call me sir; you call your schoolmaster sir, don't you ? Then call me sir, if you 
 choose, to-day." After a few more remarks in the same kind, familiar tone, the Duke 
 said, "VVeU, can you play at draughts?" The boy replied in the affirmative. The Duke 
 reached his draught-board in a moment, and sitting down by the side of a small table,chal- 
 lenged the boy to a game, giving him two men. The game proceeded, and the boy 
 lost, although he afterwards said, " I really thought I should have beaten him the second 
 game; but he laid a trap for me, and laughed beciuse I did not observe it." The game 
 ended, the Duke asked the boy to write his name, and exercised him in spelling and 
 geography, asking him to spell Constantinople, and to tell him where that city was situate. 
 The boy having answered satisfactorily, the Duke said, "Well, you shall dine with me 
 to-day; but, as I shall not dine yet, perhaps you would like to see my pictures?" The 
 boy smilingly assented, and away went the Duke and young Kendall to look at his Grace's 
 pictures. After showing the boy his marvellous gallery of paintings, and freely explaining the 
 different subjects, the Duke said, "Now I will show you my statuary." After he had gazed 
 upon the statues for some time, the Duke asked the boy what he thought of them, adding, "They 
 are important fellows." Tlie boy said he did not admire them so much as he did the pictures. 
 The Duke said, " I thought so ; but tell me which is the most like your schoolmaster." la 
 this task the boy had not much difficulty, for all of them, save one, had large moustachioa.
 
 300 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTOK [1852 
 
 cannot have forgotten that, as Colonel Wellesley, he adopted the son 
 of the hostile brigand Doondia Waugh, and, when he quitted India, 
 left seven hundred pounds behind him for the boy's benefit. 
 
 In all the minor affairs of life the Duke of Wellington was remark- 
 able for his precision and exactitude. If he gave an order he required 
 its literal fulfilment, and would get " terribly angry " if he had 
 frequent occasion to repeat his injunctions. Still there was kindness 
 in all that he did. The anecdotes which follow show that he had a 
 will of his own, and a method in all matters of personal concern : — 
 
 " Sir William Allan, some years ago, painted two pictures of the 
 ' Battle of Waterloo ;' the point of view of one being taken from 
 the British lines ; that of the other from the French lines. The 
 Duke purchased one of these pictures after seeing it at the Exhi- 
 bition ; we rather think the last-mentioned, in which the figure of 
 Bonaparte is prominent. He remarked at the time of it, ' Good ! 
 very good ! not too much smoke.' An amusing anecdote is related 
 of this transaction, and upon the authority of the artist himself, 
 against whom it certainly ' tells ' a little. 
 
 " After the picture had become the property of the Duke, the artist 
 was intructed to call at the Horse-Guards on a certain day, to 
 receive payment. Punctual to the hour appointed, Sir William met 
 his Grace, who proceeded to count out the price of the picture, when 
 the artist suggested that, to save the time of one whose every hour 
 was devoted to his duty, a cheque might be given on the Duke's 
 bankers. No answer was vouchsafed, however, and Sir William, 
 naturally supposing that his modest hint might not have been heard, 
 
 Poinling at what was evidently a bust of the Duke himself, the boy said it was most like his 
 Bchoolm.ister. The Duke laughed heartily, and said, "Oh, indeed; well he is a very good 
 man of his sort." After this the Duke said, "Come now, we will go to dinner; I have 
 ordered an early dinner, as I suppose you dine early at school." " Wo dine at one o'clock, 
 sir," said the boy. "A very good hour," rejoined his Grace, "I did so when I was at 
 school." The Duke and young Kendall sat down to dinner alone, to the surprise of the valet, 
 who was told by the Duke that the bell would ring when his attendance was required. 
 Having said grace, the Duke observed to his young guest, "I shall have several things 
 brought to table, and I shall help you to a little of each, as I know little boys like to taste all 
 they see." At table his Grace conversed in the most kind and encouraging manner to the boy, 
 and, the repast being ended, shook him by the hand and dismissed him with the words, "Be a 
 good boy, do your duty; now you may go to your father." About four years after this unique 
 dinner, the Duke was detained on the South Eastern Railway some two hours, when he wished 
 to attend a meeting of the Privy Council. The Duke was highly displeased with the Directors. 
 Mr. Macgregor, the Banker of Liverpool, was then Chairman of the line, and he was waited upon 
 by command of the Duke. Not a word more was heard of the delay, but almost immediately 
 afliTwards young Kendall quitted Hayes, and was clerk in Mr. Macgregor's bank at Liverpool. 
 He now fills a situation in the Ordnance department of Ireland. The Duke evidently never lost 
 sight of him.
 
 1852.] ANECDOTES OF THE DUKE, 301 
 
 repeated it : — ' Perhaps your Grace would give me a cheque on your 
 bankers ; it would save you the trouble of counting notes.' This 
 time the old hero had heard, and whether irritated at being stopped 
 in the middle of his enumeration, or speaking his real sentiments, 
 we know not, but turning half round, he replied, with rather a 
 peculiar expression of voice and countenance — ' And do you suppose 
 I would allow Coutts's people to know what a fool I had been ?' " 
 
 The unmistakeable military character of the Duke is evident in the 
 notices placed by his orders on many of the doors of "Walmer Castle, 
 " Shut this door ;" although it may be added that he never addressed 
 a request to any of his personal attendants without saying, " If you 
 please," do this or that. A still more kindly and considerate memorial 
 of his Grace might be seen upon his table in the shape of a number 
 of small slips of paper, ou which were printed, ''Avoid to impose 
 upon others the care of original papers which you wish to preserve." 
 It is well known that the applications to the late Duke for advice and 
 assistance were extremely numerous, and in many cases testimonials 
 and original documents were enclosed by the applicants, which the 
 Duke, after making a memorandum of, invariably returned, accom- 
 panied by one of these significant cautionary notices. 
 
 About the year 1845, the Messrs. Nicoll had an unexpected visit 
 in Regent-street from the Duke, who said, the moment he arrived, 
 " I have seen the Prince (meaning Prince Albert) wear one of your 
 new kind of coats." This garment they had then recently introduced 
 to the public under the new and now universally popular name of 
 " Paletot." All the various advantages of the paletot were instantly 
 perceived by the Duke, who became from that time a ready and warm 
 patron of the firm. The chief puzzle of the Messrs. Nicoll was to give 
 his Grace all the pocket-room he wanted, — in fact, the linings of all 
 ,his coats were completely studded with pockets. Two resembled the 
 hare-pockets of a shooting coat. " They must be long and strong. 
 I've many papers to carry in them," was his expression. Now, 
 although they represented that the main features of the invention 
 would be thus removed, viz., its lightness and elasticity, the only 
 reply received was, " It is my ivish — it is tny wish?'' 
 
 So attached was the Duke to precision in all things, that when 
 sitting to an artist he was always solicitous about the exactitiide of 
 the likeness ; and he has been known to take the compasses from a
 
 302 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF "WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1852 
 
 iculptor, and ascertain the precise proportions of his own features, and 
 '.hen compare them with the clay representative. 
 
 The Duke was naturally very frequently solicited to sit for his bust 
 or his picture ; and though he had as little vanity as may fall to the 
 lot of a civilized being, he good-naturedly yielded, if the party to be 
 obliged was worthy of the compliment. The public claims upon him 
 in this respect were numerous. Every town in the slightest degree 
 connected with him, or in a condition to render honour to his G-race, 
 sought his eflBgy in one shape or another ; and some, either deficient 
 of the means to render him honour, or preferring that his greatness 
 should be perpetuated by columns visible from a distance, commemorated 
 his services in obelisks. Thus there is an obelisk in Trim, the bor- 
 ough he represented when the Hon. Arthur Wesley. 
 
 xhere is a similar edifice at Wellington, in Somerset, which may be 
 discerned at a very considerable distance, from the elevated position 
 "'hich it occupies. 
 
 0BELI3K AT WELUNGTON, SOMEUSETSniKE. 
 
 Ireland long entertained an idea that the Duke of Wellington 
 cherished no love for his native country. This arose, perhaps, from 
 his disinclination to visit Ireland when " duty" did not call him
 
 1852.] THE DUKE AND THE IRISH, 303 
 
 there ; and from some expressions which he occasionally dropped re- 
 garding the outrageous conduct of the ultras of both the violent 
 parties in the country, when he was Secretary for Ireland. His 
 anxiety for the settlement of the Catholic question, and for the due 
 execution of the Poor Law must have convinced impartial men that 
 the belief in his antipathy was ill-founded ; and it is quite certain 
 that within a year of his death he muttered sentiments which could 
 only have proceeded from a true Milesian* : — 
 
 Whatever the received opinion may have been touching the Duke's 
 affection for Ireland, there is little question of the respect in which 
 Ireland held her hero ; for Moore beautifully sang his praises,' and 
 the people of Dublin, as well as those of Trim, raised a column in his 
 honour. 
 
 It is unnecessary to enumerate all the monuments raised to this 
 
 1 The following letter appeared in the Dublin Freeman's Journal with reference to the alleged, 
 denial of the late Duke of Wellington of his country : — 
 
 « IRELAND AND THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 "to the editor of the freeman. 
 
 " Sir,— Having, since the death of the lamented hero, whose remains are as yet untombed, 
 seen it frequently stated that the late Duke of Wellington never acknowledged Ireland as his 
 country, I have been somewhat struck by the fact that none of the journals have referred 
 back to the proceedings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Belfast, 
 ■which took place so recently as the early part of this month, ere the Duke of Wellington had 
 breathed his last, for a contradiction of the statement. Mr. Holden, the eminent sewed muslin 
 manufacturer, having, in the statistical section of the Association, read a paper on the progress 
 of the sewed muslin manufacture in Ireland, a discussion ensued, during which Mr. Hilden 
 stated that in the course of 1851, whilst examining the products of Irish Industry at the 
 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, his Grace expressed to him (Mr. Holden) his great satisfaction 
 at their excellence, and added, — 'This is the only way by which our country can be re- 
 stored to its proper position.' I write from recollection, but the exact words were at the 
 time reported in the Belfast JVorthern Whig, in the London Morning Post, and, if I mistake 
 not, also in some of your Dublin contemporaries. Trusting that this explanation will be suffi- 
 cient to set the question at rest, and show that the Duke had no hesitation in acknowledging his 
 country, 
 
 " I have the honour to remain, 
 
 "52, JVestland-Row, Dublin.'" "John Miller Grant. . 
 
 2 " WTiile History's Muse the memorial was keeping 
 Of all that the dark hand of destiny weaves, 
 Beside her the Genius of Erin stood weeping. 
 
 For hers was the story that blotted the leaves. 
 But oh ! how the tear in her eyelids grew bright 
 ■When, after whole pages of sorrow and shame, 
 She saw History write 
 With a pencil of light. 
 Which illumed the whole volume, her Wellington's name !" 
 
 2w
 
 304 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1352. 
 
 great man's memory. It will be sufficient to say that in the selection 
 of localities for effigies in his honour, the Tower of Loudon, of which 
 he was long the constable; was not omitted. 
 
 STATUE AT THE TOWER. 
 
 Yet is not the desire of Great Britain to pei*petuate the renown of 
 the incomparable Field-Marshal exhausted. The receipt of the news 
 of his demise was followed by the declaration of the resolution of 
 various towns — the principal ones in England — to commemorate his 
 vast achievements by more statues, more busts, more columns, — all 
 upon a scale of magnificence suitable to their great and interesting 
 object. And still more worthily to transmit the mighty name to 
 posterity, and to associate it with high and benevolent purposes, the 
 Queen of these realms sanctioned the circulation of a proposal — which 
 her Majesty at once supported by a subscription of one thousand 
 pounds — that a memorial of the Duke should be established in the 
 form of a school or college bearing the name of " Wellington," for the 
 gratuitous education of one hundred of the children of impoverished 
 military officers. It was estimated that the proper endowment of 
 the college would require an outlay of one hundred thousand pounds, 
 independently of the sum required for the building. No better 
 testimony to the ardour with which the country has responded to the
 
 1852.] FINAL TRIBUTE. 305 
 
 proposition can be supplied than this : within one month of the circu- 
 lation of the scheme, sixty thousand pounds was subscribed ; and 
 while this volume passes through the press, public enthusiasm and 
 attachment are hourly swelling the fund. We hope and believe that 
 the Wellington College will be an honour to the country, and worthily 
 commemorate Arthur Wellesley, the Great Duke of Wel- 
 lington, of whom it has been justly said, by the powerful diurnal 
 interpreter of British opinion, that "the actions of his life were 
 extraordinary, but his character was equal to his actions. He was 
 the very type and model of an Englishman ; and, though men are 
 prone to invest the worthies of former ages with a dignity and merit 
 they commonly withhold from their contemporaries, we can select 
 none from the long array of our captains and our nobles who, taken 
 for all in all, can claim a rivalry with him who is gone from amongst 
 us, an inheritor of imperishable fame." 
 VOL. II, 20
 
 306 
 
 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 [1852 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The Titles, Honours, and Descent of the Duke. 
 
 HEN the body of the great Duke 
 descended to the tomb, the Garter 
 King at Arms proclaimed his titles 
 and honours : — " Arthur Welles- 
 ley," he said, " was the Most 
 High, Mighty, and most Noble 
 Prince, Duke of Wellington, Mar- 
 quis of Wellington, Marquis of 
 Douro, Earl of Wellington in 
 Somerset, Viscount Wellington of 
 Talavera, Baron Douro of Welles- 
 ley, Prince of Waterloo in the 
 Netherlands, Duke of Ciudad 
 Rodrigo in Spain, Duke of Brunoy 
 in France,Duke of Vittoria, Marquis 
 of Torres Vedras, Count of Vimiero in Portugal, a Grandee of the 
 First Class in Spain, a Privy Councillor, Commander-in-Chief of the 
 British Army, Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, Colonel of the Rifle 
 Brigade, a Field-Marshal of Great Britain, a Marshal of Russia, a 
 Marshal of Austria, a Marshal of France, a Marshal of Prussia, 
 a Marshal of Spain, a Marshal of Portugal, a Marshal of the Nether- 
 lands, a Knight of the Garter, a Knight of the Holy Ghost, a Knight 
 of the Golden Fleece, a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, a Knight 
 Grand Cross of Hanover, a Knight of the Black Eagle, a Knight of 
 the Tower and Sword, a Knight of St. Fernando, a Knight of William 
 of the Low Countries, a Knight of Charles III., a Knight of the 
 Sword of Sweden, a Knight of St. Andrew of Russia, a Knight of the 
 Annunciado of Sardinia, a Knight of the Elephant of Denmark, 
 a Knight of Maria Theresa, a Knight of St. George of Russia, a 
 Knight of the Crown of Rue of Saxony, a Knight of Fidelity of
 
 1852.] THE DUKE'S ORDERS. 307 
 
 Baden, a Knight of Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria, a Knight of 
 St. Alexander Newsky of Russia, a Knight of St. Hermenegilda of 
 Spain, a Knight of the Bed Eagle of Brandenburgh, a Knight 
 of St. Januarius, a Knight of the Golden Lion of Hesse Cassel, 
 a Knight of the Lion of Baden, a Knight of Merit of Wurtemburg, 
 the Lord High Constable of England, the Constable of the Tower, 
 the Constable of Dover Castle, Warden of the Cinque Ports, 
 Chancellor of the Cinque Ports, Admiral of the Cinque Ports, Lord 
 Lieutenant of Hampshire, Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets, 
 Ranger of St. James's Park, Ranger of Hyde Park, Chancellor of the 
 University of Oxford, Commissioner of the Royal Military College, 
 Vice-President of the Scottish Naval and Military Academy, the 
 Master of the Trinity House, a Governor of King's College, a Doctor 
 of Laws, &c." 
 
 Never was a British subject so honoured and decorated. Our 
 sovereigns are chary of the distribution of titles and honours, and had 
 the Duke of "Wellington's merits resembled those of ordinary 
 generals, the Peerage and Grand Cross of the Bath would probably 
 have been the limits of his elevation. But the Duke's services were 
 tiniversal. Every nation on the face of the earth connected with 
 England by political ties and sympathies had, in one way or another, 
 experienced the benefits of his military skill and his wisdom, and each 
 endeavoured to evince its gratitude by placing him in the highest 
 rank of its nobility. The Duke of Wellington had eight Marshals' 
 Batons given to him by the Allied Sovereigns. They may be thus 
 described : — 
 
 The Baton of Portugal is of burnished gold ; it is surmounted by 
 a crown, and on a shield are the arms of Portugal. 
 
 The Baton of Prussia is of burnished gold, and is of classic orna- 
 mentation ; it bears two eagles displayed, holding the sceptre and orb 
 of sovereignty. 
 
 The Baton of England is of gold, and is surmounted with the 
 group of St. George and the Dragon. This baton is excessively 
 rich in its decoration ; and at the end of it is engraven this 
 inscription : — 
 
 From his Royal Highness 
 
 Geoege Augustus Feederick, 
 
 Regent 
 
 of the United Kingdom of 
 
 Great Britain and Ireland, 
 
 to AuTHUR, Marquess of Wellington, KG., 
 
 Field-Marshal of England. 
 
 1813.
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 1. The George. 
 
 2 and 3. Insignia of the Order of the Bath. 
 
 4 and 5. Order of the Red Eagle of Brandenburgh (Prussia), 
 
 6 and 1. Order of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 8, 9, and 10. Insignia of the Order of the Garter. 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 1. Order of the Golden Fleece (Spain). 
 
 2 and 3. Order of St. Januarius (Naples). 
 
 4 and 6. Order of the Elephant (Denmark). 
 
 5 and 7. Supreme Order of the Annonciade. 
 8 and 9. Order of the Black Eagle (Prussia). 
 
 PLATE IIL 
 
 1 and 5. Wurtemburg Order of Military Merit. 
 
 2 and 3. Order of the Tower and Sword (Portugal^ 
 
 4. Order of the Sword of Sweden. 
 6 and 1. Order of St. Andrew (Russia).
 
 Wellington's orders and decorations. — platk i. p. 309.
 
 « ■ e 
 
 Wellington's orders and decorations. — plate n. p. 311
 
 Wellington's orders and decorations. — plate in. p. 313.
 
 1852.] HIS BIRTH-PLACE. 315 
 
 The Baton of the Netherlands. This is one of the simplest, but 
 perhaps the most elegant of the batons, the Greek ornaments being 
 introduced very tastefully. The arms of the Netherlands are in the 
 upper division. 
 
 The Baton of Spain. Like that of Portugal, it is crowned ; but it 
 is shorter in its proportions. It is of burnished gold, and bears the 
 armorial ensigns of Spain. 
 
 The Baton of Hanover. The crown and ends of the staff are gold ; 
 but the chief part of the baton is covered with crimson velvet, pow- 
 dered with silver horses — the Hanoverian arms ; and a silver horse is 
 placed above the crown. 
 
 The Baton of Austria is of burnished gold, and the wreaths round 
 it are in dead gold. The other portions are extremely plain. 
 
 The Baton of Russia is of gold, and the alternate wreaths of laurel 
 and oak, which twine round it ; and the collars round the staff are set 
 with diamonds of great value. The ground is frosted gold. 
 
 The various orders worn by the Duke are given in the annexed 
 plates. 
 
 By the constitution of England, a Dukedom was the highest 
 honour the Sovereign could bestow, and this enviable dignity was 
 conferred before the Duke had reached the climax of his military 
 renown. There were no decorations left for the hero of " Water- 
 loo" — Wellington had exhausted honour before he met Napoleon 
 face to face, and annihilated his power in one immortal pitched 
 battle ! 
 
 The birth-place of the Duke of Wellington is, like that of Homer, 
 still a matter in dispute. He believed himself to have seen the light 
 at Dangan Castle, county Meath, and the evidence of the old nurse 
 who attended Lady Mornington upon the occasion would seem to estab- 
 lish that now ruined seat as the locality ; but it has been affirmed by 
 more reliable authority that his Grace was born in Merrion Square, 
 Dublin. The nurse, in her evidence {vide Vol. I.) before the Com- 
 mittee on the Trim petition which disputed " the Hon. Captain Wel- 
 lesley's" majority, stated that he was born in March. Now it has been 
 made clear that the first of May, 1769, was the day on which he was 
 ushered into the world. The fact of his baptism having been regis- 
 tered in Dublin on the 30th of April — apparently one day before his 
 birtti — raised doubts as to the accuracy of the date of his first appear- 
 ance ; but an intelligent gentleman has been at the trouble to show, 
 through the medium of the public press, that the discrepancy aroso 
 from the circumstance of the Irish not having adopted the new style 
 of dating until after the Duke's birth.
 
 316 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852 
 
 Elsewhere (Appendix) is given a curious paper on the Cowley or 
 Colley family, who were ancestors of the Duke of Wellington. It 
 would seem, however, from the results of the investigation of a distin- 
 guished antiquarian, that his Grace owned royal descent, having come 
 down, in an unbroken line, from the royal house of Plantagenet, and 
 was consequently of kin, though remotely, to Queen Victoria. This 
 royal descent has been thus explained : — 
 
 " Edward I., King of England, had by his Queen, Eleanor of Castile, 
 several children, of whom the eldest son was King Edward II., and 
 the youngest daughter, the Lady Elizabeth Plantagenet, wife of Hum- 
 phry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, Constable of England. 
 King Edward II„ as is of course well known, was direct ancestor of 
 the subsequent Royal Plantagenets, whose eventual heiress, the Prin- 
 cess Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV., married King 
 Henry VII., and was mother of Margaret, Queen of Scotland, from 
 whom Queen Victoria is eleventh in descent. 
 
 '• Reverting to the Lady Elizabeth Plantagenet, daughter of King 
 Edward I., and wife of Humphry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and 
 Essex, we find that she was mother of a daughter. Lady Eleanor de 
 Bohun, who married James, Earl of Ormonde, and was ancestress of 
 the subsequent peers of that illustrious house. Pierce, the eighth 
 Earl of Ormonde (sixth in descent from the Lady Elizabeth Planta- 
 genet), left, with other issue, a daughter. Lady Ellen Butler, who 
 married Donogh, second Earl of Thomond, and was mother of Lady 
 Margaret O'Bryen, wife of Dermod, Lord Inchiquin, and ancestress 
 of the later barons of that title. The Hon. Mary O'Bryen, daughter 
 of Dermod, fifth Lord Inchiquin, married Michael Boyle, Archbishop 
 of Armagh, and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and had by him a daugh- 
 ter, Eleanor Boyle, who became the wife of the Right Hon. William 
 Hill, M.P., and grandmother of Arthur Hill, first Viscount Dungan- 
 non, whose daughter, Anne, Countess of Mornington, was mother of 
 Arthur, first Duke of Wellington, who was, through those descents, 
 nineteenth in a direct unbroken line from King Edward I." 
 
 The gentleman who has been at the pains to furnish the foregoing 
 interesting particulars, adds : — 
 
 " The curious in matters of pedigree may be still further pleased to 
 learn that his Grace was thirty-second in a direct descent from Alfred 
 the Great, and twenty-fifth from William the Conqueror, his Grace's 
 lineage from those famous warriors coming to him through King Ed- 
 ward I., who was great-great-great-great-grandson of the latter, and a 
 descendant in the thirteenth degree of the former." 
 
 When the Dukedom was conferred upon his Grace, and the choice
 
 1852.] WELLmOTON, IN SOMERSET. 3 1*7 
 
 of the locality was left to himself, he selected "Wellington, in 
 Somerset," partly because he was lord of the manor of Wellington, 
 and partly because of its contiguity to " Wesley " — the village which 
 gave the family its name originally. Wellington, on the Devonshire 
 border of Somerset, is an ancient and respectable market-town, and a 
 parish, situate near the Tone, in the hundred of Kingsbury West, in 
 the union of its own name, and on the line of the Great Western 
 Railway. The manor, which appears to be an ancient one, was held 
 by the proud Duke of Somerset, who was beheaded for high treason 
 temp. Edward VI. It was previously held by several Bishops ; 
 among whom was Asser, Bishop of Sherborne, preceptor to Alfred 
 the Great, who was presented to the manor by that monarch. On 
 Asser's death, the manor was transferred to the Bishop of the newly- 
 erected diocese of Wells, by whose successor it was held in the time 
 of the Domesday survey, in which it is written Walintone. 
 
 The town is about half a mile in length, and consists of five 
 streets, respectively named High Street, Fore Street, Mantle Street, 
 South Street, and North Street ; the principal one being Fore Street, 
 which contains the Market House, a handsome and commodious 
 modern structure ; the upper part appropriated as a Town Hall and 
 Beading Room, and the base of the corn and provision market. The 
 only extensive branch of manufacture carried on at Wellington is 
 that of serges and woollens, steam being now the power principally 
 employed in fabricating these articles. 
 
 The parish church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is a handsome 
 Gothic building, having a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, and 
 two chapels ; at the west end is an embattled tower, adorned with 
 pinnacles, having a turret on the south side. In the interior is a 
 beautiful monument to Sir John Popham, who held the high office of 
 Chief Justice of England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and 
 James I. The living is a vicarage in the patronage and incumbency 
 of the Rev. W. W. Pulman. In the western portion of the town is a 
 handsome modern church, built chiefly at the expense and endowed 
 by a former patron of the church of St. John the Baptist. Here are, 
 also, places of worship for Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, 
 Baptists, the Society of Friends, and Plymouth Brethren. In 1604, 
 but rebuilt in 1833, almshouses were founded and endowed by Sir 
 John Popham, who resided at Wellington Court House. Markets 
 are held on Thursdays for corn, and all sorts of provisions ; and fairs 
 are holden on the Thursday week before Easter, and on Thursday 
 week before Whitsuntide. The parish contained, ak the last census, 
 nearly 7000 inhabitants.
 
 318 LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. [1852 
 
 In the civil war, at the period of the memorable siege of Taunton, 
 the rebels gained possession of Wellington by stratagem, and 
 held out for some time against the King's forces under Sir Richard 
 Grenville. 
 
 The people of Wellington have not been unmindful of the illus- 
 trious hero who has conferred celebrity upon their town. A 
 monumental obelisk in honour of the Duke of Wellington was 
 erected in commemoration of the crowning victory he obtained at 
 Waterloo ; and in the vicinity of this memorial is annually held a fair 
 on the day of the battle, June 18. From the crest of the hill the eye 
 ranges over a vast extent of rich and varied scenery ; and on a clear 
 day many a gleaming sail may be descried upon the Bristol Channel. 
 On the southern side of the wall is the boundary line of the counties 
 of Devon and Somerset. 
 
 Since the death of the Duke of Wellington, the obelisk has been 
 examined by Mr. Paul, of Taunton, architect, and is reported by him 
 to be badly built, and so dilapidated as to endanger its stability. 
 Some of the plinth has already fallen. A subscription has been 
 opened for the repair of the memorial ; and it is proposed to carry out 
 the original design of placing a bronze statue of the Duke on the top, 
 and erecting a building for three military pensioners to take charge 
 of the monument. 
 
 It has been stated (Vol. I.) that the Duke of Wellington was 
 married in 1806 (10th of April) to the Hon. Catherine Pakenham, 
 third daughter of Edward Michael, second Lord Longford. By her 
 (who was born in 1772, and died in 1831) he had issue — 
 
 I. Arthur, Marquis of Douro, who succeeds as second Duke of "Wellington. 
 
 His Gi-ace is a Colonel in the army. He was born 3rd February, 1807, and 
 married, 19th April, 1839, Lady Elizabeth Hay, fourth daughter of the 
 Marquis of Tweeddale, which lady was born 2'7th September, 1820. 
 
 II. Lord Charles Welleslet, M.P. for Windsor, a Colonel in the army, born 
 
 16th January, 1808 ; married 9th July, 1844, Augusta Sophia Anne, only 
 child of the Right Hon. Henry Manvers Pierrepont, brother of Earl Man- 
 vers, and by her (who was born 30th May, 1820) has had three sons — Arthur, 
 born 5th May, 1845; died 'Jth July, 1846; Henry, born 5th April, 1846, 
 Arthur Charles, born loth March, 1849 ; and two daughters, to the eldest of 
 whom, Victoria Alexandriua, her Majesty stood sponsor in person. 
 
 His Grace's Nephews and Nieces were as follows : — 
 
 William, present Earl of Mornington "1 
 
 Lady Mary Charlotte Anne Bagot, who died in 1845 \v 11 l Pi' 
 
 Lady Emily Harriet, wife of Lord Fitzroy Somerset - . "' ' 
 
 Lady Priscilla Anne, married to the Earl of Westmore- 
 
 land J Mornington.
 
 1852.] 
 
 THE DUKE'S DESCECCDANTS. 
 
 319 
 
 Charles "Wellesley 
 
 George Grenville Wellesley 
 
 Emily Anne Charlotte, -wife of Hon. and Rev, Robert 
 
 Liddell 
 Georgiana Henrietta Louisa, wife of the Rev. George 
 
 Darby St. Quintia 
 Mary Sarah, Viscountess Chelsea 
 Cecil Elizabeth, wife of the Hon. George A. F. Liddell 
 
 Henry Richard Charles, second and present Lord Cowley 1 
 The Hon. William Wellesley j 
 
 The Hon, and Rev. Gerald WeUesley, Rector of Strath- | 
 
 fieldsaye 
 The Hon. Charlotte Arbuthnot, wife of Lord Robert 
 
 Grosvenor 
 The Hon. Georgiana Charlotte Mary, wife of the Right 
 
 Hon. Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, G.C.B. 
 
 Georgiana-Frederica (only daughter of Lady Anne Wellesley, his Grace's 
 sister, by her first husband, the Hon. Henry Fitzroy), married 25th July, 
 1814, to Henry, Marquis of Worcester, now Duke of Beaufort. 
 
 Frederick Smith, Esq., son of Lady Anne Wellesley, by her second husband, 
 C. Cullmg Smith, Esq. 
 
 Emily-Frances, Duchess of Beaufort, daughter of Lady Anne Wellesley, by 
 her second husband, C. Culling Smith, Esq. 
 
 Children of the 
 Hon. and Rev. 
 Gerald Valerian 
 Wellesley, D.D. 
 
 1 Children of 
 {► Henry, First Lord 
 Cowley. 
 
 
 2x
 
 APPENDIX No. I 
 
 THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AS A GENERAL. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington's campaigns furnish lessons for generals 
 of all nations, but they naust always be peculiarly models for British 
 commanders in future continental wars, because he modified and 
 reconciled the great principles of art with the peculiar difficulties 
 which attend generals controlled by politicians, who, depending upon 
 private intrigue, prefer parliamentary to national interests. An 
 English commander must not trust his fortune. He dare not risk 
 much, however conscious he may be of personal resources, when one 
 disaster will be his ruin at home. His measures must, therefore, be 
 subordinate to this primary consideration. Lord Wellington's 
 caution, springing from that source, has led friends and foes alike 
 into wrong conclusions as to his system of war. The French call it 
 want of enterprise, timidity ; — the English have denominated it as 
 the Fabian system. These are mere phrases. His system was the 
 same as that of all great generals. He held his army in hand, 
 keeping it, with unmitigated labour, always in a fit state to march or 
 fight ; and, thus prepared, he acted indifferently, as occasion offered, 
 on the offensive or defensive, displaying in both a complete mastery 
 of his art. Sometimes he was indebted to fortune, sometimes to his 
 natural genius, but always to his untiring industry — for he was 
 emphatically a pains-taking man. 
 
 That he was less vast in his designs, less daring in execution, 
 neither so rapid nor so original a commander as Napoleon, must be 
 admitted, and being later in the field of glory, it is to be presumed 
 that he learnt something of the art from that greatest of all masters ; 
 yet something besides the diff"erenee of genius must be allowed for 
 the diff"erence of situation. Napoleon was never, even in his first
 
 APPENDIX. 321 
 
 campaign of Italy, so harassed by the French as Wellington was by 
 the Euglish, Spanish, and Portuguese governments. Their systems 
 of war were, however, alike in principle, their operations beiD"- 
 necessarily modified by their diffex-ent political positions. Great bodily 
 exertion, unceasing watchfulness, exact combinations to protect their 
 flanks and communications without scattering their forces — these were 
 common to both. In defence, firm, cool, enduring ; in attack, fierce, 
 and obstinate ; daring when daring was politic, but always operating 
 by the flanks in preference to the front ; in these things they were 
 alike, but in following up a victory the English general fell short of 
 the French emperor. The battle of Wellington was the stroke of a 
 battering ram — down went the wall in ruins. The battle of Napoleon 
 was the swell and dash of a mighty wave, before which the barrier 
 yielded, and the roaring flood poured onwards, covering all. Yet was 
 there nothing of timidity or natural want of enterprise to be dis- 
 cerned in the English general's campaigns. Neither was he of the 
 Fabian school. He recommended that commander's system to the 
 Spaniards, but he did not follow it himself His military policy more 
 resembled that of Scipio Africanus. Fabius, dreading Hannibal's 
 veterans, red with the blood of four consular armies, hovered on the 
 mountains, refused battle, and to the unmatched skill and valour of 
 the great Carthaginian opposed the almost inexhaustible military 
 resources of Rome. Lord Wellington was never loth to fight where 
 there was any equality of numbers. He landed in Portugal with 
 only 9000 men, with intent to attack Junot, who had 24,000. At 
 Rolica he was the assailant, at Vimiero he was assailed, but he would 
 have changed to the ofi"ensive during the battle if others had not 
 interfered. At Oporto he was again the daring and successful 
 assailant. In the Talavera campaign he took the initiatory move- 
 ment, although in the battle itself he sustained the shock. His 
 campaign of 1810, in Portugal, was entirely defensive, because the 
 Portuguese army was young and untried ; but his pursuit of Massena, 
 in 1811, was entirely aggressive, although cautiously so, as well 
 knowing that, in mountain warfare, those who attack labour at a 
 disadvantage. The operations of the fuilowiug campaign, including 
 the battles of Fuentes D'Onora and Albuera, the first siege of 
 Badajoz, and the combat of Guinaldo, were of a mixed character ; 
 so was the campaign of Salamanca ; but the campaign of Vittoria, 
 and that in the south of France, were entirely and eminently offensive. 
 Slight, therefore, is the resemblance to the Fabian warfare. And for 
 the Englishman's hardiness and enterprise bear witness the passage 
 of the Douro at Oporto, the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, the storming 
 
 VOL. 11. 21
 
 322 APPENDIX. 
 
 of Badajoz, the surprise of the foi'ts at Mirabete, the march to 
 Vittoria, the passage of the Bidassoa, the victory of the Nivelle, the 
 passage of the Adour below Bayonne, the fight of Orthes, the 
 crowning battle of Toulouse ! To say that he committed faults i3 
 only to say that he made war ; but to deny him the qualities of a 
 great commander is to rail against the clear mid-day sun for want of 
 light. How few of his combinations failed, — how many battles he 
 fought, victorious in all ! Iron hardihood of body, a quick and sure 
 vision, a grasping mind, untiring power of thought and the habit of 
 laborious, minute investigation and arrangement — all these qualities 
 he possessed, and with them that most rare faculty of coming to 
 prompt and sure conclusions on sudden emergencies. This is the 
 certain mark of a master spirit in war ; without it a commander may 
 be distinguished, he may be a great man, but he cannot be a great 
 captain; when troops nearly alike in arms and knowledge are 
 opposed, the battle generally turns upon the decision of the moment. 
 At the Somosierra, Napoleon's sudden, and what to those about him 
 appeared an insensate order, sent the Polish cavalry successfully 
 charging up the mountain, when more studied arrangements, with 
 ten times that force, might have failed. At Talavera, if Joseph had 
 not yielded to the imprudent heat of Victor, the fate of the allies 
 would have baen sealed. At the Coa, Montbrun's refusal to charge 
 with his cavalry saved General Craufurd's division, the loss of which 
 would have gone far towards producing the evacuation of Portugal. 
 At Busaco, Massena would not sufier Ney to attack the first day. 
 and thus lost the only favourable opportunity for assailing that 
 formidable position. At Fuentes d'Onoro, the same Massena sud- 
 denly suspended his attack, when a powerful eifort Avoukl probably 
 have been decisive. At Albuera, Soult's column of attack, instead of 
 pushing forward, halted to fire from the first height they had gained 
 on Beresford's right, which saved that general from an early and total 
 defeat ; again, at a later period of that battle, the unpremeditated 
 attack of the fusileers decided the contest. At Barossa, General 
 Graham, with a wonderful promptitude, snatched the victory at the 
 very moment when a terrible defeat seemed inevitable. At Sabugal, 
 not even the astonishing fighting of the light division could have 
 saved it if General Regnier had possessed this essential quality 
 of a general. At El Bodon, Marmont failed to seize the most 
 favourable opportunity which occurred during the whole war for 
 crushing the allies. At Orthes, Soult let slip two opportunities of 
 falling upon the allies with advantage ; and at Toulouse he failed to 
 crush Beresford. At Vimiero, Lord Wellington was debarred by
 
 APPENDIX. 32$ 
 
 Burrard from giving a signal illustration of this intuitive generalship • 
 but at Busaco and the heights of San Cristoval, near Salamanca he 
 suffered Massena and Marmont to commit glaring faults unpunished. 
 On the other hand he has furnished many examples of that suc- 
 cessful improvisation in which Napoleon seems to have surpassed all 
 mankind. His sudden retreat from Oropesa across the Tagus, by the 
 bridge of Arzobispo ; his passage of the Douro in 1809; his halt at 
 Guinaldo, in the face of Marmont's overwhelming numbers ; the 
 battle of Salamanca ; his sudden rush with the third division to seize 
 the hill of Armez at Vittoria ; his counter-stroke with the sixth 
 division at Sauroren ; his battle of the 30th, two days afterwards ; his 
 sudden passage of the Grave below Orthes ; add to these his wonderful 
 battle of Assaye, and the proofs are complete, that he possesses in an 
 eminent degree that intuitive perception which distinguishes the 
 greatest generals. Fortune, however, always asserts her supremacy 
 in war, and often from a slight mistake such disastrous consec[uence3 
 flow, that in every age and every nation the uncertainty of arms has 
 been proverbial. Napoleon's march upon Madrid, in 1808, before he 
 knew the exact situation of the British army, is an example. By 
 that march he bent his flank to his enemy. Sir John Moore seized 
 the advantage, and though the French emperor repaired the error for 
 the moment by his astonishing march from Madrid to Astorga, the 
 fate of the Peninsula was then decided. If he had not been forced 
 to turn against Moore. Lisbon would have fallen, Portugal could not 
 have been organised for resistance, and the jealousy of the Spaniards 
 would never have suffered Wellington to establish a solid base at 
 Cadiz ; that general's after successes would then have been the 
 things that are unborn. It was not so ordained. Wellington was 
 victorious — the great conqueror was overthrown — England stood the 
 most triumphal nation in the world. But with* an enormous debt, 
 a dissatisfied people, gaining peace without tranquillity, greatness 
 without intrinsic strength, the present time uneasy, the future dark 
 and threatenng, yet she rejoices in the glory of her arms ! And it 
 is a stirring sound ! War is the condition of this world. From 
 man to the smallest insect all are at strife ; and the glory of arms, 
 which cannot be obtained without the exercise of honour, fortitude, 
 courage, obedience, modesty, and temperance, excites the brave man's 
 patriotism, and is a chastening correction for the rich man's pride. 
 It is yet no security for power. Napoleon, the greatest man of whom 
 history makes mention — Napoleon, the most wonderful commander, 
 the most sagacious politician — the most profound statesman — lost by 
 arms Poland. Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and France. Fortune,
 
 S24 APPENDIX. 
 
 that name for the unknown combinations of infinite power, was wanting 
 to him, and without her aid the designs of man are as bubbles on a 
 troubled ocean." — Sir W. Napier'' s History of the Peninstdar War. 
 
 APPENDIX, NO II. 
 
 THE FRENCH SOLDIERS. 
 
 The following sketch of the French troops was penned during the 
 Peninsular war, and serves to show the kind of enemy our troops had 
 to contend with : — 
 
 " The French soldiers are quick, and attack with incredible rapidity ; 
 they retreat with the same rapidity, return to the charge with no less 
 impetuosity, and as quickly retire again. They retain, during their 
 retreat, the greatest composure, and are not disheartened when they 
 lose ground. The death of their officers produces no confusion 
 among them. When the commanding officer falls, the next to him 
 assumes the command, and so on in succession. The inferior officers 
 are almost all qualified to command. The French soldier is accus- 
 tomed to live in a requisitionary country, sometimes as a prince, 
 sometimes as a sans culotte. To make him perform his duty well, 
 uniformity in living is not required. A strong esprit de corps prevails 
 among the French troops. In the beginning of the Revolution 
 their bond of union was republican fanaticism, and at the conclusion 
 of it, la graiule nation. Their infantry of the line cannot be compared 
 with the Russians ; their cavalry is very inferior to the Hungarians ; 
 and their artillery, once the best in Europe, is far from being equal 
 to the Austrians ; but their light infantry, or their tirailleurs, and 
 their new tactics confound all the principles of war which have pre- 
 vailed since the time of Frederick the Great. Austria has scarcely 
 any light infantry ; Russia has about 20,000. In the French armies 
 nearly one-third of the infantry arc tirailleurs. These take their 
 post before the troops of the line, separate into different bodies, 
 unite again and attack, and after being ten times repulsed will attack 
 again. In a broken intersected country these tirailleurs prepare the 
 way to the French for that victory which the infantry of the line 
 complete. The incredible quickness of the French renders this corps 
 the best of its kind in Europe. All the principles of the new French
 
 APPENDIX. 325 
 
 tactics are calculated for an intersected broken country, as the old 
 tactics were for large plains. The object of the former is to waste 
 the enemy by incessant skirmishes, where he has the folly to repulse 
 the light-heeled Frenchmen with his whole force. These small flyino- 
 bodies suffer themselves to be driven back the whole day, and towards 
 evening a fresh body appears, and decides the contest. A battle with 
 the French may begin at sun-rise, but it will not be terminated before 
 the evening. The French may be beat the whole day, but at night 
 they will be victors. Every general who does not spare his strength 
 till the evening must, in the end, be defeated by the French. In con- 
 sequence of the quickness and composure of the French soldiers, they 
 do not readily think of capitulating ; and, they are able, in a peculiar 
 manner, to extricate themselves from great dangers. We have seen 
 instances where a thousand French soldiers have contended the whole 
 day with a much stronger body, and disappeared at night like a va- 
 pour. This is done in the following manner : — The corps, when hard 
 pressed, divides itself into two or three bodies, and while one occu- 
 pies the enemy in an advantageous position, the other remains quiet at 
 some distance. As soon as the first is driven back, they all run with 
 incredible velocity, and in tolerable good order to the place where the 
 other is at rest. The second knows pretty exactly how long the first 
 was able to make a stand, and rushes with the same impetuosity on 
 the enemy, who find themselves suddenly checked by fresh troops, who 
 must also be repulsed. In the mean time, the first body take some 
 rest ; and thus they continue to act the whole day with considerable 
 loss of men, indeed ; but when night puts an end to the battle, the 
 corps, at any rate, has not been beaten, and next morning to follow it 
 is useless. Moreau was pursued for some days, in Switzerland, by the 
 Russians ; but they were never able to come up with him in his 
 flight. Towards evening he had taken a strong position, and next 
 morning he had disappeared. But this activity must not be confound- 
 ed with durable strength. The French are the lightest, not the strong- 
 est soldiers. The medical establishment of the French army is ex- 
 cellent, and their officers, in general, exceedingly goo^?^— Military 
 Panorama.
 
 826 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX, No. in. 
 
 THE CASUALTIES AT WATEKLOO. 
 
 THE FOLLOWING TABLE SHOWS THE LOSSES SUSTAINED BY THE TROOPS 
 COMPRISING THE ANGLO-ALLIED ARMT : 
 
 
 KILLED. 
 
 WOITNDED. 
 
 MISSING. 
 
 2 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 O S m 
 
 •GO'S 
 
 a f^ 
 
 sag 
 
 2 2^- 
 
 Is 
 
 i 
 
 o 
 
 K 
 
 o 
 
 III 
 i2;2 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 sa 
 
 ii! 
 
 DO 
 
 o 
 
 British .... 
 King's Ger. Leg. 
 Hanoverians . . 
 Brimswickers . 
 Nassauers . . 
 
 83 
 
 27 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 1334 
 335 
 276 
 147 
 249 
 
 1319 
 194 
 
 77 
 
 363 
 77 
 63 
 26 
 19 
 
 4560 
 932 
 
 1035 
 430 
 370 
 
 719 
 144 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 582 
 
 217 
 
 207 
 
 50 
 
 708 
 64 
 
 Total . . . 
 
 140 
 
 2341 
 
 1590 
 
 548 
 
 7327 
 
 863 
 
 14 
 
 1056 
 
 762 
 
 THE LOSSES OF THE PRUSSIAN ARMY IN THE BATTLE WERE AS FOLLOWS : — 
 
 
 KILLED. 
 
 WOUNDED. 
 
 MISSING. 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 ea 
 
 o2s 
 
 ^°g 
 
 111 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 02S 
 
 |l£ 
 
 in 
 £ 
 
 o 
 
 e 
 
 o 
 
 .2 «&; 
 Is 
 
 c 
 
 Zeithen's Corps . 
 Puch's do. 
 Billow's do. 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 84 
 
 36 
 
 1133 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 259 
 
 8 
 3 
 
 159 
 
 164 
 
 192 
 
 3902 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 328 
 
 4 
 35 
 
 111 
 
 100 
 1127 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 89 
 
 Total . . . 
 
 22 
 
 1203 
 
 286 
 
 162 
 
 4125 
 
 356 
 
 39 
 
 1354 
 
 100
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 327 
 
 AMOUNT OF THE EFFECTIVE STRENGTH OF THE ANGLO-ALLIED ARMT 
 AT THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO : 
 
 
 Infantry. 
 
 Cavalry. 
 
 Artillery. 
 
 Total No. 
 
 Guns. 
 
 British 
 
 15,181 
 
 5.843 
 
 2,967 
 
 23,991 
 
 78 
 
 King's German Legion ..... 
 
 3,301 
 
 1,997 
 
 526 
 
 5,824 
 
 18 
 
 Hanoverians 
 
 10,258 
 
 497 
 
 465 
 
 11,220 
 
 12 
 
 Brunswickers 
 
 4,586 
 
 866 
 
 510 
 
 5,962 
 
 16 
 
 Nassauers 
 
 2,880 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 2,880 
 
 
 
 Dutch-Belgians 
 
 13,402 
 
 3,205 
 
 1,177 
 
 17,784 
 
 32 
 
 Total 
 
 49,608 
 
 12,402 
 
 5,645 
 
 67,661 
 
 156 
 
 APPENDIX, No. IV. 
 
 THE DUKE'S THEORY OF A METALLIC CURRENCY. 
 
 " The restoration of the currency, my Lords, has, in truth, but 
 little to do with the distress of the country. Since the restoration 
 of the currency, the revenue has risen to the amount which has been 
 stated to your lordships, notwithstanding the repeal of taxes to the 
 amount of 27,000,000/. since 1814. The fact is, that at the present 
 moment, the revenue produces, in real currency, much more than it 
 produced when the war was terminated. Is not that circumstance 
 alone, I ask your lordships, a proof of the increasing prosperity of 
 the country ? But, my Lords, I did not rest my argument on that 
 fact only. Notwithstanding, there is, at present, much distress, still, 
 in the last year, there was an increase of produce in every branch 
 of manufacture, in every branch of industry, beyond what was ap- 
 parent in the three preceding years. Under these circumstances, 
 your lordships must ascribe the distress of the country to something 
 else rather than to the alteration of the currency. My opinion is, 
 that the people, during the lengthened war which existed previously 
 to the peace of 1815— during that period, when there was an enor- 
 mous expenditure — acquired habits which they cannot readily throw 
 aside. 
 
 " During that time, any man, of whatever description of credit, 
 could obtain money, or the semblance of money, to carry on any 
 speculation. The people then employed a fictitious wealth ; they
 
 328 APPENDIX. 
 
 proceeded on a system, which could not be continued, without mining 
 and destroying the country ; and that system having been destroyed, 
 that fictitious wealth having been removed, they cannot immediately 
 come down to those quiet habits, which are required from them under 
 that state of things now prevailing in the empire. That, my Lords, 
 is the real cause of the distress under which they are at present 
 suffering. Besides, your lordships will recollect that the population 
 of the country has enormously increased, and it should also be taken 
 into the calculation, that the power of production by machinery has 
 increased in an incalculable degree. As much can now be produced 
 in one year, as formerly could be produced in five years ; and the 
 produce of one year now amounts to more than can be taken off our 
 hands in a year and a half, or even two years. Distress, therefore, 
 has occurred, notwithstanding that the utmost exertions have been 
 made to repel it ; and notwithstanding the great and general pros« 
 perity of trade throughout the world. My Lords, the plain fact is, 
 that owing to the alterations of trade — a great demand at one time, 
 and a want of demand at another — the manufacturers, and those 
 engaged in commercial pursuits, must sustain considerable distress 
 at different periods. It has been recommended as a remedy, that 
 Government should go back to the system of the circulation of the 
 notes. Now, my Lords, with respect to the one-pound bank notes, it 
 will be well to recollect what has been the proceeding of Parliament 
 on that subject. In 1826, Parliament having seen the facility with 
 which speculations could be undertaken by persons possessing no 
 capital, in consequence of the circulation of those one-pound bank- 
 notes — looking to the evils that resulted from those speculations, and 
 finding that a great number of banks in the country had failed in 
 consequence of such speculations — thought proper to pass a law to 
 prevent the circulation of this species of paper, after the lapse of 
 three years. A noble lord has said, that this measure of Parliament 
 occasioned the failure of a great number of country bankers. But I 
 beg the noble lord's pardon, he has not stated the fact correctly. Most 
 of the banks which about that period foiled, it ought to be recollected, 
 broke previously to the meeting of Parliament. 
 
 '• The fact is, that it was the breaking of the banks which occa- 
 sioned the measure, and not the measure the breaking of the banks. 
 But we have now accomplished the measure adopted in 182G; that 
 measure is now carried into execution ; the currency of the coun- 
 try is now sufficient ; bank-notes, 5/., and above 51. in value, are in 
 circulation ; and I will assert this fact, that there is at present more 
 of what I may call state currency in circulation — more notes of
 
 APPENDIX. 329 
 
 the Bank of England and sovereigns — a greater quantity of circu- 
 lating medium of those two denominations, than there has been at 
 any former period before the late war, or before the Bank Restriction 
 Act was passed. I beg leave, my Lords, to ask, what want is there 
 of any additional circulation, when the circulation is at present greater 
 than ever it was ? Is it necessary to have a more extended circu- 
 lation, to afford the means of procuring loans of money to those 
 •who have no capital and no credit 1 I contend that this is a state of 
 things that ought not to exist in any country. Persons who really 
 possess credit, can raise money at the present moment with every 
 facility that is reasonable or proper. But, undoubtedly, those who 
 hare no credit, are deprived of the facilities of borrowing money, 
 which they formerly enjoyed, because there is no longer a large class 
 of persons dealing in one-pound notes, to assist them in carrying on 
 their speculations. This is the real state of the case. It was this 
 situation of affairs that gave rise, and justly gave rise, to the measure 
 of 1826 — a measure which I trust that Parliament will persevere in, 
 for the purpose of placing the country in a proper state. It has been 
 said truly, that nothing is so desirable as to see the country carrying 
 on its mercantile transactions with a paper currency founded on, and 
 supported by, a metallic basis. Now, your lordships must be aware, 
 that is exactly the sort of currency which the country has got at pres- 
 ent ; and, in proportion as the country goes on conquering its difficul- 
 ties — the existence of that currency still being continued — we shall 
 see prosperity daily revive, and we shall see mercantile transactions 
 carried on as they ought to be, without any mixture of those ruinous 
 speculations, to which so much of the prevailing distress must be 
 attributed. 
 
 " But, my Lords, the noble lord, in tracing out the sources of this 
 distress, has omitted one of the great causes of it. He has not ad- 
 verted to the immense loss of capital which has been sustained by 
 the country during the last six: or eight years, in consequence of loans 
 to foreign powers — of which neither principal nor interest has been 
 paid, nor ever will, in my opinion, be paid. The noble lord has not 
 adverted to the effect which that loss of capital must have produced, 
 with respect to the employment of industry in all parts of the coun- 
 try. In the next place, the noble lord has not adverted to the effect 
 which those loans must have had on the trade and manufactures 
 of the country, in consequence of the glut in foreign markets, occa- 
 sioned by the forced exportation of goods on account of such trans- 
 actions. In most instances, my Lords, no returns were made on 
 account of those goods, and even when returns were made, they were
 
 330 APPENDIX 
 
 of the most unsatisfactory description. The noble lord has not ad- 
 verted to the fact, that these returns, when any were received, came 
 home in the shape of interest, and did not, of course, require any de- 
 mand or export from this country. 
 
 " Surely all these things should be considered, when the noble lord 
 speaks of the distress the country is labouring under. That distress 
 has fallen not only on the manufacturing and commercial interests, 
 but also on those who have encouraged and embarked in the various 
 schemes and speculations which have done the country so much misr 
 chief" 
 
 Marj 2Gth, 1829. 
 
 APPENDIX, No. V. 
 
 THE DUKE IN THE NETHERLANDS, 1815. 
 
 After the first one hundred pages of this volume were in type, the 
 author's attention was drawn to an article in the '• Quarterly Review," 
 of June, 1845, reviewing the works of Captain Siborne, Colonel 
 Mitchell, and Marshal Marmont. The review disposes of certain of 
 the errors and conclusions of these respectable authorities, and pre- 
 sents a few interesting facts which had not previously been made pub- 
 lic. It would be absurd and unnecessary to reprint this article of 
 forty-five pages, even if in the foregoing biography the whole of the 
 errors of the authors had been repeated ; but no " Life" of the Duke 
 can be complete which does not contain all the authenticated facts 
 and justifications relating to so great and distinguished a man ; and 
 certain portions of the article are therefore transferred below. It 
 may be added, that one great inducement to the republication of even 
 so much of the article, is the assurance the author has received from 
 a competent quarter, that the review was commenced by Colonel Gur- 
 wood, the compiler of the " Despatches," continued by the Earl of 
 Ellesmere, and revised and concluded by the Duke of Wellington 
 himself: — 
 
 " If anything could add to the credit which the Duke deserves for 
 those arrangements for the collection and movement of the force 
 under his own command, which were calculated to meet every con- 
 tingency and overcome every difficulty of his defensive position, it 
 would be that in a matter entirely beyond his control these essential
 
 APPENDIX. 331 
 
 and unavoidable difficulties should liave been aggravated by one of 
 those accidents to which all military operations, but especially those 
 of allied armies, are exposed. At five o'clock in the morning of the 
 15th (June, 1815), it was apparent to the Prussians that the attack 
 upon the advanced corps of General Ziethen was a serious one, a bond 
 fide movement of Napoleon by Charleroi. This certainty was the 
 one thing needful in the eyes of the Duke of Wellington ; with it his 
 course was clear, and without it he was, as we have seen, determined 
 not to move a regiment from its cantonments. We cannot explain 
 how it happened, but we are certain that it was by no fault of the 
 British Commander-in-Chief that no Prussian report of the transaction 
 reached Brussels till five in the afternoon. The distance being about 
 forty miles, there can be no question that the intelligence on which 
 he acted might and ought to have reached him by 10 a.m. As it was, 
 the Prince ef Orange was the first to bring the news, soon after three 
 o'clock, P.M., having ridden in from the advanced posts at Binche to 
 dine with the Duke. The latter was well aware, by accounts received 
 from the direction of Mons, that the enemy was in motion, and for 
 that reason had taken care to remain during the day at his head-quar- 
 ters, or within a few yards of them, having declined a proposal to ac- 
 company His Koyal Highness the Duke of Cumberland on a visit to 
 the Duchess of Richmond, without, however, spreading premature 
 alarm by assigning the true reason. Orders for the movement of the 
 troops were issued on the receipt of these first accounts from the 
 Prince of Orange, and further orders were issued at about five, after 
 an interview with the Prussian Greneral Miifiling, who was stationed at 
 Brussels, and had at length received his reports from General Ziethen. 
 It is clear that — if a circumstance over which the Duke had no control 
 Lad not thus operated to his disadvantage, and directly in favour of 
 his adversary — the orders which were issued at 5 p.m. might have been 
 given out at 10 in the morning. 
 
 " The accident in itself was a purely Prussian one ; for the intelli- 
 gence to be received was to come, not from Sir H. Hardinge and 
 Bliicher's head-quarters to the Duke, but from General Ziethen at 
 the advanced posts of the Prussian lines to General Muffling ; and 
 the Duke is to be blamed tor it precisely as much as he is for the 
 more famous failure of the dispatch to General Bulow von Dennewitz, 
 which led to the absence of the 4th Prussian corps from the field of 
 Ligny. 
 
 " It is a mistake to suppose, as Captain Siborne does, that on the 
 morning of the 17th (or even on the night of the 16th) the Duke
 
 332 APPENDIX. 
 
 was uninformed of what had occurred on the Prussian field of battle. 
 He had at the Prussian head-quarters a staff-officer. Colonel Sir 
 Henry Hardinge, who sent him repeated reports during the battle. 
 He had written one after he was himself severely wounded, which 
 was brought to the Duke by his brother, Captain Hardinge of the 
 artillery, with a verbal message given after nightfall. Till nightfall, 
 moreover, the Duke could see ; and, need it be added, did see with 
 his own eyes from Quatre Bras what passed on the Prussian field of 
 battle. With his glass he saw the charge and failure of the Prussian 
 cavalry, Bliicher's disaster, and the retreat of the Prussian army from 
 the field of battle. Captain Wood, of the 10th Hussars, then at the 
 outposts, pushed a patrole towards the Prussian field of battle at 
 daylight, and ascertained and immediately reported to the Duke that 
 the Prussians were no longer in possession of it. The Duke then 
 sent, as Captain Siborne narrates, with another squadron of the 10th, 
 under Captain Grey, Sir A. Gordon, who had been with his Grace on 
 the Prussian field of battle the preceding day, and therefore knew the 
 ground, in order to communicate with the rear-guard of the Prussian 
 army, and to ascertain their position and designs. Sir A. Gordon 
 found the field of battle deserted, except by a few French videttes ; 
 these were driven in, and Gordon with his squadrons crossed the 
 field of battle unmolested, and communicated verbally with General 
 Ziethefi, commanding the Prussian rear-guard, at Sombref, on the 
 road to Namur, where the Prussian left had rested in the battle of 
 the preceding day. Having accomplished this service, the Duke's 
 aide-de-camp returned, as he had gone, unmolested, to Quatre Bras. 
 If Sir A. Gordon had lived, probably Captain Siborne might have 
 learned the real account of the transaction from him, and would then 
 have known that the patrole moved the whole way to Sombref, and 
 brought back, not a vague report that the Prussians had retreated to- 
 wards Wavre, but the most positive accounts of their movements and 
 intentions. 
 
 " As soon as Gordon returned with his patrole, the Duke gave orders 
 for the army to occupy the position in front of Waterloo, of which 
 he had a perfect knowledge, having seen it frequently, and of which 
 no knowledge could have been had by any other officer in the army. 
 The road to and through the village of Genappes having been cleared 
 of all hospital and store carriages, and of every impediment, the 
 infantry and artillery were put in motion in broad daylight, in differ- 
 ent columns, to cross the different bridges over the Dyle. These 
 movements were as regular as on a parade. The outposts, particu- 
 larly those of the riflemen, were kept standing, and movements were
 
 APPENDIX. 333 
 
 made by the British cavalry so as to attract the enemy's attention 
 and conceal the retrograde movement of the infantry. The cavalry 
 remained on the ground, and the Commander-in-Chief with them, till 
 between three and four of the afternoon. In this position he saw 
 more than Captain Siborne appears to be aware of He saw all that 
 was done on and near the lately-contested ground of Ligny, the 
 detachment of Grouchy's corps towards Wavre. following the retreat 
 of Bl (idler, and the march of the main mass of the French army along 
 the great road from Sombref No movement was made in his front, 
 and he did not order the retreat of his cavalry till the advanced patroles 
 of the enemy had touched the videttes on the high road on his left. 
 The retreat of our cavalry was undoubtedly facilitated by a storm, 
 which made it difficult for either party to manoeuvre off the main 
 roads. With the single exception, however, of the affair at Genappes 
 with the French lancers, it was conducted with as much security as 
 that of the infantry, and the army found itself in the evening collected 
 from every quarter on that famous and well-chosen ground, with 
 every feature of which the Duke was familiar. The Duke was on the 
 field at daybreak, in spite of weathei*, after having written some let- 
 ters to the King of France and others. He visited the posts in 
 Hougomont, and gave orders for the defensive works ft)r musketry, 
 which were formed in the garden. He rode thence to La Haye Sainte 
 and on to the extreme left of his position. It is a curious circumstance, 
 not mentioned by the historians, that having throughout the night 
 from the 17th to the 18th, communicated by patroles, through Ohain 
 with the Prussian cor2)S cV armee on its march from ^Yavre, he saw 
 the Prussian cavalry collected in a mass on the high ground on the 
 Waterloo side of the defile of St. Lambert at an early hour of the 
 day, at least an hour before the commencement of the battle — the 
 very cavalry that is represented to have been seen from the French 
 head-quarters in a letter written by Marechal Soult to Marechal 
 Grouchy, dated at half-past one, which letter is printed by Grouchy 
 in a pamphlet published in the United States, and given in a note to 
 
 page 400 of Captain Siborne's first volume. 
 
 # * * * # 
 
 '■'• The course of our observations, which have insensibly almost 
 degenerated into narrative, has brought us to a critical period of the 
 drama. If we look back through the preceeding acts we shall see that 
 no passage of the Duke's campaigns is more pregnant with evidence 
 of the omnipresent, indefatigable, personal activity, and impertur- 
 bable coolness which distinguished him. than the period which has 
 come under our notice. We have seen that on the morning of the
 
 834 APPENDIX. 
 
 16tli, while Ney was preparing his attack and closing up his columns, 
 which, when he took their command, extended for some twelve miles 
 to his rear, the Duke found time for an interview with the Prussian 
 General at Ligny. He returned to Quatre Bras in time for the 
 opening of that conflict. He reconnoitered in person the wood of 
 Bossu, and was indeed the first to discover that the attack was about 
 to be made by a very large body of troops. A straggling fire had 
 been going on since morning, but the officers whom he found on the 
 spot still doubted whether a serious attack was impending. The 
 Duke's quick eye, however, detected an officer of high rank reviewing 
 a strong body, and his ear caught the sound, familiar to it as the pre- 
 cursor of such scenes, — ' L^Einpereur recompensera celui qui s'avan- 
 cera? He instantly recommended the Prince of Orange to withdraw 
 his advanced parties, and the few Belgian guns, which were in an 
 advanced and exposed position. The attack instantly ensued, not to 
 cease till nightfall. According to his uniform practice, and certainly 
 with not less than his usual care, the Duke posted all the troops 
 himself, and no movement was made but by his order. He was on 
 the field till after dark, as long as any contest lasted. When at the 
 close of that weary day others were sinking to rest on the ground 
 they had so bravely maintained, and while the chain of British outposts 
 was being formed for the night, far in advance of the ground origin- 
 ally occupied, one of the cavalry regiments, which were then arriving 
 in rapid succession, reached the spot where the Duke was sitting. It 
 was commanded by an intimate friend of the Duke — by one of the 
 gentlest, the bravest, and most accomplished soldiers who ever sat in 
 an English saddle, the late General Sir Frederick Ponsonby. He 
 found the Duke reading some English newspapers which had just 
 reached him, joking over their contents, and making merry with the 
 lucubrations of London politicians and speculators on events. 
 
 " The condition meanwhile of the said politicians at home, including 
 the Cabinet, was past a joke. It was one which the profundity of 
 their ignorance alone made endurable. If hostilities were now in 
 progress in Belgium and a British army in the field, steamers would 
 be plying between Ostend and London or Dover, frequent and 
 punctual as those which crowd the river from London Bridge to 
 Greenwich in Whitsun week. A fresh lie and a new exaggeration 
 would reach the Stock Exchange at intervals of a quarter of an hour. 
 With such means of communication Bliicher's losses on the 16th 
 would have been operating on the funds within a few hours of their 
 report at Brussels, and the Prussian retreat from Ligny would have 
 more than counterbalanced, in public opinion, the maintenance of
 
 APPENDIX. 335 
 
 our position at Quatre Bras. To a late hour of the 20th of June 
 however, the smuggler had been the only organ of intelligence to the 
 English Cabinet, and nothing but vague accounts that the French 
 army was in motion had been conveyed by these lug-sailed messengers. 
 It was thus that the first authentic intelligence, though it contained 
 the bane of a serious disaster to the Prussian arms, was qualified not 
 merely by the antidote of the Duke's success at Quatre Bras but 
 by the following additional facts ; — that the Duke was at the head of 
 his own army collected in a position of his own choice, in high 
 confidence and spirits, in military communication with Bliicher and 
 on the point of engaging with Napoleon. The bearer of this stirring 
 intelligence, which the nerves of Lord Castlereagh were better strun» 
 to receive than those of Lord Liverpool, was the Eight Honourable 
 Maurice Fitzgerald, the Knight of Kerry^ Like many other civilians 
 he had been attracted by the interest of the scene and hour to 
 Brussels about a fortnight previous to the commencement of hostili- 
 ties. As an old and valued friend of his illustrious countryman, he 
 had been a constant guest at head-quarters ; among other adventures 
 of some interest, had visited the ground of Quatre Bras on the 1 7th, 
 and had remained there till the commencement of the retreat of the 
 cavalry, when he had returned to Brussels. Having been favoured 
 by him with a memorandum of his recollections, we can now present, 
 in words better than our own, the circumstances under which he be- 
 came entrusted with such a communication, and the effect it produced 
 on those who received it. Not being able, with reference to our 
 limits, to insert the memorandum in extenso^ we must premise that our 
 friend had been induced by circumstances to leave Brussels at a very 
 early hour on the 18th with the intention, not of returning to Eng- 
 land, but of endeavouring to reach the head-quarters of General Sir 
 C. Colville, whose division was on the right of the British army. 
 Ghent was his first object, but being advised that the direct route 
 was encumbered, he proceeded thither by Antwerp. The Knight was 
 accompanied by the late Marquis of Ormonde : and he says — 
 
 " ' We arrived at Antwerp about five in the morning, and after 
 refreshing ourselves and looking at the cathedral for about an hour, 
 we proceeded to Ghent as fast as we could, and arrived there about 
 two o'clock. We dined with the commanding officer of the 29th 
 regiment, who had been an old acquaintance of Lord Ormonde. 
 We engaged a carriage and arranged to proceed after midnight for 
 the Division of the army under General Colville. I was just entering 
 the hotel between six and seven in order to go to bed, when Sir P. 
 Malcolm drove up from Brussels. I told him our plan, when he 
 
 2y
 
 836 APPENDIX. 
 
 earnestly entreated me to wait till he had returned from the King of 
 France, then at Ghent, to whom he was going to convey a message 
 from the Duke of "Wellington. I waited accordingly ; on his return 
 he pressed me in the most earnest manner to proceed to London and 
 communicate to the Government what had occurred. He argued the 
 necessity of such a course, from the Duke of Wellington having 
 declared to him that morning that he would not write a line until he 
 had fought a battle, and from the false and mischievous rumours 
 which had circulated and gone to England, and the total ignorance of 
 the English government as to what had taken place. He said that 
 he was desirous of writing to the First Lord of the Admiralty, but 
 that etiquette precluded his entering into any details on military sub- 
 jects when the General had not written : that if I consented I would 
 greatly relieve the Government, and do essential public service, as, in- 
 dependent of the Prussian case, of which I knew more than any other 
 individual could communicate to the Government, there were subjects 
 of a most confidential nature which he would entrust to me to be told 
 to Lord Castlereagh, our Foreign Minister ; that he would put me 
 into a sloop of war at Ostend and send me across at once. I how- 
 ever, rather reluctantly assented. He then told me he had left the 
 Duke at half-past ten that morning with the army in position on 
 ground which he had already examined, determined to give battle, 
 and confident of success, and that he was in military communication 
 with Marshal Bliicher. 
 
 " ' "We accordingly changed our route and proceeded at once to 
 Ostend, where the Admiral wrote a few lines, merely saying that 
 Bonaparte had defeated the Prussians with great loss, that the Duke 
 was in position as described before, that he had prevailed on the 
 Knight of Kerry to convey that despatch, who also could furnish all 
 particulars which were as yet known, for the information of the 
 Government. We had rather a slow passage. After we were under 
 weigh a gendarme, with some mail bags in a boat, overtook the vessel, 
 and said reports had just arrived that the Duke of Wellington was 
 driving the French at all points. We proceeded at once, after landing 
 at Deal, to town, and arrived at the Admiralty at half-past four 
 (Tuesday, June 20th). Lord Melville had gone to the House of 
 Lords, whither I followed him ; and on presenting the despatch he 
 immediately summoned the Cabinet Ministers from both Houses to 
 meet in the Chancellor's room, which they did instantly. 
 
 " ' I was requested to communicate the particulars referred to in 
 Admiral Malcolm's letter ; I said (in order to avoid anything 
 unnecessary) I wished to know how far the Cabinet was already
 
 APPENDIX. 337 
 
 informed of what had occurred ; Lord Liverpool said that they knew 
 nothing. I asked if they had not heard of the battle with the 
 Prussians. He said, ^ No." I then asked had they not heard that 
 Xapoleon had moved his army 1 He said that reports by smugglers 
 to that effect had come across, but that nothing was certain. I then 
 gave a detail of all the circumstances that had come to my knowledge, 
 and endeavoured to impress on them the utmost confidence in the 
 success of the Duke of Wellington in any battle that should take 
 place. I stated the nature of the driving in of the Prussians on the 
 15th. as explained to me by the Commandant at Mons. I was enabled 
 to describe very particularly the glorious battle at Quatre Bras, as 
 given to me by a gallant oflB.eer of the Eifle Brigade, who was near 
 the Duke during its continuance, and who was wounded there : he 
 gave me a very clear account of the action, and affirmed that he had 
 never seen his Grace expose himself so much personally, or so 
 thoroughly direct every part of the operations, in any of the Penin- 
 sular fights with which he was familiar. I explained, on Sir Colin 
 Campbell's authority, the Duke"s thorough knowledge of the ground 
 which he had occupied on the morning of Sunday (the 16th). 
 
 " ' Ministers expressed their great relief and gratification at the 
 intelligence I had furnished, as the town had been inundated with 
 the most alarming and dangerous rumours, and that from the length 
 of time since they had received any positive communication from the 
 Duke of Wellington, considerable anxiety undoubtedly existed, but 
 that I had effectually removed it On the following morning early 
 I called on Lord Castlereagh before he went to his of&ce. I asked 
 him whether he thought I had impressed upon the Cabinet the perfect 
 confidence which I myself felt as to the Duke"s success. He said I 
 had, but that he wished for a good deal of conversation with me. I 
 then explained to him those particulars which Admiral Malcolm had 
 desired me confidentially to convey, particularly as to what concerned 
 the position and personal safety of the French king, and other points 
 which it is tmnecessary to recapittilate. We had a most interesting 
 discussion on the whole state of the two countries as relating to the 
 war. It was certainly gratifying to me to have relieved the anxiety 
 of Ministers, and through them of the public, but Sir P. Malcolm lost 
 me the march to Paris.' 
 
 " Of the numerous critics of the Belgian (^mpaign, some have 
 been disposed to consider that the Prussians on the 16th were slow 
 in bringing their columns to bear effectively on the French right 
 We have reason to believe that the individual who would have had 
 most cause for complaint on this score would be the last to entertain 
 
 VOL. n. 22
 
 338 APPENDIX. 
 
 this charge. We feel very certain that if the Duke could have 
 exchanged commands with Bliicher or Bulow on that day, he would 
 have been very cautious how he brought into action by driblets even 
 that portion of the Prussian troops which had not actually shared the 
 discomfiture of Ligny. Captain Siborne judiciously avoids casting 
 any reflection on the Prussians, though he states the fact that General 
 Ziethen refused to detach any portion of his troops for the purpose 
 of strengthening, by their partial aid, the British line of battle at 
 a moment certainly of great pressure. We doubt not that Ziethen's 
 orders on this head were strict. We believe them to have been 
 dictated by a wise caution, and we look upon the conduct of the 
 Prussians and their commander on the 18th with no feeling but that 
 of admiration for the energy with which they had rallied after discom- 
 fiture, and the boldness with which they left General Thielman to 
 Diake the best he could of it against Grouchy's superior force at 
 Wavre. Before the retreat on the morning of the 17th, speculation 
 was busy among our officers on the outposts at Quatre Bras as to the 
 probable results of the affair of the previous day to the Prussian force. 
 A party of them was joined by Captain, now Colonel, Wood, who had 
 just returned from the patrole service mentione,d above. Will they 
 stop before they reach the Rhine ? was a question started by one. 
 Captain Wood, who had seen much service with the Prussians, having 
 been on the staff of Sir C. Stewart (now Lord Londonderry) in 1813 
 and 1814, replied, 'If Bliicher or Bulow be alive, you may depend 
 upon it they will stop at no great distance.' The young officer was 
 right, as Napoleon found to his cost. We know that, whatever in- 
 competent critics may say, the highest testimony to the co-operation 
 of the Prussians in every particular, that of the Duke, has been ever 
 since unvaried and uncompromising ; nor has he ever stopped or 
 stooped to consider whether by doing justice to the fame of his allies 
 he might give a handle to his enemies to detract from his own. 
 
 "We do not on this occasion choose to enter upon any formal 
 criticism of Napoleon as a general. We must, h'owever, say, that if 
 English writers were as much disposed to detract from his reputation 
 as they are to cavil at the conduct of the Duke and Bliicher, some 
 documents under his own hand would afford them matter for 
 animadversion. Take, for instance. Napoleon's two letters to Marshal 
 Ney, written early on the 16th, from Charleroi. They are addressed 
 to a man who has just been placed at the head of some 40,000 men, 
 so much a V improviste^ that he did not even know the names of his 
 officers, or what the Germans call the dislocation of his troops, much
 
 APPENDIX. 339 
 
 less the nature of the country, or the amount of the force in his 
 front ; and who was so unprovided with staff-officers, that he was 
 obliged to select them at the moment from regiments »of the line ; 
 yet this man, in the first of these letters, received at about eleven 
 o'clock of the 16th, is directed to be at Brussels by seven o'clock the 
 next morning, and in the second it is assumed as matter of high pro- 
 bability that the English had already retired from Brussels and 
 Nivelles. Let it not be forgotten that Napoleon's means of learning 
 or guessing at the Duke's dispositions were far greater than any 
 which the Duke possessed of learning what passed within the French 
 lines. We will venture, without blaming Napoleon in our ignorance 
 of his grounds for belief, to say, that if at any one period of the 
 Duke's career he had given orders so impracticable to execute, or 
 displayed ignorance so complete as is indicated in these two letters to 
 Ney, his Despatches would have been reprinted by the Radical press, 
 and quoted in the House of Commons as evidence of his incapacity 
 for command. 
 
 " The only real gleam of success to the French arms at Waterloo 
 was that occupation of the farm of La Haye Sainte, to which we have 
 adverted. From Captain Siborne's narrative it is easy to infer the 
 absurdity of the proposition maintained by some writers, that the loss 
 of this post was one of small importance and little injury to the 
 British army. It was a serious annoyance ; it led to some addi- 
 tional loss of life and limb in our ranks — Lord Fitzroy Somerset's 
 right arm is an instance — it gave facilities to the French for their 
 repeated attacks on our centre ; and in the event of our being com- 
 pelled to retire, it would have been of great advantage to them. It 
 might have been avoided, for it was occasioned by nothing but 
 exhaustion of the ammunition for its garrison. There was but one 
 communication with the farm, by a gateway on the road from Brussels 
 to GenappeSj and this was commanded by the French artillery, An 
 easy remedy might have been, but unfortunately was not, adopted — 
 namely, to break out a communication through the back wall of the 
 farm-house, which would have been available not only for the intro- 
 duction of ammunition, but for the relief and reinforcement, if neces- 
 sary, of the garrison. We doubt whether in any continental service 
 the neglect of so minute a feature in a general action (whatever its 
 eventual importance) would be laid to the account of a commander-in- 
 chief We have reason, however, to believe that the Duke has 
 often volunteered to bear its responsibility ; and, as it is the only 
 confession he has had to make, we shall not dispute the point with 
 his Grace.
 
 840 APPENDIX. 
 
 " After the repulse of the various attacks made upon our centre, 
 first by cavalry, then by infantry, and thirdly by the two combined, 
 it was expected that the next would be made by cavalry, infantry, 
 and artillery combined. It was obvious that our troops would require 
 extension of line to engage with the infantry, and solidity to engage 
 with the cavalry ; but they could not have the necessary extension if 
 formed in squares as before, nor the necessary solidity if formed in 
 line in the usual order, two deep. They were therefore formed four 
 deep. "With this formation they crushed with their fire, or scattered 
 with the bayonet, every description of force which came against 
 them : and yet some tacticians have been found to censure this feature 
 also in the Duke's dispositions. When at last their long endurance 
 was rewarded by their finding themselves in possession of the enemy's 
 position, and of every gun of that artillery which had decimated their 
 ranks, a singular, and we believe novel, feature of the scene served to 
 disclose the sudden and complete nature of the route of their antag- 
 onists. Where the French reserves had been posted in rear of the 
 front line, the muskets of considerable bodies of men were found 
 piled and abandoned — a circumstance which shows how rapid may be 
 the contagion of despair even in the ranks of a nation never excelled 
 for exploits either of collective or individual bravery. The British 
 troops soon made over the task of pursuit to their less exhausted 
 allies. Very forward among the British horsemen at this period, 
 riding with a slack rein and somewhat of a Leicestershire seat, might 
 be seen an English gentleman in the ordinary attire of that respect- 
 able but unmilitary character : this was Lord Apsley, the present 
 Earl Bathurst, who had assisted at the battle as an amateur from its 
 commencement, and who followed its fortunes to the last. Before 
 the first shot was fired, his lordship had fallen in at the right of our 
 line with Lord Hill, who in his own quiet and comfortable manner 
 addressed him, ' Well, my Lord, I think your lordship will see a great 
 battle to-day.' ' Indeed !' ' Yes, indeed, my Lord ; and I think the 
 French will get such a thrashing as they have seldom had.' A fair 
 specimen of the spirit in which our old campaigners met the prestige 
 of Napoleon's presence. It was the simple confession of faith and 
 conviction founded on experience ; for who ever heard boast or 
 bravado from the lipa of the Shropshire farmer? Lord Apsley, 
 having ultimately ridden to the extreme of the English pursuit, was, 
 we believe, on returning to head-quarters, the first t© comoiunicate 
 to the Duke that the whole of the FreAck artilleary «<r»a in our 
 possession.
 
 APPENDIX. 341 
 
 " In the third and revised edition of Mr. Alison's ' History,' we 
 read : — 
 
 '"Wellington and Bliicher, at this critical period, were either 
 without correct information as to the enemy's real designs, or relying 
 upon secret intelligence, which was to be forwarded to them from 
 Paris, as to his movements. This delay in collecting the troops, &c., 
 would furnish ground for a serious imputation on the Duke's military 
 conduct, were it not that it is now apparent he had been misled by 
 false information, perfidiously furnished, or as perfidiously withheld, 
 hy his correspondents at Paris^ who, unknoivn to him, had been gained 
 by Fouche.^ 
 
 " ' After re-quoting the story of the female spy from the production 
 impudently called Fouche's Memoirs. Mr. Alison then proceeds : — 
 
 " Extraordinary as this story is, it derives confirmation from the 
 following statement of Sir "Walter Scott, who had access to the best 
 sources of information, which he obtained at Paris a few weeks after 
 the battle. " I have understood," says he, " on good authority, that a 
 person, bearing for Lord Wellington's information a detailed and au- 
 thentic account of Bonaparte's plan for the campaign, was actually 
 dispatched from Paris in time to have reached Brussels before the 
 commencement of hostilities. This communication was entrusted to 
 a female, who was furnished with a pass from Fouche himself, and 
 who travelled with all dispatch in order to accomplish her mission ; 
 but, being stopped for two days on the frontiers of France, did not 
 arrive till after the battle of the 16th. The fact, for such I believe it 
 to be, seems to countenance the opinion that Fouche maintained a 
 correspondence with the allies, and may lead, on the other hand, to 
 the suspicion that, though he dispatched the intelligence in question, 
 he contrived so to manage that its arrival should be too late for the 
 purpose which it was calculated to serve. At all events, the appear- 
 ance of the French on the Sambre was at Brussels an unexpected 
 piece of intelligence." [Paul's Letters.) It is remarkable that Scott's 
 sagacity had in this instance divined the very solution of the question 
 which Fouche afterwards stated in his Memoirs as a fact. On the 
 other hand, Wellington says : " Avant mou arrivee a Paris au mois de 
 Juillet, je n'avais jamais vu Fouche, ni eu avec lui communication 
 quelconque, ni avec aucun de ceux qui sont lies avec lui." (Letter 
 to Dumouriez, Gurwood, vol. xii. p. 649.) If this statement was in- 
 consistent with the former, the Duke's high character for truth and 
 accuracy would have rendered it decisive of the point ; but in reality 
 it is not so. It only proves that the English general had had no 
 communication with Fouche, or those whom he knew to be his agents.
 
 342 APPENDIX. 
 
 '• Mr. Alison then goes on to show, from various passages of the 
 Duke's letters, that he was in communication at various periods with 
 persons at Paris, and cites one letter to a Mr. Henoul, in which a 
 lady is mentioned, 
 
 " It will appear from all the above that Mr. Alison has, in one of 
 his tacit corrections, borrowed without acknowledgment from the 
 Quarterly, withdrawn from his assertion that the Duke was knowingly 
 in correspondence with Fouche. He now shapes his imputation in 
 another form. He asserts that the Duke was not only in communi- 
 cation with certain puppets of Fouche's at Paris, but that he actually 
 governed his own military schemes, the position and movements of 
 his army, and rested the fate of Europe on the expectation or posses- 
 sion of intelligence from such quarters. If, as Burke said, a man 
 cannot live down these contemptible calumnies, he must put up with 
 them. If the Duke's life and exploits cannot acquit him of such 
 miserable simplicity in the eyes of Englishmen, we can give him little 
 assistance. Because the Duke says, on the 13th of June, ' I have 
 accounts from Paris of the 10th, on which day Bonaparte was still 
 there,' it is seriously argued that he was very likely to believe that 
 parties who supplied intelligence of a circumstance so recondite as 
 the presence of Bonaparte at the Tuileries, could and would also 
 supply the programme of Bonaparte's intended campaign. Mr. Alison, 
 however, still resting the weight of his structure on Fouche's 
 Memoirs, props up the rubbish of such a foundation by the authority 
 of ' Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk.' What does the extract from 
 such a work as ' Paul's Letters' prove ? It proves that when occu- 
 pied in the agreeable pastime of picking up anecdotes for a volume 
 of slight structure and momentary interest, Sir W. Scott gave a rash 
 credence to one then current at Paris, which was afterwards elabo- 
 rated by the literary forger of Fouche's name. It is on such authori- 
 ties as these that the author of a loork of tivcnty years fastens on the 
 Duke of Wellington a charge of credulous imbecility. Whatever be 
 the probabilities of the case, we have one sufficient answer, which we 
 can give on authority — it is totally and absolutely false. We re- 
 peat, and are enabled and bound to say that we repeat on authority, 
 that not one single passage of the Duke's conduct at this period was 
 in the remotest degree influenced by such causes as those invented 
 at Paris, and adopted by Mr. Alison. But the Duke had communi- 
 cations with Paris. To be sure he had. Common sense would indi- 
 cate, if the Despatches did not, that the Duke used what means 
 the iron frontier in his front permitted to obtain all obtainable in- 
 telligence from Paris. He would have been wanting in his duty if
 
 APPENDIX. 343 
 
 he had neglected such precaution. Such facts as the Emperor's con- 
 tinued presence in Paris, the strength of mustering corps, their re- 
 puted destination — ■ these, and a thousand such particulars, he doubt- 
 less endeavoured to get at, when he could, through channels more 
 rapid, if not more to be relied on, than the ' Moniteur.' It could 
 strike nobody as improbable that in some of these transactions an 
 agent of the softer sex might have been employed ; though we happen 
 to know for certain that none such played a part of importance 
 enough to secure her services a place in the recollection of any 
 Englishman at head-quarters. Even for obtaining such information 
 as this, the Duke was placed in a position which must have contrasted 
 singularly with the advantages he had in these respects enjoyed in the 
 Peninsula. It were but common fairness to scan for a moment the 
 points of diiference, and to observe how completely the relative 
 positions of the two antagonists were reversed. The grounds of 
 comparison are, however, pretty obvious, and an illustration may 
 serve the purpose better than a disquisition. 
 
 " On the night which preceded Sir Arthur Wellesley's first passage 
 of arms in Portugal, the affair of Iloliqa, he was roused from his sleep 
 in his tent by an urgent request for admittance on the part of a 
 stranger. The request was granted, and a monk was introduced. ' I 
 am come,' he said, ' to give you intelligence that General Thomiere, 
 who commands the French corps in your front, intends to retire be- 
 fore daylight ; and if you wish to catch him you must be quick.' 
 Such news, if true, justified the intrusion ; and it occurred to Sir 
 Arthur, who had not then attained the degree of drivelling which the 
 Duke of Wellington had reached in 1815, to inquire 'How do you 
 know the fact you acquaint me with?' The monk replied, 'When 
 Junot's army first entered Portugal, he was quartered in our convent, 
 that of Alcobaqa, and one of his staff shared my cell. The same officer 
 is again my lodger ; we are on intimate terms. This evening he was 
 busily engaged in writing. I stole behind him and placed my hands 
 over his eyes, as boys do in play, while he struggled to get loose, and 
 held him there till I had read the contents of the paper he was writing. 
 It was an order to General Thomiere to move his column at such an 
 hour, and in such a direction. I have stolen from the convent and 
 made my way to your quarters, to tell you my discovery.' We have 
 sometimes thought that this incident would have made a good subject 
 for Wilkie. For our purpose, it is not an inapt illustration of the 
 facilities for information at the command of a general moving in a 
 country where the peasantry and priesthood are heart and soul with 
 the cause he serves. Such at least are not at the disposal of a
 
 344 APPENDIX. 
 
 commauder compelled by circumstances to remain rooted for a period 
 in the face of a hostile nation, fenced by a triple line of fortresses, and 
 their place is ill supplied by padded petticoats and the gossip of a 
 metropolis. The plan of Bonaparte's campaign ? Can anything be 
 more childish than to suppose that the Duke could have relied, for 
 this is the question, on French traitors for such a document ? When 
 a fleet is about to sail on a secret expedition, a thousand circum- 
 stances are open to the inquiries of active agents. The very nature 
 of the stores embarked, the name of some officer ordered to join, will 
 often indicate its destination. The consequence generally is, that by 
 the time the sealed orders are opened in a specified latitude, the 
 enemy has enjoyed for weeks a full knowledge of the object of the 
 expedition. We well remember, in the summer of 1840, hearing that 
 certain intrenching tools were to be embarked for the Mediterranean, 
 and that a certain officer, famous for his application of such materials 
 at St. Sebastian and elsewhere, was to be picked up at Gibraltar. 
 We wanted no paid spy or treacherous clerk to tell us that Acre, or 
 possibly Alexandria, would feel the effi3ct of these preparations. 
 With respect to the general plan and scheme of the Duke's opera- 
 tions, as far as they depended on himself, they were open enough to 
 discovery, if missed by conjecture. They were necessarily subjects 
 of communication and concert with a dozen friendly powers mustering 
 their forces on different points from Ostend to the confines of Switzer- 
 land. It so happened that the plan of Bonaparte's campaign, which 
 could consist in nothing else but a choice of roads, was one which 
 it was unnecessary for him to communicate to a single human 
 being till he gave his orders from head-quarters for its prompt execu- 
 tion. 
 
 ***** 
 
 " It requires some knowledge of human nature to believe that a 
 respectable man, in possession of his senses, can, on a review of the 
 facts, continue to entertain the notion that surprise is a term appli- 
 cable to the position and conduct of the Duke. Let us suppose the 
 case of a country house in Tipperary, a period of Kockite disturbance^ 
 and a family which has received intelligence that an attack is to be 
 made upop it. The windows are barricaded as well as circumstances 
 will admit ; but the premises are extensive, and the hall door, the 
 kitchen and the pantry remain weak and assailable. The trampling 
 of footsteps is heard in the shrubbery. There would be advisers 
 enough, and confusion enough in consequence, if the head of the 
 family were a man who invited advice, but he is an old soldier whom 
 few would venture to approach with suggestions. His nerves are
 
 APPENDIX. 345 
 
 absolutely impassive to the fact that the assault is conducted by Rock 
 in person, but he knows that Rock has the initiative and the choice 
 of at least three eligible points of attack. He makes such disposition 
 of his force as leaves no point unwatched ; he keeps it well in hand, 
 and refuses to move a man till the sledge-hammer is heard at the point 
 selected. The attack is repulsed — all the objects of the defence are 
 accomplished, not a silver spoon is missing — most of the assailants 
 are killed, the gang dispersed, and its leader, who had escaped down 
 the avenue, is ultimately captured and transported for life — tranquil- 
 lity is restored to the Barony — the master of the house is knighted 
 for his gallant defence, and made a chief inspector of Police by the 
 Government, but is deprived of his office when the Whigs come into 
 power. Thirty years afterwards, an attorney of the county town, 
 who has lived in the main street all his life, and has never handled a 
 blunderbuss, writes an account of the transaction, collected from some 
 surviving under-servants, to show, first that the master was surprised, 
 and next that his force ought from the first to have been concentrated 
 in the pantry, because it was there that the main assault was ulti- 
 mately made. His informers have also succeeded in bamboozling 
 him with an absurd tale of an old woman who had been hired to de- 
 ceive the master by making him believe that the attack was post- 
 poned. 
 
 " It is not matter of theory and speculation, but of absolute demon- 
 stration, that whatever were the merits or demerits of the Duke's 
 proceedings, they were not an accident of the moment, the offspring 
 of haste and surprise, but strictly in accordance with and part of a 
 preconceived system of action, adopted, in concert with his allies, on 
 deep study and full knowledge of every circumstance of his position. 
 Mr. Alison has formed and persists in the opinion that he could have 
 managed the whole thing a great deal better. We do not believe 
 that any officer exists in her Majesty's service who will not rate that 
 opinion at its proper value. 
 
 " No man perhaps ever lived whose nervous system was less likely 
 to be affected by the mere prestige of Napoleon's name than the 
 Duke's ; but we have reason to believe that in one attribute the 
 Duke considered him pre-eminent over every one who could by pos- 
 sibility come under any comparison — that of promptitude and dexter- 
 ity in taking advantage of a false move. We may be permitted to 
 doubt whether this quality was ever, in any single instance, more 
 brilliantly exemplified by Napoleon than by Wellington at Sala- 
 manca ; but at all events, we know that it was considered by the 
 English Commander to be the leading characteristic of his opponent
 
 346 APPENDIX. 
 
 of 1815. The man to whom the Duke attributed this particular 
 pre-eminence had collected an army of veterans on the frontier of 
 the department of the North, one bristling with fortresses in which 
 he might cover and protect, and through which he might in safety 
 and secrecy move hundreds of thousands of troops ; while the allies, 
 whether to correct or improve a position erroneously taken up, must 
 have moved along the front of this formidable position, no part of 
 which could have been attacked by them. Up to a given moment at 
 least — the moment when the allied powers on the Rhine should be 
 ready to move oflf in concert, and keep the step — Napoleon had the 
 indisputable advantage of the first move. Secrecy, rapidity, and 
 choice of direction on vulnerable points, were equally at his command 
 with priority of movement. To rush at the centre, or to throw 
 himself on the communications of a force which leant not on the 
 country in its rear, but on Namur on the one hand, and Ostend on 
 the other, were modes of action equally practicable. We are inclined 
 to think that if by any magic the Duke could suddenly, with his own 
 knowledge of his own difiiculties, have been transformed into the 
 adviser of Napoleon, he would have suggested an attack by the line 
 of Hal on his own right. It is very certain that he considered such 
 an operation as one which, from its advantages, might well have at- 
 tracted his opponent's choice. We know this from the caution with 
 which, even at Waterloo, he provided against such a contingency. 
 With a view to this danger also, every possible exertion had been 
 made to put into a condition of defence Mons, Ath, Tournay, Ypres, 
 Ostend, Nieuport, and Ghent. The state in which the Duke found 
 these places had been such as to make it impossible, in the 
 time allowed him, to complete their defences. Still such progress 
 had been made as to justify him in endeavouring to compass the 
 great object of the preservation of the Belgian capital by occupy- 
 ing a position in advance of it, which without the support of those 
 places, he would, as we have reason to believe, not have ventured 
 to take up. The Duke and Bliicher certainly agreed to occupy 
 this outpost of the armies of coalised Europe on a system of their 
 own — one which they thought best calculated to meet the impending 
 storm in each and every of its possible directions. In the moment 
 of impending conflict the Duke certainly did not depart from it. 
 The first breathless courier — who might perhaps have brought 
 intelligence of a false attack — did not shake his calm and settled 
 purpose. 
 
 " It may well be, and we believe it, that no other man living 
 could have retained the imperturbable coolness which the Duke
 
 APPENDIX. 347 
 
 exhibited during the 15th at Brussels, and still less could have put 
 off to the last the moment of general alarm by going to a ball after 
 having given his orders. Nothing was more likely at the moment to 
 generate the idea of a surprise than the circumstance of this ball, 
 from which so many dancers adjourned to that supper of Hamlet, not 
 where men eat, but where they are eaten. The delusion, however, 
 fades before the facts of the General Orders to be found in Colonel 
 Gurwood's volume, and is not now worth further notice for purposes 
 of refutation. The details of the case, however, are but partially 
 known, and they are worth recording. The late Duke of Richmond, 
 an attached and intimate friend of the Commander in-Chief, was at 
 Brussels. He was himself a general officer ; had one son, the 
 present Duke of Richmond, on the staff of the Prince of Orange, 
 one on that of the Duke, and another in the Blues, and was at the 
 battle of Waterloo, but not in any military capacity.* The brother 
 of the Duchess, the late (and last) Duke of Gordon, was Colonel 
 of the 92nd or Gordon Highlanders, which, with the 42nd and 79th 
 Highland regiments, formed part of the reserve corps stationed 
 at Brussels. The Duchess had issued invitations for a ball for the 
 15th. Among other preparations for the evening she had engaged 
 the attendance of some of the non-commissioned ofl&cers and privates 
 of her brother's regiment and the 42nd, wishing to show her conti- 
 nental guests the real Highland dances in perfection. When the 
 news of the French advance reached head-quarters, it became mat- 
 ter of discussion whether or not the ball should be allowed to pro- 
 ceed. The deliberate judgment of the Duke decided that it should. 
 There were reasons good for this decision. It is sufficient on 
 this head to say that the state of public feeling in the Nether- 
 lands generally, and in Brussels in particular, was more than ques- 
 tionable. It was a thing desirable in itself to postpone to the 
 last the inevitable moment of alarm — to shorten as far as possible 
 that critical interval which must occur between the acting of a 
 dreadful thing and the first motion, between the public announce- 
 ment of actual hostilities and their decision in the field. Every 
 necessary order had been issued ; and such was that state of prepa- 
 ration and arrangement which wise men have since questioned and 
 criticised, that this operation had been the work of minutes, and 
 before the festal lamps were lighted, the fiery cross was on its way 
 
 1 "The Duke of Richmond was seen riding about the field, sometimes in situations of immi- 
 nent danger, in plain clothes, with his groom beliind him, exactly as if taking an airing in Hyde 
 Park. His Grace's appearance at one remarkable moment is picturesquely enough described by 
 Captain Sibome."
 
 848 APPENDIX. 
 
 through the cantonments. The general officers then in Brussels had 
 their instructions to attend and to drop off singly and without eclat^ 
 and join their divisions on the march. The Duke himself remained 
 later, occupied the place of honour at the supper, and returned 
 thanks for the toast to himself and the allied army, which was pro- 
 posed by General Alava. At about eleven a despatch arrived from 
 the Prince of Orange, shortly after reading which the Duke retired, 
 saluting the company graciously. On that countenance, cheerful 
 and disengaged as usual, none could read the workings of the calm 
 but busy mind beneath. The state of things, however, most awful 
 to those who could least distinctly be informed of it, had partially 
 transpired, and the fete had assumed that complexion which has been 
 perpetuated on the canvas of Byron. The bugle had sounded before 
 the orchestra had ceased. Before the evening of the following day, 
 some of the Duchess's kilted corps de hallet were stretched in the rye 
 of Quatre Bras, never to dance again. Rough transitions these — 
 moralists may sigh — poets may sing — but they are the Rembrandt 
 lights and shadows of the existence of the soldier, whose philosophy 
 must always be that of Wolfe's favourite song — 
 
 ' Why, soldiers, why, 
 Should we be melancholy then 
 Whose trade it is to die V 
 
 In this instance they were the results of a cool self-possession and 
 control, for a parallel instance of which biography may be searched in 
 vain. And yet this ball was a symptom and remains evidence of 
 surprise. 
 
 " We remember, some years ago, finding ourselves in company 
 with General Alava and a very distinguished naval officer who had 
 borne high command in the Tagus at the period of the occupation of 
 the lines of Torres Vedras. The latter had been a guest at a ball 
 which was given by Lord Wellington at Mafra, in November, 1810, 
 and he described the surprise with which the gentlemen of the navy 
 witnessed a numerous attendance of officers some twenty miles from 
 those advanced posts in front of which lay Massena and the French 
 army. General Alava's Spanish impatience broke out at this want 
 of faith, more suo — that is in a manner much more amusing to his 
 friends than complimentary to the excellent sailor whose ignorance of 
 the habits of land service, under the Duke, had provoked his indig- 
 nation. General Alava is gone, and has left behind him nothing 
 simik aut secundum for qualities of social intercourse."
 
 APPENDIX. 349 
 
 APPENDIX, No. yi. 
 
 THE DUKE ON THE DEFENCES OF ENGLAND. 
 
 TO MAJOR-GENERAL SIR JOHN F. BURGOYNE, K.C.B., <fec. 
 
 "Strathfieldsate, January 9«A, 18-17. 
 
 " My dear General, 
 
 " Some days have elapsed — indeed a fortnight has — since I 
 received your note, with a copy of your observations, on the possible 
 result of a war with France, under our present system of military 
 preparation. 
 
 " You are aware that I have for years been sensible of the alteration 
 produced in maritime warfare and operations by the application of 
 steam to the propelling of ships at sea. 
 
 " This discovery immediately exposed all parts of the coasts of those 
 islands which a vessel could approach at all, to be approached at all 
 times of tide, and in all seasons, by vessels so propelled, from all 
 quarters. We are, in fact, assailable, and at least liable to insult, and 
 to have contributions levied upon us on all parts of our coast, that is, 
 the coast of these including the Channel islands, which to this time, 
 from the period of the Norman conquest, have never been successfully 
 invaded. 
 
 " I have in vain endeavoured to awaken the attention of different 
 administrations to this state of things, as well known to our neigh- 
 bours (rivals in power, at least former adversaries and enemies) as it 
 is to ourselves. 
 
 " I hope that your paper may be attended with more success than 
 my representations have been. 
 
 " I have above, in few words, represented our danger. We have no 
 defence, or hope of defence, excepting in our fleet. 
 
 " We hear a great deal of the spirit of the people of England, for 
 which no man entertains higher respect than I do. But unorganised, 
 undisciplined, without systematic subordination established and well 
 understood, this spirit opposed to the fire of musketry and cannon, 
 and to sabres and bayonets of disciplined troops, would only expose
 
 350 APPENDIX. 
 
 those animated by such spirit to confusion and destruction. Let any 
 man only make the attempt to turn to some use this spirit in a case of 
 partial and local disturbance, the want of previous systematic organi- 
 sation and subordination will prevent him even from communicating 
 with more than his own menial servants and dependants ; and while 
 mobs are in movement through the country, the most powerful will 
 find that he can scarcely move from his own door. 
 
 " It is perfectly true that as we stand at present, with our naval 
 arsenals and dockyards not half garrisoned, 5000 men of all arms 
 could not be put under arms, if required, for any service whatever, 
 without leaving standing, without relief, all employed on any duty, 
 not excepting even the guards over the palaces and person of the 
 Sovereign. 
 
 " I calculate that a declaration of war should probably find our 
 home garrisons of the strength as follows, particularly considering that 
 one of the most common accusations against this country is, that the 
 practice has been to commence reprisals at sea simultaneously with a 
 declaration of war, the order for the first of which must have been 
 issued before the last can have been published. 
 
 " We ought to be with garrisons as follows at the moment war is 
 declared : — 
 
 Channel Islands, (besides the Militia of each, well organised, 
 
 trained, and disciplined) 10,000 men. 
 
 Plymouth 10,000 " 
 
 Milford 5,000 « 
 
 Cork 10,000 « 
 
 Portsmouth 10,000 « 
 
 Dover 10,000 " 
 
 Sheemess, Chatham, and the Thames 10,000 " 
 
 " I suppose that one-half of the whole regular force of the country 
 would be stationed in Ireland, which half would give the garrison of 
 Cork. The remainder must be supplied from the half of the whole 
 force at home stationed in Great Britain. 
 
 " The whole force employed at home in Great Britain and Ireland 
 would not afi"ord a sufficient number of men for the mere defence and 
 occupation, on the breaking out of war, of the works constructed for 
 the defence of the dockyards and naval arsenals, without leaving a 
 single man disposable. 
 
 " The measure upon which I have earnestly entreated difi'erent 
 administrations to decide, which is constitutional, and has been 
 invariably adopted in time of peace for the last eighty years, is to
 
 APPENDIX. 351 
 
 raise, embody, organise, and discipline the militia, of the same numbers 
 for each of the three kingdoms, united as during the late war. This 
 would give a mass of organised force amounting to about 150.000 
 men, which we might immediately set to work to discipline. This 
 alone would enable us to establish the strength of our army. This, 
 with an augmentation of the force of the regular army, which would 
 not cost 400,000/., would put the country on its legs in respect to per- 
 sonal force ; and I would engage for its defence, old as I am. 
 
 " But as we stand now ; and if it be true that the exertions of the 
 fleet alone are not sufficient to provide for our defence ; we are not safe 
 for a week after the declaration of war. 
 
 " I am accustomed to the consideration of these questions, and have 
 examined and reconnoitered, over and over again, the whole coast, 
 from the North Foreland, by Dover, Folkestone, Beachy-head, Brigh- 
 ton, Arundel, to Selsey Bill, near Portsmouth ; and I say that, ex- 
 cepting immediately under the fire of Dover Castle, there is not a 
 spot on the coast on which infantry might not be thrown on shore, at 
 any time of tide, with any wind, and in any weather, and from which 
 such body of infantry, so thrown on shore, would not find within the 
 distance of five miles, a road into the interior of the country, through 
 the cliffs, practicable for the march of a body of troops ; that in that 
 space of coast (that is, between the North Foreland and Selsey Bill.) 
 there are not less than seven small harbours, or mouths of rivers, 
 each without defence, of which an enemy, having landed his infantry 
 on the coast, might take possession, and therein land his cavalry and 
 artillery of all calibre and establish himself and his communications 
 with France. 
 
 " The nearest part of the coast to the metropolis is undoubtedly the 
 coast of Sussex, from the east and west side of Beachy-head and to 
 Selsey Bill. There are not less than twelve great roads leading from 
 Brighton upon London ; and the French army must be much altered 
 indeed since the time at which I was better acquainted with it, if 
 there are not now belonging to it forty Chefs d'Etat-Majors-General 
 capable of sitting down and ordering the march to the coast of 40,000 
 men, their embarkation, with their hurses and artillery, at the several 
 French ports on the coast; their disembarkation at named points 
 on the English coast,— that of the artillery and cavalry in named 
 ports or mouths of rivers, and the assembly at named points of the 
 several columns ; and the march of each of these from stage to stage 
 to London. 
 
 " Let any man examine our maps and road-books, consider the 
 matter, and judge for himself 
 
 2z
 
 352 APPENDIX. 
 
 " I know no mode of resistance, much less of protection, from this 
 danger, excepting by any army in the field capable of meeting and 
 contending with its formidable enemy, aided by all the means of forti- 
 fication which experience in war can suggest. 
 
 " I shall be deemed fool-hardy in engaging for the defence of the 
 empire with an army composed of such a force of militia. I may be 
 so. I confess it, I should infinitely prefer, and should feel more con- 
 fidence in, an army of regular troops. But I know that I shall not 
 have these ; I may have the others ; and if an addition is made to 
 the existing regular army allotted for home defence of a force which 
 will cost 400,000/. a year, there would be a sufficient disciplined 
 force in the field to enable him who should command to defend the 
 country 
 
 " This is my view of our danger and our resources. I was aware 
 that our magazines and arsenals were very inadequately supplied with 
 ordinance and carriages, arms, stores of all denominations, and ammu- 
 nition. The deficiency has been occasioned, in part, by the sale of 
 arms and of various descriptions of ordnance stores since the termi- 
 nation of the late war, in order to diminish the demand of supply 
 to carry on the peace service of the Ordnance ; in part by the con- 
 flagration of the arsenal which occurred in the Tower some years ago, 
 and by the difficulty under which all governments in this country 
 labour in prevailing upon Parliament, in time of peace, to take 
 into consideration measures necessary for the safety of the country in 
 time of war. 
 
 " The state of the ordnance, arms, ammunition, &c., in magazines, 
 is, in part, a question of expense, and perhaps, in some degree, one 
 of time. 
 
 " I would recommend to have an alphabetical list of the stores 
 examined by a committee, and made out in form, as upon the 
 enclosed half-sheet of paper, by ascertaining what there was in 
 1804, and what there is in store now, of each article, and the 
 difference between the two amounts. I have taken the year 1804 
 as the standard, as that was the year in which the invasion was 
 threatened. It was previous to the employment of the armies in 
 the Peninsula or North America; in short, as nearly as possible 
 similar to the political circumstances in which we stand at this 
 moment, excepting that we arc now at peace with France — we were 
 then at war. 
 
 " A fourth column would be the estimate of the expense of bringing 
 the magazines to the state in which they were in 1804. 
 
 " With this information before him, the Master-General could
 
 APPENDIX. 353 
 
 give the Government accurate information of the wants of ordnance, 
 arms, ammunition, and stores in the magazines of the country. 
 
 " You will see from what I have written that I have contemplated 
 the danger to which you have referred. I have done so for years. 
 I have drawn to it the attention of different administrations at 
 different times. You will see, likewise, that I have considered of 
 the measures of prospective security, and of the mode and cost of 
 the attainment. 
 
 " I have done more. I have looked at and considered these 
 localities in quiet detail, and have made up my mind upon the 
 details of their defence. These are the questions to which my mind 
 has not been unaccustomed. I have considered and provided for the 
 defence — the successful defence — of the frontiers of many countries. 
 
 " You are the confidential head of the principal defensive part of 
 this country. I will, if you and the Master-General of the Ordnance 
 choose, converse, or otherwise communicate confidentially with you 
 upon all the details of this subject ; will inform you of all that I 
 know, have seen, and think upon it, and what my notions are of the 
 details of the defensive system to be adopted and eventually carried 
 into execution. 
 
 " I quite concur in all your views of the danger of our position, 
 and of the magnitude of the stake at issue. I am especially sensible 
 of the certainty of failure if we do not, at an early moment, attend 
 to the measures necessary for our defence, and of the disgrace, the 
 indelible disgrace of such failure — putting out of view all the other 
 unfortunate consequences, such as the loss of the political and social 
 position of this country among the nations of Europe, of all its 
 allies, in concert with, and in aid of whom, it has, in our own times, 
 contended successfully in arms for its own honour and safety, and 
 the independence and freedom of the world. 
 
 " When did any man hear of the allies of a country unable to 
 defend itself? 
 
 " Views of economy of some, and I admit that the high views of 
 national finance of others, induce them to postpone those measures 
 absolutely necessary for mere defence and safety under existing 
 circumstances, forgetting altogether the common practice of successful 
 armies, in modern times, imposing upon the conquered enormous 
 pecuniary contributions, as well as other valuable and ornamental 
 property. 
 
 " Look at the course pursued by Franco in Italy and Kussia ! At 
 Vienna repeatedly, at Berlin, at Moscow, the contributions levied, 
 besides the subsistences, maintenance, clothing, and equipment of the 
 
 VOL. II. 23
 
 354 APPENDIX. 
 
 army wliich made the conquest ! Look at the conduct of the allied 
 army which invaded France, and had possession of Paris in 1815 ! 
 Look at the account of the pecuniary sacrifices made upon that 
 occasion, under their different heads of contributions, payments for 
 subsistence, and maintenance of the invading armies, including 
 clothing and other equipments, payments of old repudiated state 
 debts due to individuals in war in the different countries of Europe, 
 repayment for the contributions levied, and moveable and immoveable 
 property sold in the course of the revolutionary war. 
 
 " But such an account cannot be made out against this country. 
 No ! but I believe that the means of some demands would not be 
 wanting. Are there no claims for a fleet at Toulon in 1793? None 
 for debts left unpaid by British subjects in France, who escaped 
 from confinement under cover of the invasion, in 1814, by the allied 
 armies 1 Can any man pretend to limit the amount of the demand 
 on account of the contribution de guerre ? 
 
 " Then look at the conditions of the treaties of Paris, 1814, 1815. 
 
 " France having been in possession of nearly every capital in 
 Europe, and having levied contributions in each, and having had in 
 its possession or under its influence the whole of Italy, Germany, 
 and Poland, is reduced to its territorial limits as they stood in 1792. 
 Do we suppose that we should be allowed to keep — could we advance 
 a pretension to keep — more than the islands composing the United 
 Kingdom, ceding disgracefully the Channel Islands, on which an 
 invader had never established himself since the period of the Norman 
 Conquest? 
 
 " I am bordering upon seventy-seven years of age, passed in 
 honour. 
 
 " I hope that the Almighty may protect me from being the witness 
 of the tragedy which I cannot persuade my contemporaries to take 
 measures to avert. 
 
 " Believe me. ever yours sincerely, 
 
 "Wellington."
 
 APPENDIX. 355 
 
 APPENDIX No. yn. 
 
 THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AS AN AGRICULTURIST 
 AND LANDLORD. 
 
 (From the Illustrated London JVews.} 
 
 '' The Duke of Wellington was an agriculturist, not so much from 
 choice as a necessity or duty. The munificence of the nation 
 having provided him with the domain of Strathfieldsaye, he could do 
 no less than cultivate it. To say the truth, it required no little 
 attention. Those who selected it for the national purchase can 
 scarcely be said to have well exercised their judgment ; for it was, in 
 regard to agricultural value, little better than a waste. The Duke's 
 own remark about it was, that any man less wealthy than himself 
 would have been ruined by it. As it was, besides an amount origin- 
 ally laid out, the Duke spent every year's rental upon it, and still 
 there was much remaining to be done. 
 
 " The soil of the estate is clayey, very strong, and difficult of 
 drainage, being very wet. The first thing the Duke had to think 
 of was the drainage, which he commenced at once, and continued to 
 the last. Without it nothing whatever could have been done with so 
 uncongenial a soil. In addition to this, his Grace resorted very 
 extensively to chalking, a very expensive process, in consequence of 
 the cost of conveyance. Since the railway has been completed, this 
 part of the Duke's agricultural expenditure has been lessened, the 
 chalk being conveyed from the railway cutting. 
 
 " The land is chiefly used for producing corn and beans. The 
 mode of cultivation is thus described by Mr. Caird : — ' The system of 
 cultivation pursued is to plough up the clover lea after the second 
 crop is consumed in autumn, that the furrow may be exposed to the 
 pulverising effects of the frost and thaws of winter ; after which it 
 receives a clean summer fallow, being repeatedly ploughed and har- 
 rowed until it is brought into fine condition, when it is sown with 
 wheat in October. After the wheat is reaped, the land lies untouched 
 during the winter ; and, as soon as it is dry enough in spring, a heavy 
 dose of manure is spread upon it, which is immediately ploughed in,
 
 356 APPENDIX. 
 
 and the ground planted with beans. The beans are dibbled in by 
 women, who are employed by task-work, and who set the seed in rows, 
 marked by a garden-line. During the summer the land is carefully 
 hoed between the rows ; and, after the bean crop has been removed, 
 it is ploughed and sown with wheat. After that follows barley, 
 a portion of which is laid down with clover, the rest being reserved to 
 be sown in the following spring with peas, of which an excellent 
 variety, called the '•' Victoria Marrowfat," is in great favour, selling at 
 40s. the quarter. The average produce of wheat is from twenty-six 
 to thirty bushels per acre. From the nature of the land, it is found 
 very injurious to work it when wet, and a great number of horses are 
 therefore kept to push forward the work in favourable weather, a 
 farm of 300 acres having as many as sixteen work-horses upon it. 
 The only other stock consists of a few milch cows, some colts, and a 
 number of pigs, which go loose in the yards. Stall-feeding is little 
 practised, and, when tried, has been found very unprofitable ; but this 
 is not surprising, as fattening-oxen are fed on cake and other sub- 
 stances, costing IO5. 6d. a week for each animal.' In fact, the Duke 
 did his farming as he did all other things, well ; but with a regard to 
 the end to be attained by the outlay. By dint of perseverance and 
 judicious expenditure, he had contrived very much to enhance the 
 value of the property before he died. It is recorded, that he deter- 
 mined to ' do the best he could without it' — his unvarying maxim, as 
 a practical man, even in political affairs. He is said to have declared 
 that he did not consider himself entitled to lay by one shilling of the 
 rental at Strathfieldsaye, ' I am a rich man,' said he ; ' my son will 
 not be ; therefore he shall receive his patrimony in the very best 
 condition to which I can bring it. If he cannot keep it so, the fault 
 will not be mine.' This is so characteristic of the Duke's mind and 
 character, that we conceive it must be true. A deserved compliment 
 was paid to the Duke, as an agriculturist, by Professor Buckland, at 
 the meeting of the British Association, in 1844. ' The Prussian 
 Minister,' he said, ' had called the attention of the assembled agri- 
 culturists of England to the example of good farming set them by 
 the most illustrious of living warriors, the Duke of Wellington, who 
 had turned his glorious sword into a not less glorious ploughshare. 
 Near Strathfieldsaye may now be seen rich fields of barley and 
 turnips on naturally peat or clay lands, which, two or three years ago, 
 were reeking with moisture, and incapable of that rotation of green 
 and grain crops which all good farming requires. The Duke of 
 Wellington was, year after year, improving his clay lands, first, by 
 thorough draining, which is the indispensable precursor of all other
 
 APPENDIX. 357 
 
 improvements ; and, after drainage, spreading large quantities of chalk 
 over the surface of the clay. Not less than one thousand waggon- 
 loads of chalk had, during the last year, been brought from the neigh- 
 bourhood of Basingstoke to that of Strathfieldsaye.' 
 
 '' In point of fact, the Duke very early participated in that agricul- 
 tural movement which has tended more than any other cause to enable 
 England to make her great commercial sacrifices. 
 
 " As to the Duke of Wellington's character as a landlord, we have 
 heard conflicting statements. A man of his iron stamp, with his rigid 
 ideas of order, and habitual subordination of his own preference to 
 his sense of duty, would necessarily find himself from time to time 
 compelled to exercise his authority, or to resist encroachments. He 
 might, also, from his more conspicuous position, be more exposed to 
 those animadversions arising out of political feeling to which all 
 country gentlemen are more or less open, who do not choose to adopt 
 the popular side. There would not be wanting local politicians to 
 improve any such dispositions. It is more than probable that the 
 Duke was a just without being exactly a kind landlord, and that 
 many of his good acts fell on thankless soil, because the manner of 
 doing them was not captivating. In no other way can we reconcile 
 the statements we have heard ; one class of persons declaring that 
 the Duke was an excellent landlord and much respected, while others 
 will tell you that the whole neighbourhood was disaflFected and discon- 
 tented. It is certain that he did much good, according to his ideas ; 
 but there is also reason to think that his time and attention were so 
 occupied by his multifarious duties, that many of the minor kind- 
 nesses were left unperformed. Kind words often do more than the 
 best intentions, or even the most serviceable acts. As it was, the 
 Duke did his duty. After his near relative, the Rev. Gerald Welles- 
 ley, came to reside on the estate as the pastor of the place, the 
 condition of the people is said to have improved, and their feeling 
 stronger towards their landlord ; but this may be attributed not so 
 much to any previous neglect on the part of the Duke, as to the 
 effects of personal communication and superintendence. All that 
 good landlordism could do was done. Cottages were built, and plots 
 of land were given, with every facility for cultivation. One writer, 
 quoted in ' Wellingtoniana,' says that, ' Go where you would, whether 
 far or near, you would nowhere see a body of tenantry better lodged, 
 better provided with offices, better supplied with all manner of con- 
 veniences for the prosecution of their calling, than those which call 
 the Duke of Wellington their landlord. As a matter of course, the 
 Duke's tenants were extremely well pleased with their lot ; indeed, a
 
 S58 APPENDIX. 
 
 more popular man than he, among all classes of his neighbours, it would 
 be hard to find.' 
 
 " The Duke, besides paying the expense of drainage, used to con- 
 tribute the greater portion of the expense of ' chalking' his tenants' 
 lands. The farm-buildings are far superior to any of those on the 
 estates around. In this respect, the Duke was far superior to the 
 neighbouring landowners. Wood and thatch gave place, on his estate, 
 to brick and slate ; and from time to time the farm-houses were re- 
 built, or substantially repaired. The cottages of his labourers are 
 also unusually well built and provided, all being done with an especial 
 view to health and comfort. There were no middlemen on the estate, 
 every tenant holding direct from the Duke himself. Each cottage 
 has a quarter-of-an-acre allotment of garden ground, and for both, the 
 rental is Is. per week, or 21. 12s. per year. This is a lower rent than 
 is paid by the Belgian cottiers : they pay frequently a hundred francs 
 per year for worse accommodations. Rent on the Strathfieldsaye 
 estate is about il. an acre ; to which has been added 7s. an acre for 
 tithes ; and for rates 35. 6d. an acre ; so that the position of the ten- 
 ants, as tenants, cannot but be good. Upon the whole, therefore, the 
 balance of testimony is in favour of the Duke as a landlord ; and 
 much must be allowed for the natural grumbling of people who are 
 never contented, as also for that instinctive antagonism, founded on 
 political feeling, which almost always pursues a well-known public 
 character of opinions opposed to those of the multitude in his country 
 home. It is a gratifying reflection, that the Duke of Wellington, in 
 this phase of his character, is as worthy of our respect as in most 
 aspects of his civil life and career. 
 
 "THE DUKE'S ESTATE IN BELGIUK 
 
 " The Duke of Wellington was also a holder of property in foreign 
 countries. It is, of course, generally known that after the battle of 
 Waterloo, in addition to the many honours conferred upon the con- 
 queror, the then King of the Netherlands, William, conferred upon the 
 Duke-Prince an estate. Of this he retained possession during the re- 
 mainder of his life. 
 
 " The King evinced much delicacy in his choice of the locality of 
 this gift. It closely borders the scene of the great victory. The do- 
 main consists of about 1200 hectares, detached from the celebrated 
 forest of Soignies. The hectare measures about two acres and a third ; 
 so that the extent of this property in English measurement would be 
 about 2800 acres — rather more than less.
 
 APPENDIX. 359 
 
 '• The domain is situated about half way between Gembloux and 
 Waterloo, and is in the midst of a country where agricultural im- 
 provement is carried on to a very great extent. The writer had an 
 opportunity, not long since, of himself seeing the great activity of the 
 landed proprietors, and their anxiety to place their properties in a 
 position to compete with the English agriculturists, who are to them 
 objects of greater fear than even the foreigner used to be to the Eng- 
 lish producer. 
 
 " The Duke of Wellington was not a man to be behind-hand in any 
 measures of improvement. The same spirit that led him to improve 
 Strathfieldsaye also led him to do his utmost with his Belgian estate. 
 When it first came into his hands, it was covered with more or less 
 valuable trees ; but was otherwise unfit for agricultural purposes. Its 
 estimated value at that time was about 1,500,000 francs, or nearly 
 60,000/. in English money. 
 
 " The Duke placed the management of the estate in the hands of 
 M. Halley, Notaire Royal at Waterloo — a gentleman who has, with the 
 utmost ability and integrity, administered its affairs. His first efforts 
 were directed to clearing the land of the wood, which was from time 
 to time sold, and the proceeds applied to the improvement of the pro- 
 perty. The next step was thoroughly to drain the land, which having 
 been done, it was discovered that the soil was of the best quality, 
 peculiarly adapted to the culture of grain of all kinds, and also of 
 clover, flax, and hemp. By degrees the greater part has been brought 
 under cultivation, with very great success ; so much so, that the estate 
 is now valued at double the estimate made in the first instance, or 
 about 120,000/. English money. Nor is this all: the gradual improve- 
 ment of the soil gives reason to hope that the value will be still 
 greater hereafter. Although the Duke of Wellington had not here, 
 as at Strathfieldsaye, the merit of having personally superintended 
 these improvements, it was in consequence of his liberality and con- 
 fidence that M. Halley was enabled to bring the estate to its present 
 high condition ; and the name of the Duke of Wellington ranks 
 with the most distinguished of the enterprising landed proprietors of 
 Belgium. 
 
 " The Duke held, we believe, the estate voted for him in Spain ; that 
 offered in Portugal he declined."
 
 360 APPENEIX. 
 
 APPENDIX, No. VIII. 
 
 THE FUNERAL OF THE DUKE. 
 
 Upon moving the House of Commons to grant the necessary funds 
 for the expenses of the Public Funeral, Mr. Benjamin Disraeli, the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered the following speech; the only 
 one worthy of the occasion delivered by either House : — 
 
 " Sir, — The House of Commons is called upon to-night to fulfil a 
 sorrowful, but a noble duty. It has to recognise, in the face of the 
 country and the civilised world, the loss of the most illustrious of our 
 citizens, and to offer to the ashes of the great departed the solemn 
 anguish of a bereaved nation. The princely personage who has left 
 us was born in an age more fertile of great events than any of re- 
 corded time. Of those vast incidents, the most conspicuous were 
 his own deeds, and these were performed with the smallest means, 
 and in defiance of the greatest obstacles. He was therefore not only 
 a great man, but the greatest man of a great age. Amid the chaos 
 and conflagration which attended the end of the last century, there 
 rose one of those beings who seem born to master mankind. It is 
 not too much to say that Napoleon combined the imperial ardour 
 of Alexander with the strategy of Hannibal. The kings of the 
 earth fell before his fiery and subtle genius, and at the head of all 
 the powers of Europe, he denounced destruction to the only land 
 which dared to be free. The Providential superintendence of this 
 world seems seldom more manifest than in the dispensation which 
 ordained that the French Emperor and Wellesley should be born 
 in the same year ; that in the same year they should have embraced 
 the same profession ; and that, natives of distant islands, they 
 should both have sought their military education in that illustri- 
 ous land which each in his turn was destined to subjugate. Dur- 
 ing the long struggle for our freedom, our glory, I may say our 
 existence, Wellesley fought and won fifteen pitched battles, all of 
 the highest class, concluding with one of those crowning victories 
 which give a colour and aspect to history. During this period, 
 that can be said of him which can be said of no other captain- 
 that he captured 3000 cannon from the enemy, and never lost a
 
 APPENDIX. 361 
 
 single gun. The greatness of his exploits was only equalled 
 by the difficulties he overcame. He had to encounter at the 
 same time a feeble Government, a factious opposition, and a 
 distrustful people, scandalous allies, and the most powerful enemy 
 in the world. He gained victories with starving troops, and 
 carried on sieges without tools ; and as if to complete the fatality 
 which in this sense always awaited him, when he had succeeded 
 in creating an army worthy of the Roman legions and of himself, 
 this invincible host was broken up on the eve of the greatest 
 conjuncture of his life, and he entered the field of Waterloo with raw 
 levies and discomfited allies. But the star of Wellesley never 
 paled. He has been called fortunate, for Fortune is a divinity that 
 ever favours those who are alike sagacious and intrepid, inventive and 
 patient. It was his character that created his career. This alike 
 achieved his exploits and guarded him from vicissitudes. It was 
 his sublime self-control that regulated his lofty fate. It has 
 been the fashion of late years to disparage the military cha- 
 racter. Forty years of peace had hardly qualified us to be 
 aware how considerable and how complex are the qualities which 
 are necessary for the formation of a great general. It is not 
 enough to say that he must be an engineer, a geographer, learned 
 in human nature, adroit in managing mankind ; that he must be 
 able to perform the highest duties of a Minister of State, and sink 
 to the humblest offices of a commissary and a clerk ; but he has to 
 display all this knowledge, and he must do all these things, at the 
 same time and under extraordinary circumstances. At the same 
 moment he must think of the eve and the morrow — of his flanks 
 and of his reserve ; he must carry with him ammunition, pro- 
 visions, hospitals ; he must calculate at the same time the state of 
 the weather and the moral qualities of man ; and all these elements, 
 which are perpetually changing, he must combine amid overwhelming 
 cold or overpowering heat ; sometimes amid famine, often amid the 
 thunder of artillery. Behind all this, too, is the ever-present image 
 of his country, and the dreadful alternative whether that country 
 is to receive him with cypress or with laurel. But all these 
 conflicting ideas must be driven from the mind of the military leader, 
 for he must think — and not only think — he must think with the 
 rapidity of lightning, for on a moment more or less depends the fate 
 of the finest combination, and on a moment more or less depends 
 glory or shame. Doubtless all this may be done in an ordi- 
 nary manner by an ordinary man ; as we see every day of our 
 lives ordinary men making successful Ministers of State, successful
 
 862 APPENDIX, 
 
 speakers, successful authors. But to do all this with genius is 
 sublime. Doubtless, to think deeply and clearly in the recess of a 
 cabinet is a fine intellectual demonstration, but to think with equal 
 depth and equal clearness amid bullets is the most complete exercise 
 of the human faculties. Although the military career of the Duke 
 of Wellington fills so large a space in history, it was only a com- 
 paratively small section of his prolonged and illustrious life. Only 
 eight years elapsed from Vimiero to Waterloo, and from the date of 
 his first commission to the last cannon shot on the field of battle 
 scarcely twenty years can be counted. After all his triumphs 
 he was destined for another career, and if not in the prime, 
 certainly in the perfection of manhood, he commenced a civil career 
 scarcely less eminent than those military achievements which will 
 live for ever in history. Thrice was he the ambassador of his Sovereign 
 to those great historic Congresses that settled the afiairs of Europe; 
 twice was he Secretary of State ; twice was he Commander-in-Chief; 
 and once he was Prime Minister of England. His labours to his 
 country lasted to the end. A few months ago he favoured the present 
 advisers of the Crown with his thoughts on the Burmese war, 
 expressed in a State paper characterised by all his sagacity and 
 experience ; and he died the active chieftain of that famous army to 
 which he has left the tradition of his glory. There was one passage 
 in the life of the Duke of Wellington which should hardly be passed 
 unnoticed on such an occasion, and in such a scene as this. It is our 
 pride that he was one of ourselves ; it is our pride that Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley sat upon these benches. Tested by the ambition and the 
 success of ordinary men, his career here, though brief, was dis- 
 tinguished. He entered Koyal councils and held a high Ministerial 
 post. But his House of Commons success must not be measured by 
 his seat at the Privy Council and his Irish Secretaryship. He 
 achieved a success here which the greatest Ministers and the most 
 brilliant orators can never hope to rival. That was a Parliamentary 
 success unequalled when he rose in his seat to receive the thanks of 
 Mr. Speaker for a glorious victory ; or, later still, when he appeared 
 at the bar of this House and received. Sir, from one of your pre- 
 decessors, in memorable language, the thanks of a grateful country 
 for accumulated triumphs. There is one consolation which all 
 Englishmen must feel under this bereavement. It is, that they were so 
 well and so completely acquainted with this great man. Never did a 
 person of such mark live so long, and so much in the public eye. I 
 wouJ^ be bound to say that there is not a gentleman in this House 
 wh' las not seen him ; many there are who have conversed with him ;
 
 APPENDIX. 363 
 
 some there are who have touched his hand. His countenance his 
 form, his manner, his voice are impressed on every memory, and sound 
 almost in every ear. In the golden saloon, and in the busy market- 
 place, he might be alike observed. The rising generation will often 
 recall his words of kindness, and the people followed him in the streets 
 with a lingering gaze of reverent admiration. Who indeed, can ever 
 forget that classic and venerable head, white with time and radiant as 
 it were with glory ? — 
 
 " StiUchonis apex, et cognita fulsit 
 
 Canities." 
 
 To complete all, that we might have a perfect idea of this sovereign 
 master of duty in all his manifold oiSces, he himself gave us a 
 collection of administrative and military literature which no age and 
 no country can rival ; and, fortunate in all things, Wellesley found 
 in his lifetime an historian whose immortal page already ranks with 
 the classics of that land which "Wellesley saved. The Duke of Wel- 
 lington left to his countrymen a great legacy — greater even than his 
 glory. He left them the contemplation of his character. I will not 
 say his conduct revived the sense of duty in England. I would not 
 say that of our country. But that his conduct inspired public life 
 with a purer and more masculine tone I cannot doubt. His career 
 rebukes restless vanity, and reprimands the irregular ebullitions of a 
 morbid egotism. I doubt not that, among all orders of Englishmen, 
 from those with the highest responsibilities of our society to those who 
 perform the humblest duties — I dare say there is not a man who in 
 his toil and his perplexity has not sometimes thought of the Duke, 
 and found in his example support and solace. Though he lived so 
 much in the hearts and minds of his countrymen — though he 
 occupied such eminent posts and fulfilled such august duties — it was 
 not till he died that we felt what a place he filled in the feelings and 
 thoughts of the people of England. Never was the influence of real 
 greatness more completely asserted than on his decease. In an age 
 whose boast of intellectual equality flatters all our self-complacencies, 
 the world suddenly acknowledged that it had lost the greatest of 
 men ; in an age of utility the most industrious and common-sense 
 people in the world could find no vent for their woe and no repre- 
 seatative for their sorrow but the solemnity of a pageant ; and we — 
 we who have met here for such different purposes — to investigate the 
 sources of the wealth of nations, to enter into statistical research, and 
 to encounter each other in fiscal controversy — we present to the 
 world the most sublime and touching spectacle that human circum-
 
 364 APPENDIX. 
 
 stances can well produce — the spectacle of a Senate mourning a 
 hero ! " The right hon. gentleman concluded by moving an address — 
 " Humbly to thank her Majesty for having given directions for the 
 public interment of the mortal remains of his Grace the Duke of 
 Wellington in the cathedral church of St. Paul, and to assure her 
 Majesty of our cordial aid and concurrence in giving to the ceremony 
 a fitting degree of solemnity and importance." 
 
 " Lord J. Russell begged, with the permission of the right hon. 
 gentleman and the House, to second the motion. He did not wish to 
 add a single word to the eloquent terms in which the right hon. gen- 
 tleman had made his motion, as he was sure the whole House would 
 concur in the assurance he proposed to convey to the Throne. 
 
 " The motion was then agreed to." 
 
 APPENDIX, NO IX. 
 
 THE DUKE AS AN EXAMPLE TO INDIAN OFFICERS. 
 
 Upon the last occasion of the examination of the Addiscombe 
 cadets, preparatory to the issue of the prizes and the allotment of 
 appointments, Sir James Weir Hogg, the Chairman of the East India 
 Directors, addressed the pupils at some length, dwelling upon the 
 character of the Duke of Wellington, and holding him up as an ex- 
 ample to the future Indian oflScer. He said : — 
 
 " The character of that great man has been so frequently, so 
 ably drawn, that it would be superfluous in me to dwell upon its 
 excellencies. You will find them recorded in history, and reflected 
 from every page of his own perspicuous and unrivalled despatches. 
 But there is one consideration connected with the renown of the 
 departed hero so cheering to those who are striving for eminence, 
 and so full of promise to those contending with difficulty, that it 
 must ever be regarded in this institution with feelings of intense 
 interest. Noble as was his character, the Duke was himself its 
 chief architect. It was not so much to nature as to mental disci- 
 pline that he was indebted for the high order— I may say the 
 perfection, of his military attainment. If he took up what was 
 intricate, it was with a resolution to unravel it ; if he grappled with
 
 APPENDIX. 365 
 
 difficulty, it was with a determination to overcome it. He disdained 
 to be superficial. Nothing short of the complete mastery of a subject 
 could satisfy the craving of his vigorous mind. Thus victory was 
 insured in the study and in the field. But let me impress upon 
 your minds, my young friends, that the illustrious Duke never pre- 
 sumed to place his chief reliance upon himself He knew that upon 
 the proudest schemes ever planned by human wisdom '• affiavit Deiis, 
 et dissipantU7- ,•" and we find this eminent man, whose career had 
 been distinguished by unbroken success, humbly acknowledging his 
 own insufficiency, punctual and^ devotional in his religious observ- 
 ances, and placing his trust for the direction of his conduct on the 
 Great Disposer of Events. My object in this brief address has 
 been to point out that in the public theatre of this great world the 
 career of a distinguished individual is created by his character ; that 
 the formation of character is almost entirely dependent upon the 
 exertions of the individual ; that the laborious process which it is 
 consequently necessary to undergo engenders habits of mind far 
 more valuable than those derived from the gifts of natural genius ; 
 that the highest flight of human wisdom is but weakness unless 
 sustained from on high ; and that the noblest minds humbly ascribe 
 their successes, not to their own prudence and management, their 
 own strength and might, but to the gracious bounty of Providence. 
 All these instructive truths are illustrated so powerfully in the life 
 of the Duke of Wellington that I gladly embrace this opportunity 
 of pressing upon your attention the character of the departed hero 
 as the most valuable study for the youth of this institution — for all 
 youth, whatever their destination ; but pre-eminently so for those 
 preparing for the military profession. Gentlemen, your destination 
 is India, and though the illustrious character to which I have called 
 your attention is an example for all, it is peculiarly so for you — not 
 because the earliest records of his fame are associated with that 
 country, but because his virtues are precisely those which it is most 
 essential that an Indian officer, and especially a young Indian 
 officer, should struggle to possess. The departed Duke was, if I 
 may so express myself, a miracle of order and activity. Let his 
 example preserve you from being seduced by the peculiarities of 
 climate to indulge in opposite habits. Always liberal, yet he care- 
 fully proportioned his mode of living to his means, and rigidly 
 restricted his expenditure within his income. Let this command 
 your most careful attention and imitation, and thus avoid the 
 grinding, humiliating pressure of debt. The Duke was temperate 
 to the verge of abstemiousness. Imitate him in this virtue,
 
 366 APPENDIX. 
 
 also, and the health and unclouded intellect which he enjoyed will be 
 yours. He was zealous to improve every moment and turn it to some 
 valuable purpose. In ordinary circumstances your professional avo- 
 cations will not occupy the whole of your time. Devote the leisure 
 you may possess to some useful object that may prove beneficial to 
 yourself and to others ; and to descend to minor points — minor in 
 appearance, but scarcely so in reality — remember that the Duke was 
 remarkable for punctuality in all matters, great and small. Punctu- 
 ality is essentially a military duty ; but, mark me, you will in vain 
 resolve to be punctual in matters of moment if you are not equally 
 resolute to be punctual in the ordinary engagements and transactions 
 of life. Keep ever before you, and attempt to imitate, the great 
 model I have so imperfectly endeavoured to pourtray, and you may 
 at least approximate that perfection of the military character which 
 the departed hero so strikingly exhibited. Gentlemen, I have now 
 only to recommend to you who remain here continued assiduity — to 
 those about "to depart perseverance in the good course here begun — 
 and to you all I fervently wish that success which I hope and believe 
 you will endeavour to deserve." 
 
 APPENDIX, No. X. 
 
 OPINIONS or FOEEIGNEES KEGARDING THE BRITISH 
 ARMY. 
 
 The following is from the pen of the Berlin correspondent of the 
 " Morning Chronicle." Interesting in itself, the opinions which it 
 maintains, so accordant with those of the late Duke, are deserving of 
 the closest attention. Something has already been done towards the 
 increase of the artillery, but more remains to be accomplished : — 
 
 " The distinguished and experienced continental officers who 
 recently attended at the mournful ceremony of the funeral of the 
 Duke of Wellington, on the 18th of November, have, it is said here 
 (Berlin), expressed themselves in terms of unqualified satisfaction at 
 the courteous and hospitable reception they have met with from her 
 Majesty and all classes and persons in the British capital. They 
 have also spoken, according to the same reports, in terms of unre- 
 stricted praise of the fine appearance and perfect discipline of our
 
 APPENDIX. 367 
 
 brave soldiers, and of the grandeur of our arsenals and military estab- 
 lishments. They have at the same time been struck with the 
 exiguity and inadequacy of the British field artillery, not only as 
 regards its amount, when compared with the field artillery of conti- 
 nental states, but as regards its proportion to British battalions and 
 squadrons, according to the requirements of modern warfara 
 Nothing, say these officers, can be more expert than the practice and 
 drill, more perfect than the appearance of the stalwart men, more 
 splendid than the horses, or more efficient than the materiel and 
 equipment of our small array of field batteries ; but they add, that in 
 days when the fate of battles, and thence of campaigns, is made de- 
 pendent in a great measure upon masses of guns and power of calibre, 
 it is a matter of astonishment and regret that England, with all her 
 vast resources and enormous outlay for her Ordnance department, 
 should be unable to show more field guns ready for service than are 
 regarded as essential for the peace establishment of continental states 
 of the third or fourth class. 
 
 " It is not a question with them, and ought not to be with us, 
 whether the Kussian, Prussian, French, Austrian, Bavarian, and even 
 the Sardinian and Neapolitan armies are furnished with a super-abun- 
 dance of field guns — that is, with guns in the minimum proportion of 
 about 1 to each 300 bayonets and sabres. The point alone to be con- 
 sidered is, that such is the average amount with continental armies, 
 whilst an English general, having a division of 6000 men under his 
 orders, may think himself fortunate — as was the case in the Peninsu- 
 lar war up to a late period — if he has one brigade of six guns at his 
 disposal, or I gun per 1000 men. 
 
 " Ask M. Kossuth what was the first thought and care of the 
 Hungarian war department, on commencing the revolutionary war. 
 He will reply, ' To establish a formidable field artillery, and to bring 
 as many guns, and those of as heavy calibre as possible, into the 
 field ;' and further, that ' in many instances, as occurred at the com- 
 mencement of Gorgey's admirable retreat from Waitzen upon Comorn, 
 and thence to the north-east, the brunt of the battle fell upon the 
 artillery.' Ask General Willisen what was the main study of his 
 head-quarters during the Holstein rebellion. He will tell you 
 the same story ; and further, that notwithstanding the limited re- 
 sources of the revolutionary provinces, he would have been enabled 
 to bring upwards of 104 field pieces into the line of battle, had the 
 detestable design of the rebel government to provoke another pitched 
 battle, coute qui coute^ been carried into effect. Turn to Sardinia's 
 last campaign against the gallant Radetzky, and similar attention to 
 
 3a
 
 ?6S APPENDIX. 
 
 this indispensable point will be shown, not only as regarded equality 
 in number of guns, but in that of calibre. 
 
 " Ask the brave survivors of the Peninsular artillery whether they 
 deemed it advantageous to the fate of battle, and to the honour of 
 their country, or even fair upon themselves, or upon their comrades 
 of other arms, that they should be almost invariably exposed to the 
 fire of enemies' guns not only greatly superior in number but in 
 calibre — that is, exposed to meet the fire of from eight to sixteen 
 French eight-pounders (equal to our nines.) with batteries of six 
 guns, and these, with rare exceptions, six-pounders. So that they had 
 to struggle, not only against superiority of number, but superiority 
 of range. Close fighting may neutralise the latter inequality, but it 
 increases the detriment of the first. Brave lives must then pay the 
 penalty ; and enormous expenses, far exceeding the outlay of a few 
 more guns, must be thus entailed on the country from the loss of 
 'made' soldiers. 
 
 " Look to the Prussian army, where every branch of the service is 
 conducted with a degree of economy the more remarkable when 
 results are considered, and you will find that each of its nine corjjs 
 d'armee^ including the Corps of Guards, is provided with fifteen field 
 batteries of eight guns each, two of which batteries are horse. Con- 
 sequently, as each corps averages 32,000 men of all arms on the full 
 establishment, the proportion is 120 field guns for each corps, and 1 
 gun for each 250 efi'ective bayonets and sabres, or a total of 1080 field 
 pieces for the 300,000 men comprising the nine corps. Of these, 
 one-half, that is, 135 demi-batteries, or 540 field pieces, are fully 
 horsed and equipped at this moment on the peace establishment, al- 
 though the number of bayonets, sabres, and men of all arms actually 
 in the ranks does not exceed 130,000. Matters are so arranged, also, 
 that the inefiective demi-batteries require nothing but the reserve 
 men being called in, new horses to be purchased, and practised horses 
 of each battery to be distributed among the whole, to complete the 
 numbers to their full and powerful war amount. England expects 
 her generals to conquer, and her generals rarely disappoint her ; but 
 it is a flagrant courting of sanguinary sacrifices, and of risk of defeat, 
 as well as a deplorable act of false economy, to deprive our generals 
 of that full amount of guns which great and petty governments, as 
 well as revolutionary provinces, consider to be the sine qua non of 
 confidence and success. 
 
 " Continental military organisers, without exception, almost, con- 
 sider eight guns (two of them howitzers) to be the most economical 
 and efficient mode of composing field batteries ; indeed, Russian
 
 APPENDIX. ^69 
 
 batteries consist of ten guns. We adhere, in England, to the system 
 of six guns. Now, what is the result ? — that whilst each continental 
 demi-battery has its howitzer, one of our demi-batteries has, whilst 
 the other has not, this important adjunct. If all great military 
 nations, including France, are agreed upon the efficaciousness of the 
 larger cypher, why should we obstinately adhere to the lesser ? " 
 
 APPENDIX, No. XL 
 
 THE DUKE IN THE ESTIMATION OF A FRENCH WRITER. 
 From the '■'■ Assemblee J^ationale." 
 
 Great men disappear, and every day witnesses the fall of the last 
 illustrious personages who have been on the stage since the com- 
 mencement of the present century. By the death of the Duke of 
 Wellington, M. de Metternich is the sole survivor of the political 
 celebrities who remodelled the map of Europe at the Congress of 
 Vienna. We have already spoke of the Duke of Wellington, and 
 have retraced the principal circumstances of his glorious career. If 
 we now return to this subject, it is to protest against the bad taste 
 of some journals, who, in order to flatter the cause which now 
 triumphs, draw comparisons between the Duke of Wellington and 
 Napoleon Bonaparte. We know nothing more odious than the 
 judgments passed on illustrious contemporaries in the point of view 
 of a narrow and unjust patriotism. This low rhetoric is of a nature 
 to degrade us in the eyes of foreigners, who read our journals, and 
 who take them for the expression of public opinion. Every great 
 nation, we know, is animated with a national spirit, which has its 
 inevitable prejudices. France and England will never agree on the 
 manner of judging Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington. Is it, 
 therefore, impossible, by rising above those passions of circumstance, 
 to arrive at the truth with the regard to those two illustrious rivals ? 
 The year 1769 witnessed several glorious births ; but certainly there 
 was nothing more remarkable in that year than the simultaneous 
 appearance on the stage of the world of the two men who were to 
 meet at Waterloo. It appears that Providence proposed to balance 
 one by the other — to oppose to a great genius one of a quite contrary 
 character — and to bring in contact qualities and gifts of the most 
 dissimilar kind. The principal characteristics of the genius of 
 
 VOL. II. 24
 
 370 APPENDIX 
 
 Napoleon were a prodigious and insatiable imagination, aspiring to 
 the impossible — the most vast and flexible faculties, but also a singular 
 mobility of ideas and impressions. A solid judgment, a cool reason, 
 a wonderful justness of perception, both on the field of battle and in 
 the cabinet ; the most penetrating good sense, amounting to a power 
 which became genius ; a perseverance which nothing could tire or 
 turn aside ; and the most unshakeable firmness in great dangers — 
 such are some of the points which give the Duke of Wellington such 
 a prominent figure in the history of the nineteenth century. It was 
 at a giant's pace that Napoleon ran through a career which was to 
 lead him for a moment to the head of human beings. By the rapidity 
 of his ascension he dazzled the world, and everything with him took 
 the character of a magic improvisation. His rival, on the contrary, 
 rose by patient and modest slowness, by a courageous reflection. He 
 never drew back, however ; he always went forward, and his glory 
 followed a progression which escaped all reverses. To speak warmly 
 to the imagination of men, to fascinate them, to excite their enthu- 
 siasm, and to labour by every means to inspire them with an 
 admiration, mingled with a little terror, was the constant study of 
 Napoleon, who was far from disdaining artifice to efiect his purpose. 
 The Duke of Wellington never thought but of speaking to the 
 reason ; he was never seen to do anything in a theatrical manner. 
 Duty was the only rule which he admitted, and which he imposed on 
 others. He had a horror of charlatanism and falsehood. He never 
 sought to excite his soldiers, but sometimes he reminded them that 
 they had to shed their blood because it was their duty. No astonish- 
 ment will therefore be felt at the difi"erence in the eloquence and the 
 style of the two generals. In the proclamations of Napoleon, par- 
 ticularly in those of the campaigns of Italy, is to be found a powerful 
 orator, who, in the manner of the ancients, engraves great images on 
 the minds of those to whom he addresses himself. The orders of the 
 day, the despatches, and the reports of the Duke of Wellington were 
 written with a cold and austere simplicity. Nothing is given for 
 efiect — everything is positive and true. 
 
 The Emperor Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington were not only 
 great captains, they have also been both called on to play great 
 political parts. History will perhaps decide that, in Bonaparte, the 
 organiser was equal to the conqueror. It must not, however, be 
 forgotten that the possession and the use of the sovereign power 
 smoothed down many obstacles. With despotism great things are 
 often easy. It was in a free country that during thirty-seven years, 
 from 1815 to 1852, the Duke of Wellington enjoyed an unequalled
 
 APPENDIX. Bl\ 
 
 influence and authority. Placed by his birth, and more particularly 
 by his glory, at the head of the English aristocracy, he belonged, 
 truly speaking, to no party. It may be said that, in the bosom of 
 the constitutional liberty of his country, the Duke of Wellington 
 exercised a kind of moral dictatorship. The personal force which he 
 was able to give or to withhold from the Government was immense. 
 Although naturally Conservative by his principles and the nature of 
 his genius, the Duke of Wellington did not, however, hesitate to 
 propose to the Crown and to Parliament the emancipation of the 
 Catholics. In his eyes that reform was politic, just, and necessary. 
 But his opinion was very different with regard to Parliamentary 
 Reform, which appeared to him to change the political constitution 
 of old England, and to threaten her with serious dangers. AVas he 
 mistaken ? The future alone can decide. We only now witness the 
 first consequences of Parliamentary Reform, and twenty years have 
 scarcely passed since the Duke of Wellington opposed it in the 
 House of Lords. We must wait for a longer trial ; remarking, how- 
 ever, that the symptons already seen are far from impeaching the 
 foresight of the illustrious statesman. If at any future period England 
 should find herself exposed to any great danger, either at home or 
 abroad, her ideas would certainly revert to the man who for sixty 
 years served and defended her. She will appreciate still more that 
 wise, firm, and sober genius, who never allowed himself either to be 
 intimidated or to be excited, and whose moderation was rewarded by 
 such a fine destiny. The end and fall of the Emperor Napoleon are 
 the last point of contrast which we pointed out at the outset. The 
 Emperor fell, the scaffolding crumbled away, and he who raised it 
 with heroic temerity only survived his irreparable shipwreck for a 
 few years in exile. His fortunate rival, after a day by which the 
 face of Europe was changed, saw open before him another career, 
 which procured for him a new glory between peace and liberty, and 
 which has only just finished in the midst of the unanimous regret 
 and the gratitude of a great country. Is not such a lesson a striking 
 proof of the final ascendancy of reason and of good sense over all 
 the boldness and the flights of imagination and of genius ? The 
 contrast of these two destinies, and these two great historical figures, 
 has appeared to us too instructive not to be rapidly sketched ; and, 
 in drawing the comparison, we have set passion aside, and have only 
 sought for truth.
 
 312 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX, No. XII. 
 
 A CLERGYMAN'S ESTIMATE OF THE DUKE'S CHARACTER. 
 
 " With an intellect unimpaired, tranquilly and silently the Duke 
 bade adieu to all earthly scenes, and changed immortal fame for a 
 grander immortality in store. Like David, he died in a good old age, 
 full of days, riches, and honour. 
 
 " Yes, my brethren, the greatest military chief that ever reflected 
 lustre upon the annals of England is gone. He who scarce ever 
 advanced, but to be victorious — never retreated but to eclipse the 
 glory of his advance — who never exhibited the arrogance of the 
 conqueror, but rigidly observed the laws of justice and moderation — 
 whose campaigns were sullied by no unnecessary cruelties — whose 
 triumphs were followed by no curses — whose laurels were entwined 
 with amaranth of righteousness — whose star was all lustrous, and 
 never paled — whose name alone is an imperishable monument — is 
 departed from us. He who, to use the language of an eminent and 
 rival statesman, after having taken the sword which gained inde- 
 pendence to Europe, rallied the nations around him and saved all by 
 his example ; he who showed the same moderation in peace, as he 
 had shown greatness in war, and devoted the remainder of his life to 
 the cause of the internal and external peace of the country which he 
 had so faithfully served ; he who had equal authority with the 
 Sovereign and with the Senate of which he was a member, and 
 carried on the service of one of the most important departments of 
 the State, with unexampled regularity and success, even to the last 
 moments of his life ; he whose devotion to his country was sincere 
 and unceasing — who on every occasion acted with honest and upright 
 determination for the benefit of that country — whose devoted loyalty 
 made him ever anxious to serve the ci-own, but never induced him to 
 conceal from his Sovereign that which he believed to bo the truth ; he, 
 whose temperance enabled hira at all times to give his whole mind 
 and his faoulties to the services which he was called upon to perform ; 
 he, whose dominant passion was love to his Queen and country, 
 whose guiding star was truth and duty, which only led him through
 
 APPENDIX. 878 
 
 the path of honour; this mighty man, this illustrious chief, this 
 veritable hero has fallen before one stronger than he, and his body is 
 now mingling with the dust, whilst his spirit has flown to the God 
 who gave it. 
 
 " Here we might perhaps leave the subject, but the minister of the 
 Gospel would fail in the most important part of his duty were he to 
 satisfy himself with the task of the biographer, and not to consider 
 the life and death of this illustrious man as well in relation to his own 
 eternal well-being, as in the eflfect it ought to produce on the minds of 
 all who survive him. We have seen that all his riches, all his honours, 
 all his glory, could not spare him from the common lot of man — and 
 all our tears, all our wishes, all our prayers can now avail him nothing 
 — and how distressing, how heartrending would it be, if we could for 
 a moment fear that he who had gained all other riches, had lost the 
 pearl of greatest price — that he who had saved and delivei'ed so many 
 in this world, was himself not saved in another — that he who had so 
 faithfully served his earthly Sovereign had neglected his heavenly 
 One — and that he who had obtained the brightest coronet below, had 
 failed to obtain the crown of glory above. 
 
 " These fears, however, my friends, I trust we need not indulge ; 
 on the contrary, there is every reason to hope and believe that he 
 had made his peace with his maker, and that he who so carefully 
 fulfilled all his temporal duties had not neglected the all-important 
 realities of eternity. It has caused feeling of greater delight than 
 the rehearsal of all his victories, to be informed that those who knew 
 him best speak of his regular, consistent, and unceasing piety — of his 
 unostentatious but abounding charity, and tell us that he consecrated 
 each day to God ; that at the early service in the Chapel Royal, he 
 (who was no hypocrite, never did anything for a mere pretence, who 
 scorned the very idea of deceit) was regularly, almost alone, con- 
 fessing his sins, acknowledging his guilt, and entreating mercy in the 
 beautiful words of our own evangelical Liturgy, not for his own 
 merits, but for the merits of that Saviour who bled and died for him. 
 It is not then because of the height of his position — the magna- 
 nimity of his character — the temperance of his habits — the merciful- 
 ness of his disposition — the singleness and purity of his purpose — 
 the obedience to what his conscience told him to be right — 
 his unhesitating and inviolable truth — or on his devotion to his 
 country, that we place our hopes of his eternal salvation, but be- 
 cause we believe that he knew these were only valuable as proofs of 
 his faith — all of which he cast at the feet of his Saviour — and that 
 he placed all his hopes of future glory in the sacrifice of the beloved
 
 374 APPENDIX. 
 
 Son of God, who descended from heaven to bring his people to his 
 Father's right hand, and died the accursed death of the cross, that 
 they might live for ever. 
 
 " But whilst we are grateful to Almighty God for having raised up 
 in the hour of our country's need one qualified to meet the emer- 
 gency, and to defend it from the dangers with which it was sur- 
 rounded, — whilst we sorrow not as men without hope for him whom 
 we trust to have departed in the Lord — let us not forget, that the 
 good conduct of great men is an example for the rest of mankind, 
 and that most important lessons are taught not only to the noble 
 and the great, but even the humblest among us. by the life and 
 death of the departed hero." — Sermon on tlie " Might and Majesty 
 of Death^^ suggested by tJie death of the Duke of Wellington : by the 
 Rev. J. A. Emerton^ D.D. 
 
 APPENDIX, No. XIII. 
 
 THE ANCESTORS OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 At a late meeting of the ArchEeological Society of Kilkenny, a 
 paper was read showing the nature and extent of the ancestral con- 
 nexion of the Duke of Wellington. The civility which suggested the 
 transmission of the document to the author of this biography, fully 
 justifies the republication of the paper in these pages, irrespective of 
 the intrinsic interest of the subject : — 
 
 "THE COWLETS OF KILKENNY. 
 
 " An attempt to trace the history of the family of the Cowleys of 
 Kilkenny would at any time suitably occupy the attention of the 
 local Archaeological Society, but owing to the circumstance that of 
 that family, the great Duke of Wellington — so lately deceased, and 
 for whose obsequies the British nation now makes such splendid 
 preparation — was the lineal descendant and most distinguished rep- 
 resentative, perhaps a more general interest may be expected for the 
 subject. 
 
 "In Archdall's edition of ' Lodge's Peerage,' published in 1789, 
 when the Duke of Wellington was twenty years of age, the pedigree
 
 APPENDIX, 375 
 
 of bis father, the Earl of Mornington, commences with this statement: 
 — ' The family of Cowley, Cooley, or as it is now written, Colley, 
 derives its origin from the county of Kutland, whence they removed 
 into Ireland in the reign of King Henry VIII., in whose twenty- 
 second year his Majesty granted to "Walter and Robert Cowley, of 
 Kilkenny, gentlemen, during their respective lives, the office of Clerk 
 of the Crown in Chancery.' This assertion is altogether incorrect ; 
 the date of the grant of the clerkship of the Crown instead of the 
 twenty-second should be the twenty-sixth year of Henry VIII.; ^ and 
 not only do we find some of the members of the Government in the 
 reign of Henry VIII. writing of Walter Cowley as an Irishman, and 
 a worthy example to the other natives, but we have evidence that the 
 family was in Ireland, and it would seem that they were settled iu 
 Kilkenny also, at least a century before the alleged period of their 
 removal from Rutlandshire. A list of the corporate officers of Kil- 
 kenny contained in a book formerly preserved amongst the municipal 
 archives, but now in the possession of Sir Walter Betham, Ulster 
 King of Arms, states that Walter Cowley was one of the two port- 
 rieves (an office resembling that of the more modern sheriffs), of 
 Kilkenny, in the year 1407. The record referred to was compiled 
 from the documents in the possession of the corporation, by Alder- 
 man Richard Connell, in the year 1693 ; and it is proper I should 
 state that, having consulted the ' Liber Primus,' or most early of the 
 city books, now in the custody of the town-clerk, I find the following 
 entry under the date of 9th Henry IV. (1407), from which the 
 accuracy of Council's list may be questioned : — ' Walterus Cowylfy 
 fuit propositus infra muros Kilkennie tempore estatis.' The name, 
 Walter, it will be found, occurs frequently amongst the Cowleys of 
 Kilkenny, but whether the Portrieve of 1407 was one of that family, 
 notwithstanding the statement of Alderman Connell, who seems to 
 have been an antiquary and herald of no mean abilities or research, 
 I think cannot be positively asserted. However, as Henry VIII. did 
 not ascend the throne till 1509, sufficient evidence can be adduced 
 to show that, during the previous century, the Cowleys were in this 
 country. In 1425, John Cowley was appointed, by an order dated at 
 Drogheda on the 1 1th of May, a commission to take up provisions 
 for the use of James Butler, Earl of Ormonde, and his army (Rot. 
 Pat., 3 Henry IV., m. 114). In 1496, John Cowley was granted the 
 office of Ganger of Ireland during the royal pleasure' (Rot. Pat., II 
 
 " 1 The Liber Munerum quotes the patent as being dated January 1 1th, 1535. 
 2 The fami.'y seems to have been connected with the Excise from a very early period. On
 
 376 APPENDIX. 
 
 Henry VII., m. 2). In 1505, Robert Cowley was appointed CustomeT 
 of the Port of Dublin (Rot. Mem., 20 Henry VII.) ; and as it appears 
 he still filled that office in 1520 (Rot. Mem., 11, 12 Henry VIII., m. 
 6), this would appear to be the same Robert Cowley of Kilkenny, 
 who was appointed one of the Clerks of the Crown in Chancery, as 
 referred to by Lodge, and who was the first member of his family that 
 made a figure in the politics of the times, and rose to any station of 
 importance in the State. 
 
 " From the statement of Lodge, that this family was descended from 
 ' Walter and Robert Cowley, of Kilkenny, gentlemen,' the natural in- 
 ference would be that Walter, as being first-named, was the elder of 
 the two ; but such was not the ease. Robert was his father, and he 
 is given the prior place in the grants of the various public offices 
 which they held conjointly. This Robert Cowley being a lawyer of 
 much professional skill and ability, resident in Kilkenny, was selected 
 by Piers, Earl of Ormonde, as his legal adviser and agent, and having 
 brought up his son Walter to the law also, they both enjoyed the con- 
 fidence and profited by the weighty political influence of the Or- 
 monde family, through means of which they were gradually advanced 
 from minor situations to important public offices. On the 11th of 
 January, 1535, they were created joint Clerks of the Crown in Chan- 
 cery as already mentioned, In 1535, they were also conjointly ap- 
 pointed customers, collectors, and receivers of the Customs of the city 
 and port of Dublin, for their lives, at a fee of 10/. per annum. The 
 same year Walter was granted the same office for the port of Drog- 
 heda, at a like fee. In 1537, September 7th, Walter was elevated to 
 the dignity of Principal Solicitor, as it is now termed Solicitor-General 
 of Ireland, with a fee of 10/. Irish. On the 10th of January, 1538, 
 Robert was created Master of the Rolls; on the 7th of May, 1540, 
 he was made a commissioner for selling the lands of the dissolved ab- 
 beys, and on the 30th September in that year, one of the keepers of 
 the peace within the county of Meath, with power to enforce the ob- 
 servation of the statutes of Dublin and Kilkenny. 
 
 '• From the ' State Papers,' containing the Irish correspondence 
 during the reign of King Henry VIII., published by the English 
 Record Commission, we are enabled to glean information sufficient 
 to show that the legal and political abilities of Robert and Walter 
 Cowley were largely employed by the Irish Government and the 
 principal English statesmen of the period. In 1520, we have the 
 
 the 5th of July. 1831, the King granted to Thomas CoUey the office of ganger of wines in England, 
 Ireland, and Wales. (Rot. Pat., 20 Edward III., m. 83.)
 
 APPENDIX. 377 
 
 first notice of Robert being in England on the business of the State ; 
 and the Lord-Deputy, Surrey, in ^vriting to Cardinal Wolsey, on the 
 6th of September in that year, to inform him that the Earl of 
 Kildare, then in London under arrest for high treason, had sent over 
 the Abbot of Monaster Evyn and William Delahide, as emissaries to 
 stir the O'Carrolls to revolt, mentions — 'and the said Abbot and 
 Delahide came both together out of England, and my servaunt 
 Cowley, in oon ship, sixteen days afore Ester." In 1524, we have 
 Robert Cowley again in London aiding the Lord James Butler in 
 the carrying out of some delicate political manoeuvres for the Earl of 
 Ormonde, whose enemies, the Geraldines, the Lord-Deputy was then 
 inclined to favour ; and the Earl writes to his son informing him of 
 the various representations which he wishes to be made to the King 
 and Wolsey, which ' my trusty servaunt, Robert Couly, shall penn 
 and endite. ***** Jq any wise, slope not on this matier, 
 and if ye do, the most losses and trouble willbe yours, in tyme 
 commying. Immediat upon the receipt hereof, sonde for Robert 
 Couly, and cause hym to seche (seek) remedies for the same.' The 
 Cowleys were, as in duty bound, staunch adherents of their patrons, 
 the Ormonde family, in all the vicissitudes of their feud, then at its 
 height, with the House of Kildare. In a long list of charges, which 
 the Earl of Kildare preferred through Lord Leonard Grey, to the 
 King, against the Earl of Ormonde, in 1525, one is — ' Item, he hath 
 used to sende over see, unto oon Robert Couly, by whom diverse 
 untrothes had been proved, to indite complaintes, at his owne pleasure 
 or discression, against the said Erie of Kildare ; having with hym a 
 signet of the said Erie of Ormondes, to seal the same.' In 1528, we 
 have Robert Cowley corresponding with Cardinal Wolsey, giving 
 him private information as to the doings of the various Irish Govern- 
 ment officers ; he is very free in offering suggestions as to the 
 arrangements of the Lord Deputy and his adherents, which he con- 
 siders ought to be interfered with, but his partizanship for the 
 Ormonde family is evident throughout, and he loses no opportunity 
 of putting in such recommendations for his patrons as the following : 
 — 'Pleas it your Grace to be advertised, that where my Lord of 
 Ossory, and his son, according to theire bounden duetis, attende 
 your gracious pleasure and deliberacion concernyng the affayres of 
 Irland others ryne in at the wyndow the next wey, making immediat 
 pursuytis to the Kinges Highnes, where they obteyne all theire 
 desiris without any stopp or stay, by moans of Anthony Knevet, and 
 others ; wherof wol ensue the destruccion of Irland, without your 
 gracious spedy redress.' After the disgrace and downfall of Wolsey,
 
 S78 APPENDIX. 
 
 both Robert and "Walter Cowley kept up a constant correspondence 
 with Cromwell, the Chief Minister of the Crown, and Sir Thomas 
 Wryothesley, the King's secretary, reporting upon the condition of 
 Ireland, and the measures of the Government, but always having a 
 favourable word to say for the Earl of Ormonde. We have frequent 
 propositions sent over under the title of ' Devices of Robert Cowley, 
 for the furtherance of the Kinges Majestes affayres in his Graces 
 land of Irland ;' he enters with alacrity into the views of Cromwell 
 respecting the suppression of monastic houses, and seeks to hasten 
 in every way the issuing of the order for dissolving the Irish abbeys 
 — a matter in which he was largely interested, not alone as being 
 appointed a Commissioner for letting the lands of the religious 
 houses to tenants under the Crown, but inasmuch as he procured 
 the farming of the manor of Holmpatrick for himself, which he held 
 at 121. 5s. 'id. per annum.' He subscribes his letter — 'Your Lord- 
 ships moost bounden Bedisman, Robert Cowley ;' the superscription 
 is — ' To my Lord Pryvee Scales Honourable Lordship.' On the 
 lOth August, 1538, Thomas Allan writes to Cowley, informing him 
 of the death of ' the Lord of Trymlettison, late the Kingis Chan- 
 celour,' mentioning that his own brother, John Allan, then Master 
 of the Rolls, expects to succeed to the office, adding — ' Master 
 Cowley, if the Kingis plesur shalbe to assigne and make him 
 Chauncelour, I know right well ye shalbe Master of the Rolles, 
 being worthiest thereof in this land. Both he and I, onfaynedlie, 
 shalbe as glad of your preferrement thereto, as any too lyving.' The 
 letter is addressed — ' To my wurshipful friende and good Master, 
 Master Robert Cowley.' We have seen already that Allan's antici- 
 pations were fulfilled ; and soon after we have Robert Cowley signing 
 his name to the correspondence of the Irish Government, as one of 
 the Privy Council. 
 
 '' In the mean time Walter Cowley was pushing himself forward 
 in Ireland, although his attachment to the Ormonde interest caused 
 him to be no favourite with the Lord-Deputy, Leonard Grey, who, 
 
 1 Cowley, however, appears to have been a more conscientious courtier than most of those 
 who farmed the Abbey lands from the Crown. We And him writing thus to Cromwell on 
 Lady-Day, 1539: — "Sir, we bee so covetous insaciably to have so many farmes, every of us, 
 lor our singular profittes, that we have extirped and put awaye the men of warro that shuld 
 defend the countrey ; and all is like to go to wrack, except an order be takyn the rather as to 
 have a survey, whate I and every other have in fees and farmes, and every oon that have such 
 fees and farmes to be taxed to fj-nde a certain nombre of hable men, to serve the King, and 
 to defend the countrey, uppon great payns. .... Lett every of us beare his burden of 
 eowernes with swetenes, and not to cast aU the burden in the Kinges charge, to enryche 
 our silvis."
 
 APPENDIX. 879 
 
 on the 31st October, 1536, in writing to Cromwell, complains of him 
 amongst others, as sowing dissensions amongst the officers of the 
 Crown ; and again, on the 24th of November in the same year, de- 
 nounces ' Young Cowley, Cusake, and others, which conforth togethers, 
 and wolde raile and jest at their pleasures, divising how to put men 
 in displeasures : and as for me, yea, openly, dayly at Maister Tresorers 
 borde, I was made theire gesting stocke.' However, in 1539, three 
 members of the Privy Council specially recommend Walter Cowley 
 to Cromwell's notice, in a report which they made to him upon re- 
 turning from a tour on which they had proceeded through ' the four 
 shires above the Barrow' for the purpose of holding sessions, collect- 
 ing first fruits, and enforcing the religious changes introduced by the 
 King. They state that — 
 
 "'Walter Cowley, the Kingis Solicitor, attending upon us this 
 jornay, hath, for his parte, right well and dilegentlie set furthe the 
 Kingis causes ; so as, every of ther demeanors waid by us, we have 
 thought we could no les do, than to commende the same to your good 
 Lordship : for ther been so many evill in their partis, or at least few 
 or non given to soke knowledge and civilitie, that we be gladd to see 
 oon of the contrary sorte, and be no les redy to incorage and set 
 forthe soche oon in his good doingis.' 
 
 " He was also on more than one occasion despatched to England 
 to transact weighty affairs for the Irish Government, and was en- 
 trusted with the charge of treaasure to be conveyed back for the 
 King's service in Ireland. In December, 1638, the treasure given 
 into his care was conveyed in two hampers on horses from London to 
 Holyhead, and thence shipped to Dalkey ; the expenses of the journey 
 being 711. 155.; and again on the 5th of February, 1540, he left 
 London, having with him a sum of 2256/. for the Irish Government, 
 and accomplished a journey, which now takes scarcely a day, in exactly 
 one month, arriving at Dublin on the 5th of March, with his charge ! 
 During this period frequent letters were forwarded by the Earl of 
 Ormonde, and his son, Lord James, to the Cowleys, when in London, 
 directing them as to representations to be made to the King and 
 Cromwell against the Geraldines and their abettors. The Earl 
 always addressed his letters ' To my trusty servaunt, Robert Cowley, 
 at London,' or ' To my trusty servaunt, Waltier Cowley,' except in 
 one instance, when in addressing an epistle to them both, on the 16th 
 July, 1538, he directs it — ' To my right lovying Counsailours, Robert 
 Cowley and Walter Cowley, lyjng at Mr. Jenynges, besid the Crossid 
 Freres, at London.' Lord James Butler, however, appears to have ad- 
 mitted them to greater familiarity, as he addressed his letters — ' To my
 
 S80 APPENDIX. 
 
 assurid friende, Robert Cowley at London ;' and after his father's 
 death, when he himself became Earl of Ormonde, in writing to the 
 King's Secretary on the 21st of October, 1539, he speaks of 'my 
 friende Waltier Cowley.' Their devotion to the interests of the 
 Butler family, however, was ultimately the cause of a temporary but 
 serious reverse of fortune to the Cowleys. Earl James, though he 
 wedded the daughter of the Earl of Desmonde, was as implacable an 
 enemy of the Geraldines as was his father, Earl Pierce, who had 
 married the sister of the Earl of Kildare ; and Sir Anthony St. Leger, 
 who succeeded to the government of Ireland after the disgrace and 
 execution of Lord Leonard Grey, having pursued the policy of his 
 predecessor with respect to patronising the Earl of Desmonde, 
 Robert Cowley so warmly joined the Earl of Ormonde in opposing 
 the views of the Lord-Deputy and thwarting his plans, that an open 
 rupture ensued. Cowley, without asking for licence to absent him- 
 self from his official duties in Ireland, repaired clandestinely to 
 London, with the view of prejudicing the Court against St. Leger, by 
 his report of transactions in Dublin, and he wrote a letter to the 
 King in which, amongst other matters, he charged the Lord-Deputy 
 with having said that ' Henry VII., at his first entering into Eng- 
 land, had but a very slender title to the crown till he married Queen 
 Elizabeth.' The members of the Irish Privy Council, however, sent 
 over a counter-report, in which the blame was thrown on Cowley 
 himself, and the result was, that on the 6th of October, 1542, the 
 Council of England committed him to the Fleet prison, having pre- 
 viously dismissed him from his office ; and we have the King thus ad- 
 dressing a letter on the subject to the Lord-Deputy and Council- of 
 Ireland : — 
 
 " ' And whereas it appearcth unto us, that Robert Cowley, late 
 Maister of the Rolles there, at his late repayr hither, departed out of 
 that our realm without the lycence of you, our Deputye, having no 
 cause or matyr to enforce the same, but such as he might have com- 
 mytted to writing, and signified at leisure, for that it plainly appeareth 
 the same was voyd of all malice, and of no suche importance as his 
 malicious appetite desired ; albeit it shalbe well doon for all men, 
 and especially for them whiche be in auctoritie to frame their 
 communications uppon suche matyer, as ministrie noon occasion to 
 captious persons to judge otherwise in them then theye meanc, 
 entende, and purpose ; and also it appeareth that the said Cowley is 
 a man seditious, and full of contention and disobedyence, which is to 
 be abhorred in any man, but chiefly in a counsailor : We have, there- 
 fore, discharged him of his rome and office of Maister of the Rolles
 
 APPENDIX. 381 
 
 there, and we conferre and jeve the same to you, Sir Thomas Cusake 
 not doubting but you wool, both therein, and in all other our affjiyres 
 thei-e, serve us according to your dieuty, and our expectacion.' 
 
 " The answer of St. Leger to the above royal dispatch is curious 
 not only as showing the nature of the quarrel with Cowley, but as 
 giving us a glimpse of the policy upon which the government of Ire- 
 land was conducted at the time, being upon the principle of divide et 
 impera : — 
 
 '• ' It may also please your Majestic, that there hathe bene to me 
 reported that the saide Mr. Cowley, late Maister of your Rolles here, 
 shoulde article ageinste me, that I wente aboute to erecte a newe 
 Geraldyne bande, menyng the same by the Erie of Desmonde ; the 
 trouthe is, I laboured moost effectuallie to bring him to your parfaicte 
 obedience, to my grete parill and charge ; and this, gracious Lord, was 
 the onlie cause. I sawe that, now the Erie of Kildare was gone, ther 
 was no subjecte of your Majesties here mete nor hable to way with the 
 Erie of Ormonde ; who hathe. of your Majesties gifte, and of his owne 
 inherytance and rule, gevin him by your Majestic, not onlle fifty or 
 sixty myles in lengthe, but also many of the chiefe holdes of the 
 frontiers of Irishmen ; so that if he, or any of his heires, shoulde 
 swarve from their dewtie of allegiance (whiche I think verilie that he 
 will never do), it wolde be more harde to dante him or theim, then it 
 was the said Erie of Kildare, who had alwayes the said Erie of 
 Ormonde in his toppe, when he wolde or was like to attempte any 
 such thinge. Therefore I thought it good to have a Rowlande for an 
 Olyver ; for having the saide Erie of Desmond your Highness assured 
 subjecte, it will kepe theim both in staye. * * # * This, as my 
 bounden dewtie, which is to allure al men to your Majesties obe- 
 dyence, was the cause why I labored the saide Erie to the same, and 
 no zeele that I have either to Geraldyne or Butler, otherwise than 
 may sarve to the sarvice of your Majestie, in which I love them 
 bothe. * * * * And where, also, it hathe bene reported here 
 that such articles as I, with other your Counsell, sente over ageyne 
 the saide Cowley, late Maister of your Holies here, should be con- 
 ceived ageinste him more of malice, then of matier of trouthe ; upon 
 the faithe and alleigeance I bere to your Majestie, for my parte 
 having the examination thereof in presence of your Counsell, I 
 examyned the same as indifferentlie as I would have done if the same 
 Cowley had bene my father ; and onlie certified the trouthe, as the 
 witnesses deposed upon their othes.' 
 
 '• Robert Cowley was detained in the Fleet prison, on the charge 
 of treasonable practices, till the 2 1st of July in the following year,
 
 382 APPENDIX. 
 
 when he was liberated on giving security not to go to Ireland without 
 leave. From this period we have no mention of his name in any 
 public document, and as he must have been a very old man at the 
 time, it may be safely presumed that he did not long outlive his 
 imprisonment and disgrace. Three years later, however, we have the 
 old quarrel waged more fiercely than ever between the Earl of 
 Ormonde and the Lord-Deputy, and we find Walter Cowley, who 
 still remained Solicitor-General and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, 
 taking a prominent part in the embroilment, as a partizan of the 
 Earl. The Lord Chancellor, Allen, was also at variance with St. 
 Leger, and appears, according to the view of the editors of the ' State 
 Papers,' to have used Cowley as a tool to give him annoyance.' In 
 February, 1546, Kobert St. Leger, the Deputy's brother, intercepted, 
 and opened certain letters written by the Earl of Ormonde, to the 
 King, and the Earl having indignantly denounced this act, St. Leger 
 required the Council to investigate the case, and allow him to defend 
 himself Lord Ormonde and Walter Cowley appeared before the 
 Council, but refused to allege anything there to St. Leger's charge, on 
 the ground that, he being the Lord Deputy's brother, the Council was 
 not indifierent ; and the consequence was the matter was laid before 
 the English Council. The Irish Council brought strong charges 
 against the Earl of Ormonde. The Archbishop of Dublin, in writing 
 to the King, observes — ' So it is, most gracious Lorde, that here is 
 contraversie rysyn betwene the right honourable my Lorde-Deputy 
 and my Lorde Ormonde, which, if speedy remedy be not had, is like 
 to torne to great hurte ; ye, to the totall destrucion of this your 
 Majesties realme, and in especially your mere English subjectes ;' and 
 he denounces the Earl as a dangerous person ' more like a prince 
 than a subject ; more like a governor than an obedient servant.' 
 Whilst the Deputy himself begs of the English Council to free him 
 from the troubles of his unpleasant office — ' Discharge me,' he prays 
 ' of this tedious paine, whereunto I have not bene accustomed, and I 
 humblie beseche youe all, to be the means to the Kinges Majestic to 
 ryd me from this hell, wherein I have remayned this six years ; and 
 that some other may there serve his Majestic, as long as I have doon, 
 and I to serve his Highnes elsewhere, where he shall commando me. 
 The' the same were in Turkay, I will not refuce ytt.' The various 
 
 1 Allen was unscrupulous enough to endeavour to make a stalking-horse of Cowley, and 
 escape censure by throwing all the blame on liim. In his defence against St. Leger's charges, he 
 says, " As for Cowley's bokc (book, or schedule of charges), I take God to recorde, I was never 
 of counscU wyth article of it. God is ray judge, I wolde be ashamed to be named to be privy to 
 the pennynge of so lewde a boke."
 
 APPENDIX. 383 
 
 parties were ultimately called to London to have the case investigated 
 and the intrigues of the Earl of Ormonde's enemies, it is generally 
 supposed, went to the length of procuring his murder there. Poison 
 was introduced into some of the dishes at an entertainment which he 
 gave to thirty-five of his followers and attendants at Ely House 
 Holborn, and the Earl and eighteen of his servants died. His faithful 
 ally, Walter Cowley, had also the misfortune of being condemned by 
 the Council, on St. Leger's charges, and he was committed to the 
 Tower of London. His incarceration was, perhaps, a fortunate cir- 
 cumstance for him, as it probably prevented his being poisoned 
 at the Ely House banquet. From his prison we have the poor cap- 
 tive writing to the council after this most humble and contrite 
 fashion : — I, Waltier Cowley, with as sorrowful a hart as ever any 
 pore man can have that my Soveraine Lord should conceiv evell 
 demeacuire in me, do, in most humble wise, beseche his Highness, 
 according to his Majesties accustomid clemencie, that this my plain 
 confession and declaration may move his Excellencie, replete with 
 pitie and mercy, to accept me to grace.' He then proceeds to an 
 explanation of the reasons which induced him to consider the Lord 
 Deputy's policy unsound and dangerous, declaring his belief that if 
 the Earl of Ormonde's power to serve the King as a faithful noble- 
 man were subverted, there would be ' a great danger to all us there 
 that have little land and honure, that we shold be then undone by 
 Irish dissobeissants in every side;' and he subscribes himself 'your 
 honourable Lordship's pore wredche in misery, Waltier Cowley.' 
 This submission by no means mollified the King and Council, for 
 they soon after issued an order for the dismissal of Cowley from his 
 office, and appointing John Bath to be Solicitor-General in his 
 room. 
 
 " At this point the Kecord Commissioners' publication of the in- 
 valuable documents contained in the State Paper Office, breaks off, 
 and I have no means of ascertaining the length of Walter Cowley's 
 incarceration in the Tower, or how his discharge was procured ; but 
 there is reason to suppose that his release came with the decease of 
 the tyrant Henry VIII.. in January, 1547 (old style), and that the 
 new Government disapproved of the severity used towards him, and 
 wished to compensate him for it, for in a few months after Edward VI. 
 ascended the throne, we have (according to the ' Liber Munerum ') 
 Edward, Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of the kingdom, writing 
 from Windsor, under the date September 13, 1548, signifying to the 
 Lord-Deputy, Bellyngham, and the Council of Ireland, ' that Walter 
 Cowley is recommended to them as a worthy and necessary officer for 
 
 3b
 
 384 APPENDIX. 
 
 the surveying, appraising, and extending the King's possessions and 
 revenues in Ireland;' and a second letter on the 21st of the same 
 month, specially directing that the salary attaching to the office 
 should be 100/. per annum — a large sum in those days. Cowley had 
 continued to hold the appointment of Clerk of the Crown in Chan- 
 cery, to which he was originally appointed, but he now resigned that 
 situation upon receiving the patent for the office of Surveyor-General 
 of Ireland, which he was the first to fill, and held till his death, in 
 1551. 
 
 " Robert Cowley, beside "Walter, had two sons, Robert and 
 Nicholas.' The former was a justice of the peace in the King's 
 County, under the title of ' Robert Colley, Esq. ;' having on the 3rd 
 February, 1562, received a grant from Queen Elizabeth of lands in 
 that county called Castletown, otherwise Young-Cowleystown ; but 
 he was slain by the rebels on the 10th July, 1572,' without leaving 
 male issue, and the property reverted to the Crown. Nicholas 
 appears to have been a merchant of Kilkenny, and he filled the office 
 of Sovereign of that municipality in the years 1540 and 1551. This 
 Nicholas was probably the progenitor of the subsequent Cowleys of 
 Kilkenny. Walter, the Surveyor-General, was no doubt the head of 
 the family, and he (according to Lodge) had two children, Henry 
 and Walter. The first was a captain in Queen Elizabeth's army, was 
 knighted, and received a grant of Castlecarbery, in the county of 
 Meath. From Mm sprang the Mornington family. Walter, the 
 younger, was Customer and Collector of the port of Drogheda, but I 
 find no further mention of him. The junior branch of the family, 
 which remained in Kilkenny, were chiefly wealthy traders in the 
 city, and also owned property in the county : some of them were 
 brought up to the legal profession, for it appears from the ' Exchequer 
 Order-book' that, in 1610, 'Mr. Cowlie, learned in the law,' was 
 counsel for the Corporation of Kilkenny, in a suit in the Court of 
 Exchequer. In 1611, Mr. Rothe was their counsel, and Robert 
 Bysse their attorney; but subsequently, in the same year, 'Mr. 
 Cowlie, the lawyer,' appeared to represent the body. In 1609, when 
 Kilkenny received the Great Charter of James I., raising it to the 
 dignity of a city, Michael Cowley was specially named in that docu- 
 ment as one of the first aldermen. He filled the office of mayor in 
 
 1 Patrick Colley was, in the year 1537, one of the soldiers of Dublin Castle, at a fee of 8d. per 
 day during his life (Rot. Mem., 29 Hen. VIII., m. 30), and towards the end of the same century 
 Silvester Cooley, gentleman, was, according to the " Liber Munerum," constable of Dublin Castle. 
 These were, doubtless, members of the Cowley family of Kilkenny. 
 
 » This fact escaped Lodge and Archdall. It is here given on the authority of an Exchequer 
 Inquisition, King's County, temp. Eliz. No. 12,
 
 APPENDIX. 385 
 
 1626, and must have been a man of wealth, if we may judge from the 
 costly monument erected to him in the Abbey of St. John, which 
 bears the following inscription : — 
 
 " ' D. Michael Cowley. 
 
 " ' Irenar(jha et jurisconsultus, &c., et uxor ejus D. Honoria Roth, 
 hie requiescunt in scternam, ut speramus, hinc requiem transferendi 
 ubi quod corruptibile est incorruptionem induet ; uterque mortis sub- 
 ditit legi ; uterque mortuus commune solvit debitum naturae. Hoec 
 vivere orbi desiit anno * * * * die mensis • * * * q^\q 
 ille coepit vivere anno * * * * 
 
 " The monument having been erected during his life-time leaves a 
 blank for the date of his decease, but he was living in the year 1645, 
 as his name is given in a list of the gentlemen of the county of 
 Kilkenny under the date 21st Charles I., preserved amongst the 
 MSS. in Trinity College, Dublin (F. 3. 1-5). James Cowley was 
 Mayor of Kilkenny in 1636. In 1641 Andrew Cowley, of Kilkenny, 
 appears on the roll of representatives, who sat in the Supreme 
 Council of the Confederate Catholics, and he was Sheriff of the city 
 in 1642. A fragment of a monument, lying at the south side of St. 
 John's Abbey, sculptured with the Cowley arms, impaling those of 
 Shee, bearing, in addition, the initials A. C. and R. S., probably 
 belonged to the tomb of this gentleman. At this eventful period of 
 Irish history, Luke Cowley was Roman Catholic Archdeacon of 
 Ossory, and Prothonotary Apostolic, and as such his name appears 
 signed to the answers to the famous queries propounded by the 
 Supreme Council, to the Bishop of Ossory and other divines, as to 
 the lawfulness of the cessation of hostilities with Lord Inchiquin in 
 1648. When the all-conquering arms of Cromwell were found irre- 
 sistible by the garrison of Kilkenny in 1650, after a gallant defence, 
 they sued for and received honourable terms, sending out four gentle- 
 men to negotiate the matter with the Parliamentary General ; and 
 the first of these who signed the articles of capitulation was Edward 
 Cowley. The family has since altogether disappeared from the county 
 and city of Kilkenny ; the last of the name whom I have been enabled 
 to trace in the locality being James Cowley, whose will, bearing date 
 22nd December, 1720, is preserved in the Ossory Diocesan Regis- 
 trar's Office. He bequeaths, in the usual form, his soul to God, his 
 body to be buried with his ancestors in the Abbey of St. John, and 
 his interest in the farms of Rathardmore and Killamory, held by him 
 by lease from Denny Cuffe, Esq., to be sold, and the proceeds equally 
 divided between his wife and three children, whose names are not 
 mentioned. 
 
 VOL. 11. 25
 
 386 APPENDIX. 
 
 " In the mean time the elder branch of the family was rising to 
 high honours and distinctions in other counties. Henry Colley, the 
 eldest son of Walter, the Surveyor-General, though his official ap- 
 pointments as Governor of Philipstown and a Commissioner for the 
 execution of Martial Law, were in the King's County, Kildare, and 
 Meath. kept up his connection with Kilkenny, as he represented the 
 borough of Thomastown in Parliament. He was knighted and made 
 a Privy Councillor by the Lord-Deputy, Sir Henry Sydney, and for 
 his services, military and civil, received the special commendation of 
 several of the chief Ministers of the day. He died in 1584, and the 
 property of his eldest son, Sir George Colley, of Edenderry, passed 
 out of the family from the failure of heirs male in the next generation ; 
 but his second son, Sir Henry of Castlecarbery, had a numerous 
 posterity. He was succeeded by his son Henry, who was succeeded 
 by his son, Dudley, whose, successor was Henry, who, in his turn, was 
 succeeded by another Henry, the father of Richard Colley, Baron of 
 Mornington, the father of Garret, Earl of Mornington, whose fifth 
 son, born the 1st of May, 1769, was the Duke of Wellington. Richard 
 Colley, the first of the family raised to the peerage, succeeded to the 
 property of the Wesley or Wellesley family, on the death of his 
 cousin, Garret Wesley in 1728, that gentleman having made him his 
 heir on condition of his assuming the surname and using the coat of 
 arms of Wesley. The arms since borne by the family, in consequence, 
 are — Quarterly, first and fourth gules, a cross, argent, between four 
 saltiers of plates, for Wesley : the second and third or, a lion rampant 
 gules, gorged with a ducal coronet, proper, for Colley. Crest, on a 
 wreath, an armed arm in pale, couped below the elbow, the hand 
 proper, the wrist encircled with a ducal coronet, or, holding a spear in 
 bend, with the banner of St. George appendant, in allusion to the 
 Wesleys having been anciently the standard-bearers of the Kings of 
 England. The lion rampant, here used for Colley, was no part of 
 the arms of the old Cowleys of Kilkenny ; but I am informed by Sir 
 William Betham — to whom I have been indebted for much valuable 
 information on the subject of this paper — that this bearing was spe- 
 cially granted to Richard Colley, from the English Heralds' College 
 upon his assumption of the name and cognizance of Wesley. The 
 arms given for Cowley, in an heraldic manuscript in the possession 
 of the Rev. James Graves, which seems to have been compiled in the 
 beginning of the last century by some native of Kilkenny, are — 
 '■gules, a chevron (by others a fess), argcyit, between three esquires 
 helmets.' The armorial bearings on the monuments of Michael and 
 Andrew Cowley, in the Abbey of St. John, display a fess between
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 387 
 
 three esquires' helmets, with the crest, a hand, couped at the wrist, 
 embowed to the dexter side. The fess, on both the shields, is charged 
 with a crescent, as a mark of cadency, showing that the Cowleys of 
 Kilkenny acknowledged the Colleys of Castlecarbery to be the elder 
 branch of their house."
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Abbe, General, furiously assails General 
 Hill's divisions, i. 316 
 
 Abercrorabie, Sir Ralph — engagement 
 at Schydel, i. 5 
 
 Aberdeen, Earl of, ii. 13T 
 
 Achilles, bronze statue of, erected in 
 1822, ii. 92 
 
 Acland, General, arrives, L 42 
 
 Adam, Colonel, at the Pass of Ordal, i. 266 
 
 General, ii. 33 
 
 Adelaide, Queen, ii. 192 
 
 Admiralty, sluggishness of, i. 273 
 
 /iffghanistan expedition, ii. 205 
 
 Agiucourt, ii. 25 
 
 Aimednuggur, a fortified town of great 
 strength, i. 15; assault of, 16 
 
 Alba de Tormes, attack on, i. 189 
 
 Albuera, battle of, i. 117 
 
 Albert, Prince, Colonel of the Rifle Bri- 
 gade, ii. 267 ; Master of the Trinity 
 House, ii. 268 
 
 Alcobafa, convent of, burnt, i. 85 
 
 Alexander of Russia, i. 213 
 
 Alexander, Mr., Editor of the " Morning 
 Journal," prosecuted for libel, ii. 152 
 
 Alison's " History of Europe," i. 76 ; 
 il 340. 
 
 on the Battle of Waterloo, ii. 57 
 
 Allan, Sir W., gigantic picture of Water- 
 loo, ii. 95, 300 
 
 Allied Sovereigns, address of, issued at 
 Frankfurt, i. 307 
 
 Allies, the, movement upon Dresden, i. 
 803 
 
 , the, in Paris, ii. 50 
 
 Almaraz, capture of, i. 165 
 
 Almeida, i. 99 
 
 , escape of the garrison, L 101 
 
 Alten, Baron Charles, his imeasiness in 
 
 the Pyrenees, L 259 
 Althorp, Lord, ii. 120 
 Anecdotes of the Duke, ii. 79, 80, 301 
 Anglers, College of, where Wellington 
 
 was educated, i. 3 
 Anglesey, Marquis of, i. 229 
 Marquis of, loses his leg at 
 
 Waterloo, ii. 33 
 
 Marquis of, at the head of the 
 
 Irish Government, 1828, ii. 137; re- 
 call of, 141 
 Anson, Major-General, i. 124 
 
 Major-General, at Salamanca, 
 
 i. 172 
 Army, British, the opinions of foreigners 
 
 respecting, ii. 368 
 Anstruther, General, anchors off Peniche, 
 
 i. 42 
 Appendix, No. I., i. 373 ; No. IL, ii. 320 
 Apsley House, ii. 64, 84 ; the pictures of, 
 93; attacked by the mob, 160; win- 
 dows of, protected by iron blinds, 160 
 Ardennes, Forest of, ii. 27 (note) 
 Arroyo del Molinos, surprise at, i. 129 
 Assay e, village of, i. 17 ; battle of, 18 
 Auckland, Lord, ii. 205 
 Aurungabad, occupation of, i. 16 
 Austria, Emperor of, ii. 272 (note) 
 Autographs of the Duke, ii. 263 
 
 B. 
 
 Badajoz, description of, i. 99 ; siege of, 
 raised, L 119; blockaded, 123; the 
 eve of the storming, i. 157 ; storming 
 of, 159; sack of, 161 
 
 Baird, Sir David, assault at Seringapa- 
 tam, i. 7
 
 390 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ballasteros, General, i. 1 84 ; offended 
 pride of, i. 187 
 
 Bank of England, run for gold upon, 
 ii. 164: 
 
 Barnard, Colonel Andrew, i. 96 
 
 Barossa, battle of, i. 97 
 
 Batavia, attack on, i. 10 
 
 Batburst, Earl, Foreign Secretary, i. 173 ; 
 letter to, August 8th, 1813, 383 ; ii. 58 
 
 Batons of the Duke of Wellington, ii. 307 
 
 Bayonets first used at Bayonne, i. 314 
 (note) 
 
 Bayonne, i. 73 ; sortie from, i. 333 
 
 Beaufort, Duke of, ii. 37 
 
 Beaubarnais, Eugene, awaits Napoleon 
 at Magdeburg, i. 268 
 
 Belgian troops fallback in confusion, ii. 30 
 
 Belgium, Napoleon's views in reference 
 to, ii. 5 ; renounces the authority of 
 Holland, 1830, ii. 167 
 
 Bentinck, Lord William, i. 45 ; character 
 of, 266 
 
 Beresford, General, i. 49 ; Marshal Sir 
 William, at the capture of Badajoz, 
 115; Marshal, ii. 148 
 
 Bernadotte, Marshal, i. 176 
 
 Bertrand, General Count, i. 177 
 
 Bessicres, Marshal, sent to join Massena, 
 i. 103 ; killed at Poserna, 268 
 
 Bidassoa, passage of the river, i. 283 
 
 Biographies of the Duke, ii. 262 
 
 Bishop, Sir Henry, ii. 297 
 
 Bishops hissed during Divine Service, ii. 
 164 
 
 Blueher, Marshal, defeats Marshal Mac- 
 donald, i. 304; pursues the French 
 Army to the Rhine, 306 ; leads on his 
 forces to Meaux, 324 ; notice of, 343 ; 
 impatience to commence fighting, ii. 
 14 ; proposes to execute Napoleon, 
 46; narrowly escapes death, 17; vin- 
 dictiveness of, 65 ; reproved by Wel- 
 lington, 65 
 
 Bock, Major-General, at Salamanca, i. 172 
 
 Bordeaux, advance of the AlUes to, i. 321 
 
 Bourbon pretensions, i. 299 ; misrule in 
 France, 363 
 
 Brennier made prisoner, i. 43 
 
 Breslau, meeting of Napoleon and Alex- 
 ander, i. 215 
 
 Bristol, riots at, 160 
 
 British army, baggage of, i. 231 
 in the Netherlands, ii. 9 
 
 British residents in Brussels, agency of, 
 ii. 38 
 
 Brotherton, Captain, i. 173 
 
 Brougham's, Lord, opinion of Castle- 
 reagh, i. 358 ; on the character of the 
 Duke of York, ii. 103; 186 (note); 
 at tlie banquet at Dover, 197 
 
 Brunswick, Duke of, marches to Quatre 
 Bras, ii. 17 ; cavalry arrives, 19 ; anec- 
 dote of 19 (note) ; Duke of, is slain, 
 20 ; killed at Quatre Bras, 41 
 
 Brussels, news received of the approach 
 of the French, ii. 15; on the 16th and 
 17tIiof June, 1815,39; on the 18th, 41 
 
 Buenos Ayres, expeditions against, i. 29 
 
 Billow, General, ii. 14 ; approach of the 
 Russians, 33 
 
 Buonaparte, Joseph, crosses the Tagus, 
 i. 58 
 
 King Joseph, i. 177 
 
 Lucien, ii. 45 
 
 Burdett, Sir Francis, opposes the grant to 
 the Duke of WelHngton, (1812), i. 206 
 Sir Francis, ii. 163 
 
 Burgos, advance upon, i. 183; descrip- 
 tion of, 185 ; abandonment of the 
 siege, 187 ; march to (1813), 237 
 
 Burgoyne, Major-General Sir John, ii. 
 238 
 
 Burke, speeches of, ii. 210 
 
 Burrard, Sir Henry, i. 42 
 
 Busaco, battle of, i. 77 
 
 Byng, Major-General (afterwards Lord 
 Stafford), at the battle of the Py- 
 renees, i. 257 ; falls at the battle of 
 the Nivelle, 297 
 
 Byron, Lord, lines on the Duchess of 
 Richmond's entertainment, ii. 16 ; 97 
 (note) 
 
 C. 
 
 Cabul, catastrophe, ii. 215 
 
 Cadiz, siege of, i. 95 
 
 Cadogan, the Hon. Lieutenant Colonel, 
 i. 239 
 
 Caffarelli, General, i. 185 
 
 Cambridge, Duke of, ii. 233 ; Colonel of 
 the Coldstream Guards, 268 
 
 Cambray, storming of, ii. 43 
 
 Cameron, Lieutenant-Colonel, death of, 
 at Fuentes de Onoro, i. 106. 
 
 Colonel, mortally wounded, ii. 20. 
 
 Canning, Right Hon. George, defence 
 of Wellington, i. 202 ; speech. 311 • 
 foreign minister, ii. 90 ; affairs of 
 Greece, 98 ; succeeds the Earl of 
 Liverpool as Premier, 105 ; ministry, 
 1827, 113 ; corn bill opposed by the 
 Duke of Wellington, 116; death of, 
 118; burial of, at Westminster Abbey, 
 119. 
 
 Canova, colossal figure of Napoleon by 
 ii. 64 (note) 
 
 Cambrai, ii. 81 
 
 Cape of Good Hope taken, i. 30
 
 INDEX. 
 
 391 
 
 Capefigue, ii. 78 
 
 Capo d'Istria, Count, ii. 78 
 
 Carnarvon, Earl of, ii. 169 
 
 Carnot resists all the efforts of the 
 British to take Antwerp, i. 326 
 
 Caroline, Queen, notice of, ii. 86 ; trial 
 of 87 ; attempts to force herself into 
 Westminster Abbey at the coronation 
 of George IV., 88 
 
 Cassan, General, pertinaciously objects 
 to surrender the citadel of Pampeluna, 
 i. 289 
 
 Castenskiold, Lieutenant-General, en- 
 camps near Rochild, i. 31 ; defeated 
 by Sir Arthur Wellesley, 32 
 
 Oastlereagh, Lord, letter to, 45 ; 64 ; 
 202 ; ou the part of England signs the 
 treaty at Chaumont, 324 ; proceeds to 
 Vienna, 357 ; Viscount, ii. 59 ; death 
 of, 90 
 
 Cathcart, Lord, despatched to the Bal- 
 tic, i. 30 
 
 Catholics, claims of, ii. 105 
 
 Caulaincourt addresses letters to the 
 Prince Regent and others, i. 371 
 
 Chantrey, Sir Francis, ii. 220 ; anecdotes 
 of, 221 (note) 
 
 Charleroi taken, ii. 14 
 
 Charles X. abdicates, 1S30, ii. 157 
 
 Chartists, the, meeting of, on Kenning- 
 tou Common, ii. 240; petition of, 251 
 
 Chatham, Lord, ii. 293 
 
 Chatillon, dissolution of the Congress 
 of, i. 323 
 
 Chelsea Hospital, lying in state of the 
 Duke, ii. 277 ; pensioners follow the 
 Duke's remains, 277 
 
 Chillian wallah, battle of, ii. 288 
 
 China, the opium question, ii. 208 
 
 Cinque Ports, duties of the Lord War- 
 den, ii. 149 
 
 Cintra, Convention of, i. 44. 
 
 Clausel, General, at Salamanca, i. 170 
 
 Clarkson, on the subject of slavery, i. 355 
 
 Clancarty, Lord, British representative 
 at Vienna, i. 371 
 
 Clinton, Major-General, at Salamanca, i. 
 169. 
 
 Clive, Lord, Governor of Madras, i. 10 
 
 Cobbett, Mr., character of, ii. 126 (note) 
 
 Cocks, Hon. Edmund, leads the attack 
 on Burgos, i. 186 
 
 Codrington, Sir E., Admiral, ii. 122 
 
 Colborne, Lieutenant-Colonel, at Ciudad 
 Rodrigo, i. 138 
 
 Coldstream Guards, ii. 29 
 
 Collier, Sir George, arrives with a small 
 squadron, i. 273 
 
 Collins, Mr., the Duke's house steward, 
 ii. 261 
 
 Column in the Phosnix Park, Dublin, 
 
 ii. 139 
 Colville, Lieutenant-General Sir Charles, 
 
 at the storming of Cambray, il 43 
 Combermere, Lord, character of, i. 338 ; 
 
 Viscount, Constable of the Tower, il 
 
 267 
 Concerts, Ancient, ii. 297 
 Connaught Rangers, estimate of, i. 1 54 
 Consols, sudden fall of, ii. 56 (note) 
 Constables, special, ii. 246 
 Cooper, Sir Astley, attends the Duke at 
 
 Walmer Castle, iL201 
 Copenhagen bombarded, i. 31 
 Copenhagen, the Duke's charger, ii. 35, 
 
 (note) ; monument of, 97 
 Corn bill of Mr. Canning, ii. 116 
 Corn Laws, ii. 199 ; debate upon, 231 ; 
 
 repeal of, 235 
 Cornwallis, Lord, i. 147 
 Cotton, Lieutenant-General Sir S., i. 
 
 163; wounded by a sentry, 172; 
 
 wounded at Salamanca, 173 
 Cradock, Sir John, despatched to Lisbon, 
 
 i.48 
 Craufurd, Major-General, at the attack 
 
 on Ciudad Rodrigo, 142 ; death of, 144 ; 
 
 character of, 146 ; anecdotes of, 148 ; 
 
 anecdote of the ramrods, 194 
 Crotch, Professor, ii. 178 
 Cuesta, Spanish General, i. 57 
 Ciudad Rodrigo, description of, i. 99 ; 
 
 capture of, 137 
 Cumberland, Duke of, ii. 175 
 Currency, metallic, theory of, ii. 327 
 Curtis, Dr. ii. 140 
 Crystal Palace, See Great Exhibition, ii. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dalbiao, Colonel, wife of, at the battle 
 
 of Salamanca, i. 174 
 Dalhousie, Lord, character of, i. 237 
 
 Marquis of, ii. 250 
 
 Dalrymple, Colonel, i. 11 
 
 Sir Hugh, i. 43 
 
 D'Angouleme, Due, joins Wellington, 
 
 i. 318 ; endeavours to rally the people, 
 
 ii. 3 
 D'Artois, Count, ii. 3 
 Davoust, Marshal, resolutely defends 
 
 Hamburgh, i. 326 
 Dawson, Mr., ii. 142 
 Denon, keeper of the Fine Arts, ii. 73 
 Derby, Earl of, letter on the death of 
 
 tlie Duke, ii. 265 ; Lord Wai-den of the 
 
 Cinque Ports, ii. 267 
 Desaix, General, i. 176
 
 392 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Dhoondia Waugb, treachery of, 10 ; 
 
 heads a band of desperadoes, 11 ; 
 
 death of, 1800, i. 12 
 Dickson, Lieut.-Colonel, at Saa Sebas- 
 tian, i. 275 
 Diez, Juan Martin, i. 182 
 D'Israeli, speech upon the Duke's fu- 
 neral, ii. 360 
 Despatches of the Duke, i.. 291 
 Don Carlos de Espana, 116; wounded 
 
 at the blockade of Pampeluna, 289 ; 
 
 ii. 189 
 Don Miguel, ii. 172 
 D'Orleaus, Duke (afterwards Louis 
 
 Philippe), ii. 3 
 Dost Mahomed, ii. 204 
 Douglas, Colonel, four times wounded, 
 
 ii. 20 
 Douro, passage of, i. 53 
 
 Marchioness of, ii. 97 
 
 Dowton, the comedian, ii. 164 
 Dubreton, surprise of, at the retreat of 
 
 WelHngton, i. 188 
 Duckworth, Sir Thomas, commands in 
 
 expedition against Turkey, i. 29 
 Duckworth, Lieutenant-Colonel, falls at 
 
 Albuera, i. 117 
 Dudley, Lord, ii. 135 ; account of, in 
 
 Lord Brougham's " Statesmen," ii. 114 
 
 (note) 
 Duel between the Duke of Wellington 
 
 and Lord Winchelsea, ii. 148 
 Dumourier, letters to, i. 313 
 Duncan, Major, i. 96 
 D'Urban, Count, i. 177 
 Duroc killed at Bautzen, i. 268 
 
 E. 
 
 Ebrington, Lord, proposes to stop the 
 supphes, ii. 164 
 
 Edinburgh, statue of the Duke at, ii. 
 202 (note) 
 
 El Bodon, aifan- of, i. 125 
 
 Elba, situation of, i. 360 ; population of, 
 361 ; improvements in by Napoleon, 
 361 
 
 Eldon, Lord, ii. 86 
 
 Ellenborough, Lord, Governor-General 
 of India, ii. 219 
 
 Elster, the river in which Poniatowski 
 was drowned, i. 306 
 
 Emerton, Rev. Dr., sermon on the char- 
 acter of the Duke, ii. 372 
 
 England, reception of the news of the 
 battle of Vittoria in, i. 246 ; vast re- 
 sources of, 310 ; royal visitors in, 343 ; 
 defences of, letter of the Duke to Sir 
 John F. Burgoyne, ii. 349 
 
 Erskine, Sir "William, i. 82 
 Essling, Prince of (Massena), i. 75 
 Europe, proceedings in the north of, L 
 
 267 
 Evans, General de Lacy, ii. 189 
 Estremadura, torrents of, i. 154 
 
 Falmouth, Earl of, ii. 148 
 
 Fane, General, i. 75 
 
 Fergusson, Captain, death of, at Bada- 
 joz, i. 158 
 
 Ferozeshah, battle of, ii. 288 
 
 Fitzgerald, Mr. Vesey, ii. 137 
 
 Fitzroy, Lord, raised to the peerage, i. 
 271 
 
 Fitzroy Somerset, Lord, one of the 
 Duke's personal staff, ii. 12 
 
 Fletcher, Sir W., at St. Sebastian, i, 265 
 
 Fort Napoleon, i. 164 
 
 Fort Ragusa, i. 165 
 
 Fort Retiro, at Madrid, i. 182 
 
 Foy, General, i. 54 
 
 France, entry into, of the allied army, i. 
 287 ; under the Bourbons, 363 ; 
 evacuation of, by the allied armies, ii. 
 83 ; revolution in 1830, 156 ; revolu- 
 tion in 1848, 253 
 
 Franceschi, General, i. 52 ; taken pris- 
 oner, 74 
 
 Frazer, General, retreats before Alex- 
 andria, i. 30 
 
 Frazer, Major, killed at the storming of 
 San Sebastian, i. 265 
 
 French, change opinions in favour of the 
 Bourbons, i. 317 ; cavalry attacks at 
 Waterloo, ii. 31 ; revolution, 250 
 
 Fuentes d'Onoro, battle of, i. 103 
 
 Frere, British minister, withdrawn, 1809, 
 i. 63. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gaeonne, passage of, i. 321 
 
 Gascoyne, General, ii. 160 
 
 Gamarra Major, storming of the village 
 of, i. 241 
 
 Gawilghur, assault of, by Colonel Ste- 
 venson, i. 22 
 
 Genappes, village of, the scene of much 
 skirmishing, ii. 24 
 
 George III., death of, ii. 86 
 
 IV., crowned (1821), ii. 88 ; 
 
 speech of (1829), 143 ; death of (1830), 
 155; character of, 156 
 
 Glasgow, statue of the Duke at, ii. 228 
 
 Goderich, Lord, ii. 117
 
 INDEX. 
 
 393 
 
 Gonzalvo di Cordova, iL 294 
 
 Gordon, Alexander, receives a mortal 
 ■wound, ii. 34 ; death of, ii. 36 
 
 Gough, Lord, at Barossa, i. 98 
 
 Goulbnrn, Mr. ii. 121 
 
 Graham, Major-Geaeral, i. 94 
 
 General, laconic order of, i. 96 
 
 Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas, 
 
 L 240 ; Sir Thomas, 232 ; at San Se- 
 bastian, 265 
 
 Sir James, ii. 185 
 
 Great Exhibition, opened May 1st, 1851, 
 il 255 
 
 Grenoble, people of, open the gates to 
 Napoleon, ii. 2 
 
 Grenville, Lord, on the subject of slavery, 
 1. 355 ; death of, ii. 174 
 
 , Mr., Secretary to the Duke of 
 
 Wellington, ii. 225 
 
 Grey, Earl, some account of, ii. 159; 
 strictures upon by the Duke of Wel- 
 lington, ii. 161 
 
 , Lord, resigns, ii. 163 ; ministry 
 of, recalled, 164 
 
 Grouchy, Marshal, ii. 32 
 
 Guerillas, determination of, i. '72 
 
 Gm: wood's Despatches, ii. 341 
 
 H. 
 
 Haddington, Earl of, iL 170 
 
 Halkett, Colonel, i. 188 
 
 , General, iL 33 
 
 Hamilton, Lieutenant-General, i. 154 
 
 Hansard, Messrs., appeal to the House 
 of Commons, ii. 206 
 
 Harcourt, Colonel, attacks the Rajah of 
 Berar, L 20 
 
 Hardenberg, representative of the King 
 of Prussia, ii. 77 
 
 Hardinge, Lieut.-Colonel, distinguishes 
 himself at Albuera, L 117 
 
 Sir Henry, member of the Gov- 
 ernment (1828), ii. 137 ; attends the 
 Duke of Wellington as second in his 
 duel with Lord Winchelsea, 148 
 
 Lord, Commander-in-Chief, ii. 
 
 269 
 
 Harris, General, at Seringapatam, i. 6 
 
 Hastings, Marquis of, proceeds to Os- 
 tend, i. 4 
 
 Lord, ii. 109 
 
 Hay, Colonel Leith, " Narrative of the 
 Peninsular War," i. 76 
 
 Haynau, Marshal, iL 272 (note) 
 
 Helena, Princess, birth of, iL 233 
 
 Herries, Mr., Chancellor of the Exche- 
 quer, ii. 119 
 
 Hervey, ilajor, L 55 
 
 Highlanders at Quatre Bras, ii. 20 ; de- 
 cimation of, ii. 21 
 
 Hill, General, L 49 ; crosses the Tao-us, 
 L 79 
 
 , Lieutenant-General Rowland, L 
 
 127 
 
 , Sir Rowland, on the Pyrenees, the 
 
 whist party, i. 284 
 
 , Lord, character of, i. 338 ; narrowly 
 
 escapes a shot, 339 ; commands the 
 right wing of the army iu the Nether- 
 lands, ii. 10 ; Commander-in-Chief 
 (1827), 115; death of, 218 
 
 Hogg, Sir James Weir, speech of, iL 364 
 
 Holland, operations in, i. 325 
 
 Hope, Sir John, distinguishes himself at 
 the passageof the Nive, i. 315 ; wound- 
 ed in the ankle, 315; indifference to 
 personal danger, 316 ; taken prisoner 
 at Bayonne, 333 
 
 , General Sir John, succeeds Sir 
 
 Thomas Graham, L 283 
 
 Hougoumont, ii. 26 ; chateau of, 28 ; at- 
 tack upon, 29 
 
 Houghton, General, death of, i. 116 
 
 Howard, General, at Arroyo del MoU- 
 nos, i. 129 ; at Almaraz, 165 
 
 Hulke, Mr., medical attendant to the 
 Duke, iL 261 
 
 Hume, Mr. Joseph, ii. 163 
 
 Dr., attends the Duke at Walmer 
 
 Castle, ii. 201 
 
 Hunt, Mr., character of, ii. 127 (note) 
 
 Huskisson's, Mr., correspondence with 
 the Duke of Wellington, ii. 118 ; resig- 
 nation of, 129 
 
 Hyde Park corner, statue of the Duke 
 at, iL 237 
 
 Hyderabad, protection of, L 1 7 
 
 Jena, the bridge of, ii. 65 
 
 JoinviUe, Prince de, pamphlet of, iL 238 
 
 Jomini, a Swiss, well known for his 
 
 miUtary writings, L 303 
 Jourdan, Marshal, i. 60, 178 ; at Vittoria, 
 
 244 ; loss of his baton, 245 ; mistake 
 
 of, 246 
 Junot, occupies Lisbon, i. 37 
 Duke D'Abrantes, at the battle of 
 
 Vimiero, L 43 
 
 K 
 
 Kaffirs, war with, ii. 289 
 Kellerman, General, in the British camp, 
 144
 
 394 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Kempt, Major-General, attacks La Pieu- 
 
 riud, i. 155 
 General, killed at the battle of 
 
 the Nivelle, i. 297 
 Kendall, the Duke's valet, ii. 261 
 son of, interview with the Duke, 
 
 ii. 299 (note) 
 Kielmaasegge, Count, ii. 256 
 Kleber, General, i. 175 
 Kossuth, M., ii. 367 
 
 L.\BEDOYERE, Coloncl, tried and executed, 
 ii. 70 
 
 La Belle Alliance, ii. 29 
 
 La Haye Sainte, ii. 26 
 
 La Picurina, capture of, i. 155 
 
 L'Allemand, General, i. 168 
 
 Lafayette, ii. 45 
 
 Lake, Lord, appointed to the command 
 of the army at Hindostan, i. 16 ; de- 
 stroys Scindah's power in Hindostan, 
 20 ; death of, 41 
 
 Lamar tine on the defection of the French 
 troops, ii. 2 ; " History of the Restora- 
 tion of Monarchy," ii. 13 (note) 
 
 Lansdowne, Marquis of, i. 203 ; ii. 
 154 
 
 Leipsic, battle of, i. 305 
 
 fie Marchant, Major-General, falls at 
 Salamanca, i. 171 
 
 Ligny, the rivulet of, ii. 17 •, battle of 
 ii. 20 
 
 Liverpool, Lord, on the affair of Burgos, 
 i. 202 ; ii. 86 ; struck with paralysis, 
 104 ; character of, 104 ; death of, 
 148 
 
 Lobau, Count, ii. 33 
 
 Londoners, alarm of, ii. 243 
 
 Londonderry, Marquis of, ambassador to 
 Piussia, ii. 188; receives the order of 
 the Garter, 268 
 
 Long, General, i. 189 
 
 Longford, Lord, i. 201 ; ii. 145 
 
 Louis XVIII., proclaimed in 1813, i. 
 299 ; quits Paris for Ghent, ii. 3 ; 
 joins the allied army at Ghent, il 43 ; 
 takes up his abode at Cambray, 43 ; 
 enters Paris, 68 
 
 Louis Philippe, King of the French 
 (1830), ii. 157 
 
 Louvre, spoliation of, ii. 73 
 
 Lover, Samuel, "The flag is half-mast 
 high" ^song), ii. 265 
 
 Lyndhurst, Lord, ii. 137 ; ii. 163 ; on the 
 Reform Question, ii. 165 — 169 
 
 Lyons, entry into h^ Napoleon, ii. 3 
 
 M. 
 
 M'Arthur, Dr., attends the Duke, ii. 
 261 
 
 Macaulay, the Hon. B., speech at Edin- 
 burgh, ii. 242 (note) 
 
 Macdonald, Marshal, heads an army 
 against Napoleon, ii. 3 
 
 Macintosh, Major, gallant conduct of, L 
 104 ; speeches of, ii. 210 
 
 M'Leod, Colonel, death of, at Badajoz, L 
 158 
 
 Macnaughten, Mr., ii. 216 
 
 Maclaine, Captain, bravery of, i. 95 
 
 Mackinnon killed at the storming of 
 Ciudad Rodrigo, i. 144 
 
 M'Kenzie, death of, at Talavera, i. 64 
 
 Macra, Colonel, killed, ii. 20 
 
 Madrid filled with French Guards, i. 39 ; 
 triumphal entry into, 1812, 179 ; 
 royal palace, 180 
 
 Maguire, Lieutenant, leads the forlorn 
 hope at San Sebastian, i. 274 ; death 
 of, 274 
 
 Mahratta Chieftains, Scindiab, Holkar, 
 and the Peishwa, at issue, i. 14 
 
 Maitland, General, ii. 33 
 
 Malcolm, Admiral Sir Pulteney, i. 44 
 
 Malmesbury, Lord, ii, 117 
 
 Mansfield, Earl of, ii. 169 
 
 March Lord, one of the Duke's personal 
 staff, ii. 12, 29 
 
 Marlboro, John Duke of, i. 2 
 
 Marmont, IVIarshal, i. 113, 163 ; wounded 
 at Salamanca, 173 ; character of, 175 ; 
 dismounts the cannon to pass St. Ber- 
 nard, 176 ; surprised in his bivouac, i. 
 325 
 
 Marochetti, Baron, ii. 223 
 
 Massena before the lines of Torres 
 Vedras, i. 78 ; at Santarem, 79 ; re- 
 treat, 81 ; announces to the King 
 Napoleon's arrival, 2 
 
 Mauritius a rendezvous for plotters, i. 13 
 
 Maxwell, Colonel, at Assay e, i. 18 ; death 
 of, 19 
 
 Melbourne, Lord, ii. 121 ; resigns, 185 ; 
 recalled (1836), 188 ; character of, 193 ; 
 eulogium upon, by the Duke of Wel- 
 lington, 193 (note); resigns, 1841, 
 209 
 
 Metternich, Prince, negotiates for Aus- 
 tria, i. 269 ; Prime Minister of Aus- 
 tria, ii. 77 
 
 Military convention, ii. 48 
 mourning, ii. 269 
 
 Militia Bill, ii. 253 
 
 Milton, Lord, refuses to pay taxes, ii 
 
 164 
 Mina, a Guerilla chief, i. 73, 221
 
 INDEX. 
 
 su 
 
 Mitchell, Lieut-Coloael, author of " The 
 
 Fall of Napoleon," ii. 22 (note) 
 Monte Orgullo, i. 277 ; surrender of, 
 
 277 
 Montbrun, General, L 12-4 
 Moore, Sir John, i. 42 ; in Spain, 47 
 Moore's lively lament on Corn and 
 
 Catholics, ii. 116 
 Moreau, General, character of, L 302 
 
 (note) ; death of, 303 
 Morillo, General, i. 130 
 Mornington, Earl of, father of the Duke 
 
 of Wellington, i. 2 ; Goveruor-Gcneral 
 
 of India, 6 
 
 Dowager Lady, 385 
 
 Mortier, General, humanity of, i. 67 
 Moscow in flames (1812), i. 215 
 Morning Journal, editor of, prosecuted 
 
 for Ubel, ii. 152 
 Muffling, General, ii. 43 
 Murat appointed sole Regent of Madrid, 
 
 i. 39 ; dispatched to attack the Allies 
 
 in Bohemia, 304 
 Murray. General Sir John, i. 55 ; at 
 
 Castella, 217 ; at Tarragona, 247 ; 
 
 court-martial on, 250 
 Sir George, member of the 
 
 government (1828), ii. 137 
 Murillo, General, wounded at Vittoria, 
 
 i. 239 
 Myers, Sir William, death of, i. 117 
 
 N. 
 
 Nanolaus, Bridge of, i. 240 
 
 Napier wounded at Ciudad Rodrigo, i. 
 144 ; acoouat of his numerous wounds, 
 150; Major-General, Sir Charles, at- 
 tacks the Ameers of Scinde, ii. 219 
 
 Napoleon Buonaparte, in Egypt, i. 13; 
 Emperor of the French (1804), 28 ; 
 issues a decree for the blockade of the 
 British Isles (1806), 28 ; establishes 
 prize-courts, 29 ; invades Portugal, 
 (1808), 35 ; his power in Europe, 36 ; 
 puts an immense force in motion (Dec. 
 1809), 70 ; fort named after Napoleon, 
 165 ; misunderstanding with the Rus- 
 sians at Borodino (1812), 213; meet- 
 ing at Breslau, 215 ; Moscow in flames, 
 215 ; movement against the northern 
 armies, 268 ; afflicted by the loss of 
 Duroc, 268 ; the Congress at Prague, 
 269 ; policy of (1813), 288 ; commands 
 in person at Dresden, 303 ; attacks 
 Berlin, 304 ; reaches Leipsic, 305 ; 
 battle of Leipsic, 305 ; council of war 
 by a bivouac fire, 306 ; halts at Er- 
 furth, 306 ; proceeds to Paris, 306 ; 
 
 dissolves the Chamber, 308 ; dissolu- 
 tion of the Congress at Chatillon, 324 ; 
 endeavours to retake Soissons by 
 storm, 324 ; retakes Rheims, 325 ; 
 operations in Holland, 325 ; abdicates 
 (April, 1814), 329 ; at Elba, 361 ; im- 
 provements at Elba, 361 ; returns to 
 France, 365 ; lands at Cannes, 365 ; 
 proclamations, 366 ; resumes the gov- 
 ernment of France, 371 ; defection of 
 the French troops, ii. 1 ; presents 
 himself to the 5th regiment, 2 ; arrival 
 at Lyons, 3 ; moves on to Fontaine- 
 bleau, 3 ; reaches Paris, 3 ; patriotic 
 associations, 4 ; views m reference to 
 Belgium, 5 ; forgets the treachery of 
 the Marshals, 5 ; quits the Palace of 
 the Tuileries, June 12, 1815, 13 ; 
 proceeds to Avesnes, 13 ; harangues 
 the troops, 13 ; pushes on to Fleurus, 
 17 ; exultation of, 27 ; at Hougoumont, 
 29 ; battle of Waterloo, 32 ; approach 
 of the Prussians, 33 ; the final charge, 
 33 ; retreat, 42 ; abdication of, 45 ; 
 flies to Rochefort, 54; sent to St. 
 Helena, 55. 
 
 Napoleon, Louis, elected President, ii. 
 253 ; coup d'etat, 256 
 
 National Convention, ii. 243 
 
 National distress, ii. 153 
 
 Navarino, battle of, ii. 122 
 
 Netherlands, the Duke in (1815), ii. 330 
 
 Ney, Marshal, i. 71 ; beaten with very 
 heavy loss by Bernadotte, 304 ; aban- 
 dons the cause of the Bourbons, ii. 3 ; 
 in despair at Quatre Bras, 20; at 
 Frasne, 23 ; discovers the retreat of 
 the Allied Army to Waterloo, 23 ; 
 tries to rally the French troops at 
 Waterloo, 34; court martial of, 70; 
 execution of, 70 
 
 Nive, passage of the, i. 314 
 
 Nivelle, battle of, i. 296 
 
 Nollekens' bust of Wellbgton, ii. 97 
 
 0. 
 
 Oastlee, Mr. Richard, interview with the 
 
 Duke, ii. 246 (note) 
 O'Connell, Daniel, ii. 163 ; attempts to 
 
 bring about a repeal of the Union, 
 
 185 
 O'Connor, Mr., ii. 244 
 Oporto, battle of, i. 55 
 Orange, Prince of, commands the left 
 
 wing of the army in the Netherlands, 
 
 ii. 10 
 Orders and honours of the great Duke, 
 
 iL 307
 
 596 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Oswald, Majoi'-General, i. 241 
 
 Ottomaa Porte, the affairs of Greece, ii. 
 99 
 
 v?udinot, General, i. 177 
 
 Oxford, installation of his Grace the 
 Duke of Wellington, ii. 175 ; excite- 
 ment at, 176, 177 
 
 P. 
 
 Paget, General, -wounded, i. 55 
 
 Sir Edward, i. 193 (note) 
 
 Palmerston, Lord, ii. 121, 231 
 
 Pampeluna, blockade of (1813), i. 289 ; 
 dreadful sufferings of the besieged, 
 289; surrender of, 291; capitulation 
 of, 294 
 
 Paris, capitulation of (1815), iL 47 ; the 
 Allies in, 51 ; gaieties of, 51 
 
 Parhament, dissolution of (1830), ii. 156 ; 
 dissolution of (1831), 160; proroga- 
 tion of, October (1831), 162 
 
 Parhamentary proceedings, L 201 ; re- 
 form, 157 
 
 Parnell, Sir Henry, ii. 158 
 
 Peacocke, Major-General, stationed at 
 Lisbon, i. 229 
 
 Peua, General, i. 95 
 
 Peninsular service, i. 225 
 
 Peel, Sir Robert, on the character of the 
 Duke of York, ii. 102; defence of the 
 Duke of Wellington, 118 ; resigns the 
 representation of Oxford, 147, 170 
 (note) ; again in power, 185 ; addresses 
 the constituency of Tamworth, 186 ; 
 in a minority, 1 87 ; on the corn laws, 
 230 ; resignation of, 231 ; death of, 
 251; eulogium on, by the Duke of 
 Wellington, 251 
 
 Percival, Mr., i. 202 
 
 Peronne, capture of, ii. 43 
 
 Perponcher, General, at Ligny, ii. 18 
 
 Phillimore, Dr., ii. 179 
 
 PhUlippon, Governor of Badajoz, i. 161 
 
 Phcenix Park, Dublin, ii. 63 
 
 Picton, General Sir Thomas, at Busaco, 
 i. 77 ; address to the soldiers at the 
 storming of Ciudad Rodrigo, 143 ; 
 wounded at Badajoz, 160 ; marches 
 with his brigade from the Place 
 Royale, Brussels, ii. 16 ; his division 
 comes to the rescue near Quatre Bras, 
 19 ; death of, 30 (note) 
 
 Pictures of the Duke, ii. 262 (note') 
 
 Pitt, British Minister (1794), i. 4. ' 
 
 Poland, seeks to cast ofif the Russian 
 yoke, ii. 157 
 
 Poniatowski at Leipsic, i. 305 ; perishes 
 in the stream, 306 
 
 Poison, Mr. Archer, lines on the Duke's 
 death, ii. 266 
 
 Ponsonby, Sir William, admirable man- 
 agement of his brigade, ii. 24 ; killed 
 at Waterloo, 31 
 
 Portsmouth, the Allied Sovereigns at, i. 
 346 
 
 Portugal, invasion of, by the French 
 (1808), i. 35 ; royal family of, emigrate 
 to the Brazils, 37 ; a prey to factions, 
 ii. 171 ; civil war, 173 
 
 Portuguese army, letter on the, i. 376 
 
 Powiss, Captain, mortally wounded at 
 Picurina, i. 155 
 
 Prince Regent, the, accords the prize- 
 money, ii. 81 
 
 Prisoners, English, unavoidably killed 
 by the British at the storming of 
 Monte OrguUo, i. 277 
 
 Pyrenees, position of Marshal Soult, L 
 254 ; battle of, 257; life in, amusing - 
 picture of, 285 ; descent from, and 
 entry into France, 287 ; description 
 of, 380 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quatre Be as won by the allies, ii. 20 
 a junction of four roads, 15 (note) 
 
 R. 
 
 Radetzky, ii. 367 
 
 Radical, first application of the word, 
 ii. 157 (note) 
 
 Ragusa, Duke of, at Salamanca, i. 170 
 
 Ramsay, Captain Norman, at Fuentea 
 d'Onoro, i. 105 
 
 Rancour, Mademoiselle, account of ex- 
 traordinary proceedings at her burial, 
 i. 363 (note) 
 
 Reform in parliament, ii. 125 
 
 Reform Bill, ii. 159 ; carried (1832), 170 
 
 Reform question, ii. 159 
 
 Reform riots at Bristol, Derby, Notting- 
 ham, and elsewhere, ii. 160 
 
 Regent, Prince, i. 203 ; letter to Wel- 
 lington with the baton of Field Mar- 
 shal, 245 
 
 Review, Quarterly (1838), discusses the 
 question of the battle of Toulouse, i. 333 
 
 Rey, General, ably defends San Sebas- 
 tian, i. 265 
 
 Rheims, capture of, by General St 
 Priest, i. 325 
 
 Richelieu, Due de, ii. 70 
 
 Richmond, Duke of. Lord Lieutenant of 
 Ireland (1809), i. 27 ; resigns, ii. 185
 
 INDEX. 
 
 397 
 
 Richmond, Duchess of, invites the offi- 
 cers to a ball, iL 1 5 
 
 Ridge, Colonel, at the storming of Bada- 
 joz, i. 160; his death, 160 
 
 Rifle Brigade keeps watch over the 
 Duke's remains, iL 265 
 
 Ripon, Lord, resigns, ii. 185 
 
 Robinson, Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 (1827), iL 109 
 
 Roden, Lord, iL 199 
 
 Roman Catholics, claims of, iL 126 (note); 
 emancipation, 137 
 
 Rori9a, battle of, L 41 
 
 Rosebery, Earl, ii. 154 
 
 Royal Academy, ii. 297 
 
 Rush, Mr., iL 293 
 
 Russell's, Lord John, plan of Parliament- 
 ary Reform, iL 159 ; 207 
 
 Russia breaks with Napoleon, i. 213; 
 French invasion of, 215 ; Emperor 
 of, excites the jealousy of Austria, 
 302 ; Emperor of, signs the treaty 
 at Chaumont, 324 ; embassy to (1827), 
 ii. 97 
 
 S. 
 
 Salamanca, a town in the kingdom of 
 Leon, i. 166 ; joy of the citizens upon 
 the entrance of the British, 168 ; cap- 
 ture of the forts of, 169 
 
 SaUsbury, ilarquis of, ii. 169 
 
 Saltoun, Lord, at Hougoumont, ii. 29 
 
 San Sebastian, description of, L 264; 
 siege of, 273 ; the breach, 275 ; fright- 
 ful excesses of the British troops, 
 276 
 
 Santa Teresa, convent of, L 276 
 
 Santarem, i. 78 
 
 Sarrazin, General, i. 177 
 
 Saunders's " News Letter," iL 289 
 (note) 
 
 Saxony, invasion of, L 304 
 
 Scarlett, Sir James, Attorney-General 
 (1830), ii. 152 
 
 Scinde, conquest of, iL 219 
 
 Schwartzenberg, Prince, entrusted with 
 the chief command of the allies, L 303 ; 
 at the battle of Leipsic, 305 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, on the battle of 
 Waterloo, ii. 341 
 
 Seaton, Lord, ii. 206 
 
 Sebastiani, General, i. 57 
 
 Sheridan, speeches of, ii. 210 
 
 Sherbrook, Lieutenant-General, i. 63 
 
 Siborne, Captain, author of " The His- 
 tory of the War in France and Bel- 
 gium," ii. 23 ; errors of, 331 
 
 Sieges, iL 69 
 
 Slavery, discussions on, i. 355 ; abohtioa 
 of, opposed by the Duke of WeUing- 
 ton. ii. 174 
 
 Smith, Sir Charles, at St. Sebastian, I 
 265 
 
 Smith, Sir K, defence of, by the Duke 
 ii. 289 
 
 Soignies, forest of, ii. 27 (note) 
 
 Soldiers, French, character of, ii. 326 
 
 Soissons, capitulation of, i. 324 
 
 Sohgnac, General, i. 43 
 
 Somerset, Lord Edward, forces the 
 French Cuirassiers to quit the field, 
 iL 31 ; loses an arm at Waterloo, 34 
 
 Lord Fitzroy, aide-de-camp to 
 
 Wellington (1812), i. 208; appointed 
 Master- General of the Ordnance, ii. 
 271 
 
 Soult, Marshal, Duke of Dalmatia, at 
 Oporto, L 56; reaches Orense, 56; 
 advances on Banos, 68 ; commands at 
 the siege of Cadiz. 95 ; at Seville, 115 ; 
 checked by Hill, 163 ; laying siege to 
 Madrid, 182; re-appearance of, 251 ; 
 address to his soldiers, 253 ; endeav- 
 ours to render assistance at the siege 
 of San Sebastian, 282 ; before Bayonne, 
 299 ; crosses the Adour, 326 ; "Minis- 
 ter of War imder Louis XVIII., ii. 2 ; 
 dismissed, 3 ; visit to England, 195 ; 
 speech of, 195 ; anecdotes of, 196 
 
 Madame, interview with Napo- 
 leon, i. 151 (note) 
 
 Spain, duped into a_secret treaty with 
 France, i. 36 ; abdication of the King 
 of, 39; march into (1813) 233; geo- 
 graphy of, 235 ; British legion in, iL 
 189 
 
 Spanish army, letter on the, i. 378 
 
 Squares formed at Waterloo, iL 31 
 
 Stael, Madame de, iL 69 
 
 Stanley, Lord, iL 185, 230 
 
 Stanhope, Lady Hester, ii. 80 ; Lord, iL 
 153 
 
 Stevenson, Colonel, i. 11 
 
 St. Jean, Mont, troops on bivouac in the 
 fields near, iL 24 ; 25 
 
 St. Juan, Gulf of, where Napoleon land- 
 ed, iL 1 
 
 St. Paul's Cathedi*al, funeral of the Duke, 
 ii. 271 ; ciypt of, 278 ; scene in, dur- 
 ing the funeral service, 279 
 
 Strathfieldsaye, purchase of, ii. 63 (note) ; 
 monument at, to the memory of " Co- 
 penhagen," 97 
 
 Stewart, Sir Charles (afterwards Mar- 
 quis Londonderry), ambassador to 
 Berlin, i. 268 
 
 Sir William, anecdote of, i. 297 
 
 (note)
 
 398 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Stuart, General, at Sedasser (1799), i. 7 
 Suchet, Marshal, at Castella, i. 217; 
 122; destroys the defences of Tarra- 
 gona, 266 ; holds possession of Cata- 
 lonia, 267 
 Surgical operations, i. 110 
 Sutton, Sir Charles Manners, ii. 188 
 
 Talavera, battle of, 60 
 
 Talleyrand, Prince, i. 113; character of, 
 
 ii. 69 
 Tarifa, attack upon, i. 135 
 Tarragona, failure of the expedition to, 
 
 i. 251 
 Test and Corporation Acts, ii. 121 
 Tilson, General, i. 51 
 " Times," the, tribute to the Duke, ii. 260 
 Tippoo, Sultan of Mysore, i. 6 ; retires 
 
 to Seringapatam, 7 
 Torres Vedras, British army quartered 
 
 there, i. 44 ; lines of, 69 
 Toulouse, city of, operations at, i. 327 ; 
 
 battle of, 328 ; Wellington enters 
 
 i.1814), 329 ; battle of, claimed by the 
 
 French, 333 
 Tournay, surrender of, i. 4 
 Tower, the statue of the Duke 'at, ii. 304 
 Trim, column at, ii. 115 
 Trincomalee, a harbour on the coast of 
 
 Ceylon, i. 13 
 TuUeries, vaults of, filled with gold, i. 306 
 
 U. 
 
 UxBRiDGE, Earl of (afterwards Marquis 
 of Anglesey), heads the cavalry, ii. 
 10 ; sketch of his life, 11 (note) 
 
 Union Brigade, iL 30 
 
 Valdermao, i. 178 
 
 Vandamme, General, defeated at Culm. 
 i. 304 
 
 Verona, the Congress at, ii. 89 
 
 Victor, Marshal, i. 57 
 
 Victoria, Queen, birth of (1819), ii. 85; 
 accession of (1837), 192 ; declaration 
 of her attachment to the constitution, 
 193; coronation of, 194; marriage of, 
 204; visit of, to Strathfieldsaye, 224 ; 
 letter on the death of the Duke, 263 
 
 Vienna, Congress of, i. 358 ; Congress 
 of, news of Napoleon's escape from 
 Elba. 368 
 
 Villa Muriel, i. 188 
 
 Vimiero, battle of, i. 43 
 
 Vittoria, battle of, i. 239 ; plunder at^ 
 
 243 
 Vizille, the 5th Regiment drawn up to 
 
 oppose Napoleon's progress, iL 1 
 
 W. 
 
 Walker, Major-General, L 239 
 Walmer Castle, some account ol, iL 150, 
 
 260 
 
 Ward, Mr. Henry George, proposes a 
 reduction of the Irish Church Estab- 
 lishment, ii. 185 
 
 Washington and the Duke compared, ii. 
 293 
 
 Waterloo, battle of, ii. 32 ; final charge 
 at, ii. 33 
 
 Bridge, ii. 63 
 
 Prize Money, ii. 81 
 
 Banquet, ii. 85 
 
 Casualties at battle of, ii. 326 
 
 Wattier, General i. 124 
 
 Weeks, Mr. ii. 220 
 
 Weimar, Prince of, engages Marshal 
 
 Ney, iL 18 
 Wellesley, Arthur, see WelUngton. 
 
 Sir Henry, letter to, on the 
 
 Press of Great Britain, ii. 152 
 Lord Charles, ii. 260 
 
 Wellington, Duke of, birth, i. 2 ; family, 
 2 ; ensign (1787), 3 ; Lieutenant 
 Wellesley, 3 ; Major (1793), 4 ; success 
 at Schyrdel, 5 ; return to England, 5 ; 
 sails for Lidia (1796), 6 ; conflict at 
 Seringapatam, 7 ; struck on the knee 
 by a spent ball, 8 ; capture of Seringa- 
 patam, 8 ; defeats Dhoondia Waugh, 
 12; adopts Dhoondia's son, 12; sails 
 for Bombay (1801), 13; superseded in 
 command, 13 ; resumes his appoint- 
 ment at Mysore, 15 ; gazetted Major- 
 General (1802), 14 ; Marquis of Wel- 
 lesley, 15 ; reaches Poonah(1803), 16; 
 assault upon Ahniednuggur, 16 ; battle 
 of Assaye (1803), 18 ; liberality to the 
 sick at Asseerghur (note), 21 ; defeat 
 of Sciudiah (1803), 22 ; presenta- 
 tion of a sword by the inhabitants of 
 Calcutta, 23 ; order of the Bath con- 
 ferred, 23 ; embarks for England 
 (1805), 24; appointed to the staff as 
 Commander of a Brigade, 27 ; Colonel 
 of the 33rd Regiment, 27 ; marriage, 
 27 ; Secretary for Ireland, 27 ; bom- 
 bardnieut of Copenhagen, 32 ; vote of 
 thanks, 32 ; resumes his duties as 
 Irish secretary (1808), 34; invasion
 
 INDEX. 
 
 399 
 
 of Portugal by the French, 35 ; arrival 
 at Corunaa, 40 ; battle of Rorira, 41 ; 
 battle of Vimiero, 43 ; Convention of 
 Cintra, 44 ; vote of thanks for gallant 
 cnnduct at Vimiero, 47 ; advises Govern- 
 ment not to abandon the Peninsula, 49 ; 
 welcome of the Portuguese Marshal- 
 General of the armies in Portugal, 50 ; 
 entrance into Coimbra, 51 ; passage of 
 the Douro, 53 ; battle of Oporto, 55 ; 
 annoyed by General Cuesta, 59; battle 
 of Talavera, 60 ; amicable enemies, 65 ; 
 head-quarters at Badajoz, 68 ; raised to 
 the peerage (1809), 68 ; sufferings of the 
 British troops, 69 ; army withdrawn 
 from Spain, 70; position of the army 
 in Portugal, 71 ; battle of Busaco, 77; 
 Massena's retreat, 79 ; affairs of Re- 
 dinha and Foz d'Aronce, 83 ; skirmish 
 ■with Nej, 83 ; lecture to the Portuguese 
 Government, 87 ; despatches to the 
 Earl of Liverjjool, 88 ; state of the 
 Spanish army, 91 ; letter to Marquis 
 Wellesley, 91 ; necessity for Portuguese 
 exertion, 93 ; affairs in the soutli of 
 Spain, 94; siege of Cadiz, 95 ; battle of 
 Barossa, 97 ; medal struck in honour of 
 the battle of Barossa, 98 ; frontier for- 
 tresses 99 ; proclamation to the Por- 
 tuguese, 100 ; battle of Fuentes d'Ouoro, 
 103 ; the wounded at Fuentes, 106 ; con- 
 trast between "WeUington and Napoleon, 
 112; head-quarters at Villa Formosa, 
 113; battleof Albuera, 117 : examiniu^ 
 the trenches before Badajoz, 118 ; posi- 
 tion at Ciudad Rodrigo, i 24 ; affair of 
 El Bodon, 125 ; accepts the title of Gonde 
 de Vimiero, 127 ; surprise of Arroyo de 
 Molinos, 129; winter -quarters in Spain, 
 133; attack at Tarifa, 135; capture of 
 Ciudad Rodrigo, 137 ; duty in the trench- 
 es, 139; attends the funeral of General 
 Craufurd, 145 ; honours aud rewards, 
 152 ; capture of La Picuriua, 155 ; letter 
 to Don Carlos d'Espana, 155 (note); 
 storming Badajoz, 159 ; sack of Badajoz, 
 161 ; capture of Abuaraz, 165 ; resolves 
 to advance into Spain, 166; march to 
 Salamanca, 167 ; capture of the forts of 
 Salamanca, 169; battle of Salamanca, 
 170 ; wounds in high places, 173 ; wound- 
 ed at Salamanca, 173; pursuit of the 
 French, 177; eni,ry into Madrid, 179; 
 residence at the palace, 181 ; advance 
 upon Burgos, 183; attack on Alba de 
 Tormes, 189 ; retreat from Burgos. 193; 
 order regarding discipline, 195 ; feeling 
 of the army, 197; opinions in England 
 on the affiiirs of Salamanca and Burgos, 
 199 ; parliamentary proceedings, 201 ; 
 
 grant of 100,000/., 205 ; command of 
 the Spanish armies, 207 ; remarks 
 upon the Cortes. 209 (note) ; pro- 
 ceeds to Lisbon (1813), 210 ; a glance 
 at Napoleon's campaign, 210; appoint- 
 ed Colonel of the Royal Regiment of 
 Horse Guards, 211; Russia breaks 
 with Napoleon, 213; operations in 
 the north of Spain, 219 ; old soldiers, 
 223; Peninsular service, 225; pro- 
 visioning the aUied armies 229 ; bag- 
 gage of the British army, 231 ; march 
 into Spain, 233; "Adieu, Portugal," 
 233 ; anecdote, 233 (notel ; battle of 
 Vittoria, 239 ; blunder at Vittoria, 
 243 ; baton of Marshal Jourdan, 244 ; 
 a Field-Marshal, 245 ; failure at Tar- 
 ragona, 249 ; passages of courtesy, 
 255; battle of the Pyrenees. 257; 
 anecdote of, 262 ; fortress of San Se- 
 bastian, 264 ; proceedings in the north 
 of Europe, 267 ; news of the Congress 
 of Prague, 269 ; letter to Lord Bath- 
 urst, 270 ; remonstrance with the 
 Admiralty, 273 ; frightful excesses of 
 the British troops after the storm- 
 ing of San Sebastian, 276 ; surrender 
 of Monte Orgullo, 277 ; defence of 
 charges, 278 ; baffles Soult by cross- 
 ing the Bidassoa, 283 ; life in the Py- 
 renees, 286 ; entry into France, 286; 
 proclamation issued, 287 ; blockade 
 and surrender of Pampeluna, 289 ; 
 battle of the Nivelle, 296 ; proclama- 
 tion of Louis XVIIL, 299 ; head-quar- 
 ters at St. Jean de Luz (1813), 299 ; 
 letter to Earl Bathurst, 302; battle 
 of Dresden, 303 ; battle of Leipsic, 
 305 ; thanks of Parliament voted, 313; 
 correspondence with General Dumou- 
 rier, 313; passage of the Nive, 315; 
 battle of St. Pierre, 316; passage of 
 Gave d'Obron, 316 ; wounded in the 
 thigh by a spent ball, 317; remon- 
 strance to the Due d'Angouleme, 319 ; 
 advance to Bordeaux, 321 ; permission 
 granted by the Prince Regent to^7ear 
 Austrian, Russian, and Swedish orders, 
 326 ; passage of the Garonne. 327 ; 
 operations at Toulouse, 327 ; abdica- 
 tion of Napoleon, and suspension of 
 hostilities, 331 ; created a Duke (1814), 
 335 ; embassy to Paris, 339 ; atldress 
 to the King of Spain, 341 ; takes leave 
 of the army at Bordeaux, 342 ; arrival 
 in London, 347 ; first appearance in 
 Parliament, 347 ; thanks of the House 
 of Commons, 351 ; the Common Coun- 
 cil, 353 ; entertained by tlie Prince 
 Regent, 354 ; depai'ture for Paris, 
 
 3c
 
 400 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 355; in favour of anti-slavery, 857; 
 Congress of Vienna, 358; ambassador to 
 Vienna, 860 ; return to France of Na- 
 poleon, 365 ; places himself at the dis- 
 posal of Government, 372 ; addresses 
 Lord Castlereagh from Vienna, ii. 5 ; 
 draws up a memorandum for the allied 
 troops, 6 ; establishes his head-quarters 
 at Brussels, 1815, 6; letter to Prince 
 Schwartzenberg, 7 (note) ; awaits Na- 
 poleon's attack (June, 1815), 18 ; Duchess 
 of Richmond's ball, 15 ; imputation of 
 being surprised by the French, 16 ; 
 beating of the drums at midnight, 16 ; 
 collecting troops in the Place Royale, 
 Brussels, 17 ; joins Blucher on the 
 heights, 17 ; takes up a position near 
 Quatre Bras, 18; "Ninety-second, you 
 must charge those fellows," 20 ; the re- 
 treat of the French from Quatre Bras, 
 22 ; passes the night upon the field of 
 battle, Ligny, 22 ; evil tidings of Blii- 
 cher, 23 ; retreat to Waterloo, 23 ; com- 
 munication with Blucher, 25 ; the eve 
 of " Waterloo," 25 ; battle of Waterloo, 
 33 ; the final charge, 33 ; retreat of the 
 French, 34; the night after Waterloo, 
 86 ; pens the memorable despatch, 37 ; 
 proceeds to Brussels, 38 ; sequel to the 
 battle, 42 ; abdication of Napoleon, 45 ; 
 capitulation of Paris, 47 ; quits Paris 
 for Ilochefort, 47 ; the allies in Paris, 
 50; Napoleon flies to Roehefort, 55; 
 Napoleon banished to St. Helena, 65 ; 
 Parliamentary grant, 57 ; receives the 
 thanks of both Houses of Parliament, 
 59 ; thanks of the Prince Regent, 61 ; 
 suggests a Waterloo medal, 63 ; titles 
 and honours, 64 ; the bridge of Jena, 65 ; 
 execution of Marshal Ney, 7 1 ; spolia- 
 tion of the Louvre, 73 ; the Duke in 
 Paris, 79 ; Waterloo " prize-money," 
 81 ; anecdotes of, 81 (note) ; evacuation 
 of France, 83; created Field-Marshal of 
 Austria, Russia, and Prussia, 83 ; return 
 to Apsley House, 84; Master-General 
 of the Ordnance, 85 ; present at the 
 birth of Queen Victoria, 85 ; Governor 
 of Plymouth, 85 ; Colonelin-Chief of the 
 Rifle Brigade, 86 ; death of George III., 
 86 ; coronation of George IV. ; the Con- 
 gress of Verona, 89 ; three years of 
 idleness, 93 ; pictures at Apsley House, 
 94 ; embassy to Russia, 97 ; Constable 
 of the Tower, 100 ; death of the Duke 
 of York, 108 ; Commander-in-Chief, 103 ; 
 Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, 103; 
 Catholic claims, 105 ; resigns the com- 
 mand of the army, 105 ; correspondence 
 with Canning, 107; Ministry (1827), 118; 
 
 column at Trim, 115 ; oorrespondence 
 with Mr. Huskisson, 118 ; Prime Min 
 ister (1827), 119 resumes the office of 
 Commander-in-Chief, 120 ; forms a 
 new Ministry, 120 ; Test and Corpora- 
 tion Acts, 121 ; battle of Navarino, 
 122; resignation of Mr, Huskisson, 
 127; the Military Government, 137; 
 Roman Catholic emancipation, 137 ; 
 unpopularity of, 144 ; personal hos- 
 tiUties, 147 ; duel with Lard Winchel- 
 sea, 148 ; Lord Warden of the Cinque 
 Ports, 149 ; the Duke and the Press, 
 152; national distress, 153; speech 
 on the Corn Laws, 154; death of 
 George IV., 156 ; revolution in France 
 (1830), 156 ; Ministry resigns (1830), 
 157 ; question of Reform, 159 ; Apsley 
 House attacked by the mob, 160 ; 
 opposes Reform, 161 ; Ministers in a 
 minority, 162; Lord Grey resigns, 
 1 63 ; London in a state of ferment, 
 163 ; effigies of, 164 ; the Grey Minis- 
 try restored, 165 ; explanation of, 
 166 ; opposes the Grey Ministry, 171 ; 
 visit to the Tower, insulted by the 
 mob, 172; on the civil war in Portu- 
 gal, 174; opposes the Game Laws, 
 174; aboUtion of slavery, 174; Jews 
 in Parliament, 174 ; Chancellorship 
 of Oxford, 175 ; the installation, 179 ; 
 the convocation, 183 ; British Legion 
 in Sixain, 189; denounces it, 189; 
 death of William IV., 189 ; eulogium 
 on, 189; guest of the Queen, 194; 
 coronation of Queen Victoria, 194; 
 Marshal Soult in England, 195 ; ban 
 quet at Dover, 197 ; the Corn Laws, 
 199 ; illness of, 201 ; statue at Edin- 
 burgh, 202 ; Queen Victoria's mar- 
 riage, 204 ; the Affghanistan expedi- 
 tion, 205 ; denounces Socialism, 205 ; 
 libels in Parliament, 207 ; oratory of, 
 211; moral influence of, 213; Cabul 
 catastrophe, 215; resumes the com- 
 mand of the army, 217 ; attack of epi- 
 lepsy, 220 ; statue at the Royal Ex- 
 change, 221 ; visit of the Queen to 
 Strathfieldsaye, 224 ; specimens of 
 letters, 225 ; accident to, 227 ; corn- 
 law debate, 288 ; statue of, at Hyde 
 Park-corner, 287 ; the Chartists, 240; 
 revolution in France, 242, 258 ; de- 
 fence of London, 249 ; death of Sir R. 
 Peel, 254 : visits the Great Exhibition, 
 255 ; Militia Bill, speech on, 257 ; ru- 
 mour of his death, 259 ; decease, Sep- 
 tember, 15, 1852, the Queen's senti- 
 ments on the death of, 264 ; " The flag 
 is half-mast high," 265 ; lying in state
 
 INDEX 
 
 401 
 
 at Walmer, 267 ; military mourning, 
 269; public funeral, 271; foreign dele- 
 gates, 272 ; funeral procession, 277 ; 
 character of, 281; piety of, 285; sense 
 of justice, 287 ; defence of Sir H. Smith, 
 289; Despatches of, 291; compared 
 ■with Washington, 293 ; habits of, 295 ; 
 passion for music, 297 ; love of children, 
 299 ; interviewwith the son of his valet, 
 299 (note); anecdotes of, 301 ; the Duke 
 and the Irish, 303 ; final tribute, 305 ; 
 orders, titles, honours of, 306; birth- 
 place of, 315 ; nurse of, 315 ; as a general, 
 320 ; on metallic currency, 327 ; in the 
 Netherlands, 1815, 330 ; on the defences 
 of England, 349 ; as an agriculturist and 
 landlord, 355 ; estate in Belgium, 358 
 as an example to Indian officers, 364: 
 opinion of, by a French writer, 369 
 estimate of the character of, by a clergy- 
 man, 372 ; ancestry of, 374 
 Wellington, Somerset, some account of, 
 ii. 31 
 
 : — College, final tribute to the 
 
 Duke, ii. 305 
 Westmoreland, Lord, ambassador at the 
 
 Court of Austria, ii. 277 
 Wetherall, Sir Charles, Attorney-Gene- 
 ral, dismissal of, ii. 147 ; refuses to de- 
 fend Mr. Alexander, 152 
 Wheatley, Sir Henry, at Barossa, i. 98. 
 Whitbread, Mr. cordially approves the 
 
 grant, ii. 57 
 Wilber force on the question of slavery, 
 L 855 
 
 Wilkie, painting of the Chelsea Pen- 
 sioners, ii. 94 (note) ; the Greeuwich 
 Pensioners, 95 (note) 
 
 William the Fourth ascends the throne, 
 ii. 156; declines to dine with the 
 Lord Aliiyor, ii. 157 ; death of, ii. 189 
 
 Williamson, Captain, wounded at San 
 Sebastian, leading the forlorn hope, i. 
 277 
 
 Winehelsea, Lord, fights a duel with the 
 Duke of Wellington, ii. 148; Marquis 
 of, ii. 169 
 
 Winterhalter, picture of, ii. 252 
 
 Wood, Sir George, commands the ar- 
 tillery, ii. 12 
 
 Woodington, Colonel, subdues Broach 
 and Chumpaneer, &,c. i. 20 
 
 Worcester, Marquis of, one of the 
 Duke's personal staif, ii. 12 
 
 Wyatt, Mr. ii. 236 
 
 Y. 
 
 York, Duke of. retreat at Mechlin, i. 4 ; 
 general order respecting the battle of 
 Talavera, 63 ; embassy to St. Peters- 
 burgh, iL 99 ; death of, 100 ; character 
 of, 101 
 
 Young as Hamlet at Covent Garden, ii 
 164 
 
 ZiETHEN, General, at Charleroi, ii. 14
 
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